Chapter 1: Gambling Dogs Die a Bad Death

  Tianxuan Continent.

  Divine Firmament Sect.

  At this moment, it was early morning.

  The four suns in the sky slowly rose, an auspicious time to start the day. Cultivating now brought twice the result with half the effort.

  In a secluded courtyard, Yu Ke also slowly got up, yawning.

  Afterward, he sat cross-legged on the bed, gently pcing his hands on his knees, assuming a meditation posture.

  But before long, he colpsed onto the bed like an "old tree with gnarled roots."

  Until the sun rose high in the sky.

  Sunlight streamed through the window onto Yu Ke’s face.

  It was warm and comfy.

  “…Damn it… I overslept, I'm te for work!”

  Yu Ke suddenly jolted awake.

  He leaped up from the bed and did a diving slide... only to freeze mid-action.

  Oh… right, he’d transmigrated. Never mind then.

  It’s the fourth day since he transmigrated, still having some residual stress responses.

  In his past life, Yu Ke was an idealistic, ambitious, first-time goody-two-shoes youth.

  But as the years passed, at 18, he firmly believed: My fate is mine to command, not Heaven’s.

  By 24: If you say it’s 3000, then it’s 3000.

  Now that he’d transmigrated, well since I’m here, might as well make peace with it.

  This was a Xuanhuan world, cultivators could fly through the skies, dive beneath the earth, move mountains and fill seas, nothing was impossible.

  As for the original owner of this body, he had been an outer sect disciple of the Divine Firmament Sect, and his cultivation had already reached the perfection of the Second Heaven Step, his strength was considered good among outer sect disciples.

  Upon achieving perfection, one could begin forging their Dao Foundation.

  However, the original body’s owner was a bit too eager to “advance.”

  After only four years in the outer sect, he had already attempted to forge a superior-grade Dao Foundation, preparing to enter the inner sect!

  I know you’re anxious but take a breath first.

  And so... he died.

  With an unstable foundation, he forcefully tried to establish his base, resulting in his soul scattering, and then enter Yu Ke.

  Yu Ke sat back down on the bed, let out a long sigh, emotions surging within him.

  The worst part—

  “The original's foundation is destroyed, his body severely damaged. Superior-grade Foundation Establishment is now a fantasy. Even achieving a normal Foundation Establishment will be incredibly difficult, it’s almost impossible to continue cultivating.”

  “Three months from now is the four-year Outer Sect Evaluation. Outstanding performers will be rewarded, while those who fall behind will be demoted to menial disciples.”

  This time, the sect was pcing great importance on the cultivation progress of outer sect disciples, and the rewards were more generous than ever.

  This was one of the reasons the original owner had rushed to establish his foundation.

  But now that he had failed, and his cultivation had plummeted, he was most likely doomed to be demoted to a menial disciple.

  A menial disciple meant being stuck doing chores all day with no time to cultivate.

  At the beck and call of outer and inner sect disciples, living a useless life.

  A trace of unwillingness fshed in Yu Ke’s eyes, who would want to be a beast of burden their whole life?

  This young master wants to cultivate immortality!

  Fortunately, there were still three months left, maybe there was still a silver lining.

  What he was most anxious about now was that the original body owner had spent all five years’ worth of savings, sold off every single treasure to buy resources for Foundation Establishment.

  He put all his eggs in one basket!

  In the end, he even borrowed from everyone he could, racking up a mountain of debt.

  In his past life, just fresh out of university, he had dreamed of walking the world with a sword but after getting spped around by society, he realized the sword’s gone, but the repayment notices still remain.

  He had thought transmigration would let him escape housing loans, car loans, and get a new start. Once again my fate is mine to command!

  And yet, he’s walking the same road all over again.

  Could it be… he was born with the Innate Indebted Physique?

  “As expected, gambling dogs never end well. Going all-in only harms yourself and others.”

  “Foundation Establishment failed, treasures destroyed.”

  “Aside from the two spirit stones in his pocket, he has absolutely nothing.”

  “This is a doomsday starting hand!”

  Thinking of the original body’s string of decisions, Yu Ke couldn’t help but start cursing.

  Divine Firmament Mountain wasn't a charity either!

  Even outer sect disciples like him had to pay for food, lodging, martial arts training, and even asking questions about cultivation.

  None of it came free, it all required barter. And the currency wasn’t mundane gold or silver, but cultivators’ wealth, spirit stones.

  Put simply: No money, no progress!

  The original had thought that once he succeeded in achieving a Superior-Grade Foundation Establishment, the sect would reward him handsomely.

  Nice pn… how about not pnning next time?

  Right then, his mind suddenly erupted like a volcano, radiant light bursting forth.

  Damn, damn, damn what’s going on!

  Yu Ke was utterly flustered.

  A small cauldron, swirling with chaotic energy, appeared in his mind.

  “Wait… isn’t this that millennium-old antique I bought on a second-hand ptform in my past life for 9.9 yuan with free shipping? You even get 3 yuan cashback for a good review.”

