42: A rant from Ding Bu'er

After dealing with Ai Buli and Tan Beihuan, Shen Lian and Ding Buer boarded the netherworld chariot and slowly made their way toward Wushuang City.

Halfway there, Ding Buer asked Shen Lian cheekily, “Master Shen, can you give me a hint? Why can’t I sense any trace of Luck flowing from you?”

Shen Lian slowly opened his eyes: “If you decided to follow me just to absorb Luck, you can get lost right now.”

Ding Buer quickly said, “Don’t be like that! I just asked casually. Why are you getting so agitated? We’re in the same boat now, can’t we get to know each other better?”

Shen Lian gently shook his Folding Fan: “You are part of the System, and naturally inherited some of its memories. Don’t you know why I don’t possess Luck?”

Ding Buer pondered slightly, seemingly understanding something, and began to speak slowly.

“I think I figured out the reason. In your first Transmigration, you were a cripple without a Spiritual Root for Cultivation.”

You could only become a Utility Disciple, liable to be suppressed and destroyed at any moment.

Being bound to the System was purely because that thing’s Luck was about to run out, and it was desperately grasping at straws.”

“Up until the ninety-ninth life, every time you were devoured, your starting identity belonged to the lowest stratum of people. According to what is recorded in Xuanhuan books,”

your death would be nothing more than being caught in the aftermath of a Qi wave and turning to dust, without even a moment of glory. Therefore, you had no Luck to speak of from the very beginning.”

“Of course, having no Luck isn’t scary; you could just absorb it. But you always went against the Heavenly Dao.”

After ruining their carefully orchestrated script ninety-nine times in a row, they must hate you so much their teeth itch. How could they possibly arrange any Luck for you?”

“Moreover, the Cultivation resources you possessed in your previous lives were either snatched from those Sons of Destiny or refined by your own hands.”

If my guess is correct, you never received any special Opportunity or Strange Treasure, and couldn't even obtain the lowest-grade Spirit Medicine when entering a Secret Realm, right?”

Hearing this, Shen Lian leaned back against the corner of the carriage: “So, everything I, Shen Lian, possess was earned through genuine struggle with my own two hands.”

What if I have no Luck? What if I’m not the Protagonist? Didn’t the final result still involve ninety-nine worlds bowing down at my feet?

The strong do not complain about setbacks; instead, they treat them as tests to challenge themselves.

Those who rely solely on so-called Luck to take shortcuts—what great things can they ultimately achieve? That’s why my arrogance is open and honest, and I have a clear conscience in everything I do!”

Ding Buer said, “As expected of Master Shen, truly high-spirited! I never expected this hundredth life to start with utter collapse, yet you managed to stage a miraculous comeback in such a short time.

Calculating the time, it’s only been a little over ten days since your Rebirth, and you’ve already accomplished such earth-shattering deeds. It seems in this life, you will surely achieve your desires.”

Shen Lian was completely unaffected by Ding Buer’s flattery, merely replying lightly, “Miraculous comeback? All I wanted was to experience the thrill between life and death.

If my Cultivation level wasn't currently insufficient, let alone a small Heavenly Feather Sect, even the forces of the seven white-eyed wolves would have already been uprooted by me.”

Ding Buer kept nodding and bowing: “Of course, what kind of person is Master Shen? A few white-eyed wolves wouldn't even be worth noticing!”

“It’s just that there’s one thing I don’t understand. Master Shen, you could have just used the power of a Spirit Transformation Realm Cultivator in the Enforcement Hall to punish them, and then explained things clearly.

Why did you have to make this matter so extreme?”

“Hm? What do you mean!”

Seeing Shen Lian’s tone deepen, Ding Buer quickly explained, “Master Shen, please don’t misunderstand, I didn’t mean it the way you think.

Those Sect Elders and the like deserve to die, but since your strength hasn't recovered yet, it might have been better to endure it for a bit.

Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to confront them and slaughter them once your strength returns to its peak?”

“Are you trying to teach me how to handle things?”

Shen Lian asked teasingly, instantly scaring Ding Buer into a shiver.

“No, I just...”

“You mean, leave the beasts right in front of me alive, then talk sense into them, or even use methods like leaving the Sect or giving up completely,”

to force those seven white-eyed wolves to see Ye Fan’s true face, feel regret, open their hearts, and compensate me doubly? That’s what you were thinking, right?”

Ding Buer stared blankly at Shen Lian, momentarily unsure how to respond.

“Do you think this is some female-oriented romance drama? Do you think this is some BS regret novel? Wrong!”

Shen Lian curled his lips into a smile: “What I want has never been about regret or lack thereof. What I want is to kill the person and condemn their heart. What I want is rivers of blood!”

“Shen Lian’s actions regarding gratitude and resentment have always been clear: I repay kindness, and I never let go of vengeance!”

“Repentance is their business; forgiveness is a problem only the King of Hell should consider. All I want is a thorough and satisfying process of revenge.”

