Chapter 14

Two hundred-yuan bills just happened to blow under his feet, as if precisely placed into his hands.

Lin Mo looked left and right; there were fewer people around than last night, and he didn’t see anyone frantically searching the ground for money.

He quickly reached down, picked up the two hundred yuan, and shoved it into his pant pocket.

Two points of luck value could net him two hundred yuan—so three points would be three hundred, four points would be…

If this pattern kept multiplying, even if he couldn’t achieve Foundation Establishment and become a true cultivator, saving up to become a millionaire wasn’t a dream at all!

In high spirits, Lin Mo immediately decided to treat himself to a big meal.

“Let’s hit the barbecue!”

Lin Mo happily headed toward the barbecue stall.

Unexpectedly, as he approached the barbecue stall, he saw Chu Wange again.

She was still wearing the same red dress, standing exactly as she had yesterday, facing the owner on opposite sides of the charcoal grill.

Lin Mo walked over and greeted her casually: “What a coincidence, here again?”

Chu Wange turned her head, looked at him, and nodded slightly in greeting.

Running into her three times within two days was too coincidental—it made Lin Mo suspect the campus beauty was deliberately “ambushing” him.

But obviously, that was impossible.

Shahe Park’s location was peculiar, situated right between Nanshan No. 4 High School and his residential compound.

Moreover, the school’s supervision of senior students preparing for the Immortal Exam wasn’t as strict as for first- and second-year students; many seniors who obtained leave slips could come out after evening self-study to grab some late-night snacks.

Still, staying until midnight like Chu Wange was rare.

Geniuses really did get special treatment… Lin Mo glanced at her, holding the vegetable-collecting basket and standing motionless, and asked curiously:

“Why are you standing there? Aren’t you collecting vegetables?”

Chu Wange looked at him and said: “I’m out of money.”

Before Lin Mo could respond, the barbecue owner, hands on hips, grumbled:

“Hey, girl, why do you come here every day trying to get free food?”

No money again?

Lin Mo gave Chu Wange a skeptical look—was she planning to chop wood again in exchange for a meal?

The barbecue owner waved his hand impatiently:

“Go, go, go! I run a small business—I don’t do credit! And you, free-loader, are no longer welcome—get lost!”

Oh, now they’re keeping a tab… Lin Mo thought to himself, then raised an eyebrow and said to the owner:

“How dare you talk like that? Look at the money!”

He pulled out the two hundred yuan he’d just picked up and waved it in front of the owner’s face.

Chu Wange’s eyes brightened at the sight of the two red bills.

The barbecue owner chuckled: “Oh? You brought two hundred today?”

I picked it up… Lin Mo tilted his chin: “Yeah~!”

The barbecue owner chuckled again: “Alright then, no discount tonight.”

Lin Mo: “...Boss, no wonder your business isn’t as good as others—this is terrible customer service.”

The barbecue owner sneered:

“Bullshit! My stall is the best within a hundred meters!”

Lin Mo glanced around at the empty park at 1 a.m., then turned back and gave the owner a matching chuckle:

“Well, that’s not wrong.”

The barbecue owner didn’t mind his sarcasm; he snorted and said:

“My skills are this good—even if someone set up a barbecue stall nearby, I’d still put them out of business!”

Lin Mo couldn’t refute that—otherwise, he wouldn’t have come back today after yesterday’s experience.

He was still hungry…

Lin Mo cleared his throat and turned to look, only to find Chu Wange had already started quickly picking up vegetables.

Her speed was astonishing—half the basket was already half-full.

He hurried to join in, snatching up several skewers of his favorite grilled pork belly and tossing them into the collection basket.

Twenty minutes later…

Lin Mo munched on spicy, savory grilled pork belly and casually asked Chu Wange across from him:

“By the way, are you a single-element or dual-element spiritual root?”

He remembered last year’s top Nanshan No. 4 Immortal Exam candidate had been a dual-element Wood-Metal root, but only reached Qi Refining 8th Layer.

Chu Wange’s cultivation base was Qi Refining 9th Layer, so she must at least be a dual-element root.

Chu Wange, head down and eating furiously, mumbled: “Mmmmmm…”

“What?”

Lin Mo hadn’t heard clearly and looked up at her.

She slid one skewer of beef into her mouth with one hand; traces of chili powder clung to her plump lips, giving her a uniquely Sichuan-Chongqing charm.

After finally swallowing the beef, she spoke:

“Single.”

Then she immediately reached for the next skewer.

She was a single-element spiritual root!

Lin Mo silently marveled.

A single-element root, also called a Heaven Spiritual Root.

Because it had only one element, its purity was typically above 80%, and its cultivation speed was several times faster than multi-element roots.

Her Qi Refining 9th Layer cultivation base finally made sense.

If Ye Chen was the Luck-Selected One, boosting his cultivation by grinding pills,

then Chu Wange before him was an absolute genius—her rumored status as an Immortal Second-Generation was merely decorative.

She didn’t need cheats; she herself was the cheat.

Ye Chen had held the title “Luck-Selected One” for three years and still only reached Qi Refining 6th Layer.

Even if he managed to break through to Qi Refining 7th Layer before the Immortal Exam, he’d still be two full layers behind Chu Wange.

Clearly, this year’s top spot at Nanshan No. 4 was no longer in doubt—but Lin Mo wondered where Chu Wange would rank in the entire Xichuan Province Immortal Exam…

As he pondered, Lin Mo suddenly smacked his forehead, snapping back to reality.

Why was he slipping back into “side character thinking”? He’d almost forgotten—he was the protagonist too…

He looked at the Merit Points and Luck Points resting on his interface and grunted inwardly:

This year’s Immortal Exam ranking list will definitely include my name.

For the next month, I’m going all out!

…

…

That night, Lin Mo went home and wrote a diary.

Don’t misunderstand—he was a serious person; he kept a diary mainly to track his daily accumulated Merit Points.

That way, he could reasonably plan his time and use Merit Points to improve himself.

【May 8, clear weather. Total accumulated Merit Points: 2210. Luck Points: 2.

Didn’t pay attention yesterday; today I looked longer—campus beauty’s beauty is truly high, at least 90 out of 100. Looks like I’ve finally met my match in looks.】

【Also, her figure is good too—the Dao robe is huge… (entire line crossed out).】

Lin Mo stared at the note on his phone and muttered to himself:

“I’m doing this for cultivation—it’s perfectly reasonable to record this…”

【May 9, clear weather. Today I spent 1120 Merit Points—not bad, keep going.

That old man at the park came again today; I almost couldn’t resist. Tomorrow I’ll find another spot to stand.

Good news: I picked up another two hundred yuan.

Bad news: The campus beauty came again for free food.

Has she gotten used to it?

The Dao robe is huge… wait, does this count as bodily transaction?

Whatever. It’s money I picked up. As the saying goes: Spend picked-up money fast, or you’ll get bad luck. Definitely not because I’m hungry…】