  After receiving it, he only managed to unwrap the packaging before the cauldron vanished. He regretted it for a long time.

  Tried buying another and found it priced at 99,999 yuan.

  So… that earlier “discount” was practically cremation-level clearance.

  And then he just forgot about it.

  Could this be… his cheat item?

  Looking at it, the little cauldron was covered in countless intricate patterns. Mountains and rivers looked almost real. Birds and beasts danced across the surface. Trees and flowers seemed vividly alive, masterful craftsmanship that took one's breath away.

  Its name surfaced in Yu Ke’s mind naturally:

  [Kunxu Cauldron]

  A relic from the Kunxu World, embodying 'one cauldron, one world.'

  Then, numerous arcane symbols appeared in his mind, radiating golden light, beckoning him to read them.

  But… I can’t read this!

  The golden light shifted, turning into symbols like Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.

  Still can’t read this crap!

  Just as he was getting frustrated, the artifact revealed its spirit and transformed once more.

  Boom!

  [Cauldron Master: Yu Ke]

  [Eligible for Celestial Reincarnation into the Kunxu World.]

  [After each reincarnation, the cauldron master will gain Destiny Bonuses and retain all memories and insights.]

  [Retrieving reincarnation profile… success]

  [Loading: “Identity,” “Fate,” “Talent”…]

  ...

  Yu Ke finally understood, feeling inexplicably excited.

  This so-called Celestial Reincarnation was a mysterious method that could simute reincarnation.

  Through it, one could create a virtual identity and reincarnate into the Kunxu Cauldron, the so-called Kunxu World.

  As long as one achieved something in that world, they could obtain substantial rewards.

  Isn’t this just a copy-paste of my past life’s dungeon raids and level-ups?

  Kunxu World, game instance.

  Celestial Reincarnation, game character.

  Identity, Fate, Luck!

  What were these three?

  The light screen kept changing, [Please select your identity:]

  1. Righteous Sect2. Imperial Noble Cn3. Demonic Sect

  Time to choose a character!

  Yu Ke rubbed his hands together, This feeling… it's back.

  After a brief moment of thought, he chose 1. Righteous Sect.

  In this life’s memory, Divine Firmament Sect was part of the righteous faction. Currently, righteous and demonic sects were bitter enemies. If he wanted rewards, aligning with righteousness was safer.

  If he ter got demonic sect rewards, the sect would probably dispatch someone on the spot to arrest him.

  No thank you!

  With the Demonic Sect ruled out, the [Imperial Noble Cn] was clearly no better, those pces ran on bloodlines and reincarnation luck!

  After choosing, the screen changed [Fate and Luck are predestined and cannot be altered. Retrieving now…]

  [Retrieval complete]

  Fate: [Late Bloomer]

  Talent: [Eye for Talent]

  Yu Ke looked at these two and fell into thought.

  No direct benefits to martial arts or cultivation, but not bad, barely passing grade.

  [Character has been created. Begin Celestial Reincarnation?]

  Yu Ke didn’t hesitate, success or failure hinged on this!

  “Yuan…?”

  A deep voice echoed in his mind.

  Wrong script!

  “Celestial Reincarnation, Activate!”

  The Kunxu Cauldron suddenly trembled, and a crimson light point fell like a meteor into the cauldron, stirring up ripples.

  [Celestial Reincarnation has begun. Every choice you make now represents a fork in the road of your life. Choose carefully.]

  [One day outside equals ten years inside.]

  [Location refreshed.]

  [Kunxu Realm, Central Pins, Qing Kingdom.]

  [Qing Emperor Huizong Zhou Jie took the throne. During his rule, corrupt ministers and eunuchs held power, bleeding the people dry. The court was rotten to its core, and the common folk lived in misery.]

  [The emperor became obsessed with Daoism, establishing 26 ranks of Daoist officials, and bestowed vish saries upon them.]

  [The people starved, rebellion erupted across the nd, and war engulfed the nation.]

  [Taking advantage of the chaos, the northern nomads of the Northwind Xuan Kingdom split into two armies, one east and one west, and marched south in attempt to annex Qing.]

  [Emperor Huizong pinned his hopes on a Daoist named Guo Jin, hoping the “Six Jia Technique” could turn the tide. But the divine army suffered a crushing defeat, and the enemy captured the capital.]

  [On the day the city fell, Emperor Huizong along with his concubines, royal family, thousands of officials, musicians, artisans, ceremonial staff, and all the treasures, maps, and relics of the empire was taken north. The capital’s public and private assets were completely plundered, leading to the demise of Northern Qing.]

  [With the north fallen, patriots across the realm scattered their wealth, raised volunteer armies, and resisted the Northwind.]

  [News reached the south, and in panic, Emperor Huizong’s younger brother was crowned emperor, founding the era of Yongxiang, heralding a new age.]

  [In the first year of Yongxiang, in the te spring you were born.]

  (End of chapter)