Zhou Er Fu Shi’s real name was Zhou Ce, a rich second-generation heir who had spent his entire life doing nothing but eating, drinking, and waiting around for death.
He had always held onto the belief that as long as he never started a business, he could keep having money to spend. Now twenty-five years old, the thing he did most often was drink and eat with his group of good-for-nothing friends.
That was until the world’s spiritual energy began to revive.
At first, he had simply gotten dead drunk and then received a call from a friend.
“Holy shit! I awakened a Fire Spiritual Root.”
“What the hell?”
“Fire Spiritual Root! I awakened the Fire Spiritual Root from those cultivation novels!! Cezi, let me tell you, my family is practically going crazy with happiness. It seems like I’m the only one in my family who awakened a Spiritual Root. My dad was so happy about it that he actually wants to hand the company over to me to inherit.”
“I’ve also received invitations from some reclusive sects. They said the quality of my Spiritual Root is pretty good and that I can become an inner disciple.”
“What about you, Cezi? What kind of Spiritual Root did you awaken?”
His friend excitedly rattled off a long string of words, completely dispelling Zhou Ce’s drowsiness.
He said blankly, “Are you serious? Nothing has changed about me at all.”
He even wondered whether he was dreaming.
The previous night, he had been drinking himself senseless with his other friends. How had he woken up to someone telling him all sorts of incomprehensible things?
Was he really not dreaming?
Zhou Ce instinctively pinched his thigh hard. Only after feeling the sharp pain did he completely wake up.
All of this was real.
Thinking back to what his friend had just said, he sat up in bed with a sudden movement and hurriedly asked his friend to explain exactly what had happened.
His friend was initially a little puzzled, but after thinking about Zhou Ce’s usual extravagant lifestyle, he immediately understood.
“You were at the bar yesterday, so you didn’t know. The world’s spiritual energy revived yesterday. A lot of people woke up today and awakened Spiritual Roots. There are also quite a few people from reclusive sects who have appeared online and are teaching cultivation incantations. You can take a look later. Maybe you’ll be able to awaken a Spiritual Root too.”
“Oh, right. I have to go. It’s getting late, and quite a few people have already come over. I’m going to choose a sect. I’ll hang up first.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the call ended with a busy tone.
After learning that Zhou Ce had not awakened a Spiritual Root, his friend’s speech became extremely fast. He hurriedly said a few things before hanging up without even waiting for Zhou Ce to respond.
From his friend’s series of actions, Zhou Ce sensed a faint eagerness to distance himself from him.
His expression became somewhat ugly, but he said nothing. He silently opened his phone and checked what was happening online.
Just as his friend had said, despite only one night having passed, the internet was already flooded with posts and videos about cultivation, Spiritual Roots, and related topics.
People with Spiritual Roots could summon manifestations corresponding to their particular Spiritual Roots. Those with Water Spiritual Roots could summon water, those with Earth Spiritual Roots could summon earth…
The power of the Spiritual Roots they summoned was extremely formidable. With a casual toss, they could smash a hole into the ground.
Most people were still caught up in the wonder of awakening Spiritual Roots. Only a few people keenly noticed the undercurrents surging through the real world.
At first, Zhou Ce didn’t think much of it. But after washing up and leaving his room, he unexpectedly encountered his parents, who had been away on business for a long time.
Zhou Ce was surprised. “Why are you back?”
His parents’ expressions were solemn and stern, looking nothing like their usual relaxed selves.
“Cezi, did you awaken a Spiritual Root?” his father asked.
This was the second person to ask him that today.
Zhou Ce’s heart tightened, but he honestly shook his head.
“No. What happened?”
His parents said nothing, but disappointment flashed simultaneously across both their eyes.
“What a pity. Today, I heard from many of my friends that their children had awakened Spiritual Roots. I thought you had awakened one too.”
“But it’s okay. A friend of mine told me that he knows the head of a reclusive family. They have a way to help you awaken one.”
His father spoke slowly.
Even though the world had suddenly undergone a drastic change, those who had already stood at the top before the revival of spiritual energy still had far more means at their disposal than ordinary people when faced with these changes.
Thus, the very next day, Zhou Ce’s father really did return home with an unfamiliar middle-aged man.
His father treated the man with extreme respect.
The middle-aged man wore an arrogant expression. After Zhou Ce’s father pleaded with him repeatedly, the man finally lifted his eyes and glanced at the nervous Zhou Ce standing nearby.
“Your foundation is too poor.” He frowned after only one glance.
“With this kind of aptitude, forget it. Go home and sleep. Being an ordinary person is pretty good.”
He gave a contemptuous laugh, raised the teacup in his hand, and took a sip, completely ignoring the ugly expressions on the faces of the three members of the Zhou family.
The smile on Zhou Ce’s father’s face was almost impossible to maintain.
He said, “Is there really no other way? You know that I only have this one son…”
Before he finished speaking, Zhou Ce’s father approached the man. He bent down and bowed deeply, then took a bank card from his pocket and handed it to him.
He said softly, “There’s five million yuan in here…”
This was the first time Zhou Ce had ever seen his father being so humble.
Ever since his family’s business had grown large, they had always been the ones others tried to curry favor with. Yet now, in the span of just one night, everything had suddenly changed.
The drastic transformation left Zhou Ce feeling dazed.
His hands hanging at his sides unconsciously clenched into fists. He gritted his teeth and held his breath, silently watching the man, a barely detectable trace of anticipation hidden in his eyes.
But the man’s next words completely shattered his fantasy.