“Only seeing my enemies struggling helplessly in the mire, with all hope extinguished, is the scene that I, Shen Lian, am happiest to witness!”

“As for their attitude, it is irrelevant.”

Ding Buer was completely stunned.

“You really are different from the other hosts I’ve met.”

“If you get the chance, ask your main body that question. It should understand deeply.”

Ding Buer suddenly held up a finger: “I have one more question. Didn’t you say you repay all kindness?

Your survival owes a lot to my main body, right? Why did things end up so badly between you two?”

Shen Lian: “Although your main body harbored schemes against me, ultimately, it did show me kindness.

Therefore, throughout ninety-eight lifetimes, I willingly allowed it to devour me. If we speak of gratitude, I have long since repaid what I owed it.

Moreover, starting from the thirty-third life, its utility became infinitely close to negative.

It even set traps everywhere to lead me to my death. Not exposing it was already showing the utmost benevolence and righteousness.

Are you satisfied with that answer!”

“Uh...”

Ding Buer was choked up and couldn’t utter a word. He then casually asked, “What about your Revered Master? She guarded this body of yours for over five hundred years.

You once wronged her. How will you repay that kindness?”

After speaking, Ding Buer immediately scrambled to the far end of the carriage, afraid of being tormented by Shen Lian.

But, unusually, Shen Lian leaned against the outside of the carriage, gently shaking his Folding Fan without speaking.

After learning about Shen Chuyun’s feelings for him, he was somewhat unsure how to repay her.

In ninety-nine lives as a person, he fell in love only once due to an unexpected flutter of the heart, yet he still ended up letting her down.

On this point, regardless of the reason, Shen Lian was the one who failed her first.

But he was destined to be antagonistic toward the Heavenly Dao and rejected by the world; getting together with her would ultimately only harm her.

Shen Lian was not an impulsive person; on the contrary, he was extremely calm and rational, otherwise, he wouldn't have rapidly transformed from prey at the bottom of the food chain into a hunter in the Xuanhuan world, where the Law of the Jungle is rampant.

If his emotional attachments were detected by the Heavenly Dao, it would only lead to an extremely painful tragedy.

Seeing this, Ding Buer cautiously crept over to him and said, “Master Shen, Old Ding thinks you should marry her. Flirting without marrying is a hundred times more wicked than a Harem Novel.

This is a huge flaw point! Give her a Perfection ending. Miss Shen hasn’t had it easy, what do you say?”

The next moment, his neck was directly grasped by Shen Lian.

“I told you, I don’t need you to teach me how to handle things. If you have this much nonsense again, I don’t mind letting you experience the taste of the great dao human sovereign cauldron.

Trust me, even if you have an Undying Dao Body, you definitely wouldn't want to experience that feeling!”

Having finished speaking, he flung Ding Buer aside, drove the chariot, and entered Wushuang City... “So many medicinal ingredients?”

Inside the Longevity Chamber of Commerce, seeing Shen Lian take out a massive pile of Spirit Medicine in one breath, Gu Luoqing was already dumbfounded with shock.

She watched Shen Lian, who was sitting by the tea set, sipping his tea, in disbelief.

Finally, she couldn't help but ask, “You didn’t actually go to the Medicine King Glazed Valley, did you?”

“I’m not stupid enough to confront Mu Yaoguang right now,” Shen Lian replied. “These Spirit Medicine all came from Heavenly Feather Sect.

I planted them myself back then. They should be enough for you to refine youth-retaining pills and life extension pills, correct?”

“Heavenly Feather Sect? Wasn’t that your former Sect? How did you...”

“You talk too much. Just answer me: are these medicinal ingredients enough?”

Gu Luoqing nodded: “The medicinal ingredients are sufficient. Coincidentally, the merchant houses and aristocratic families are hosting an auction recently to test overall strength.”

It will be held three days from now, but time is tight, and I fear there won't be enough time to refine sufficient Medicinal Pills.”

Hearing this, Shen Lian slightly furrowed his brow.

After a moment, he suddenly asked, “If your Longevity Chamber of Commerce wins first place at the auction, will you be able to suppress the Tianxia Chamber of Commerce?”

“Definitely!”

Gu Luoqing answered with great confidence.

“The Tianxia Chamber of Commerce’s reputation is currently damaged. If we can defeat them at the Aristocratic Family Auction, the Longevity Chamber of Commerce will surely revive.”

“Since you’ve said that, I will help you again.”

As he spoke, Shen Lian waved one hand, and instantly a hundred stalks of Spirit Medicine were drawn into his palm.

The next moment, the Spirit Medicine began to be enveloped by a flame of bipolar Yin and Yang, gradually being absorbed and melted.

“This is...”

Seeing this sight, Gu Luoqing was too shocked to speak.

“Could this be the legendary, long-lost Great Dao Cauldron Refining Hand?”