Dao of Money

Chen Ren crashed down on the ground as soon as the flying sword broke.

He heard Wang Jun groan beside him as he landed on his back, sand scattering around them, but they hadn’t been too high in the air for the fall to deal any significant damage. Chen Ren immediately pushed himself up, brushing grit from his sleeves as he spotted Yalan right beside him, having survived the fall without issue.

On the left, Li Xuan had fallen the same way. The flying sword lay crushed beneath him, its structure shattered, but the man himself looked mostly fine aside from the rough landing.

Chen Ren spared him only a brief glance before lifting his eyes.

Thunderblade Sect cultivators hovered in the air above, glaring down at him. There were four of them, lightning crackling faintly around their bodies. As he shifted his gaze toward the ground, he saw even more faces looking at him—ones that were clearly not on his side.

It didn’t surprise him that Thunderblade Sect cultivators had turned against him. After his conflict with Yun Zhaotian, it had been inevitable. Still, he had hoped they would put aside their anger on the sixth floor, at least until they escaped it. It seemed his luck wasn’t that good.

What made it worse was that Thunderblade Sect wasn’t alone.

Soaring Sword Sect members stood among them, led by Li Kuangdao, who casually stomped on the corpse of a fallen death knight.

Chen Ren had sent Soaring Sword Sect to speak with Thunderblade Sect, hoping they would put in a good word for him.

Instead, they had taken his plan and told it to them. He could clearly see that.

The only silver lining he could see was Li Xuan. The man stood up slowly, looking utterly confused, as if he couldn’t even fathom what was happening.

Chen Ren doubted that was acting. The man genuinely had been kept out of this.

Princess Yanyue slowly stepped away from the sect members, her expression turning cold as the royal guards immediately tensed around her. She snarled. “What is going on, Li Kuangdao?”

Li Kuangdao inclined his head slightly, though there was no real respect in his posture. “We have nothing against you, Your Highness. We are happy to have you on the lift with us once we deal with this pest who thinks he can pit Guardian sects against each other.”

“He’s with me,” Princess Yanyue replied instantly. “Going against him is going against the royal family.”

A few Thunderblade Sect disciples stifled their laughter, faint smiles spreading across their faces.

Li Kuangdao’s grin widened. “No, it’s not. He has nothing to do with the royal family. Your father won’t bat an eye if he dies.”

“But I will,” Princess Yanyue shot back, stepping forward. “Do you all really want to offend me?”

Li Kuangdao spread his hands casually. “I respect you, Princess Yanyue, but you are still a princess. If you have any grievances against our sect, our elders will be sure to offer remuneration.” His smile sharpened. “After we are out of the pagoda. For now, you can’t stop us.”

Princess Yanyue gritted her teeth, fury flashing across her face. Even Chen Ren could see it clearly now—the two sects had no intention of backing away. If he had to guess, Li Kuangdao had used him to secure some kind of agreement with Thunderblade Sect, gaining an advantage for climbing the pagoda. There was no other reason the rival sects would stand together like this, especially here.

Before Chen Ren could react, Zi Wen and the twins moved behind him. Little Yuze lowered its body with a low growl, and even Whiskey bared its teeth at the surrounding disciples.

Li Kuangdao took a step forward, resting his hand on his hips.

“So, Chen Ren,” he said lightly, “why don’t you just let me kill you, so we don’t waste too much time? I’ll even let your party leave here unscathed. Though, they would miss out on getting on the lift.”

Yalan snickered at the words, and even Chen Ren cringed slightly at the cliché threat. He simply shook his head and spoke two words that made Li Kuangdao stop mid-step.

“Fuck off.”

For a moment, silence fell.

Li Kuangdao paused, several disciples freezing alongside him, clearly not expecting that response. Chen Ren continued calmly in a flat voice.

“Do you really think I’ll just do what you say? You might be used to bossing people around in your sect, but I’m not one of them.”

Li Kuangdao let out a slow sigh. “You aren’t even at the peak foundation establishment realm, and we are dozens.”

“Dozens?” Chen Ren replied without hesitation. “Dozens of idiots.”

Li Kuangdao’s expression darkened, a frown forming again, but before he could respond, Chen Ren noticed movement coming from the central streets of the city.

