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Chapter 2: Peering into Opportunity, Turning Misfortune into Luck
The colossal beast stood tall between heaven and earth, its size indescribable; only an outline was visible. Jet-black all over, it resembled a massive tortoise entwined by a giant snake, exuding a peculiar Daoist rhyme.
Gu Han had never seen this creature before, yet he somehow knew its identity: it was one of the Four Spirits of Heaven and Earth known as Xuanwu, also called the Tortoise-Snake. The snake symbolized the Old Yin among the Four Symbols and winter among the four seasons.
[ The tortoise possesses longevity and can communicate with Yin and Yang, while the snake is agile and amasses wealth. Xuanwu is able to peer into heavenly secrets and divine good or bad fortune ]
Hiss!
Suddenly, a massive surge of memories appeared.
Gu Han finally remembered that he came from a place called the Blue Planet and was reborn into this Fighting Qi Continent.
Before his rebirth, he was a rural orphan who grew up on the charity of others. After reaching adulthood, he donned yellow robes to serve the people, often dreaming of striking it rich. He would scour street stalls for 'antiques' to find a bargain, and his only hobbies during his time off were reading novels and watching domestic anime on his phone.
The last of his memories was of watching the battle through the heavens anime. He was so repulsed by the production, especially the Queen's new character model, that he lightly slapped the table in frustration. However, he accidentally hit an 'antique' tortoise shell and lost consciousness.
"Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming of Zhuang Zhou?"
Fifteen years later, the awakening of these long-buried memories left Gu Han somewhat dazed.
In this life, he was an orphan in a directly governed town at the foot of the Cloud Mist Sect, within the borders of the Jia Ma Empire in the Northwest Continent of the Fighting Qi Continent.
At the age of six, a deacon from the Cloud Mist Sect discovered his excellent latent talent and brought him up to Cloud Mist Mountain to become a Preparatory Disciple and begin practicing Qi. At fourteen, he possessed Ninth Stage Dou Qi Practitioner, and now, with three months left until he turned fifteen, he was already capable of attempting to break through to Dou Fighter.
The Cloud Mist Sect's ranking for disciples was the same as Jia Nan Academy's: Eighth Stage Dou Qi Practitioner was F-rank, Ninth Stage Dou Qi Practitioner was E-rank Potential Value, One-Star Dou Fighter was D-rank, and so on. The highest tier was Five-star Dou Fighter, which was S-rank. However, the age limit was eighteen instead of twenty.
The difference in age limits was likely due to the nature of a sect versus an academy; one is a private enterprise with training classes, and the other is a private university.
Since training class results determine entry into the private enterprise for work, the investment must consider the return, so the rules are naturally stricter.
"Whether it's the butterfly or Zhuang Zhou, I am Gu Han. Both Gu Hans are me."
"I didn't expect to be reborn in the Major Thousand Worlds's Fighting Qi Continent."
"Was it because I was watching the battle through the heavens anime at the time?"
A sense of clarity from his soul allowed Gu Han's thoughts to return to tranquility.
The overlapping memories of two lives greatly increased his understanding of the Fighting Qi Continent, and he couldn't help but ponder his future path.
As a Cloud Mist Sect Disciple, he would face a tribulation in the future coming from the Child of Fortune, Xiao Yan.
As the saying goes, a gentleman is judged by his actions, not his thoughts. Although the Cloud Mist Sect nurtured him because of his talent, he had been able to eat and dress well over the years and focus on his cultivation without distractions, living a life far superior to most ordinary people. He had to acknowledge this kindness; a debt of gratitude must be repaid.
However, this did not mean he had to die for the Cloud Mist Sect, nor did it mean he and Xiao Yan had to be enemies.
If Xiao Yan were replaced by Xiao Ling, he would find a way to kill him without a second thought.
Facing Xiao Yan, however, there was no need to be in a hurry to place him on the opposite side.
"Five years ago, the Sect Leader took Nalan Yanran as a disciple. She is now fifteen. The Three-Year Agreement hasn't been set yet, but I imagine it's not far off."
"But even if it is set, the one who should be worried is Hun Tiandi, not me."
Gu Han knew that the Cloud Mist Sect and Xiao Yan would reach an irreconcilable situation, and the Three-Year Agreement was merely a trigger.
The core reason was that Xiao Yan killed Mo Cheng, and the Great Elder Yun Ling, feeling slighted, used the incident as a pretext to make things difficult.
After the appearance of numerous Dou Emperor's and Dou Ancestor in a confrontation, the matter could have ended there, but Yun Ling couldn't let it go and went to the Xiao Family to cause trouble.
