Chapter 8: Gold-Tier Draw, Five Thunders Method!
The voice was muffled, mixed with sobs.
Zhang Xuanyao's body stiffened, and he looked down at the policewoman on his lap who was crying her eyes out.
"Hey, Officer Qin, although this Daoist robe was bought for nine yuan and nine cents with free shipping on Pinduoduo, it is still my work uniform. Your snot⊠is very hard to wash out."
Qin Bingruo ignored him completely, hugging him even tighter, her nails almost digging into Zhang Xuanyao's flesh.
Zhang Xuanyao rolled his eyes helplessly. His raised hand paused in mid-air for a moment before finally landing on her head, gently rubbing her messy hair.
"Cry all you want, you'll feel better once it's out."
"But you'll have to pay double for the laundry."
Half an hour later.
Xiao Wang drove that beat-up Jetta back and picked up Qin Bingruo, whose emotions had slightly calmed down.
Before leaving, Qin Bingruo stared fixedly at Zhang Xuanyao with eyes as red and swollen as peaches. Her lips moved, and finally, she only said three words: "Wait for me."
It was unclear whether she meant for him to wait for the renovation funds or for something else entirely.
The Daoist temple returned to peace and quiet.
Zhang Xuanyao closed the rickety gate, leaned against the door panel, and let out a long sigh.
"These days, it's not easy being a charlatan; I even have to moonlight as a counselor."
He looked down at the large, suspicious water stain on the hem of his Daoist robe and curled his lip in disgust.
"System, settle."
Zhang Xuanyao walked to the shrine, relit three sticks of incense, and respectfully inserted them into the incense burner.
As the wisp of blue smoke rose, that cold, mechanical voice echoed in his mind like the sound of heaven.
ăDing! This livestream cracked a major cold case involving kidnapping and exposed a mole within the police force, creating a massive social impact!ă
ăCalculating shock value...ă
ăshock value + 300,000!ă
ăshock value + 500,000!ă
ăCurrent accumulated shock value: 1,650,000!ă
Zhang Xuanyao looked at the number, his breathing almost stopping.
1.65 million!
He was rich!
This was solid, hard currency. In the System store, 100,000 shock value could exchange for a bottle of ăAzure Emperor Rejuvenation Ointmentă, so this 1.65 million was truly a huge fortune.
ăDing! Detected that the host's shock value has surpassed one million. Would you like to initiate a Gold-Tier Draw?ă
ăGold-Tier Draw cost: 1,000,000 shock value.ă
Zhang Xuanyao's heart skipped a beat.
A draw that costs a million.
The ointment from the previous Silver-Tier Draw already had Heaven-Defying effects; this Gold-Tier rewardâŠ
"I'll bet on it!"
Zhang Xuanyao gritted his teeth. "Initiate Gold-Tier Draw!"
Hum!
The wheel in his mind appeared once again.
This time, the wheel was no longer ordinary silver, but flowed entirely with dazzling golden light.
The slots on it no longer contained those bottles and jars, but instead featured some blurry ancient seal characters and strange phantom images.
The pointer spun wildly.
Zhang Xuanyao held his breath, staring intently at the wheel.
"Stop⊠stop⊠stop!"
The pointer slowed down gradually, passing over a slot labeled ăWind Manipulation Techniqueă, then over a slot depicting a ăThousand-Year Peach Wood Swordă, and finally stopped on a purple slot wreathed in lightning.
Boom!
A purple bolt of lightning exploded in Zhang Xuanyao's Sea of Consciousness.
ăDing! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the supreme Daoist Divine Ability â Five Thunders Method (Elementary)!ă
ăFive Thunders Method: Gather the Qi of Heaven and Earth, condense the thunder of the five internal organs. Can break evil and falsehoods, suppress demons and monsters, and summon heavenly thunder!ă
ăAttached skill: Palm Lightning.ă
Zhang Xuanyao suddenly opened his eyes.
Deep in his pupils, a trace of purple electric arc flashed and vanished.
