Dao of Money

As soon as the butler’s expression had shifted when Chen Ren declared he would serve the youngest child of the great House of Long, he understood why.

The seventh floor was not merely about impressing a house member to gain access to the lift. It was about reputation, influence, positioning, and climbers who served powerful figures would naturally gain visibility, connections, and perhaps even rewards beyond simple ascension.

Serving under a ten-year-old child offered none of that.

There was no battlefield glory, political prominence or an obvious path to influence.

The butler’s surprise had not been about courtesy, it had been about simple logic.

But as Chen Ren looked down at the ten-year-old girl sitting at the table, watching him with bright, curious eyes, he knew he had made the correct choice.

Her gaze sparkled.

The maid stepped forward slightly and announced, “Young Miss Long Niao, this is a climber who has chosen to serve under you.”

At once, the girl sprang up from her chair. Her small hands pressed against the table as she leaned forward, eyes wide.

“Really?” she asked eagerly. “What’s your name? Did my mother send you?”

Chen Ren stepped forward calmly and offered a polite bow.

“My name is Chen Ren. I am a merchant, and the sect leader of the Divine Coin Sect. And no, your mother did not send me. I chose you myself.”

Her eyes widened even further.

“You chose me? Really? Why would you choose me?”

Chen Ren smiled gently. “Why not? You seemed like the best one to serve under.”

She blinked. “Better than my brothers and sisters?”

“Yes,” Chen Ren replied without hesitation. “I felt you were the best for me. If there is anything you would like me to do,” he continued, “you may tell me, Young Miss Long Niao.”

For the first time since he entered the room, she fell silent.

The excitement on her face softened into something more thoughtful. She seemed… taken aback by the simple fact that someone had chosen her.

Chen Ren could tell from her first reaction that she had not expected any climber to choose her.

There had been surprise. Then excitement. And now—

Uncertainty.

She clearly did not know what to do next.

Chen Ren did not rush to fill the silence. He simply stood there calmly, hands behind his back, deliberately lowering his presence and making himself appear as harmless as possible.

After a few moments, she lifted her chin and looked at him again.

“If you are a climber,” she said carefully, “can you tell me more about the world outside the pagoda? Is it really as dangerous and mysterious as my mother once told me?”

Chen Ren nodded.

“I can tell you all about it. As for dangerous… I think the danger is similar to the pagoda. But it is not as mysterious as your home.”

She tilted her head slightly.

“Outside, the world is vast,” Chen Ren continued. “But most of the civilized lands are ruled by a single dominant empire.”

Her eyes widened. “Only one? Here, the pagoda is ruled by so many different powers.”

Chen Ren smiled faintly. “There is a long history behind it—some parts no one fully remembers anymore—but the Kalian Empire is enormous. It stretches across most of the continent.” He paused before adding casually, “I actually work with Princess Yanyue of the Kalian Empire. She is part of the royal family.”

Long Niao’s eyes sparkled again. “So she’s like me?”

“Yes,” Chen Ren said with a small smile. “She is just like you. A member of the ruling family.”

Her expression grew thoughtful at that comparison. Chen Ren’s gaze drifted toward the book on her table.

“What are you reading?” he asked gently.

Long Niao hesitated, her fingers lightly touching the page. “It’s… a book about martial arts.”

Chen Ren raised an eyebrow slightly. “Are you interested in cultivation?”

She did not answer immediately. For a moment, her bright expression dimmed just a little.

Then she nodded.

“Yes. I am. I’m not good at it… but I’m trying to read and understand.”

Chen Ren smiled gently and glanced at the empty chair beside her.

“Do you mind if I sit, Young Miss?”

She quickly shook her head. “You can sit.”

Chen Ren took the seat beside her without hesitation, leaning slightly forward to look at the book spread across the table.

From the diagrams drawn across the parchment, he could tell it was a movement technique. The lines illustrated footwork patterns and qi circulation paths that emphasized lightness and directional bursts.

It was unfamiliar to him, but he could guess that it was a wind-aspected martial technique.

He frowned slightly inwardly.

The butler had clearly said she was not interested in combat. Yet here she was, studying a technique that was clearly combat-oriented, or at least mobility-focused.

The butler had not seemed like a man who lied.

Which meant one thing.

She was interested in combat, but others didn’t know about it. As far as he could tell, there was a reason that others believed she was not.