The Hun Clan took advantage of the chaos to capture Xiao Zhan, leading Xiao Yan to blame the Cloud Mist Sect, which resulted in the subsequent three ascents to the Cloud Mist Sect and their life-and-death struggle.
"I'll take it one step at a time."
"Ensuring that the Cloud Mist Sect's inheritance is not extinguished will count as repaying the debt of my upbringing."
"As for Xiao Yan, I'll reserve judgment until I've met him; I can't let filters and preconceived notions lead me."
"If his character is indeed decent, I can become friends with him. Once he becomes the Flame Emperor, I can ride his coattails to a win all the way to the Endless Fire Territory."
"If his character is lacking, I will keep him at a respectful distance and wait for the Planar Passage to open, then go to the Major Thousand Worlds to intercept the opportunity belonging to Mu Chen's father."
With this thought, Gu Han prepared to cultivate seriously.
Everything would depend on strength to achieve.
At that moment, his consciousness was suddenly withdrawn to the depths of his soul, where he saw a tortoise shell.
"My transmigration and rebirth are indeed related to this tortoise shell!"
Gu Han's pitch-black eyes brightened.
Just then, a stream of information arrived, making him understand many things.
This tortoise shell was manifested from a one-billionth fragment of Xuanwu's shell and was bound to his soul.
As his strength increases, the tortoise shell fragment will gradually be repaired. Currently, it only possesses the ability to peer into heavenly secrets.
To avoid being detected by the firmament tablet, the consciousness of this world's Heavenly Dao, the number of uses is limited.
During the Dou Qi Practitioner stage, he can obtain information on opportunities once per day, which resets after midnight.
Upon reaching the Dou Fighter, he can obtain opportunities twice; as a Dou Master, three times; as a Great Dou Master, four times; and so on.
Furthermore, as his strength improves, the tortoise shell will recover more abilities and divine abilities to provide him with more help.
The opportunities he can peer into each day will primarily be those he most urgently needs and has the ability to obtain.
If it were to tell him the location of a Dou God Tomb now, he would not have the strength to enter it.
As his strength increases, he will not peer into useless intelligence.
"Does this count as me obtaining the Xuanwu inheritance?" Gu Han's chest heaved slightly.
Transmigrators really do have cheats; it seems this life will be easier than he imagined.
"I'll try it once first."
"Deliver the intelligence in the manner of the intelligence systems from the novels I read in my previous life."
Gu Han could not wait to use this cheat.
["Guan-guan" cry the ospreys upon the river's islet; the modest and virtuous lady is the chosen mate for the prince.]
[As it is in nature, so it is in the heavens: the male does not dwell alone, and the female does not live in solitude. Like the great Xuanwu, where the tortoise and snake entwine to support one another, their union is a manifestation of destiny.]
[Two distinct souls, entwined and absolute, ultimately complementing one another to complete the cycle of power]
A mysterious and profound voice rang out.
Immediately after, a piece of information entered Gu Han's mind.
[Because of your lack of cooperation, Mo Qing did not take first place in the Preparatory Disciple Competition. He is extremely angry and has asked the Outer Sect Disciple Mo Feng to teach you a lesson.]
[Tomorrow at 8:00 AM, Mo Feng will intercept you on your way to the Hall of Skill Transmission to teach you a lesson. He will use a special Dou Technique to leave internal injuries in your body, causing your first attempt to break through to Dou Fighter to end in failure and your cultivation to drop back to Eighth Stage Dou Qi Practitioner.]
After digesting the information, a flicker of coldness passed through Gu Han's eyes.
He was just an orphan and could not compare to others who had the support of a family or household behind them.
The reward for first place in the Great Competition was very generous to him. Mo Qing wanted him to yield just by asking; of course he wouldn't agree.
As for Mo Qing's retaliation, it was within his expectations, but before his memories returned, he hadn't expected a fellow disciple to strike so ruthlessly.
"This intelligence came just in time; I must respond carefully."
Gu Han lowered his head to ponder his strategy for a moment before throwing himself into cultivation.
All schemes and intrigues are paper tigers in the face of absolute strength.
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was late at night. The bright moon hung high in the sky, and the stars were twinkling.
Gu Han felt that the Xuan Tortoise could be used again and immediately peered into the heavenly secrets.
[In the Cloud Stream Valley behind Cloud Mist Mountain, after entering and walking a hundred paces, then another hundred paces south, there is a path hidden behind a rock leading to a small Spirit Nurturing Ground. It was discovered fifteen years ago by Mo Cheng, who secretly transplanted a thousand-year jade spirit fruit tree. Five jade spirit fruits will ripen tonight at 1:15 AM and will be picked by Mo Yu at 5:45 AM]