He raised his right hand and moved his mind.
Zzzzt!
A fist-sized ball of blue-purple lightning appeared out of thin air in his palm, emitting a hair-raising electrical sound.
The surrounding air instantly became dry, and even the dust on the stone table was lifted by the static electricity.
"Holy crapâŠ"
Zhang Xuanyao looked at the lightning ball in his hand and swallowed hard.
If this thing hit someone, it wouldn't just be a simple bone fracture; it would send them straight to meet their ancestors.
"With this thing, if I encounter those thugs with weapons in the future, I can finally 'reason' with them."
Zhang Xuanyao clenched his palm, and the lightning ball instantly annihilated, leaving only a faint smell of burning.
This is the true method of cultivation!
Compared to this, those previous tricks used to fool people were simply pathetic.
The purple lightning in his heart flickered twice, like a baby burping after a full meal, and then went out with a puff.
Zhang Xuanyao shook his hand; his palm felt slightly numb.
This ăFive Thunders Methodă is good, but it drains a lot of mana. Just now, it was only a fist-sized ball, yet he felt as if his vitality had been sucked out by a pump.
"Looks like I need to get some aged medicinal herbs to nourish my body, or else before I strike anyone with lightning, I'll drain myself dry first."
He rubbed his empty stomach and glanced at the incense bowl on the stone table that had been knocked away by Qin Bingruo.
It was completely empty.
The money from the livestream tips wouldn't be paid out until next month; right now, other than the few thousand in cash that Qin Bingruo gave him, he had nothing.
"Make money."
Zhang Xuanyao made up his mind and propped his phone back onto that smooth, polished brick.
Since he didn't have money to eat, he would just have to fleece some wool from these internet trolls.
He skillfully opened the livestreaming software, adjusted the camera angle, and ensured his handsome face was at the golden ratio point.
"Start broadcast."
With a tap of his finger.
Tens of thousands of viewers who had been waiting in the black-screen livestream room instantly swarmed out like a disturbed hornet's nest.
ăFirst!ă
ăThe missing person has returned!ă
ăGreat Master! Has that Zhou Jianshe been sentenced? I saw the news saying this is the biggest police scandal since Heng City was established!ă
ăForget about that old pervert, Great Master, quickly take a look for me; my right eyelid has been twitching lately, does that mean I'm going to get rich?ă
ăGet rich my ass. Left eye twitches for wealth, right eye twitches for disaster; you upstairs, you're about to have bad luck!ă
The number of online viewers soared at an unscientific speed.
30,000⊠50,000⊠100,000!
In just two minutes, the livestream's popularity surged to the top of the entire site's hourly ranking.
Zhang Xuanyao leaned back in his chair, twirling two walnuts in his hand (actually rotten stones he'd picked up from the backyard just now), looking unfathomably mysterious.
"Greetings, laypeople. I just went to handle some private matters, sorry to keep you all waiting."
"Same old rules: fortune-telling and physiognomy start at one rocket. If you want to change your luck, that costs extra."
The chat screen was instantly flooded, filled with people cursing him for being greedy for money, but the gift effects never stopped.
ăUser "I want to get rich" sent a Rocket * 1!ă
ăUser "Cure all kinds of defiance" sent a Sports Car * 1!ă
Zhang Xuanyao didn't even lift his eyelids.
"The one called 'I want to get rich', stop sending gifts. Your forehead is dark, and there's a pimple on your nose; not only will you not get rich recently, but you're going to lose money. Hurry up and cut your losses on that stock that's hit the limit down; that's a trap set by the market makers."
The chat was filled with "Holy shit."
That user sent a string of crying faces: ăGreat Master, you're amazing! I just went all-in and got trapped!ă
Zhang Xuanyao pointed at the screen again.
"That 'Cure all kinds of defiance', you stop sending gifts too. Your wife didn't cheat; that was a misunderstanding. She went to the hotel that day to attend the company's annual meeting. If you keep being so suspicious, she really will divorce you."