The Technique of Equivalent Exchange

Lu Yang leaned back slightly, seemingly intimidated by Meng Jingzhou's Golden Cores. Two Bachelor Golden Cores. Even Daoist Shendu hadn't dared pull off something like that. These truly were cores unprecedented in all of history. Searching for the right words, he phrased his question delicately. "Two Bachelor Golden Cores... are you sure that won't make you even more hopelessly single?" Meng Jingzhou waved a hand dismissively. "That's where you fail to see the bigger picture. As the saying goes, extremes breed opposites, and great misfortune heralds good fortune. When something reaches the absolute extreme, it naturally shifts toward the opposite pole. The same applies to my Golden Cores. Now that my bachelorhood has hit rock bottom, it has to turn around for the better—my luck with women is bound to flourish! In fact, I already saw signs of this on the flying boat ride back." "What happened?" "While aboard the flying boat, some backwater landed squire with a bit of pocket change was throwing his weight around, bullying the weak. I couldn't stomach it, so I casually flashed my status as the Eldest Young Master of the Meng Family, scaring him down to his knees to beg for mercy! Right then, several rather attractive women gathered around me, completely swept off their feet by my personal charm." "...You're really deep into your own delusions, aren't you?" Meng Jingzhou acted as though he hadn't heard Lu Yang's jab. His eyes practically sparkled, as if a glorious future lay right before him. "In short, I have broken the curse that plagued generations of Bachelor Spiritual Root cultivators! A new life awaits me!" "Oho, this little fellow's Golden Cores are rather intriguing," the Immortal Fairy's voice chimed in right on cue, immediately seizing Lu Yang's attention. "What do you mean, Fairy?" Lu Yang wondered inwardly whether this rascal Meng Jingzhou really had managed to shatter the ancestral curse of the Bachelor Spiritual Root. "Have you ever heard of a certain type of curse spell?" the Immortal Fairy asked, sounding deeply mysterious. Lu Yang shook his head. Aside from the voodoo jinx the Fairy had once placed on the Ancient Barbarians, he had never heard of curse spells. "Though called a curse, it is actually an exchange—or rather, a fundamental rule. Some have named it the 'Technique of Equivalent Exchange.' When using spells of this nature, whatever you sacrifice is balanced by what you gain in return." "For example, you're quite clever, aren't you, Lu Yang? You could use the Technique of Equivalent Exchange to trade away your intelligence in exchange for peerless, invincible combat power!" "That's incredible!" Lu Yang was genuinely astonished. The Immortal Fairy was immensely satisfied with his reaction. "Heh-heh, now you see how knowledgeable I am! I'd wager not a single soul in this era of yours knows of such magic. You're the very first in your age to learn about it!" "Do you know how to cast it, Fairy?" Lu Yang's interest was thoroughly piqued. If he could learn it, wouldn't he be able to trade whatever he wanted and become invincible? The Immortal Fairy shook her head, splashing cold water on his hopes. "No one can learn this spell. Or rather, anyone who actively seeks to learn it will never master it." Lu Yang was completely bewildered by this bizarre logic. Those who wanted to learn it could never do so—did that mean someone who had no desire to learn it could? "Precisely. Those who don't want to learn it are the ones who can master it." The Immortal Fairy continued, "The Technique of Equivalent Exchange requires no study. When the right moment arrives, it manifests naturally on its own. "And the person unleashing it often has no idea they have cast a spell at all. "It is just like the very first human in history who ever cast a spell. He didn't deliberately study or practice it; rather, multiple factors fell into place at once, and the spell manifested as a matter of course." "I see." Lu Yang was noticeably disappointed. He had thought he was about to learn a brand-new technique. Then he realized something was amiss; without realizing it, the conversation had wandered far afield. "Wait a second, weren't we discussing Meng Jingzhou's Golden Cores? How did we end up talking about the Technique of