LightReader

Chapter 2 - Destiny Has High Returns

I will compound.

That conclusion did not fade after the golden interface vanished. It remained, steady and calculated, like capital locked into a long-term growth strategy. I had lost one life mid-expansion. I would not waste this one wandering without structure.

This world was different from my previous one in a fundamental way.

Here, lifespan was not mysterious.

It was negotiable.

The stronger a cultivator became, the longer they lived. Break through a realm, gain decades. Enter a higher stage, gain centuries. Reach legendary heights, and time itself bowed before you. Wrinkles slowed. Aging retreated. Death became distant, not inevitable.

In my previous world, time was an unstoppable tax.

In this world, time was equity.

And equity belonged to the powerful.

I had been reborn with low spiritual roots. That verdict still echoed in my mind like a financial downgrade stamped in red ink. It meant my cultivation speed would be slow. It meant breakthroughs would require more effort. It meant that no matter how disciplined I was, there would always be those born ahead of me.

Talent here was inheritance.

It was generational capital.

Some children were born into noble clans with deep spiritual foundations and rare bloodlines flowing through their veins. They did not struggle for opportunity — opportunity pursued them. Elders invested resources in them without hesitation. Techniques, treasures, guidance — they were handed advantages the way heirs receive trust funds.

I had none of that.

I was born into poverty, with weak roots and uncertain prospects.

If cultivation was the stock exchange of this world, I had entered as a low-confidence asset with minimal backing.

Yet the system did not awaken without purpose.

The 1000x Investor did not care about my roots.

It cared about women.

Any gift I gave to a woman would return multiplied benefits, ranging from 2x to 1000x, depending on her aptitude, beauty, destiny, and potential.

The wording was precise.

Aptitude.

Beauty.

Destiny.

Potential.

These were not shallow attributes. In a cultivation world, beauty was often a reflection of bloodline purity or spiritual affinity. Aptitude determined cultivation speed. Destiny determined how far fate would push someone upward.

In other words, the system was guiding me toward high-growth assets.

This world was filled with women whose futures would blaze brighter than the sun. Sect prodigies who would one day command armies. Noble daughters with ancient bloodlines sleeping within them. Cold beauties hiding monstrous talent behind indifference. Overlooked girls who would shock the world with sudden ascension.

Women whose valuation had not yet peaked.

If I invested early — before their breakout — then I would be positioned at the foundation of their rise.

When they ascended, I would ascend.

When they broke through, I would break through.

When they gained lifespan, power, and status…

I would compound alongside them.

The realization was intoxicating.

Cultivation often demanded isolation. Many pursued strength by severing attachments, suppressing emotions, and discarding relationships. Power was described as lonely for a reason.

But what if loneliness was inefficient?

What if attachment, when structured strategically, was leverage?

Romance in this world was not merely affection. It was alliance. It was shared destiny. Powerful couples could dominate regions. Powerful alliances could reshape sect politics.

And a harem?

A harem was not indulgence.

It was diversification.

One woman with moderate talent might return 10x. Another with rare constitution could return 200x. A once-in-a-generation genius with heaven-defying beauty and terrifying potential could yield 1000x.

Not all investments would peak at the same time.

That was fine.

Diversified growth reduces volatility.

I did not need to be the strongest in raw cultivation. I needed to align myself with rising stars before the world priced them correctly. I needed loyalty before fame. I needed trust before power distorted relationships.

And beneath the strategy, there was something more human.

In my previous life, I worked alone. I planned alone. I built slowly and quietly, surrounded by noise but fundamentally isolated. I never reached the stage where I could share the fruits of long-term success.

Here, perhaps fate was offering a different structure.

Perhaps I was not meant to climb alone.

Perhaps I was meant to build something larger than myself — an empire of shared ascension, where affection, loyalty, and ambition intertwined.

The thought stirred something deeper than calculation.

Because even if I spoke of ROI and destiny valuation, I could not deny this truth:

I did not want to be weak again.

Not physically.

Not socially.

Not emotionally.

I did not want to stand at the edge of power, watching others ascend while I remained irrelevant.

If powerful women would rise in this world — if they would shine, conquer, and rewrite history — then I would stand beside them from the beginning.

I would invest before the breakout.

I would support before the recognition.

And when they reached the heavens—

They would not look back alone.

They would look beside them.

At me.

I was reborn a penny stock.

Undervalued. Ignored. Dismissed.

But penny stocks, when accumulated quietly and positioned correctly, become legends.

This cultivation world believes power defines truth.

Very well.

I will accumulate power through destiny itself.

And I will not rise alone.

I will build a portfolio of brilliance.

And together—

We will dominate the cultivation exchange.

---

More Chapters