Several days later in the early morning.
Lu Yuan exercised as usual, washing away the fatigue from his body.
Sitting at the table enjoying breakfast, the television in the living room emitted bursts of sound.
[Three days ago, a tourist claimed to see countless rays of colorful light in the clouds when reaching the summit of Mt. Tai, with the Celestial Palace appearing within the glow, sparking heated discussions online. It was later identified as a mirage.]
[An earthquake occurred again in the Chuanyu Region, but the tremors were minor. Relevant departments have organized rescue teams to respond, and no casualties have been reported so far.]
[The eastern part of the Taihang Mountain Range has been shrouded in mist recently, with two tourist groups losing contact. Experts advise caution for upcoming travels.]
"Perhaps the global anomaly had started long ago, but it just hasn't caught attention yet."
Listening to the news broadcast on TV, Lu Yuan began to ponder deeply.
At first glance, these happenings seemed ordinary and didn't warrant much thought.
But upon careful consideration, they appeared to harbor many secrets, indicating some sort of omen.
Perhaps the authorities had long been aware of this and made preparations in secret, suppressing any unusual occurrences to maintain stability.
Thinking to this point, a sense of urgency welled up in Lu Yuan's heart. There was only just over a month left, and time was undeniably tight.
So, he had to act quickly, seizing every opportunity.
Ring ring.
And just at this moment, the phone rang again.
Lu Yuan glanced at it; the caller ID showed it was Manager Zhang from Rongsheng Real Estate. Without hesitation, he answered.
"Hello, is this Mr. Lu? This is Xiao Zhang from Rongsheng." The voice on the other end was very polite: "The procedures for the farm you purchased in the Wuzhou Suburbs are all completed, and the property contract is ready, except..."
"Except for what?" Lu Yuan frowned slightly.
"The seller suddenly raised the price. Originally, the land was twenty million, but now they want twenty-five million."
Manager Zhang's tone was a bit hesitant as he continued: "That land really isn't worth that much. Do you want to wait a bit longer? I can help you negotiate the price down."
"No need, just twenty-five million, you guys settle it quickly." Lu Yuan spoke plainly.
"Ah... okay, okay, Mr. Lu, rest assured, I guarantee to get it done within the next few days."
The other party was momentarily tongue-tied. In all his years as a real estate agent, he had never encountered such a straightforward buyer, agreeing to a five-million increase without hesitation?
But he quickly realized, hastily adding that the more money, the higher his commission.
However, Manager Zhang quickly continued: "Also, Mr. Lu, you may need to come over to sign a document when the time comes."
"I've entrusted everything to Rongsheng, you can sign the contract on my behalf."
"This... are you sure you don't want to come in person?"
On the other end, Lawyer Wang seemed incredulous.
Over twenty million is no small matter, letting someone else sign for you—is this how rich people are?
"I'm sure. Once it's done, just mail the contract to the address I gave you."
"Rongsheng is a big company, I trust you to handle it. That's it."
After saying this, Lu Yuan directly hung up the phone.
For now, time was limited, and he couldn't waste even a minute. It seemed he didn't concern himself with this issue at all.
How much are tens of millions anyway?
Nowhere near the value of that farm in his eyes.
He remembered that it wouldn't be long before Wuzhou City witnessed a once-in-a-millennium meteor shower.
The most significant meteor was predicted to crash into the land within the farm he purchased.
Within that meteor was said to be a Supreme Sword Embryo, a Divine Artifact from beyond the skies, unparalleled, unable to be measured by money. This was the crucial reason Lu Yuan needed to secure the farm despite the price increase, allowing him to be the first to search for it.
After handling those matters.
He opened his phone again, found a name from the chat app, and typed a line of text.
Lu Yuan: Lawyer Wang, is everything arranged with Dragon Tiger Mountain?
The message was promptly replied to, almost instantly.
Lawyer Wang: Hello Mr. Lu, I am in contact with them, but there are still some issues.
Lu Yuan: If it's a matter of money, that's not a problem, I can add more.
Lawyer Wang: Not exactly, it's just that the Taoist priests at Dragon Tiger Mountain are difficult to communicate with. They say there are many donations recently, and ask you to wait.
Lu Yuan: One million, keep negotiating.
...
Lawyer Wang: Understood.
The chat ended.
Lu Yuan smiled at this and immediately thought of Dragon Tiger Mountain.
Dragon Tiger Mountain was the Daoist Ancestral Court, steeped in mythological color.
Especially after the global anomaly began, its status only increased, producing numerous great figures.
Of course, Lu Yuan wasn't donating all that money to Dragon Tiger Mountain to build connections or seek protection.
Instead, it was for another, more important item.
A Wordless Stone Stele.
That stele concealed a supreme Daoist Great Divine Techniques, extremely formidable. In the past life, someone used this technique to roam the world, sweeping across eight directions, invincible.
Of course, apart from Lu Yuan, no one else on earth knew about this.
He aimed to capitalize on this, acquiring that Wordless Stone Stele early.
According to the rules of Dragon Tiger Mountain.
If someone donates an amount reaching a certain threshold, they could designate a personal laymen's temple within Dragon Tiger Mountain.
That stele was heavy, so he couldn't openly take it away. Instead, by making a large donation, he could first have the stele included within the temple area, then find another way.
But to Lu Yuan, as long as it could be solved with money, it wasn't a problem.
"The land in Wuzhou, the donation to Dragon Tiger Mountain—once these two things are done, the initial preparations should be about complete." Lu Yuan exhaled a breath of turbid air. This was just the beginning; he still had a series of unimplemented plans, definitely racing against time.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have entrusted others to manage everything.
Moreover.
After these tasks were completed, Lu Yuan needed to leave Hu City, truly stretched thin.
Without further thought, he checked the time on his phone—it was almost nine o'clock.
He promptly sped up his breakfast.
After a brief tidying, he walked out of the living room toward the garage.
There was only one car in the garage, a 2025 latest model of the Mercedes G63, with a market price of around four million.
Of course, this figure was trivial compared to Lu Yuan's worth. He purchased it merely because it was affordable and practical.
"I wonder what those people would think if I attended a class reunion in this car."
Lu Yuan shook his head at the thought.
In fact, he was exceptionally low-key during college, ordinary in every aspect.
This was due to his parents' philosophy of raising him with minimal material influence, believing too much exposure to money too early would corrupt one's mind and not be conducive to growth. Consequently, Lu Yuan's college classmates assumed he came from an average working-class family.
Grabbing the keys, he started the car.
Lu Yuan drove away from the villa.