At first, he wondered if the Zombie Queen herself had arrived.

But then he saw who it really was.

Yun Zhaotian.

The Thunderblade and Soaring Sword disciples who had gone to free him followed behind, moving quickly toward them. Chen Ren’s eyes narrowed. He had already suspected it, but seeing Yun Zhaotian advancing with a wide grin confirmed it—they hadn’t given him the Raging Blood Pill like planned.

Chen Ren’s original intention had been simple: Yun Zhaotian would consume it, lose control, and rampage alongside the freed prisoners, creating chaos large enough to cover their escape.

Instead, the plan had failed.

He had once heard that in business, bad partners were among the worst mistakes one could make. The same clearly applied here.

Chen Ren didn’t move as Yun Zhaotian and the rest drew closer. Any sudden action would invite a storm of attacks, and right now, he was perfectly willing to stall for time.

Finally, Yun Zhaotian arrived and landed beside Li Kuangdao.

He looked around with a mocking smile on his face before speaking, voice filled with ridicule.

“Didn’t expect to see me here?” Yun Zhaotian said. “My junior sister told me all about your pathetic plan to kill me, Chen Ren. But as you can see, I’m well above you.”

Chen Ren didn’t hesitate. “No, you aren’t. I just had bad partners.”

Yun Zhaotian scoffed.

“They’re just honest people.”

Princess Yanyue let out a sharp laugh. “They’ll betray you too if they think they benefit more from it.”

Yun Zhaotian turned toward her, eyes flashing. “Looks like you haven’t listened to reason, Princess Yanyue. But that’s fine. I’ve always wanted to fight a royal without holding back.”

As he spoke, lightning began gathering in his palms, a violent storm forming between his fingers. The air crackled, qi surging outward.

Chen Ren instantly understood there would be no more talking.

So he glanced down at Yalan.

She met his eyes, stretched her body, and leapt forward.

Her tail ignited instantly, flames roaring to life as streaks of fire shot toward their enemies. Li Kuangdao scoffed.

“Those pesky flames won’t do any—”

He was cut off when the flames didn’t move like ordinary fire.

Instead, they expanded, stretching outward and upward, growing into a massive blazing wall that surged between the two groups, splitting them apart. Chen Ren felt the heat on his skin.

A thunderous blast echoed as Yun Zhaotian’s storm slammed into it, lightning and water crashing against the fire. Steam exploded outward, but the wall barely moved.

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Above them, Thunderblade disciples reacted immediately, flying higher as they rained lightning down toward them. But before they could press their advantage, Little Yuze howled and leapt into the air, jaws snapping shut around one of the flying cultivators.

The wolf slammed him into the ground beneath its paws and released a torrent of flames.

All of it happened within seconds.

Chen Ren didn’t waste the opportunity. “Everyone! Run toward the lift!” he shouted.

At once, they rushed toward the lift, ignoring the cultivators behind them. Securing it mattered more than anything else now. But the enemies did not stay idle. More cultivators rose over the flaming wall on flying swords, lightning and water spears raining down toward them from above.

Yalan grunted in his mind. “I will take care of them.”

She leapt upward instantly, flames gathering around her as blazing spheres formed and shot into the air. Three flying cultivators were struck with deadly accuracy, their defenses collapsing as they were blasted away.

Chen Ren didn’t hold back either. One of the cultivators dove toward him, lowering his sword to strike. Chen Ren fired a lightning bolt immediately, but it missed, exploding into the sky instead. The man grinned mockingly, a spear of lightning forming in his hand—

—but before he could throw it, a sword-shaped arc of qi struck his back.

The cultivator crashed into the ground. Chen Ren turned and saw Li Xuan moving beside him.

“I’m extremely sorry,” Li Xuan said quickly. “I didn’t know they were going to do this.”

Chen Ren glanced at him. “Are you sure about helping me?”

Li Xuan grunted. “I don’t think I’d be any better off with the rest of my sect. The ones that were on my side are mostly dead.”

Chen Ren didn’t question further. There was no time. He simply kept moving toward the lift.

Little Yuze was the first to land near it, followed by Chen Ren and Yalan, then Li Xuan, Princess Yanyue and her royal guards, and finally the twins.

