Volume One, Chapter 1: The Villainous Playboy and the Investment System!
Wang Mu was utterly despondent.
He had transmigrated.
Transmigrated into a world of cultivation, and had become the son of a top aristocratic family.
So why, despite transmigrating into such a prestigious family, was he still despairing?
Because this young master was on the brink of losing everything.
...
The body Wang Mu had taken over had an unparalleled background!
His grandfather was the Wei King of the Great Xia Immortal Dynasty, a power that commanded princes by holding the emperor's authority. He strode into the court wearing sword and boots, refusing to bow or pay formal respects; even the young Xia Emperor trembled in his presence.
His grandmother was the founder of the largest merchant guild in the North Sea — the Langya Guild — as rich as a nation.
His father was a fearsome military general stationed on the frontier, notorious for slaughtering 400,000 demon-like Wa clansmen in the East Sea, a name that could silence even crying infants.
As for his mother, she was the contemporary Holy Lord of the Northern Abyss Sanctum, one of the top ten sacred lands, hailed as the greatest sword prodigy in the Azure Yuan Realm in three thousand years.
By all rights, dragons give birth to dragons, phoenixes to phoenixes.
With such a lineage, no matter how mediocre, the predecessor should have been a top-tier cultivation genius!
Yet,
Reality was far from that.
The predecessor was born when his parents were trapped in a forbidden zone, tainted by a mysterious curse that made cultivation impossible.
Not even immortal pills or precious medicines could counteract it.
Unable to cultivate meant he was bound to live and die as a mortal, with a lifespan of only a hundred years.
For a cultivation family like the Wang clan, this was tantamount to being stillborn.
The Wang family had been single-line heirs for three generations.
To break this cycle, they had tried every possible method.
For instance,
The martial lineage of the Great Xia royal family once produced a rare supreme bone prodigy—a Qilin child, whose existence was epoch-making.
When the Qilin child was just a month old, the Wei King personally came to seize that supreme bone, hoping to transplant it to Wang Mu.
Unfortunately, the transplant failed.
Moreover, the Qilin child, by some unknown fate, reforged the supreme bone, rising anew after its destruction.
Later, he even joined the righteous army opposing the Wei King.
Another example:
The Wang family heard of a peerless demon immortal at the Tribulation stage in the southern region, said to be a white lotus that had purified the world for 100,000 years; its lotus seed possessed the power to cleanse curses.
The predecessor's mother, the Northern Abyss Holy Lord, personally wielded her sword and ventured south, fighting fiercely for seven days and nights until finally slaying the demon.
Yet, that lotus seed proved ineffective on the predecessor.
Furthermore, the demon immortal left behind a son with half-human blood, who escaped the chaos and infiltrated the human realms.
...
By chance, this son married into the Penglai Guild and soared to prominence!
Another case:
An ancient invincible Heavenly Desolation Saint Body, once unbeatable in prehistoric times but reduced to worthless in recent eras, carried the peerless treasure of Primordial Purple Qi.
At a Langya Guild auction, this body was targeted by the guild leader who sought to seize the opportunity and offer it to the Wang family's young master.
After a thousand-mile pursuit, this figure was cornered into the forbidden zone!
Yet, he did not die. Years later, he reemerged in the mortal world as the Saint Son of the Primordial Sanctum, standing completely opposed to the Northern Abyss Sanctum.
There was more.
At fifteen, the predecessor fell for the partner of a disciple from the Northern Abyss's inner sect.
Ignoring the fact that the disciple was already betrothed, he brazenly snatched his love, embraced the delicate beauty, and forcefully dissolved the engagement.
The humiliated disciple shouted, “Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west; do not underestimate a struggling youth.”
As a result, his dantian was shattered, and he was demoted from inner sect disciple to herbal farmer.
He endured three years of humiliation.
...
Look!
Which of these victims were easy to bully? Each held the destiny of a protagonist.
Wang Mu’s identity was clearly that of the archvillain—there to attract hatred, serve as a scapegoat, and be a goldmine for the main characters.
In recent days, rumors frequently surfaced on Eternal Life Island, where Wang Mu resided.
For example:
The Penglai Guild, allied with other merchant guilds, engaged in market manipulations that caused the Langya Guild to suffer huge losses.
Core disciples of the Northern Abyss Sanctum suffered severe casualties in a recent trial when elite forces from the Primordial Sanctum and others united against them.
Several scattered branches of the Wang family were slaughtered by mysterious assailants.
Wei King's generals were utterly defeated by the Cataclysmic Heaven Envoy.
...
Though vague, these hints spoke volumes.
After all, the elders of the Wang family always shielded Wang Mu from bad news, only reporting good tidings to keep him worry-free.
The fact that these dire reports reached his ears meant the actual situation was far worse than he knew!
Now, Wang Mu was just a mortal.
If the Wang family fell, in this vast world, where could he possibly escape to?
...
Just as despair engulfed Wang Mu, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
[Beep.]
[Mysterious curse detected within host. Initiating removal.]
[Curse removed. System binding commencing.]
[Supreme Investment System successfully bound!]
“System?”
Wang Mu’s eyes lit up.
Immediately, a wealth of detailed information about the system flooded his mind.
[Host can invest in nearby geniuses and bind with them. Henceforth, all of their cultivation achievements will yield proportional returns to you.]
[The higher the investment completion, the greater the return.]
[Investment costs and returns depend on target’s worth, talent, potential, and other factors.]
[Note: Host’s gains do not impede the cultivation progress of invested targets.]
Wang Mu pondered, “So, even if I don’t cultivate myself, as long as I throw money around and keep investing in others, I can grow stronger?”
He resolved to give it a try.
Turning his gaze to the small sparrow perched on his shoulder, a golden translucent light screen appeared before him.
[Name: Wang Fugui
Age: 8 years (Childhood)
Species: Golden-winged Roc Eagle
Realm: Mid Golden Core
Aptitude: Divine Grade (Root energy depleted, bloodline not yet awakened)
Trait: Dragon Devourer — possesses powerful bloodline suppression over ordinary dragons; devouring dragons or spirit medicines and treasures containing dragon essence aids in nurturing root energy. Once bloodline awakens, cultivation speed and combat power will increase over tenfold.
Investment Evaluation: Tremendous potential, suitable for investment.]
Though unable to cultivate himself, Wang Mu was still a top-tier third-generation immortal descendant and understood the basics.
In this cultivation world, spiritual root aptitude was graded as inferior, middle, superior, exquisite, divine, and immortal.
These corresponded respectively to potential in the six major realms: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Divine Transformation, and Tribulation.
This Roc’s egg was something his mother had retrieved from the ancient forbidden zone of the southern region.
But it was inherently flawed; when discovered, it was nearly a dead egg, painstakingly nurtured with rare treasures for ten years before it barely hatched.
Its root energy was inevitably depleted, and its potential far less than before.
“Trait, Dragon Devourer?”
“So investing in elixirs containing dragon essence will help it most?”
Wang Mu stared thoughtfully at the pet roc’s attribute panel.
The ring on his index finger shimmered.
Twelve golden pearls floated before him.
Sea-Calming Dragon Pearls!
They were supreme treasures condensed from the life essence of true dragons.
Containing the dragons’ lifetime essence.
Incredibly precious.
Whether used for alchemy or forging, they were top-quality materials; refined directly, they were super nourishing supplements.
And these twelve pearls came from pure-blood dragons at the peak Nascent Soul stage.
To call them priceless was no exaggeration.