Chapter 4

"Professor Zhang from Dongshan University." Lin Dong didn’t even blink.

"..." The shop girl, seeing that he didn’t speak, didn’t force it and changed the subject: "What would you like to buy?"

Lin Dong pretended to look around and then casually pointed to a broken jade disk that was placed in the corner, looking unremarkable: "How much is this?"

Upon hearing this, the shop girl smiled.

Lin Dong was puzzled by her smile. It was just a purchase, was it really that funny?

Hearing that Lin Dong wanted to buy the jade disk, the old man who was sipping tea nearby raised his eyebrows and looked over with curiosity, carefully examining Lin Dong as if trying to reassess this young man. The red-faced giant didn’t have the old man’s sharp hearing and was still whispering to the man with black-rimmed glasses, discussing the progress of a project.

The shop girl, with her ethereal and fair skin, barely managed to suppress her laughter, put down her hand, and elegantly bowed to Lin Dong: "I’m sorry, this is a family heirloom. Though it’s simple, I dare not sell it without permission."

"Why put it out if you’re not selling it?" Lin Dong was puzzled.

"It’s a token of trust," the shop girl explained. "Many years ago, my great-grandfather parted ways with a friend here, promising to meet again. However, due to circumstances, my great-grandfather never fulfilled his wish before he passed away. To honor his promise, our descendants have passed down this jade disk, waiting for the descendants of my great-grandfather’s close friend, hoping that one day we can comfort the elders."

"Is that so? What a touching story," Lin Dong clapped his hands in praise. Without waiting for the shop girl to speak, he pointed to a small ink jade gourd, no bigger than a thumb: "This one isn’t a token of trust, right?"

"This one? No, it’s not," the shop girl gently shook her head.

"Then it’s for sale." Lin Dong put on a foolishly rich look: "I like this jade gourd. How much does it cost?"

"Ten million," the shop girl’s words startled Lin Dong. "You’re so cute, but you’re deadly, aren’t you? Please, you’re a beauty, not a killer!"

"Do you think it’s worth ten million?" Lin Dong was dazed. No one prices things like that.

"I don’t know if it’s worth ten million, but I have a feeling that even if I sell it to you for ten million, I’ll still be at a loss," the shop girl answered seriously. The ink jade gourd was something she found by chance. Neither the jade quality nor the craftsmanship was top-notch, but because the place where she found it was special, she wasn’t sure. So she put it in the shop, hoping that someone who knew its value could reveal its mystery. When Lin Dong first asked about the jade disk, she didn’t pay much attention, but when he changed the topic, she immediately realized that this young man’s target was the small ink jade gourd, which she couldn’t figure out.

"I don’t have ten million," Lin Dong looked at the ink jade gourd and then at the shop girl, sighing.

"I figured you didn’t. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have said ten million," the shop girl covered her mouth and laughed.

"You’re amazing!" Lin Dong gave her a thumbs up.

The shop girl smiled without a word.

Lin Dong shook his head and sighed, then turned to leave.

The old man who had been observing him seemed to want to call out to Lin Dong but shook his head, picked up his teacup, and sipped his tea.

Today’s visit to the jade street was quite fruitful. Thanks to the ‘generosity’ of Xiang Qi and a few other shop owners, Lin Dong got three high-quality pieces of jade without spending a penny. If he hadn’t entered the ‘Yoyo Hut,’ Lin Dong would have been in a great mood, thinking that today’s weather was perfect for talking about friendship. But after leaving the ‘Yoyo Hut,’ Lin Dong felt the weather wasn’t good, at least not good for shopping...

If the shop owner were a man, or if the shop girl looked like a Jurassic creature, the outcome would have been completely different.

Unfortunately, the shop girl was too beautiful to resist.

Especially with her resemblance to the ethereal fairy.

It made him sigh even more.

"There will be another chance," Lin Dong thought. This was just the beginning of his comeback. He wasn’t in a hurry. What was his would eventually be his.

He went back to his small nest, had a good sleep, and then went to the street corner for a half-satisfied dinner.

The little sister, worried that Lin Dong would eat himself to death, was highly tense, holding her phone, ready to call an ambulance the moment he collapsed. But her concern was unwarranted; Lin Dong only ate until he was half-satisfied. To avoid scaring the little cutie, Lin Dong didn’t ask for a doggy bag when he paid the bill.

There was a shadow moving at the street corner.

Lin Dong glanced at it but ignored it.

He wandered around the street, enjoying the fresh air and admiring the beauties. Along the way, he tried some snacks, which, though average in taste, gave him a wonderful feeling of revisiting them after ten years.

Back home, he continued to sleep deeply, forgetting all about being a diligent cultivator.

