It was already night.
Su Chen sat cross-legged on the worn meditation platform in his room, eyes closed, breathing steadily as he absorbed Wood Qi from the air. Thin green threads of spiritual energy floated around him like lazy fireflies, drifting into his body as he cultivated in silence.
Everything was peaceful—until suddenly, he felt the earth tremble slightly beneath him.
Drag… thud… tremble…
He opened his eyes. Two faint green lights flickered within his pupils as he scanned the room. The wooden ornaments on the shelves were shaking, and the incense burner wobbled dangerously on the edge of the table.
He frowned.
"The hell? Am I cultivating too hard, or is the building about to collapse?"
To confirm, he activated the Wood Sensing Technique. His spiritual perception spread through the wooden foundation of the house, reaching out like invisible vines.
A moment later, he sensed it—massive spiritual fluctuations. Explosions of energy, shockwaves rumbling through the ground. And the source?
The arena.
"Hoh… so a fight broke out, huh?" Su Chen rubbed his chin.
"If I use this opportunity well… maybe I can earn some cultivation resources."
His eyes gleamed.
Without hesitation, he activated the Five Elements Escape Technique, selecting Earth Escape. His figure began to blur, slowly merging into the ground where he sat. A moment later, he reappeared near the grand gate of the arena.
The arena gate was crowded, and two Foundation Establishment guards stood by the entrance.
A large sign displayed:
Admission Fee: 500 Low-Grade Spirit Stones
Su Chen instinctively reached into his robes.
Empty.
"…Of course," he muttered. "Still no change."
Not one to be held back by trivial things like 'rules' or 'laws,' he simply slipped through the gate quietly. Thanks to his Outsider Aura effect, nobody noticed him as he passed the ticket counter like a ghostly freeloader.
Inside, the atmosphere was electric. The stands were packed with shouting cultivators, all losing their minds over the brutal fight taking place in the arena below.
"YEAH! BAI KUANG! SLASH THAT SON OF A BITCH WITH YOUR SABER! GO FOR HIS—!"
"COME ON, YUN ZHENHAI! BLAST YOUR THUNDER INTO THAT GUY'S BUTT! MAKE HIM SUCK ON YOUR THUNDERBOLT!"
Su Chen blinked.
"…What kind of commentary is this?"
The entire arena was roaring, every spectator screaming in support of their chosen fighter.
And in the center of it all, two Foundation Building cultivators were going all out.
Su Chen activated his Wood Sensing Technique again, his spiritual sense spreading through the surrounding trees like invisible roots probing the earth. But he wasn't looking for herbs or enemies—no, he was after something far more important.
He was looking for money.
"A fight like that breaks out in the arena, and no one's betting?" He scoffed. "Impossible. Then this world has truly gone mad."
In this cultivation world, the fastest way to earn spirit stones and resources wasn't honest labor or cultivating behind closed doors—it was gambling.
"Of course, gambling is the path of degenerates," Su Chen said solemnly, nodding like a wise monk. Then he smirked. "People like me... ahem... naturally take a higher path."
He tapped his fingers together.
"Why gamble... when I can just rob the winner?"
And this isn't robbery. I'm just helping the poor by robbing the rich. These people are rich, I'm poor—so helping myself is like helping poor people. It's charity, really, he reasoned shamelessly.
With that holy declaration, his senses locked onto a nearby location buzzing with spiritual energy, noise, and excitement. His lips curled.
"Found it. Where there's noise and fools, there's money."
He slowly slipped into the crowd, blending in without drawing attention, and made his way toward the area where the real action was happening—the betting zone.
The arena was massive, capable of holding over a hundred thousand people, but today it wasn't even one-tenth full. Still, the noise from the spectators was loud enough to make anyone think a war was going on.
He quietly approached a large green jade table surrounded by cultivators. On it lay a chaotic pile of treasures—spirit fruits, mid-grade weapons, piles of spirit stones, and even some rare-looking items like a glowing white stone and a blood-red crystal split cleanly into two halves, both emitting special auras. Everything was divided into two sections based on which fighter people were betting on.
Su Chen stood at a corner, arms crossed, peacefully watching the fight unfold in the arena. He didn't even spare a glance at the jade table. Why?
Because four peak Core Formation realm cultivators stood nearby, acting as judges and organizers.
'Tch. Just because they can't sense me right now thanks to my Outsider Aura doesn't mean I can casually touch their betting pile,' Su Chen thought.
'One slip and their whole gang will jump me to death before I can even scream, "Wait! I was just checking! Not robbing! It's a misunderstanding!"'
So, he waited.
"HEY HEY! SMASH HIS TEETH IN! DON'T GIVE HIM A CHANCE TO BREATHE!"
"YOU BLIND BASTARD, DIDN'T YOU EAT TODAY?! SWING HARDER!"
The crowd was in full beast-mode, shouting with bulging veins like their entire bloodline's fortune was riding on this match. The atmosphere was so heated, Su Chen couldn't help but get swept up in it.
Before he knew it, he was leaning forward, eyes gleaming.
"Yeah yeah! Just like that! Don't be useless!"
A few minutes ago, he'd thought the fight was boring—just another dumb brawl.
But now?
This was peak entertainment.
'Damn... I haven't touched a phone in months… If it weren't for meditation making time fly, I might've died of boredom by now.'
Both Bai Kuang and Yun Zhenhai were fighting ruthlessly for their lives. Su Chen didn't know what the organizers had promised or threatened them with, but whatever it was, it worked. They were fighting like their souls were on fire.
He quickly tossed aside those thoughts and focused his eyes on something more important—finding a target who could help him with his… noble mission of redistribution.
Soon, his gaze landed on a fat female cultivator seated in the VIP section, devouring food like a spiritual beast in human form. Servants stood behind her, offering trays full of dishes like offerings to a goddess.
From her attire—ornate robes, lavish ornaments, and jewelry that sparkled even in dim light—it was obvious she was filthy rich. Her aura screamed high status, and judging by the greedy glances people threw her way, she was on everyone's radar.
But no one made a move.
Either they were scared, or just waiting for the right opportunity.
All of this made one thing very clear to Su Chen:
She was the perfect sacrificial lamb for his upcoming robbery plan.