At the pinnacle of the immortal path, who stands supreme?
Upon witnessing the Beginningless, all paths dissolve into void!
Blue Star, Dragon Nation, Cloud City!
In a modest two-story house on the city's outskirts...
"Lin Yi, get up already! Come out for breakfast!"
At the sound of the voice, Lin Yi jolted upright in bed.
"What's going on? Didn't I die?"
His memories surged back—he had ventured into the Forbidden Lands seeking enlightenment.
But then, by sheer misfortune, he had stumbled upon a hidden taboo array.
The array's power had torn him apart, annihilating both body and soul on the spot!
Yet now, as he glanced around, he recognized the very room he had lived in years ago.
"Could I have... been reborn?"
The thought sent a jolt through him. He scrambled for his phone and checked the date.
April 1, 2033.
"I've actually gone back ten years in time!"
Lin Yi took a deep breath, his fists clenching tightly.
"Lin Yi, are you up yet?"
The voice was unmistakably familiar—it was his aunt, Feng Mengyu!
"Just got up, be right there!"
Suppressing the excitement bubbling inside him, Lin Yi replied before scanning his surroundings.
"The virtual gaming pod is still here... Today's the launch day for *Emperor's Veil*!"
"This time, I won't let the opportunity slip away."
The game was set to go live at 8 a.m., and there was still some time left.
With a deep breath to steady his racing heart, Lin Yi stepped out of his room.
"Lin Yi, don't spend all day cooped up in that gaming pod. You should get outside and move around once in a while!"
Feng Mengyu stood there in her breezy loungewear, arms crossed, her tone laced with disapproval.
Her outfit did little to hide her flawless figure, and her striking beauty was impossible to ignore.
A warmth spread through Lin Yi's chest, accompanied by a swirl of complicated emotions.
*They're all still alive... That's what matters.*
With a grin, he turned to her.
"Auntie, there's a new VR game launching today. I managed to snag you a spot—wanna give it a try?"
Upon hearing this, Feng Mengyu's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Great! I'll come over after work!"
Feng Mengyu, Lin Yi's aunt, was only 22 years old—just three years his senior. Currently, she worked as a trainee nurse at Yun City Central Hospital.
Lin Yi, on the other hand, was a seasoned virtual MMORPG player, practically a semi-professional gamer.
In recent years, countless virtual online games had burst onto the scene.
All of them boasted "100% real-life immersion" as their selling point, luring in hordes of players.
And Lin Yi? He had tried nearly every notable virtual MMORPG out there.
Thanks to his deep understanding of the genre's mechanics, he had managed to amass a small fortune from various games.
If things had continued normally, Lin Yi could have easily lived out his days as a wealthy, carefree man.
That is, until he started playing *Emperor's Veil*, a virtual MMORPG that soon turned the world upside down.
At first glance, the game was nothing special—its graphics and immersion were on par with other titles on the market.
But shortly after its launch, something unprecedented happened: players began receiving in-game cultivation abilities in real life.
And that wasn’t all. Equipment, artifacts, rare treasures—everything from the game started manifesting in reality.
Eventually, the boundary between the game and the real world blurred entirely.
When NPCs and monsters from the game began crossing over into reality, the entire planet teetered on the brink of annihilation.
The game *Emperor Veiling the Heavens* had garnered an abysmal reputation from the very beginning.
It was a blatant cash-grab, packed with an overwhelming array of pay-to-win mechanics that left players dizzy. In terms of content, it offered nothing groundbreaking—just another run-of-the-mill virtual MMORPG, indistinguishable from countless others flooding the market. Many dismissed it as a mere *reskin*, a lazy rehash designed to squeeze money out of players using the same predatory monetization tactics as those trashy mobile games.
That is, until *Emperor Veiling the Heavens* shut down its payment channels and started rewarding players with in-game cultivation progress. Only then did the masses realize the colossal opportunity they’d missed.
As a seasoned virtual gamer, Lin Yi naturally dove into every new release, scouting for potential money-making opportunities. Back then, though, he’d pegged *Emperor Veiling the Heavens* as yet another greedy trap—riddled with unreasonable paywalls. His goal was to *earn*, not *spend*, so after dropping just a few thousand bucks in the early days, he barely scraped onto the top 10,000 leaderboard in overall power ranking.
The moment Feng Mengyu left for work, Lin Yi wasted no time hopping into his virtual pod.
At present, he was still actively juggling over a dozen virtual games—though most only required logging in to claim daily rewards or participating in the occasional event.
He logged in one by one and listed all the valuable equipment, items, and materials on the trading site at 20% below market price!
The moment these items went up for sale, they were snatched up in a frenzy due to their low prices.
Some listings even had comments underneath:
"Holy crap, is this big shot quitting the game?"
"What's going on? Selling at these prices is market manipulation—we should boycott this!"
"Pfft, look who's talking. Weren't you the one who just grabbed the deal? Shameless much!"
After the trading platform deducted its fees, a massive amount of Dragon Coins was deposited into Lin Yi's bank account.
In just a short while, over a million Dragon Coins had rolled in.
"Relying solely on selling gear and items clearly isn't enough. I need another way to make money fast!"
Staring at the remaining balance of over two million Dragon Coins in his account, Lin Yi knew this was far from sufficient.
"For the early stages, though, this should do."
"I remember in my past life, during the first few days after *Emperor's Veil* launched, the biggest spenders only dropped around a million."
After recalling his past life's experiences, Lin Yi already had a plan for quick cash.
After all, as someone who had been reborn, he had some foresight into future events.
With this advantage, making fast money wouldn’t be easy—but it wouldn’t be too hard either!
"Time's up, let's log in!"