Equivalent Exchange?" "We haven't strayed at all. It wasn't obvious before, so the thought didn't occur to me, but taking a closer look now, that kid surnamed Meng has already cast the Technique of Equivalent Exchange." "How so?" The Immortal Fairy analyzed the matter in earnest, unraveling the secret of the Bachelor Spiritual Root. "Why is the Bachelor Spiritual Root so powerful? Because it sacrifices one's chances of romance in exchange for terrifying cultivation talent and combat strength! That is pure, textbook Equivalent Exchange! "Normally, if an ordinary Bachelor Spiritual Root cultivator sleeps with a woman, the penalty is simply having his pure yang body broken, permanently halting his cultivation progress. But now that it has been doubled and reinforced by two Bachelor Golden Cores, if he ever gets intimate with a woman, his cultivation will plummet off a cliff! "That kid surnamed Meng reinforced the 'Bachelor' aspect of his spiritual root. With the desperate resolve of burning his boats behind him, he traded it for the pinnacle of battle prowess. Across every generation of Bachelor Spiritual Roots, he should be the absolute strongest!" Lu Yang's eyelid twitched. If Meng Jingzhou ever found out about this, his guts would probably turn green with regret. Out of goodwill, Lu Yang asked, "Is there any way to undo it?" "Yes. The Technique of Equivalent Exchange cannot affect an immortal. The kid surnamed Meng just needs to become an immortal." "..." Leaving aside whether Meng Jingzhou could even become an immortal, even if he could, how many ages would that take? Only five immortals had ever emerged during the entire ancient Golden Age, and who knew how many had appeared over the last three hundred thousand years—Eldest Senior Sister had never told him. Becoming an immortal was harder than ascending to heaven. Lu Yang fell into thoughtful contemplation. "In other words, Meng Jingzhou traded the happiness of his lower half for the power of his latter half." Truly admirable. "Hey, why are you looking at me like that?" Meng Jingzhou found Lu Yang's gaze strange and hard to describe—almost like... pity? Meng Jingzhou stretched lazily. "I just formed my core, and fighting in the dense forest wasn't enough to satisfy me. Watch me go loosen up on the arena stage." Having formed an unprecedented pair of Bachelor Golden Cores, he had to show off no matter what. Before Lu Yang could respond, Meng Jingzhou settled the bill and strode off toward the bustling arena nearby. A match had just concluded on the platform, and the two combatants were stepping down. Meng Jingzhou leaped onto the stage, radiating brilliant golden light like a miniature sun. "Haha! I have just formed my core! Would any Senior Brother or Senior Sister care to step up and offer some pointers?" Meng Jingzhou had reasoned that back when he was at Foundation Establishment, he naturally couldn't defeat his seniors. But now that everyone was in the Golden Core stage, how could he possibly lose? "Allow me." A bald senior brother who seemed to have achieved minor mastery of the Buddhist Golden Body jumped onto the stage. Smiling amiably, he said, "Junior Brother Meng, please show some mercy." The bald senior brother was named Zheng Jing, a cultivator of the late Golden Core stage, though he was hardly conspicuous among the sect's Golden Core seniors. "Haha! Senior Brother, please don't hold back! I am no longer the man I was before!" Meng Jingzhou laughed heartily. Shortly afterward, Lu Yang used a wood clone and carried Meng Jingzhou down on a stretcher. "Such a perfectly fine fellow—why did he have to go looking for death?" Lu Yang sighed, secretly grateful for his Invincible Core, which always let him know who he could defeat and who he couldn't. Otherwise, he would have ended up just like Meng Jingzhou, carried off on a stretcher. Had Meng Jingzhou still been in Foundation Establishment, Senior Brother Zheng wouldn't have struck so brutally. But now that Meng Jingzhou had formed his core, was tough as nails, and possessed formidable regenerative power, Zheng had naturally held nothing back. Just as Lu Yang was preparing to carry Meng Jingzhou back, three figures blocked his path. Lu Yang looked up to find familiar faces—Master Liu and Master Gao from the barbecue shop. "Please come with us."