“Five million? That’s all? Are you trying to fob off a beggar?”
The man sneered. “Do you know how much the last person who asked me to help his child awaken a Spiritual Root gave me?”
Zhou Ce’s father remained silent. The man held up a finger.
“One hundred million.”
“He gave me one hundred million.”
As soon as those words came out, Zhou Ce’s mother sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes filled with disbelief.
“One hundred million? That’s far too much…” Zhou Ce’s father said awkwardly. “How about this? What if we give you fifty million for a chance to awaken a Spiritual Root?”
“Not enough.” The man immediately refused.
He said casually, “I remember your family owns a biopharmaceutical company, right? How about this—if you don’t have enough money, use the company to settle the debt. What do you think?”
“You should understand that the world is no longer what it used to be. Some ordinary people have already awakened Spiritual Roots. Your family is wealthy merchants to begin with. If you can’t keep up with the times now, I’m afraid you won’t be able to maintain your current social status.”
The man spoke earnestly. “Besides, there will be countless changes in the future. Who knows whether your company will even survive? If you sell it off now, at least your losses will be smaller.”
These words caused Zhou Ce’s father to fall silent once again.
But Zhou Ce, young and hot-blooded, couldn’t hold himself back any longer.
“My family’s company is worth tens of billions. You’re clearly trying to get it from us at the cheapest possible price by making us use it to settle the debt.”
“We’re not fools,” he said indignantly.
They weren’t incapable of producing one hundred million in cash, but the situation outside was too chaotic right now. Even if they wanted to raise the money, it would take some time.
Zhou Ce’s father thought the same way.
He said solemnly, “How about this? Give us one week. We’ll raise the money and give it to you.”
As for the company, he could forget about it.
The man understood the meaning behind his words.
Furious to the point of laughter, he slammed down his teacup and stood up, preparing to leave.
“Suit yourselves. I’m only afraid you won’t be able to raise the money.”
He snorted coldly, swept his sleeve, and walked away.
Sure enough, over the next few days, Zhou Ce’s father discovered that a series of problems had been fabricated and exposed about his company.
Not only that, when he approached his old friends to borrow money, those friends all gave him the same answer and refused him one after another.
In just a few short days, the Zhou family found itself on the verge of bankruptcy.
As the deadline approached, they still hadn’t managed to gather enough money. The three members of the Zhou family were all extremely depressed.
Even the group of good-for-nothing friends who had always fawned over Zhou Ce seemed to have gotten wind of what was happening. One by one, they blocked his contact information.
These were the darkest days of his life.
He didn’t even dare go to the bars anymore. Every day, he hid in his room, scrolling through his phone and processing his emotions alone.
During that time, he also continuously practiced the incantations taught in countless videos, but he still failed to awaken a Spiritual Root.
Zhou Ce’s father’s hair also rapidly turned gray within just a few short days.
Guilt, embarrassment, and all sorts of complicated emotions lingered in Zhou Ce’s heart. He took a deep breath, and he even began to vaguely entertain a certain terrible thought.
In despair, he opened his phone. He had originally intended to open his notes and write down what he thought would be his final words, but unexpectedly, he accidentally opened the livestreaming app he used to watch.
The screen switched to a new livestream.
Inside the livestream, the streamer was chatting with her fans. After listening for a while, he only felt that this streamer was a fraud.
So he left a comment.
【Zhou Er Fu Shi: If you can really teach the incantation for free and help me awaken a Spiritual Root, I’ll do whatever you want me to do.】
And from that moment on, his life was rewritten.
—Just one day before the deadline, he actually awakened a Spiritual Root!
Excitement, exhilaration, joy…
It felt like he was dreaming. He shouted loudly, and when Zhou Ce’s parents hurried over, he showed them the flames blazing in his hand.
His voice trembled. “Dad, Mom, I really awakened a Spiritual Root.”
As he spoke, tears streamed down his face.
Overwhelmed with excitement, he gave all his savings to the streamer on his phone.
A full five million yuan. He spent it willingly and without the slightest regret.
Awakening a Spiritual Root meant that his father no longer had to beg others for help. It meant that he possessed the ability to remain in his current social class.
Perhaps the company would collapse, but his Spiritual Root had preserved a glimmer of hope for them to rise again.
And all of this was because of this complete stranger on his phone.
Thinking of this, he silently swore to himself.
He was now Work Sis’s die-hard fan. From now on, if Work Sis said east, he would never go west. As long as she livestreamed for even one day, he would guard her livestream without fail.
In his heart, Work Sis was as mysterious and unfathomable as a deity. He had a feeling that as long as he stayed in her livestream, he would gain more and more.
Besides, he wasn’t completely incapable of helping Work Sis either.
So when Work Sis went live again, he immediately rushed over and sent ten Spaceships, then left a message.
【Zhou Er Fu Shi: Streamer, streamer, look at me! I have a business proposal. Could you add me as a contact? I’ve already sent you a private message. Please, please check your DMs!】
“Cooperation?”
Seeing this barrage, Xie Zhiyu raised an eyebrow. The spiritual energy she had been carefully controlling suddenly slipped out of control, and the seeds she had just planted in front of her suddenly went bang, taking root and sprouting. In an instant, they expanded dozens of times in size.
“Ow!”
A fruit nearly the size of a fist dropped onto her head. Xie Zhiyu covered her head, and because she lost her grip on her phone for a moment, it fell directly onto the ground.
The screen instantly went black.
The nearly 8,000-person livestream: ???
【An’an Eats Watermelon: (terrified) What happened? Did the livestream crash again?】