At the Vuong family villa.
With good news coming from the young master, the family’s breakfast this morning was exceptionally joyful.
Old Vuong, brimming with heroic spirit, cheerfully pulled out his phone and transferred ten thousand Stellar Credits to his son as New Year pocket money.
Meanwhile, his mother wore a constant, loving smile, continuously picking up all sorts of nutritious foods that Vuong Minh liked and placing them in his bowl to build up his physique.
Vuong Minh refused nothing, accepting everything offered.
He swept through the food like a storm, only putting down his chopsticks with a satisfying burp once he was completely stuffed.
While asking about his uncle’s whereabouts, he turned to Old Binh and reminded him:
“Uncle Binh, please have someone prepare a car for me.
I want to go out for a breath of fresh air later.”
“Right away, Young Master!”
Uncle Binh responded with a smile and went off personally to make arrangements.
At the same time, Nguyen Ngoc Linh took the opportunity to explain that last night, Nguyen Hung Cuong had received an emergency distress call from the provincial police and had rushed back through the night.
“Oh?
A distress call from the provincial police?
Will Uncle be in any danger, Mom?”
Yesterday, his uncle had gifted him a precious life-saving treasure; if something were to happen today, Vuong Minh feared he would regret it for the rest of his life.
Fortunately, Nguyen Ngoc Linh shook her head with a smile.
“Nothing to worry about.
Your uncle reported that he was safe this morning.
They merely discovered the traces of a cultist group, and the police successfully captured them.
Your uncle didn’t even have to lift a finger.”
“That’s good to hear!”
Hearing this, Vuong Minh finally felt at ease.
In the present world, martial arts reigned supreme, and carrying sharp weapons inevitably birthed killing intent.
There was no shortage of unhinged lunatics who, relying on their formidable powers, went mad and colluded into evil organizations to stir up trouble everywhere.
Every year, the province would see one or two such incidents flare up, so he was long used to it.
Since the police could handle it themselves and Nguyen Hung Cuong didn’t even need to show up, naturally, there was nothing to worry about.
With no lingering concerns left, Vuong Minh cheerfully bid farewell to his parents, pocketed his large sum of money, and bounced out the door to enjoy the New Year holiday.
Watching him stride out with an absolute swagger, bathed in the morning sunlight and marching with the vigorous momentum of a fierce tiger—his entire being practically radiating the dazzling halo of a protagonist.
Even though Nguyen Ngoc Linh had already told him last night that their son had matured, Vuong Thanh still felt endlessly overjoyed:
“My son, Vuong Minh, possesses the bearing of a Great Emperor!” Vuong Thanh felt his ego swelling.
Naturally, this earned him a massive eye-roll from his wife.
“Why don’t you look at who he takes after?”
“Obviously, a part of that credit belongs to me.” Refusing to acknowledge his own mediocre aptitude, Old Vuong stubbornly argued back.
In return, he received an even more brutal suppression:
“Oh, look at you, Old Vuong, you actually dare talk back to your wife!
Wasting resources for decades and still stuck at Tier Four of the Spirit Channeling Realm, and you still have the nerve to claim credit in front of me?
Furthermore, you dared to smoke inside the house yesterday—do you have a death wish?”
“I…”
Vuong Thanh shrunk his neck, the vast pressure of a late-stage Spirit Channeling Realm cultivation thoroughly squashing him as he weakly replied:
“Wife, wasn’t that a matter from yesterday?”
“So what if it was yesterday?
Just because I didn’t mention it yesterday doesn’t mean I let it go.
Get back to your room right now and kneel on a durian husk; you are not allowed to step outside until I give permission.”
“I…
Wife, it’s already New Year’s!
The company still has a mountain of work to do, can’t you spare me this once?”
“Cut the whining!
You can handle company work online.
Get back to your room!”
The miserable Great Emperor father ultimately couldn’t escape his tragic fate, obediently retreating to the study to practice his “Iron Kneecap” technique.
Of course, Vuong Minh knew nothing of this, and even if he did, he was far too used to it to care.
This fellow dashed up to the rooftop, and upon catching sight of the blazing red hypercar idling and waiting for him, he was instantly so excited that he forgot about the heavens and the earth.
Model AETHERIS, a luxury Hyper-Liner class vehicle, equipped with a Gen 4 Flux-Core anti-gravity propulsion system, running on a hybrid fuel of compressed crystal cores or plasma batteries.
It boasted a top speed of Mach 1, a maximum flight altitude of 15,000 meters, and a cruising range of 5,000 kilometers on a single full charge.
This was truly the dream super-vehicle of Chairman Vuong himself.
Like a gust of wind, Vuong Minh rushed into the driver’s seat.
Ignoring the AI autopilot, he manually initiated the startup and soared the vehicle straight into the sky.
