Chapter 2. The Complete Dao De Jing, Setting the Board for the Future

"Hello," Lu Yuan answered the call.

A deep voice came through the phone.

—Is this Mr. Lu? I've just gotten off the plane. All the formalities are taken care of.

"Great. I've arranged for the entry pass into Christie's. The hotel has been booked too. The card has more than enough funds. Remember, no matter what, you must secure the item. If you have any questions, contact me anytime."

Lu Yuan spoke in a composed tone, laying out a list of instructions without pause.

Christie's.

As one of the most prestigious auction houses in the world, it featured rare artifacts and priceless works from across the globe. An upcoming auction happened to have one thing that Lu Yuan needed, so he recruited a specialist and sent him overseas to acquire the item.

—Understood, Mr. Lu.

The speaker on the other end then made a few final clarifications before ending the call.

Lu Yuan took a sip from his wine glass. He then unlocked his phone and scrolled through his photo album.

He paused on a photo of an ancient, yellowed book. It originated from Huaxia, but the text wasn't written in the usual script of Huaxia; instead, it was oracle bone script, a form of writing dating back to the distant past. According to international paleography experts, the manuscript might be linked to Laozi's

Dao De Jing

and was estimated to be more than two thousand years old.

A century ago, the manuscript had been unearthed somewhere within the borders of Huaxia. It was then lost to foreign lands during the chaotic war times. After passing through many hands, it finally ended up in Christie's vault.

Not long ago, word had leaked that the book would be featured in an upcoming auction.

Ordinarily, the appearance of such a manuscript would have sparked a national sensation in Huaxia. However, local experts dismissed it as a likely forgery from ancient times. Both the character count and chapter structure deviated significantly from the version of the

Dao De Jing

passed down through generations. Apart from its age, they believed it held little academic value.

Only Lu Yuan knew the truth: The book in Christie's possession was the true

and

complete

Dao De Jing

.

The world believed that the

Dao De Jing

contained only eighty-one chapters. But in truth, there were one hundred and eight.

What had been passed down in the lands of Huaxia was merely a fragment of the original, a copy that had lost its most vital core.

In his previous life, Lu Yuan had been nothing more than a small fry when the global awakening began. Even so, he had heard tales of a powerful cultivator who had fully comprehended the complete

Dao De Jing

, and he had refined both his body and soul to their absolute limits. His strength could shake the stars, and his soul was capable of bridging realms. He could even traverse the galaxy itself.

The Dao De Jing was truly a divine scripture of the highest order, its value rivaling that of Tianzhu's sacred Bodhi Tree.

Now that Lu Yuan had decided to rewrite his fate in this lifetime and climb to the pinnacle, the complete

Dao De Jing

was a piece he couldn't afford to miss.

"The Bodhi Tree alone cost nearly a hundred million. The Christie's auction will probably take another few tens of millions. No ordinary person can afford to burn through this much..." Lu Yuan remarked with a soft sigh as he locked his phone screen.

Of course, since he

could

afford to burn through this much, it followed that he was, in fact, no ordinary person. He was the heir of a wealthy family. His parents had passed away in a car accident a year ago and left him a fortune worth over ten billion yuan.

This was nothing new. The only difference was that in his previous life, after inheriting the family wealth, he had done nothing but squander it. He made no considerations for the future.

The money was more than enough to support his lavish lifestyle for a lifetime... or it would have been enough, except the global awakening happened.

Strength became the only law; the world became a jungle where the strong devoured the weak. Money was reduced to trash and had no value.

That was how Lu Yuan had fallen from a carefree young master to a nobody in his previous life.

Sure, he had a few lucky encounters, but those weren't enough to change anything.

Having been through the brutal jungle of survival, and knowing how it felt like to have his dignity trampled underfoot, Lu Yuan was clear about one thing.

Power is everything.

Without power, one was bound to become prey.

So the moment he regressed, the first thing Lu Yuan did was to set the board for the future. He liquidated assets and sold off everything he could in exchange for cash. Stocks, properties, everything. He didn't care if the price was low.