And as that thought formed, Chen Ren’s eyes sharpened slightly.

A quest line.

If his understanding of the pagoda’s structure was correct, every NPC had a path—an entry point that could deepen trust and influence. Just like quests in games. And this book sitting in front of him might very well be the key to Young Miss Long Niao’s quest.

“It looks like a technique that would suit you,” Chen Ren said calmly. His gaze traced the patterns on the page again. “A wind-aspected martial technique, I think.”

She nodded slowly. “Yes. I like the wind element.”

“Because it’s fast?” Chen Ren asked.

She nodded again. “Yes. And because… at higher realms, wind cultivators can fly on their own. They don’t need flying swords.”

For a moment, her voice lifted with excitement.

Then it dropped.

“But my brothers told me that’s not a good reason to choose a wind technique. They think I should focus on other things. They say I don’t have as many spirit roots as they do… so I won’t reach higher realms anyway.”

She looked down at the book again.

“They said there’s no point.”

Chen Ren paused when he heard that.

Either her brothers were not particularly kind to her… or competition inside the Great House of Long was so fierce that even a ten-year-old child was not spared from comparison.

“May I know how many spirit roots you have?” he asked gently.

She visibly hesitated. Chen Ren did not push her. She fidgeted her fingers on the table and thought.

After a few moments, she looked down and answered quietly, “I have seventy-one. It’s not as much as my brothers and sisters.”

She did not look ashamed saying the number, but she did not look proud either.

Chen Ren nodded calmly. “I see. Young Miss, do you know how many roots I have?”

She shook her head.

“I have twenty-one spirit roots.”

Her head snapped up instantly.

“What?” Her eyes widened as she studied his face carefully. “My father said only peasants have such a small number of roots. But you seem strong.”

Chen Ren smiled faintly.

“I’m strong enough,” he replied. “And no, I’m not a peasant. I simply wasn’t blessed by the heavens with a large number of roots. I’m no genius. Yet I am already in the foundation establishment realm before my thirties.”

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Her expression shifted from surprise to disbelief. “Is that possible?” she asked. “Only a few of my brothers reached that before thirty.”

“It’s simple,” Chen Ren said calmly. “Spirit roots are not the only thing that determine your progress.” He leaned back slightly. “The heavens are vast and mysterious. They offer more paths to cultivators than most people bother to look for. I simply focused on my dao.”

She frowned slightly. “Your dao?”

“Yes.”

“But… isn’t everyone’s dao similar?” she asked. “My mother said craftsmen daos don’t make people stronger. So no one should walk that path. That’s what my ninth brother told me too.”

Chen Ren’s smile deepened slightly. “Your mother is both right and wrong.”

As soon as Chen Ren said that, he heard a sharp gasp from behind him.

He glanced back briefly and saw the maid staring at him as if he had just uttered something blasphemous. Her eyes were wide, lips slightly parted, clearly shocked that someone would claim the head of the Great House of Long could be wrong about anything. She even opened her mouth as if to reprimand him, but after a moment she closed it again, lowering her gaze.

Chen Ren ignored the reaction and turned his attention back to Long Niao.

The young girl leaned forward immediately. “How is my mother wrong?”

Chen Ren answered calmly, his tone patient rather than confrontational. “She’s wrong because she’s viewing everything through the lens of her own martial dao.”

She blinked, confusion evident on her face.

Seeing that she did not fully understand, Chen Ren continued slowly, choosing his words carefully.

“Your mother has already pioneered her path. Naturally, she judges others based on what made her strong. She isn’t wrong to say craftsmen may not be individually powerful in direct combat… but their strength lies somewhere else.”

Long Niao tilted her head slightly. “Where?”

“In creation,” Chen Ren said. “They progress by building. By shaping tools, weapons, formations, and treasures. And at higher realms, that alone makes them extremely dangerous.”

“Dangerous how?” she asked, curiosity growing.

“Because they create advantages others cannot,” Chen Ren replied. “A blacksmith can forge a flying sword to travel faster than others. He can create armor that turns fatal blows into scratches. Formation masters reshape battlefields. Artifact refiners create weapons that decide wars before they even begin.”

He tapped the book lightly.

“Their daos aren’t weak. They’re simply different.”

Long Niao fell silent, clearly thinking deeply about his words. Her gaze drifted back

to the book in front of her, fingers tracing the page absentmindedly.

