A few days later, early in the morning.
Lu Yuan finished his daily workout and washed away his exhaustion. As he sat at the table enjoying breakfast, the television in the living room broadcast a series of news reports.
"Three days ago, after reaching the summit of Mount Tai, tourists reported seeing ten thousand rays of radiant light parting the clouds, within which a celestial palace materialized. The incident sparked heated debate online, but was subsequently determined to be a mirage."
"Another earthquake has struck the Sichuan-Chongqing region. However, the tremors were minor; relevant departments have already dispatched rescue teams, and no casualties have been reported so far."
"The eastern Taihang Mountains have recently been blanketed in dense fog, and two tour groups have lost contact. Experts advise tourists to exercise caution when traveling to the area."
"Perhaps the global mutation began long ago, and simply hasn't drawn widespread attention yet."
Listening to the news broadcast, Lu Yuan fell into thought.
These incidents seemed ordinary enough and wouldn't prompt most people to think twice. Yet pondering them carefully now, they appeared to harbor many secrets—each an omen of things to come.
Or perhaps the authorities had caught on early and were already making preparations in secret, suppressing any unusual occurrences to maintain stability.
At this thought, a surge of urgency rose within Lu Yuan. With barely over a month remaining, time was undeniably tight. He had to act as quickly as possible and seize every opportunity he could.
*Ring, ring.*
Just then, his phone rang once again.
Lu Yuan glanced at the caller ID: Manager Zhang from Rongsheng Real Estate. Without hesitation, he picked up.
"Hello, Mr. Lu? It's Xiao Zhang from Rongsheng," came a very courteous voice on the other end. "The formalities for that farm you're purchasing on the outskirts of Wuzhou are all settled, and the title transfer contract has been drafted. It's just..."
"Just what?" Lu Yuan frowned.
"The owner suddenly raised the price on us. The land was originally twenty million, but now they're asking for twenty-five million."
Manager Zhang hesitated before continuing, "That piece of land isn't worth anywhere near that amount. Would you like to wait a bit while I try to negotiate them down?"
"No need. Twenty-five million it is. Just get it finalized as soon as possible," Lu Yuan replied calmly.
"Ah... right, of course! Rest assured, Mr. Lu, I guarantee it'll be done in a few days."
The man stammered in shock. Having worked as a real estate agent for so many years, he had never encountered a buyer this decisive. An extra five million yuan without a moment's hesitation? But he caught himself almost instantly. The higher the price, after all, the higher his commission.
Manager Zhang quickly added, "Also, Mr. Lu, you might need to come over in person when the time comes to sign the papers."
"I've already granted full power of attorney to Rongsheng. You can sign on my behalf."
"This... Are you sure you won't come in person?"
Xiao Zhang on the other end seemed almost unable to believe it. Over twenty million yuan was no small matter. Letting someone else sign off on it just like that—were all rich people this capricious?
"I'm sure. Once it's done, mail the contract to the address I provided. Rongsheng is a major firm; I trust your work. That's all."
With that, Lu Yuan hung up.
His time was limited, with not a second to spare, and he hardly gave the matter another thought.
What did tens of millions matter? It fell far short of what that farm was truly worth in his eyes.
In his memories, before long, Wuzhou would witness a meteor shower seen once in a millennium. The most crucial meteor among them would fall from the cosmos and crash right onto the grounds of the farm he had just purchased.
And within that otherworldly meteorite lay a supreme sword core—a divine relic from beyond the heavens, incomparably rare and beyond any monetary valuation. That was the crucial reason why Lu Yuan had agreed to the markup without hesitation. When the time came, he would be able to claim it before anyone else.
Having handled that, he opened his phone, found a contact in his messaging app, and typed out a line:
*Lu Yuan: Lawyer Wang, have you established contact with Mount Longhu?*
A reply arrived almost instantly.
*Lawyer Wang: Hello, Mr. Lu. I'm already in touch with them, but there are a few issues.*
*Lu Yuan: If it's a matter of money, that's no problem. I can increase the amount.*
*Lawyer Wang: Not quite that. It's mainly that the Daoist masters of Mount Longhu are difficult to communicate with. They said there have been many donors lately and asked you to wait.*
*Lu Yuan: Ten million. Go back and negotiate.*
*...*
*Lawyer Wang: Understood.*
The conversation ended.
Lu Yuan smiled, his thoughts drifting to Mount Longhu. As the ancestral court of Daoism, Mount Longhu was steeped in myth and legend. Following the global mutation, its prestige only grew, producing numerous towering figures.
Naturally, Lu Yuan wasn't donating so much money just to curry favor with Mount Longhu in advance or seek their protection. He was after something far more important: a wordless stele.
Embedded within that stele was a supreme Daoist divine ability of immense power. In his previous life, someone had relied on that very ability to dominate the world, sweep across the eight wildernesses, and overcome every obstacle. Naturally, at this moment, no one else in the world knew about it besides Lu Yuan. He intended to exploit that advantage and secure the wordless stele before anyone else.
According to Mount Longhu's rules, if a donor contributed a sufficient amount, they could designate a personal sanctuary on the mountain for lay practitioners. The stele was exceedingly heavy, making it impossible to carry off openly. His only option was to make a massive donation to demarcate the stele within the boundary of his sanctuary first, and then devise another way to handle it later.
Still, for Lu Yuan, as long as it was a problem money could solve, it wasn't a problem at all.
"The land in Wuzhou and the donation to Mount Longhu... Once those two things are settled, the initial preparations will be nearly complete." Lu Yuan exhaled slowly. This was only the beginning; he had an entire slate of plans left to execute, and every second truly counted. Otherwise, he wouldn't be delegating everything to others.
Besides, once these matters were taken care of, Lu Yuan would have to leave Shanghai. He simply couldn't be in two places at once.
Putting his thoughts aside, he checked the time on his phone; it was already nearly nine o'clock. He promptly picked up the pace of his breakfast.
After tidying up a bit, he left the living room and headed to the garage.
Inside, there was only a single vehicle: the latest 2025 Mercedes-AMG G63, with a market price of around four million yuan. Of course, set against Lu Yuan's net worth, that figure was utterly negligible. He had bought it simply because he considered it cheap and practical.
"I wonder how those people will react when they see me drive this to the class reunion," Lu Yuan thought, shaking his head.
The truth was, during his college years, he had kept an exceptionally low profile, appearing utterly ordinary in every respect. The reason was his parents' philosophy of raising a son in frugality; they believed that early exposure to excessive wealth would corrupt the mind and stunt personal growth. Because of this, his college classmates had always assumed his family belonged to the ordinary working class.
Inserting the key, he started the engine.
Lu Yuan drove out of the villa.
Chapter 3