Chapter 498: An Unexpected Surprise!
Shen Anyu directly skipped the white and purple rewards, looking at the gold and divine grade rewards with great anticipation, his eyes fixed on them.
A cascade of notifications began to chime within his mind, the System's emotionless voice a stark contrast to the burgeoning excitement within him. The lesser rewards were a blur of insignificance; his focus was locked solely on the rarest treasures.
[Ding! Congratulations, Master, you have received a gold reward: a bottle of Essence Nourishing Pill!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Master, you have received a gold reward: a bottle of Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Pill!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Master, you have received a gold reward: Transcendent Photography Skill!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Master, you have received a gold reward: a bottle of Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Pill!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Master, you have received a gold reward: a Grandmaster Guard Puppet!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Master, you have received a gold reward: Transcendent Nail Trimming Skill!]
The stream of golden notifications continued, each one representing a treasure that would make an ordinary martial artist ecstatic. Even for Shen Anyu, they were far from useless.
"The gold rewards are all pretty good." A faint smile graced Shen Anyu's lips as he mentally reviewed the haul. The Essence Nourishing Pill was a foundational elixir, designed to purify and solidify one's internal energy, fortifying their cultivation base against future bottlenecks. The Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Pill was a potent body-tempering medicine, capable of reforging muscle and bone, making one's physique as tough as a demonic beast. Both were excellent assets for enhancing strength. 'I could use these myself to further polish my foundation, or I could bestow them upon the women in my circle. Even my subordinates would kill for such a reward,' he mused.
Then there was the Transcendent Photography Skill. A smirk played on his lips. This was a technique that supposedly surpassed even the legendary "Teacher Chen," allowing him to capture moments with the Destined Heroines in perfect, vivid detail. 'These photos and videos will, of course, be stored securely in my Storage Ring,' he thought, a roguish glint in his eyes. They were trophies of a different kind, private mementos of his conquests, never to be seen by another soul. 'To look back on them from time to time... that would be an endless source of enjoyment.'
The ten gold rewards from his first thousand-draw session were now tallied: two bottles of the Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Pill, three bottles of the Essence Nourishing Pill, two powerful Grandmaster Puppets that could serve as tireless bodyguards, a rather unremarkable treasured sword that he had little use for, the intriguing Transcendent Photography Skill, and finally... a Transcendent Nail Trimming Skill.
Upon seeing that last item, Shen Anyu's eyelids twitched uncontrollably. A profound desire to complain washed over him. 'Really? A transcendent skill for... personal grooming? Is the System trying to tell me something, or is this some bizarre, hidden assassination art for delivering a fatal hangnail?' The sheer absurdity of it was almost insulting.
Of course, the golden trinkets were merely the appetizer. His entire focus, the full weight of his anticipation, was fixed on the main course: the divine grade reward. A singular, radiant notification pulsed in his mind, outshining all the others.
[Ding! Congratulations, Master, you have received a divine grade reward: one Heavenly Human Breakthrough Pill!]
The air seemed to deflate from his lungs. "Why is it the Heavenly Human Breakthrough Pill again?"
Shen Anyu's mouth twitched in mild frustration. It wasn't that the pill was bad; on the contrary, it was a priceless treasure capable of creating a Heavenly Human expert, a feat that would reshape the power balance of any major family. With the System's new investment rebate function, giving it to one of his women would also yield a handsome return for himself.
But it wasn't what he needed. What he desperately craved was a destiny child positioning card. He still had one Heavenly Human Breakthrough Pill sitting in his inventory from a previous reward; he'd obtained two back then, one of which he had already given to his dear Aunt An Zhiyue. Whether it was a standard positioning card or a divine grade one for a Son of Destiny, Shen Anyu wouldn't mind having more. They were the keys to his entire enterprise, the tools for hunting the protagonists that fueled his power.
With a decisive thought, he dismissed his disappointment. There was no time to waste. "Again. Thousand consecutive draws, activate."
The mental lottery wheel spun once more.
[Ding! Congratulations, Master, you have received a gold reward: a set of Tai Chi Divine Needles!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Master, you have received a gold reward: Wind and Cloud Leg Technique!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Master, you have received a gold reward: a Dream-Shattering Saber!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Master, you have received a gold reward: a portion of Qianji Poison!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Master, you have received a gold reward: a bottle of Vitality Pill!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Master, you have received a gold reward: a Grandmaster Guard Puppet!]
Shen Anyu's eyes swept over the new list. His mood immediately improved. These gold rewards were all excellent and highly practical. The Tai Chi Divine Needles were a perfect complement to his medical arts. Whether using the skills he'd plundered from the Country Divine Doctor Xia Liu or the profound inheritance from the Immortal Doctor Lu Ran, both systems included secret acupuncture techniques. With these needles, his medical prowess would ascend to a terrifying new level, making him truly peerless in the healing arts—barring, of course, another Child of Destiny with their own outrageous cheats.
Then came the Wind and Cloud Leg Technique. As the System integrated the knowledge, his mind was flooded with a storm of information. He saw not just countless leg shadows, but the very principles of motion, of harnessing airflow and momentum to create attacks that were as ethereal and unpredictable as a passing squall.
Shen Anyu assimilated the profound martial art in an instant and offered a simple, understated comment, "This leg technique is quite cool."
His casual attitude belied the immense power he had just gained. But his mind was already moving on. "What's the divine grade reward?" he murmured, a low hum of anticipation in his voice. He took a slow breath, composing himself as he continued scrolling through the draw records.
