"Hello."
Lu Yuan answered his phone with a brief acknowledgement.
"Mr. Lu?" A deep, steady voice came through the receiver. "I just landed. All the paperwork and formalities are taken care of."
"Understood. Your pass for Christie's is sorted, and the hotel is booked. The card has more than enough funds. Remember, no matter what happens, that item must be secured. Contact me immediately if any issues arise."
Lu Yuan spoke calmly, laying out several instructions in a single breath.
Christie's—one of the world's most renowned auction houses, renowned for assembling rare and precious works of art from every corner of the globe.
And this upcoming auction happened to feature something Lu Yuan needed.
He had hired a professional operative to fly abroad and secure it.
"Understood, Mr. Lu."
After answering and clarifying a few details, the man hung up.
Lu Yuan took a sip of red wine, opened his phone's photo gallery, and brought up several images.
Captured in the photos was a yellowed ancient Chinese book. Its text was not ordinary Chinese script, but oracle bone characters from antiquity. Foreign paleographers had examined it and suspected it was related to Laozi's *Daodejing*, dating back at least two thousand years.
Unearthed in China a century ago, it had ended up abroad amid wartime chaos, passing through multiple hands before finally coming into Christie's possession.
Word had gotten out not long ago that it would be featured as one of the auction lots.
Under normal circumstances, the appearance of such an artifact would have sparked massive discussion back home.
However, Chinese experts believed it was likely an ancient forgery. Its word count and chapters differed considerably from the surviving version of the *Daodejing*, meaning that aside from its antiquity, its research value was minimal.
Only Lu Yuan knew that the book at Christie's was the complete *Daodejing*.
The world believed the text contained only eighty-one chapters.
In reality, there were a hundred and eight.
The version passed down in China was merely an incomplete remnant, stripped long ago of its most crucial portion.
In his previous life, after the global mutation had reduced him to an insignificant nobody, Lu Yuan had heard that an extraordinary power had comprehended the complete *Daodejing*. That master had tempered both flesh and soul to perfection, commanding power capable of shaking stars and a soul that could commune with the divine, walking the cosmic expanse at will. It was truly a supreme scripture, no less valuable than Tianzhu's Ancient Bodhi Tree!
Now that he had resolved to right his past regrets in this life and ascend to the supreme pinnacle, the complete *Daodejing* was an indispensable piece of the puzzle.
"The Ancient Bodhi Tree cost nearly a hundred million, and this trip to Christie's will run at least tens of millions more. An ordinary person really couldn't afford this," Lu Yuan murmured with a sigh, locking his phone.
Just like before his rebirth, he was still a wealthy heir.
His parents had died in a car crash a year ago, leaving behind a family fortune of tens of billions.
The difference was that in his past life, once he inherited the estate, he had done nothing but squander it relentlessly without a single thought for the future.
While that fortune was certainly enough to sustain a lifetime of extravagance, the subsequent global mutation established a world where power reigned supreme and the weak were meat for the strong. No matter how much money one had, it all turned into worthless paper.
In his previous life, Lu Yuan had plummeted directly from a carefree scion of wealth to a minor character at the bottom.
Even though he had stumbled upon a few lucky encounters, none of them were enough to change anything.
Having endured that era of jungle law where dignity was trampled underfoot at whim, he understood with absolute clarity just how vital strength was. Without power, one existed solely to be bullied.
Therefore, the very first thing Lu Yuan did upon returning through rebirth was lay plans for the future. He liquidated assets and aggressively converted them into cash, not hesitating even if it meant driving prices down. The mysterious Shanghai tycoon who had made headlines for dumping massive amounts of stocks and real estate was none other than him.
To outsiders, this move appeared utterly foolish; after all, everything his parents had left behind consisted of healthy, prime assets. Selling them off meant losing millions every single day.
Yet Lu Yuan did not care in the slightest.
In a little over a month, the global mutation would arrive, rendering any amount of wealth useless.
In the new era, people would not compete through money, but through themselves.
The villa he currently occupied, for instance, was also part of his inheritance, originally bought merely for peace and quiet.
After his rebirth, he had remodeled it from top to bottom, intending for it to serve as a concealed staging ground where he could prepare in secret over the coming weeks.
"The Ancient Bodhi Tree is already in hand, and the complete *Daodejing* shouldn't encounter any mishaps. Next are the other divine artifacts that awaken after the mutation." Lu Yuan focused his thoughts, his mind racing as plan after plan took shape.
Indeed, these two items alone were not enough.
Before the mutation arrived, he needed to gather as many supreme divine objects as he knew of.
Only then would he be adequately equipped to face every crisis that might arise when the new era dawned.
One step ahead meant every step ahead, keeping him ahead of everyone else!
*Buzz, buzz, buzz.*
A sudden vibration from his phone interrupted his thoughts.
He picked it up and saw messages in his college class group chat.
Li Sisi: *Our one-year graduation anniversary is coming up! We haven't had a class reunion in forever.*
Wang Zibo: *Yeah! @Li Hansheng, Class Monitor, got any plans?*
Li Hansheng: *Of course. I've already booked rooms at the Yunzhong Grand Hotel. Full package—food, drinks, entertainment. Everyone make sure to come!*
Li Sisi: *Whoa, isn't that the best five-star hotel in Shanghai? That's tens of thousands a day! Class Monitor, you're spending too much!*
Chen Song: *@Li Hansheng, uh, Class Monitor, do we need to chip in?*
Li Hansheng: *No need. Zhou Yunqiong is coming this time too. Yunzhong Grand Hotel is owned by her family, and she already gave them a heads-up. Just come have fun, everyone.*
Wang Zibo: *What? Goddess Zhou Yunqiong is coming? In that case, I'm definitely not missing it!*
Chen Song: *Count me in too! Haven't seen classmate Zhou in ages.*
Zhang Wei: *I'll definitely be there!*
Zhao Pengfei: *+1.*
Qian Gang: *+1.*
Various male classmates: *+1.*
Li Sisi: *Look at you all. The second you hear Yunqiong is coming, you all pop up. Typical guys.*
Li Hansheng: *What are you talking about, Li Sisi? We're not the ones happiest about this. That title belongs to a certain someone.*
Wang Zibo: *Paging @Lu Yuan here.*
Classmates: *Paging @Lu Yuan here...*
Li Sisi: *Right, Lu Yuan had a crush on Yunqiong for four whole years. He must be thrilled out of his mind right now, right?*
Li Hansheng: *@Lu Yuan, stop lurking! Pop in and tell us whether you're coming or not!*
Looking at the long string of messages on his screen, Lu Yuan shook his head and tossed the phone aside.
In his previous life, he might have been interested and replied enthusiastically. Now, he couldn't care less. Time was running out; a so-called class reunion held no meaning for him.
As for the girl he had liked, after living through the global mutation and countless bloody battles, feelings of that sort had long ceased to matter to him.
There was simply no need to reply.
Yet just as he was about to stand up and leave, his eyes flickered.
He picked up the phone again, opened the messaging app, and slowly typed a single word: *"Coming."*
His reason for changing his mind was simple: he remembered that an item he needed was connected to this class reunion, so he had to go.
With that settled, Lu Yuan gave it no further thought.
He turned and walked straight into the villa's gym area to begin training.
With a little over a month remaining until the global mutation, there was a great deal he needed to accomplish.
Certain divine artifacts could not be acquired simply by sitting at home and buying them. He had to go fetch them in person, and some of those locations were exceedingly perilous. Lu Yuan needed to build a formidable physique first.
Chapter 2