As soon as they reached it, Princess Yanyue said sharply, “Get the lift to start.”

Chen Ren shook his head. “No. We can’t go just yet. We need to keep our side of the deal. If we leave now, we lose a lot.”

At his words, she looked at him as if he had gone completely mad, but Chen Ren simply said, “Remember the plan,” before raising his hand again and sending a lightning bolt blasting into the sky.

Princess Yanyue didn’t argue further. She only grunted and glanced at her royal guards. At once, they moved, pushing their qi outward as a translucent dome formed around the lift, expanding until it covered the entire platform.

Attacks immediately rained down upon it.

Lightning, sword arcs, and torrents of qi slammed into the barrier, its surface rippling violently as cracks began to spread across it. Chen Ren looked up to see the cultivators already upon them, led by Yun Zhaotian, who leapt onto the dome itself and began hammering it with lightning-wreathed palms.

Around him, Soaring Sword Sect disciples swung their blades through the air, sending arcs of destructive qi crashing against the shield. One section flickered dangerously before more royal guards stepped forward, reinforcing it with strained expressions.

Outside the barrier, Li Kuangdao raised his sword and sent a crescent of destructive red energy straight toward Li Xuan’s position.

“I will kill you with my own blade, you traitor!” he shouted.

Li Xuan scowled. “I’m no traitor. It’s all of you who went against the plan.”

His words only made the assault fiercer. Attacks intensified from every direction, the dome trembling violently as the royal guards’ shoulders shook under the strain. Sweat lined their faces, and it was clear they could not hold much longer.

Where Yun Zhaotian struck repeatedly, fractures spread wider and wider across the barrier.

Chen Ren lifted his gaze toward the sky.

It was still empty.

Frowning, he looked down at Yalan.

“Looks like we need to fight after all,” she said in his mind.

Chen Ren exhaled slowly, “Nothing’s ever easy for me in the pagoda.”

And at once, he moved.

He pushed as much qi as he could into his palms and rushed forward just as Yun Zhaotian’s next punch finally cracked the dome. The barrier split open with a sharp sound, and through the opening he forced his way in, widening the gap even as the royal guards struggled desperately to seal it.

The moment Zhaotian stepped through, Chen Ren struck.

Lightning burst around his arm as he used [Thundering Fist], driving his punch straight toward him. The man reacted instantly, meeting the strike with his own fist.

The collision sent a violent shock through Chen Ren’s arm.

It felt as if his bones were cracking from the sheer difference in strength. Lightning surged back through the contact point, zapping into him despite his resistance. Pain shot up his shoulder, but he held his ground.

Yun Zhaotian's eyes burned with pure rage as he pushed forward.

“Just accept your death,” he snarled. “You should be proud you even came this far for being a nobody.”

Chen Ren gritted his teeth, bringing his other hand up to brace against Yun Zhaotian’s fist, struggling to hold him back.

“I might be a nobody,” he said through clenched teeth, “but I’m a nobody with a lot of strong friends.”

Then he suddenly jumped backward.

Yun Zhaotian blinked in confusion, and Yalan launched from Chen Ren’s back.

Her tail ignited in blazing flames as she shot forward through the narrow opening and slammed it straight into the man’s face.

He tried to retreat, but he was too slow.

Though he was a peak foundation establishment realm cultivator, Yalan far surpassed him even while suppressing her cultivation. The impact sent him flying backward into the crowd of cultivators battering the dome with lightning.

Yun Zhaotian rolled across the ground, instantly scrambling back to his feet, fury twisting his expression.

“I’ll kill you and your pesky little pet!”

But as soon as he spoke, a massive cracking sound suddenly echoed across the sky.

A chilling scream followed it.

The next second, every attack, every shout around the dome stopped at once. The cultivators froze on the spot, flinching as they turned toward the sound.

Chen Ren also lifted his gaze, releasing a breath of relief as he saw the source.

Han Qingshi charged towards the lift, riding atop a raging sand elemental, the rest of Frostpeak Sect behind him—

—and chasing them, tearing through the air with terrifying speed, was the Zombie Queen.

***

A/N - You can read 30 chapters (15 Magus Reborn and 15 Dao of money) on my patreon. Annual subscription is now on too. Also this is Volume 2 last chapter.

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