A flash of gold caught his eye, and his heart leaped.
[Ding! Congratulations, Master, you have received a gold reward: one destiny child positioning card!]
"It really came," he breathed out, a slow, triumphant smile spreading across his face. "Wishes really do come true. My luck is turning... good fortune always arrives when you need it most." The primary objective of this gacha session was complete.
And yet, what made Shen Anyu truly ecstatic was still to come. The System's notifications chimed again, this time with a brilliance that dwarfed everything before it.
[Ding! Congratulations, Master, you have received a divine grade reward: one Divine Grade Love Dream Talisman!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Master, you have received a divine grade reward: ten Divine Grade hundred-year zhu fruits!]
"A double yolk," Shen Anyu whispered, his voice thick with disbelief and glee. "A lucky hand... a truly great fortune. This luck is excellent."
A deep, genuine smile finally broke through his usually composed handsome features. For someone who often considered his luck to be mediocre, getting a double drop was rare even for gold rewards. To get a double drop of divine grade rewards was almost unheard of. The wave of euphoria was intoxicating.
There was little need to elaborate on the Divine Grade hundred-year zhu fruits. They were legendary treasures, ruby-red orbs of condensed spiritual energy that could not only dramatically increase one's cultivation strength and solidify their foundation but also had the miraculous effect of extending one's lifespan. They were the kind of heaven-sent item one could never have too many of.
But the Divine Grade Love Dream Talisman?
Shen Anyu's eyes flickered with a dangerous curiosity as he focused on its detailed introduction.
[Divine Grade Treasure: Divine Grade Love Dream Talisman]
[Type: Nightmare-class Treasure]
[Effect: Can randomly cause a stranger, either a Destined Heroine or Daughter of Destiny, within a ten-thousand-mile radius of the Master, to experience love dreams related to the Master as long as she falls asleep. This effect is permanent!]
[Note: The target of the Divine Grade Love Dream Talisman might be unable to resist the Master, or might develop murderous intent towards the Master, depending on the personality of the stranger, whether she is a Destined Heroine or Daughter of Destiny. Please use with caution!]
Love dreams? His mind instantly drifted to the intimate moments he had just shared with Zhou Luyao—the scent of her skin, the warmth of her body, the tangle of limbs and whispered words. So, those kinds of dreams.
"This Divine Grade Love Dream Talisman is... interesting. Completely random?" Shen Anyu murmured, pinching his chin in thought. The scope was immense—a ten-thousand-mile radius, centered on him. It would randomly ensnare an unknown Destined Heroine or Daughter of Destiny, and the effect was permanent. Every time she closed her eyes to sleep, her subconscious would be filled with images of him.
Good heavens. What would that do to a person?
Would she be overcome with shame and anger? Consumed by shock and disbelief? Would she feel an inexplicable connection, as if love had finally arrived in her life? Or would she be so infuriated by the violation that she would vow to hunt down and kill the man haunting her nights?
It was a scenario straight out of a story, like the fated meeting between the monk Xuzhu and the Western Xia Princess in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, who fell in love in a dark ice cellar without ever seeing each other, becoming true dream lovers.
[Akarin's Note: Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils is a classic wuxia novel by Jin Yong. The story of the monk Xuzhu and the princess falling in love in a dark ice cellar without ever seeing each other is a famous and romantic subplot.]
Or would the opposite happen? Would some peerless swordswoman, her cultivation and pride violated, come soaring from thousands of miles away, her blade drawn, intent on hacking to pieces the scoundrel who dared disturb her peace?
It was impossible to say. Everything hinged on the target's personality and strength.
Should he use it?
"The risk is a bit high," Shen Anyu muttered. His intellect, always calculating, immediately weighed the pros and cons. If he was lucky and the talisman targeted a Destined Heroine he could reasonably handle, it would be an incredible tool for conquest. How could a woman who constantly had intimate dreams about him not develop some feelings, or at the very least, find him completely unforgettable?
But if the target was too strong, with a volatile temper... that would be more than a bit troublesome.
He imagined the talisman landing on someone like Pei Changli, the aloof Fairy Pei and senior sister of the Sword Palace. Would her icy facade crack under the nightly barrage of such dreams, leading her to submit? Or would she perceive it as a demonic art and hunt him to the ends of the earth with her three-foot sword, screaming for his head? And what if it targeted a Destined Heroine even stronger, with an even greater murderous streak?
Shen Anyu carefully reread the description of the Divine Grade Love Dream Talisman one more time, his eyes scanning every word. Suddenly, a slow, cunning smile curved his lips. He had found the loophole. "Since it's a dream," he mused aloud, "one isn't fully conscious. That makes it difficult to remember my true appearance. At most, she'll have a vague impression... which greatly reduces the risk. I can try using it."
A spark of pure curiosity ignited within him, the kind a boy feels when discovering a fascinating new game he knows he shouldn't play. It was an irresistible temptation.
Men are boys until they die.
This Divine Grade Love Dream Talisman was a throw of the dice into the grand chaos of fate. Shen Anyu was eager to see which Destined Heroine or Daughter of Destiny would be the lucky—or unlucky—winner, and what kind of spectacular changes and dramatic interactions would arise from it.
Immediately, Shen Anyu's mind stirred, his decision made. He softly commanded the System:
"Use the Divine Grade Love Dream Talisman!"
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