In the morning, he woke up, stared blankly for a while, and then, when he finally came to his senses, realized he needed to focus on his cultivation. Otherwise, he would drift further away from the ethereal fairy. Opening the window, he saw the beautiful sky, the sun shining brightly, casting a golden glow over everything. A gentle breeze blew, rippling the stillness of his heart, and the silhouette of the ethereal fairy faintly appeared.

"I won’t let you wait too long," Lin Dong clenched his fist.

After crossing over, due to his poor circumstances and lack of proper guidance, he could only learn some low-level techniques from an old beggar, like the ‘Turtle Snake Technique.’

But cultivation is like painting on a canvas. A blank canvas is the best start. For Lin Dong, who had to survive by practicing the Turtle Snake Technique, the Cloud Ascension Technique, and the Black Tortoise Body Cultivation Technique, his cultivation was scattered and not focused, which was a bad thing. If a canvas were to be painted with children’s crayons, sketches, ink, and oil paints all at once, it wouldn’t become a world-renowned masterpiece.

There is only one foundation.

If these low-level techniques were to consume it, there wouldn’t be much room left for practicing high-level techniques.

For a while, several elders from prestigious sects sighed over Lin Dong’s foundation being ruined by low-level techniques. If, at the beginning of his crossing over, Lin Dong could have entered a prestigious sect and been properly guided by a high-level technique, his future would have been limitless.

Unfortunately, everything cannot be redone.

Of course, for a homeless Lin Dong, practicing low-level techniques was an inevitable result. Otherwise, how could he have survived in the cultivation world?

The old beggar was very despicable, often extorting and exploiting Lin Dong, but Lin Dong was genuinely grateful to the old man. Without the old man and his teaching of the Turtle Snake Technique, Lin Dong would have starved to death in the early days of his crossing over...

"Perhaps losing all my cultivation is not a bad thing," Lin Dong looked at the blue sky and the floating clouds, suddenly remembering something. Whether intentional or not, if carefully analyzed, there were doubts. With the ethereal fairy’s supreme power, it should have been easy for her to detect a little thief who sneaked into the forbidden area to read her sect’s secret manual, right?

The Star River Nine Heavens Technique is something every cultivator in the world desires and craves.

Why was it so easy for me to get it?

Regardless of her intentions, Lin Dong had to sincerely thank her for giving him a chance to start over!

"Effort, with this opportunity to start anew, I must not辜负苍天之美意." Lin Dong took out a low-grade spirit stone from his storage ring, sat in the Five Hearts to Heaven posture as required by the Star River Nine Heavens Technique, cleared his mind, and calmly and peacefully absorbed the energy from the spirit stone.

Before cultivation, the body must be purified.

Lin Dong was usually lazy.

But when it came to serious cultivation, he was quite dedicated.

He held the spirit stone and sat for three days. When he woke up from his meditative state, it was already the afternoon of the third day.

The purification was effective. Lin Dong’s body emitted a very unpleasant odor, not foul, but a murky mix. The clothes he wore were unusable and had to be sealed and discarded. After a thorough wash, he barely returned to his original fresh and clean appearance.

He went downstairs to eat.

As usual, it was the Big Mouth Delicacies at the street corner.

"Uncle, why haven’t I seen you for a few days?" The little cutie asked curiously when she brought the dishes.

She was concerned about Lin Dong for a reason.

First, it was his looks. In this face-conscious world, although the little sister thought he was an uncle, it didn’t stop her from appreciating his cool appearance. Second, his voracious eating habits, which she secretly photographed and posted online, earned her many followers. Many fangirls and non-mainstream fans commented that the hungry ghost-like Lin Dong was very cool and strongly requested more updates. Some even became brain-dead fans, leaving messages every day saying they were willing to sacrifice themselves to cure Lin Dong’s heartbreak... Thus, the missing Lin Dong became the focus of the little sister’s daily attention, and she even thought he had committed suicide.

Lin Dong decided to eat to his heart’s content.

To celebrate his upcoming cultivation of the Star River Nine Heavens Technique and his rise to become a great cultivator.

Due to his good mood and the significant improvement in his physical condition after purification, Lin Dong unknowingly ate a super-sized meal for ten people.

The little sister, who was secretly taking photos, was both happy and worried.

She was happy because the updates were guaranteed, and the number of followers would definitely surge with today’s photos. However, she was more worried about Lin Dong’s stomach, fearing it might burst with a loud pop. The little sister thought that if Lin Dong continued eating like this, his stomach would definitely burst, even if not today, then in the future.

Even if he was heartbroken, he didn’t need to self-destruct like this.

It was too scary!

The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became, almost to the point of tears!

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