74: Chapter 74 Abandoned Foundation Establishment Stage as If Drinking Water! A Brilliant Golden Light Erupts Once Again!

[The communication jade slip vibrates incessantly.]

[You hold the jade slip to your ear.]

[Manager Luo Bin's voice comes through, trembling with excitement.]

["Boss Shen! Something huge happened! That bastard, City Lord Chi Yunxiao... he's crippled!"]

[The background is filled with noisy wind and the wild shouts of the shop hands.]

["This morning! Right in the City Lord's Mansion! He spat blood in front of everyone!"]

["His spiritual veins are ruptured, and his Foundation Establishment Level 5 cultivation is gone! He's dropped back to Qi Refinement Level 8!"]

["And his three guards—two suffered Qi Deviation while practicing, and one had his meridians completely blocked. They were crippled on the spot!"]

["Chiyang City is in total chaos right now, and the City Lord's Mansion has its gates tightly shut!"]

[The voice in the jade slip stops abruptly.]

[You cut off the spiritual energy.]

[Outside the secret chamber, the moonlight is cold.]

[Crippled.]

[Everything was as expected.]

[You close your eyes and review the entire situation.]

[The characteristic of the 'Wealth Returns After Being Spent' trait—extortion and plunder will inevitably meet with Heavenly Scourge.]

[City Lord Chi Yunxiao forcibly bought the shop and suppressed the price by ten thousand spirit stones, precisely triggering the Heavenly Scourge.]

[His cultivation was crippled, falling from the clouds into the mire.]

[You call up the system panel, your gaze falling on the Luck Value column.]

[Before the Heavenly Scourge was triggered, it was at 1058 points.]

[In the nine days after Manager Luo Bin left, the Luck Value rose to 1125 points.]

[And now, as the jade slip call ends, the number on the panel finally settles at 1152.]

[A total increase of less than a hundred points.]

[Your fingertips tap lightly on your knee.]

[Something's not right.]

[Is the luck of a Foundation Establishment Level 5 City Lord who has occupied Chiyang City for eighteen years only worth this much?]

[If the Heavenly Scourge stripped the opponent's luck to feed back to yourself, then this deal was a massive loss.]

[Unless...]

[A thought arises.]

[The core of the Heavenly Scourge isn't 'giving to me' at all, but 'destroying him.']

[The rules of the Heavenly Dao strip City Lord Chi Yunxiao of his luck and cast him into the abyss; this is a punishment mechanism.]

[The vast majority of that massive luck was annihilated by the rules.]

[Only a symbolic small portion flows to the wronged party as 'compensation.']

[This Heavenly Scourge is a blade of higher-dimensional punishment.]

[Expecting to rely on it to make a fortune was thinking too much.]

[So, where did the steadily rising luck during this period actually come from?]

[Your gaze softens.]

[At fourteen, Shen Tian's swordsmanship is already slightly famous in Yunzhou.]

[Shen Yue and Shen Yun have been following Liu Qingqing to learn alchemy and can already hold their own.]

[Nine-year-old Shen Fei has a High-grade Earth Spiritual Root and a solid foundation.]

[And then there's Shen Mengting, who doesn't like cultivation but is quite talented in the arts of zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting.]

[Blessed with Many Children.]

[Five children are five continuous springs of luck.]

[Providing stable and lasting feedback every day.]

[This is the fundamental base.]

[A perpetual motion machine of luck.]

[City Lord Chi Yunxiao's Heavenly Scourge compensation is merely the icing on the cake.]

[Your thinking is now completely clear.]

[Spending money, raising children, and helping them become talented—this is the most efficient investment.]

[As for those clowns like the Zheng Family of Fangshan City, they can just be left to Manager Luo Bin to handle.]

[Age 45, mid-June.]

[You fly your sword alone, quietly heading to Chiyang City.]

[This trip isn't for revenge, but for verification.]

[You land at a teahouse outside the city, pick a window seat, and order a pot of coarse tea.]

[Listening to the discussions around you.]

[In the entire teahouse, every other sentence is about City Lord Chi Yunxiao.]

["Have you heard? Old Ghost Chi is completely finished. Now he can't even stabilize his cultivation at Qi Refinement Level 8!"]

["The concubines in his mansion stole the valuables and fled overnight!"]

["It's karma! Just a few days ago he was forcibly seizing someone's merchant shop, and now look at him!"]

["When a wall is about to fall, everyone gives it a push. I heard several families he used to suppress have already started banding together."]

[You finish the tea in your cup.]

[Leaving a few copper coins, you stand up and depart.]

[From start to finish, you never set foot inside the gates of Chiyang City.]

[Returning to the Shen Residence.]

[In your mind, you add a footnote to 'Wealth Returns After Being Spent.']

[Top-tier deterrence, a sharp tool for punishment.]

[But don't expect to rely on it to farm luck.]

[The righteous path is still raising kids.]

[Age 45, the third day of the eleventh month.]

[Qin Yao's pulse once again shows signs of pregnancy.]

[Liu Qingqing checks the pulse herself.]

[Withdrawing her fingers, she gives you a half-smile.]

["Pregnant again. Are you a rabbit?"]

[Qin Yao's face instantly turns red with shame, and she lowers her head.]

[You give a dry cough.]

["This is a happy occasion."]

[Liu Qingqing rolls her eyes at you and turns to take Qin Yao's hand.]

[Her tone softens.]

["Rest easy and take care; leave the matter of the medicinal meals to me."]

[——]

[Age 46, the first day of the second month.]

[The annual trait draw is triggered.]

