Chapter 101: Just Changing the Name

While everyone else was fighting with enthusiasm, Lin Fanyun was less interested. Watching a bunch of incomplete True Core and Acquired warriors brawl made him twitch with annoyance. There was no entertainment value in it at all, even with Wang Luo and Ye Xiaoshu being slightly more capable than the others. They still had many shortcomings.

With a flick of his finger, two light orbs shot toward Wang Luo and Ye Xiaoshu. This sudden change stunned everyone mid-battle.

“Stop playing around and finish them off,” Lin Fanyun’s authoritative voice rang out.

What was that? The surrounding minor land warriors felt a chill. The voice struck fear into their hearts.

“Yes!” Wang Luo’s face lit up with joy as he caught the light orb. Inside was a tiger-headed hook, razor-sharp, its edge giving Wang Luo a shiver of excitement. What a treasure! Overjoyed, he turned his gaze to the four wary True Core opponents.

Worthless fools! Prepare to die!

Ye Xiaoshu also received a fine artifact. Wang Luo’s was of True Core grade, while Ye Xiaoshu’s was Acquired grade. With these superior artifacts, their combat strength surged instantly. 

In just a few moments, the four True Core and three late-stage Acquired warriors were slain by Wang Luo and Ye Xiaoshu. The warriors, realizing they were outmatched, had considered fleeing, but Lin Fanyun had sealed the surrounding area, leaving them no escape.

“Master! Master!” 

Having dealt with the trouble, Wang Luo and Ye Xiaoshu hurriedly approached Lin Fanyun and bowed.

Lin Fanyun waved his hand dismissively. “The passageway out of the True Martial Continent will remain open for about seven days. During these seven days, you may act freely. Seven days later, meet me at the passage location.”

“Understood!” 

Wang Luo and Ye Xiaoshu exchanged glances, a cold glint in their eyes. They left together, clearly with a purpose.

Watching them leave, Lin Fanyun easily guessed their intentions. The two would follow him to the True Martial Continent, possibly bringing a few close friends or family. But most of their kin would stay in the minor land. Not knowing when they’d return, they would likely take steps to secure a safe environment for their families, ensuring they wouldn’t be wiped out once they left.

Last time they left, they didn’t know the passage would shift, thinking they could come and go as they pleased. This time, things were different. Wang Luo and Ye Xiaoshu wouldn’t leave any loose ends behind.

Given that neither Wang Luo nor Ye Xiaoshu were the type to show mercy, their departure would definitely be marked by chaos and bloodshed.

Lin Fanyun hadn’t told them he could return anytime. He planned to keep this a secret. Until he reached the Demi-God stage, he wouldn’t tell anyone.

Seven days later, Lin Fanyun stood in the clouds, facing a calm and untroubled sky. But in his eyes, there was a hidden portal before him.

“If it weren’t for that spatial disturbance back then, causing instability in the Abyss Sea over a large area, I probably wouldn’t be able to sense these passages even if they were right in front of me.”

Lin Fanyun sighed. These minor lands and caves, which had remained undiscovered over the ages, were naturally not easy to find.

“The Palace of All Things can’t be taken away. It needs to stay here to stabilize the minor land and sort the myriad energies. Plus, the coordinate room is within the Palace of All Things. If I took it with me, creating the passage would be pointless.”

But not taking the Palace of All Things didn’t mean Lin Fanyun left empty-handed.

In his mind’s eye, a small, spinning castle hovered. This was a projection separated from the Palace of All Things, a gathering of demi-god power.

To activate the passage back to Zhong Chun’s minor land, he’d need this castle projection.

Soon enough, Ye Xiaoshu and Wang Luo arrived.

Wang Luo’s situation was simple. He had many wives and concubines, but that was from his younger days. Now, most of them were dead, and the few remaining were elderly and unsuitable for travel. They stayed in the minor land to live out their days. He brought along a young descendant with great potential, who would waste their years if left in the minor land.

Ye Xiaoshu, on the other hand, brought a plain but beautiful woman and a young child. He was straightforward and devoted to his childhood sweetheart. Their deep bond made long separations painful for both, not to mention that their child’s future would be much brighter on the True Martial Continent than in the minor land.

Lin Fanyun glanced at Ye Xiaoshu, “Huh?”

He was quite surprised to see that Ye Xiaoshu’s fortune was changing.