That mysterious tycoon in Hu City who had made headlines for a massive sell-off?

That was him.

In the eyes of outsiders, Lu Yuan's actions were undoubtedly extremely foolish. After all, the assets left behind by his parents were high-quality investments. Selling them meant losing millions every single day.

But Lu Yuan wasn't bothered the least bit.

Once the global awakening struck, in just over a month, all that wealth would become meaningless.

In the new era, money couldn't guarantee survival. Only strength could.

Even the villa Lu Yuan lived in was part of his inheritance. His parents had bought it back then for its peaceful surroundings.

After his return, Lu Yuan had extensively renovated the villa, turning it into a secluded base where he could quietly prepare during the limited time he had left.

Now, the Bodhi Tree is secured, and there shouldn't be any issues in getting the complete Dao De Jing. Next, is to track down the other divine artifacts that will appear after the awakening.

Lu Yuan gathered his focus. His mind raced as one plan after another surfaced in his mind.

Indeed, those two items alone were far from enough.

Lu Yuan had to gather as many supreme heavenly treasures as he could before the global awakening began. Only then would he be truly prepared to face any crisis the new era might bring.

Only then could he seize the lead—and keep it—for the rest of his life.

Bzzz. Bzzz.

Just then, Lu Yuan's phone vibrated, jolting him out of his thoughts.

He glanced at the screen and saw that it was his college class group chat.

Li Sisi: It's almost been a year since we graduated. Feels like forever since we last got together.

Wang Zibo: For real! @Li Hansheng Class rep, any reunion plans?

Li Hansheng: Already handled 😎 Booked a banquet room at Yunzhong Hotel! Food, drinks, games, everything's sorted. Y'all better show up!

Li Sisi: Whoa! Isn't that the fanciest five-star hotel in Hu City? That place costs tens of thousands per day. You're seriously spoiling us, class rep!

Chen Song: @Li Hansheng Uhh... does that mean we're splitting the bill or what?

Li Hansheng: Nah. Zhou Yunqiong's coming too. Her family owns Yunzhong. I already gave them a heads-up. Just come and enjoy!

Wang Zibo: Wait what? Goddess Zhou Yunqiong will be coming too? Then I'm 100% in!

Chen Song: Same! Been ages since I saw her.

Zhang Wei: I'll be there!

Zhao Pengfei: +1.

Qian Gang: +1.

All the guys: +1.

Li Sisi: Wow, look at all of you crawling out of hibernation after Yunqiong's name is mentioned. Guys.

Li Hansheng: Li Sisi, what are you talking about? We're not the most excited ones. Someone else holds that title.

Wang Zibo: Pinging @Lu Yuan 😏

Everyone: Pinging @Lu Yuan 😏

Li Sisi: Yeah, Lu Yuan crushed on Yunqiong for four years. Bet he's freaking out now

Li Hansheng: @Lu Yuan stop lurking! Say something! You in or not?

Staring at the stream of messages on his phone screen, Lu Yuan shook his head and tossed his phone to the side.

If this was in his past life, he might've been interested in a class reunion. He would even reply with enthusiasm. But now, he wasn't the least concerned about it.

After all, time was running short.

In Lu Yuan's eyes, a class reunion was totally meaningless.

As for the girl he once had a crush on... After witnessing the arrival of the new era, and going through all the bloodshed and war, those feelings had long since faded into dust.

Lu Yuan found no reason to reply.

But just as he stood up and was about to leave the room, a glint flickered across his eyes as a thought struck him. He picked up his phone again and opened the group chat. He then slowly typed a single word: In.

He had changed his mind for only one simple reason. He had remembered something that he needed, and it was related to this particular class reunion.

With that settled, Lu Yuan pushed everything out of his mind. He turned around and walked toward the gym room in his villa to begin his training session.

With just over a month left before the global awakening began, there was still much Lu Yuan needed to do.

Some heavenly artifacts couldn't be obtained with a simple tap on his phone or by sending someone else to retrieve them. He had to personally make the trip. And many of those places were extremely dangerous.

Which meant one thing: Lu Yuan needed a powerful physique to survive.