[A blue light lights up before your eyes.]

[Blue Trait—'Lingxi Finger'!]

[Characteristic: When using a finger as a sword, the finger strength carries Sword Intent penetration, ignoring Rank 3 and below protective spiritual light!]

[This is a supplementary means for close combat.]

[With a thought, you put the trait into the warehouse.]

[The equipment slots are full, so it's kept in reserve for now.]

[Age 46, February to July.]

[You enter seclusion again, putting all your effort into breaking through the bottleneck of foundation establishment level 3.]

[Occasionally coming out of seclusion, you guide Shen Tian's sword practice in the courtyard.]

[The fifteen-year-old youth has a tall and straight figure, and his swordplay is already quite decent.]

["Dad, when can I have a better flying sword?"]

[Shen Tian stands with his sword sheathed, covered in sweat.]

["Wait until you can thrust a hundred times in a single breath with this set of basic swordsmanship, and every strike is steady, then we'll talk."]

[Shen Tian grits his teeth and doesn't argue.]

[He turns back and continues to sweat profusely.]

[Ten-year-old Shen Fei gestures with a wooden stick, looking triumphant.]

["Dad! Look at me! Do I look like big brother?"]

["You do! Our little Fei has the air of a great hero!"]

[——]

[Age 46, the nineteenth day of the eighth month.]

[Qin Yao gives birth to another daughter.]

[Seven pounds and two ounces, with a loud cry.]

[Liu Qingqing carries the child out of the delivery room.]

[Her expression is slightly complex.]

["She's a mortal, no spiritual root."]

[You reach out and take your daughter.]

[The little one immediately stops crying, opening her eyes to curiously look at you.]

["Her name is Shen Ruoqi."]

[On the bed, Qin Yao's face is pale and her voice weak.]

["Husband, will Ruoqi... in the future..."]

["She won't."]

[You place the child beside her and take her hand.]

["Not every child must cultivate to immortality."]

["With the Shen Family here, and with me here, she will only have a life of wealth and peace."]

["She'll live more freely than ninety-nine percent of the cultivators in the world."]

[Qin Yao's eyes redden, and she gently kisses her daughter's forehead.]

[You feel no disappointment at this result.]

[For five out of six children to have spiritual roots is already heaven-defying luck.]

[A daughter without a spiritual root, away from the conflicts of the cultivation world, might not be a bad thing.]

[Age 47, the first day of the second month.]

[The annual trait draw is triggered.]

[A green light flashes.]

[Green Trait—'Peaceful Household'!]

[Characteristic: Within the range of the residence, the cultivation efficiency of all family members is increased by ten percent, and the recovery speed from injuries and illnesses is increased by ten percent!]

[It seems ordinary, but for the entire family, it's an extremely practical buff.]

[You equip it directly.]

[Age 47, March to July.]

[You spend most of your time in seclusion and teaching your children.]

[Manager Luo Bin's flying message arrives as scheduled.]

[The Shen's Shop branches in the eleven cities of Zhongzhou have all established a firm foothold.]

[The letter specifically mentions the Zheng Family of Fangshan City.]

[He didn't use force.]

[In just three months, relying on higher quality pills and lower prices, he forcibly crushed the Zheng Family's medicine shop business.]

[At the end of the letter, Manager Luo Bin wrote:]

["Boss Shen, the Third Young Master of the Zheng Family came to visit the day before yesterday."]

["He took a very humble stance. I took the initiative to sign a supply agreement; from now on, we'll take seventy percent of the business in Fangshan City."]

[After reading the letter, you put the jade slip into a drawer.]

[Manager Luo Bin is already able to handle things on his own.]

[You pull up the system panel.]

[Luck Value: 1223.]

[The growth is pleasing.]

[At this rate, the two-thousand-point luck safety line will be reached soon.]

[Cultivation must break through as soon as possible!]

[Age 47, the ninth day of the eighth month.]

[The secret chamber is filled with spiritual energy.]

[The bottleneck at the peak of Foundation Establishment Level 2 was already covered in cracks.]

[Tonight, accompanied by a shattering sound.]

[That final barrier broke at the sound!]

[A majestic torrent of spiritual energy pulses through your entire body.]

[The vortex in the dantian expands suddenly, a full thirty percent larger than before!]

[foundation establishment level 3, achieved!]

[You exhale the residual waste air from your body and open your eyes.]

[Feeling the spiritual energy surging within you.]

[The meridians have widened again, several times tougher.]

[The sword of luck hanging over your head has finally been pushed back a certain distance.]

[The rest of the time at age 47 passes without incident.]

[Under your guidance, Shen Tian officially enters the peak of Qi Refinement Level 5.]

[Liu Qingqing's alchemy skills break through to Rank 3 middle-stage, becoming the true pillar of the medicine shop.]

[Days flow like water, quiet and steady.]

[——]

[Age 48, the first day of the second month.]

[Ding—]

[The annual trait draw is triggered.]

[Without any warning.]

[A radiant light explodes!]

[Your gaze suddenly freezes.]

[It's not white.]

[It's not green.]

[It's not blue.]

[It's not even purple.]

[It's golden light!]

[The piercing golden light instantly fills the wood house, dyeing everything in pure gold.]

[The last golden trait was 'Wealth Returns After Being Spent.']

[It laid the foundation for everything you have now.]

[And that was a reward for triggering a hidden mission.]

[But this time, it's a solid draw of your own—]

[Within the endless golden light, a line of text never seen before.]

[Begins to slowly take shape, stroke by stroke.]

[Golden Trait—]