Originally, his steadfast fortune was solid as a rock, but now there were signs of layers of earth piling up beneath it, making his fortune even more robust and stable.

Although Ye Xiaoshu had used the method Lin Fanyun taught him to hide his fortune, it obviously couldn’t fool Lin Fanyun. After all, it was his own method, so he could easily see through it.

‘His fortune is actually getting stronger,’ Lin Fanyun thought curiously.

Fortune was something Lin Fanyun also possessed, known as oceanic fortune, vast and grand. However, his fortune stemmed from his strength. Compared to his current power, this bit of fortune was merely the icing on the cake.

For instance, if he wandered around, his oceanic fortune would inevitably lead him to find some innate-grade spiritual herbs and fruits. Wandering a few more times, he might even come across true-core-grade spiritual items.

But did he need them? Not really.

He might stop to collect true-core-grade items for his subordinates, but he wouldn’t even glance at innate-grade ones.

This fortune was of little significance to Lin Fanyun.

Ye Xiaoshu was different. His cultivation was only at the innate level, yet his steadfast fortune was on par with a law-manifestation level, just slightly less than Lin Fanyun’s oceanic fortune.

Naturally, the opportunities brought by his steadfast fortune were extremely valuable to Ye Xiaoshu.

This was also why Lin Fanyun didn’t worry about Ye Xiaoshu, the fortune’s chosen one.

The strongest fortune in the minor land was slightly weaker than his, so what was there to fear?

But now, Ye Xiaoshu’s fortune was actually getting stronger. That was interesting.

Ye Xiaoshu felt uneasy under Lin Fanyun’s gaze. His eyes were so penetrating, like two knives cutting through his flesh.

“Ye Xiaoshu, has anything significant happened around you recently?” Lin Fanyun asked. 

Such a change in fortune had to be due to something significant. It couldn’t happen without reason.

Ye Xiaoshu was stunned, as were the others. They didn’t understand why Lin Fanyun was asking this.

After thinking for a moment, Ye Xiaoshu glanced at Wang Luo. Recently, he and Wang Luo had been on a killing spree, leaving rivers of blood. Did that count as significant?

After Ye Xiaoshu answered, Lin Fanyun pondered. Could it be that by killing others in the minor land, the opportunities that were supposed to belong to those people now fell upon the minor land’s chosen one? But looking at Wang Luo, he had also killed many, and both he and Ye Xiaoshu were about to leave the minor land. Yet, his fortune remained unchanged, without any ripples.

“Think again, see if there’s anything else,” Lin Fanyun said. 

He thought that the slaughter of the minor land’s martial artists could cause a change in fortune, but it seemed unlikely.

Ye Xiaoshu was at his wit’s end. Besides the recent events, nothing else had happened.

His wife tugged on his sleeve, reminding him of something.

Ye Xiaoshu suddenly understood. “Sir, there’s one more thing. I changed my name.”

“My name is now Ye Donglai.”

As he spoke, Ye Xiaoshu felt a bit emotional.

He and Li Donglai had grown up together, sharing everything and becoming close friends. They had drifted apart after an expedition to a secret realm. He thought Li Donglai had changed, but who would have guessed that the real Li Donglai had died back then?

This realization deeply saddened Ye Xiaoshu.

After discussing it with his parents and wife, he decided to change his name to live on with Li Donglai’s legacy.

He also couldn’t help but wonder why he, from a poor family, had such a plain name like Xiaoshu, while his friend had a more elegant name like Donglai. If not for his better looks balancing out the difference in their names, he might have felt unbalanced long ago.

Lin Fanyun didn’t hear these internal musings.

But hearing the name Ye Donglai, and recalling the person chosen by Zhong Chun’s remnant will, he pondered.

‘To be chosen by Zhong Chun’s remnant will, he must have had some extraordinary qualities. So, by adopting Li Donglai’s name, did Ye Xiaoshu also inherit his fortune?’

It was a wild and unbelievable guess, but Lin Fanyun felt it was probably the truth.

‘Two children born next door to each other, one is the minor land’s chosen one, and the other chosen by the land’s owner’s remnant will. They became close friends, and their destinies and fortunes must be extremely complementary.”

Lin Fanyun didn’t keep this thought to himself.

Upon hearing this, Ye Xiaoshu was happy—after all, he had gained a lot.

But Wang Luo felt twisted inside.

“Just changing your name can increase your fortune? Is it really that exaggerated?”

He wished he could do the same.