Staring at the glowing icon inside the virtual gaming pod, Lin Yi chose to enter *Emperor Veils the Heavens*.
**[Please name your character!]**
"Yuan the Untamed!"
**[Naming successful. Entering the game!]**
If the game hadn’t enforced a two-character name limit, Lin Yi would have simply gone with "Untamed."
As the game loaded, Lin Yi materialized in a bustling square.
All around him, players clad in coarse linen robes brandished their starter swords before charging straight into the wilderness. For most, gaining an early lead in the beginner phase meant staying ahead for the entire journey.
But Lin Yi’s first move was different—his eyes locked onto the top-left corner of the screen.
There, a shimmering icon glowed—the game’s cash shop portal, which could be toggled hidden if desired.
With a tap, an interface unfolded before him.
**[First-time recharge: Just $0.99 for a legendary divine weapon, propelling you leagues ahead of the competition!]**
In his past life, Lin Yi had scoffed at such tactics, convinced the developers would stoop to any trick to squeeze money from players.
Now?
Bank card number. Password. Binding. Confirmation. Purchase.
"Congratulations, Player Huang Yuan! You've received the First Purchase Bonus Pack: 60 Source Crystals, 6 Spirit Gathering Pills, and 1 Demon-Slaying Blade!"
After completing the in-game purchase, all the items appeared in Lin Yi's inventory.
To Lin Yi, the least valuable item among them was ironically the so-called "divine artifact"—the Demon-Slaying Blade.
Sure, it was a tier higher than the beginner's sword, but it was only barely passable during the early stages. Its power wasn't anything extraordinary.
The beginner's sword was practically trash-tier, while this "first-purchase divine weapon" was merely a mundane-grade, first-tier weapon.
"Congratulations, Player Huang Yuan! Your First Purchase Bonus Pack has been successfully acquired. VIP experience points increased by 6."
"Only 4 more points to become an esteemed VIP member! Unlock exclusive member benefits upon upgrading!"
Like most online and mobile games, the more you spent, the higher your VIP level climbed.
Having been reborn, Lin Yi knew all too well just how crucial VIP levels were.
A higher VIP level didn’t just boost cultivation speed—once the game’s feedback system kicked in, all rewards would also receive VIP bonuses.
In short, the higher the VIP level, the better!
In his past life, Lin Yi had spent just over 10,000 yuan, barely reaching VIP Level 4.
But now? He knew the truth about *Emperor's Veil*’s game feedback system!
Lin Yi immediately clicked on the icon.
A five-tiered recharge interface popped up, displaying special discount bundles!
The options were ¥38, ¥68, ¥98, ¥328, and ¥648.
Without a second thought, he bought them all.
Instantly, a series of notifications chimed in succession.
**[Congratulations, Player Huang Yuan, for purchasing the ¥38 Special Discount Bundle…]**
**[Congratulations, Player Huang Yuan, for purchasing the ¥68 Special Discount Bundle…]**
...
**[Congratulations, Player Huang Yuan! Your VIP level has increased! Current VIP Level: 2!]**
After purchasing everything, the original bundle interface refreshed, revealing a new package called *Legendary Overlord*.
Again, five tiers—¥128, ¥328, ¥648, ¥1,288, and ¥1,688!
Lin Yi snapped them all up without hesitation.
**[Congratulations, Player Huang Yuan! Your VIP level has increased! Current VIP Level: 3!]**
"Damn, there's more? These microtransaction tactics are just like those trashy browser games," Lin Yi muttered, shaking his head as the interface refreshed yet again.
Had he not known the truth, he would never have continued spending like this!
The newly appeared package was called "Path to the Throne!"
It also had five tiers: 1,288 yuan, 1,688 yuan, 1,888 yuan, 2,688 yuan, and 3,288 yuan.
In his past life, Lin Yi had never spent enough to unlock this tier. He skimmed through the items inside.
Frankly, the value for money in this package was abysmal—only slightly better than the "Rise of a Warlord" bundle.
Yet the price was far steeper than the "Rise of a Warlord" package.
After purchasing everything, Lin Yi’s VIP level climbed to VIP 4.
The recharge interface changed as well—now, the only option was to buy Source Crystals.
30 yuan would get you 300 Source Crystals, while 100 yuan bought 1,000.
In just a short while, Lin Yi had already spent a staggering 16,106 yuan—far more than he ever had in his previous life.
But even after splurging on these packages, it wasn’t over yet!
Lin Yi opened the VIP level page, where daily VIP-exclusive packages were displayed.
VIP 1 could purchase a daily package for 168 yuan.
VIP 2 was 388 yuan, VIP 3 was 988 yuan, and VIP 4 was a whopping 1,688 yuan.
The contents of these daily packages were about the same as those in the "Rise of a Warlord" bundle.
Without hesitation, Lin Yi snapped up everything!
After purchasing all the VIP daily packs, his total spending had now reached a staggering 19,388 yuan.
To upgrade from VIP4 to VIP5, he needed 20,000 experience points—still 662 short.
It had to be said, *Emperor Shrouding the Heavens* had the art of microtransactions down to a science.
If you wanted to climb the VIP ladder, you had to keep spending.
No second thoughts—time to go all in!
Returning to the standard recharge screen, he topped up another 1,000 yuan, receiving 10,000 Source Crystals in return.
**VIP Level Upgraded to VIP5!**
The VIP5 daily pack immediately appeared—a hefty 3,888 yuan bundle.
He bought it without blinking.
With his spending spree complete, Lin Yi opened his inventory.
Inside, a dazzling array of items shimmered with radiant hues, filling the space with their glow.
He began sorting through them, examining each one carefully.
...
*Add to bookshelf, then leave your brain here for safekeeping.*
—Generated by Feng Mengyu.