After a long pause, she asked softly, “So… Do you have another dao rather than the martial one?”

Chen Ren nodded. “I do. It’s called the Dao of Money.”

She raised an eyebrow immediately. “I’ve never heard of that.”

Chen Ren smiled faintly. He had been waiting for that reaction.

“How about we play a game?” he said.

Her eyes brightened slightly. “A game?”

“Yes. You can ask me questions about my dao,” Chen Ren said, leaning back comfortably. “And in exchange, I’ll ask you questions about you… and your family.”

He met her gaze gently.

“Is that okay?”

***

As Chen Ren began to befriend Young Miss Long Niao, the Watcher observed everything from the very top of the pagoda.

It had been so long since he had been sleeping.

And now that the pagoda was finally open again, he had made certain it would remain open for a very long time. More cultivators were still entering, drawn by greed, ambition, desperation, or curiosity. And the Watcher—if anything—was entertained.

Many believed that simply observing others would grow dull after a few hours.

They were wrong.

The climbers were endlessly amusing.

Supremely stupid. Gloriously arrogant. Painfully predictable.

It was almost as if they all followed some twisted Dao of Pain, deliberately choosing the most self-destructive path available.

Some would reach the third floor and immediately decide that murdering other climbers was more efficient than earning tokens properly. Others were so full of themselves that they charged at beasts far beyond their realm, convinced destiny would protect them.

Destiny did not.

The Watcher had seen more than a few groups rush toward creatures two entire stars above them, only to be devoured within minutes. Some died screaming. Some died confused. A few died believing they were about to win.

The Watcher had long since grown desensitized to blood and gore. Mortal fragility no longer stirred anything within him.

In fact, it was almost refreshing to see how delicate even cultivators truly were.

They spoke of immortality. Yet a single misstep was enough to reduce them to scattered bones.

Still, while the idiots formed the majority, there were exceptions.

A handful of climbers used the pagoda correctly.

The pagoda was not merely a staircase to wealth or higher floors. It was a place of hidden exchanges. A crucible of opportunity. Those patient enough to observe, to endure, and to choose wisely could gain treasures that did not exist in the outside world.

The Watcher saw one such case.

A low-realm cultivator had chosen to help a stranger in an arena. In return, he had received a peak Earth-grade cultivation manual. Now, despite being a rogue and once dismissed as a peasant cultivator, he had real potential to climb far higher than anyone expected.

The pagoda rewarded more than brute strength.

It rewarded awareness.

There was also another climber on the fifth floor who had recently learned the value of perseverance. The Watcher had noticed the change clearly. The man had stopped chasing quick victories and instead began working steadily in a restaurant, as if unknowingly walking toward the discovery of his own Dao. Perhaps, if fortune aligned, he would even impress one of the powerful yet hidden puppets the Watcher had planted throughout the pagoda and be taken in as a disciple.

But among all the climbers currently struggling, scheming, and surviving within the pagoda, the one who interested him the most was still Chen Ren.

The man was a breath of fresh air.

His risky ideas, unconventional thinking, and the sheer audacity of what he attempted made him far more entertaining than the countless warriors who relied solely on strength. The Watcher had thoroughly enjoyed Chen Ren’s actions on the sixth floor and was genuinely pleased that he had escaped Vesrya’s grasp. Had the Zombie Queen succeeded in keeping him, the Watcher’s amusement would have ended far too soon.

Yet what intrigued him even more was what Chen Ren was attempting now on the seventh floor.

He had seen everything. Every word, every hesitation, every calculated smile. He understood perfectly what Chen Ren was trying to accomplish. If it had been any other climber, he would have dismissed the attempt as impatience—a foolish rush toward secrets meant to remain buried.

But Chen Ren was different.

Because the man had succeeded repeatedly where others failed, the Watcher found himself wondering whether he might truly achieve something impossible… whether he might uncover the secrets surrounding the city lords themselves.

If Chen Ren failed, then the Watcher would simply observe how he struggled to survive the consequences—if survival was even possible.

But if he succeeded…

The Watcher could scarcely imagine such an outcome.

It would be the first time since the creation of the pagoda that something like that would happen.

And a small part of him found himself anticipating it, not merely because it promised entertainment unlike anything he had experienced in centuries, but because if Chen Ren truly managed to reach that point…

Then their eventual meeting would arrive far sooner than he had ever expected.

***

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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