“ROAR!!!”
The AETHERIS let out an engine roar akin to a ferocious beast before tearing right through the morning mist.
Swoosh!
High up in the stratosphere, Vuong Minh eagerly fumbled with the steering controls while gazing down at the scenery below in absolute awe.
Even though he had encountered it in the original host’s memories, hearing about it a hundred times paled in comparison to seeing it once.
Witnessing the futuristic world with his own eyes still delivered a profound shock to his soul.
Early morning Quang Binh City emerged like a colossal mechanical wonder.
Skyscrapers made of alloy and glass towered hundreds of meters high, piercing straight through layers of artificial clouds.
Luminescent traffic lanes crisscrossed the midair like giant silken threads, while down by the coastline, thousands of colorful spaceships bustled in steady streams.
In the distance, a faint, massive energy shield enveloped the entire city, occasionally rippling with hexagonal shockwaves.
That was the city-grade defensive grand array.
Massive 3D billboards projected images of mecha-clad martial artists fighting out in the starry skies—magnificent and breathtakingly grand.
“This world…
is seriously too lit!”
“My death was completely worth it!”
No longer dwelling on the archaic body crushed under tens of thousands of tons of rock inside Son Doong Cave, Vuong Minh took a deep breath of the cool, spiritual-energy-laden air, his eyes brimming with the ambition to conquer.
“Future, I have come, I have seen, I have conquered!”
….
Quang Binh City, in the skies above.
The AETHERIS carved a brilliant arc across the sky, heading straight toward the crystal-blue waters of the Nhat Le coast.
Once he had flown past the city’s defensive barrier, venturing some four or five nautical miles out to sea, Vuong Minh finally lowered the altitude of the flying vehicle, skimming right across the water’s surface as white foam kicked up on both sides like a pair of silver wings.
“Amy, engage primary stealth mode, activate anti-peeping privacy shielding!”
“Understood, Master!
Safe zone has been established.”
That little elf spirit was actually being reliable this time; she didn’t pull any shady tricks.
Vuong Minh took a deep breath, opened the driver’s side door, leaned down slightly, and let his right hand gently brush against the sea surface.
Instantly, the Violet Star seemed to open up a spatial rift, and a massive suction force swallowed up endless amounts of seawater, pulling it inside.
In less than a moment, Vuong Minh’s hand closed around a handful of tiny shrimp, fish, and plankton.
Vuong Minh: “…”
Silently, he used a thread of spiritual energy to blast the tiny marine life back into the water, then leaned back into his seat and closed his eyes to study the results.
Inside his mind, the Violet Star was rapidly breaking down the collected seawater.
Each individual block of water didn’t yield much energy, but since quantity made up for quality, the total haul was still quite impressive.
A rough calculation revealed that in just a few minutes, he had secretly collected a hundred blocks of seawater.
Converted into energy, it was already equivalent to one-fifth of the Spirit Origin Vein-Mending Pill he had consumed yesterday.
Even highway robbery wasn’t this fast; doing legitimate business was just pathetically slow in comparison.
Chairman Vuong grinned, his face twisting with sheer exhilaration.
This was precisely the plan he had tossed and turned all night thinking about.
The Violet Star found liquid matter the easiest to absorb, and right here in Quang Binh City, what else was there more of than the ocean?
Vuong Minh calculated: if one kilogram of rock could convert into 1 Star Point, then a single block of water could yield up to 5 points.
While it might seem a bit disadvantaged in terms of physical weight and volume, seawater took him mere seconds to break down and was infinitely easier to acquire.
Anyone with a functioning brain would instantly know where to go to make a fortune.
In Vuong Minh’s eyes, what lay beneath his feet was no longer water, but an infinitely massive goldmine.
Spirit stones, medicinal pills, and cultivation resources—if not here, then where?
Suffering and rejoicing all at once, he tirelessly harvested his wealth from morning until noon, resting when he was tired and picking right back up when he recovered.
The energy mass within the Violet Star grew increasingly massive, roughly accumulating around 20,000 points.
Right at that moment…
“Warning!
Warning!
An unidentified energy feedback has appeared in your consciousness, hitting the danger threshold.
Master, please take caution!” — Amy’s cold, deadpan voice rang out.
Simultaneously, a suffocating, swelling sensation surged from the depths of his divine soul, causing Vuong Minh to shiver in pain.
Cold sweat beaded across his forehead, and his face drained of all color.
He hurriedly pulled his hand back, clutched his head, and collapsed backward into his seat.
Gritting his teeth, he panted heavily for a long while.
Only when the pain slowly subsided did Vuong Minh laboriously open his eyes, still filled with lingering shock and panic.
Too dangerous!
It turned out that the Violet Star had a storage limit—or perhaps its capacity was infinite, but the “container” holding it, which was his current soul, was limited.
With his Tier Four Spirit Channeling Realm cultivation, 20,000 points was his absolute safety threshold to freely manipulate matter without suffering backlash.
Just moments ago, the Violet Star had probably flashed warning signs of overexpansion, but because he thought he was just overusing his abilities and experiencing mental fatigue, he hadn’t paid it any mind.
Thinking back on it now, it was still terrifying.
He definitely needed to learn a profound lesson from this!
With two lifetimes of experience, he had still let greed cloud his judgment, acting recklessly and disregarding the consequences.
Furthermore, running around in broad daylight doing shady underground work made it far too easy for prying eyes; there was no telling when he might expose his secret.
It really wasn’t a prudent move.
After resting a bit longer until the pain completely faded and verifying that he had no major issues, Vuong Minh let out a long breath of relief.
Ordering Amy to take over the autopilot and fly them back, he leaned back in his seat and began to rationally weigh his options.
20,000 Star Points could be exchanged for 4 Spirit Origin Vein-Mending Pills.
Selling them would yield an even prettier penny, though who knew how many spirit stones that would translate to.
But the problem was that the source of these items couldn’t be easily explained.
Moreover, his little Vuong family was merely a nouveau riche household; they weren’t powerful enough yet to safely hold and control strategic resources of this caliber.
Therefore, Vuong Minh didn’t even consider using them to make a quick buck.
Furthermore, he was still a student living with his parents, making many things inconvenient.
Trying to run a business was completely out of the question.
Thus, calculating it back and forth, all these Star Points could only be poured into his own body to supplement his cultivation.
For the time being, they couldn’t be used for anything else.
With a clear direction set, Vuong Minh’s mind opened up and felt much lighter.
He sat there in deep contemplation, mapping out his Star Points usage plan, until Amy’s voice pulled him back to reality:
“Master!
We have arrived at the central district.
Would you like to land, or do you have another plan?”
Coming back to his senses, he looked down and saw right beneath him the most bustling commercial district in Quang Binh City—Vcom Mega Mall.
Before leaving home this morning, he had already scheduled the itinerary with Amy.
Since they were already here and his body had no lingering issues, Vuong Minh saw no reason to change plans.
Cheerfully, he instructed Amy to find a parking spot, then wandered aimlessly into the crowd.
As the heart of the city, especially with the New Year approaching, rivers of people bustled back and forth among the floating multi-story arcades.
Vuong Minh leisurely strolled along, his eyes curiously scanning the luxury tech gadgets and spiritual herbs on display, feeling like he didn’t have enough eyes to take it all in.
Just as he was thoroughly enjoying his exploration of the future, a booming voice echoed from behind, startling him:
“Boss!
Boss!”
“Vuong Minh!”
Vuong Minh turned around, and what met his eyes was a teen roughly his age, with tanned skin, a good-natured face, and designer white clothes—the quintessential “Middle Eastern nouveau riche” aesthetic slapped right in his face.
Instinctively, he recognized this as Tran Trung Dung, the original host’s childhood best friend.
Dung’s old man also ran a company, having followed Vuong Thanh to make his fortune back in the early days.
Perhaps because of that, Dung had grown up calling Vuong Minh “Boss,” even though the two were classmates in the same grade.
Walking right beside Tran Trung Dung was Bao Han, his girlfriend.
Beautiful wasn’t even the word; she was undoubtedly striking.
After all, they were martial artists in a scientifically and technologically advanced world, meaning the term “ugly girl” had practically gone extinct.
Vuong Minh immediately broke into a smile and greeted the two of them:
“Haha, hello, what a coincidence!
Bao Han, is Dung dragging you out to shop for New Year goods to prep for meeting his parents?”
“Hmph, as if!
If he weren’t terrified my dad would break his legs, I wouldn’t mind dragging him home.”
Bao Han didn’t act coy or shy at all, answering with an open and generous attitude that left little Dung trembling in fear.
Then, she looked at him with curious eyes:
“Male god, what about you?
Why are you wandering around the shopping mall all by yourself?”
“Me?
Just out enjoying the New Year vibes, no specific purpose.”
Vuong Minh answered casually.
Realizing he had seen enough sights and the timing was just right, he extended an invitation:
“Since we bumped into each other, let me treat you two lovebirds to a meal.
You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”
“Of course not!”
Bao Han’s eyes lit up as she quickly replied.
At the same time, deep down, she was filled with intense curiosity.
Normally at school, Vuong Minh always put on a cold, aloof front, making people admire him from afar.
But running into him outside today, he was so cheerful and open.
She wasn’t sure if it was because her boyfriend was here, but she was definitely eager to interact more with this usual “male god.”
Leaving the choice of restaurant to Bao Han, the three of them chattered and laughed as they slowly made their way toward her favorite eatery.