Chapter 1344: Femme Fatale
Meng Jingzhou clutched his eyes and let out a scream, attracting a crowd of onlookers and startling Lu Yang badly.
“Hey, hey, hey, you’re supposed to be telling fortunes, not learning how to fake injuries to scam people. Can’t you learn something decent for once?”
The passersby pointed at Meng Jingzhou and whispered among themselves. They were locals who often saw him around.
“He’s definitely trying to scam people.”
“Exactly. He’s been running his stall here for so long and barely gets customers. He must be relying on tricks like this to make money.”
“Scam my ass.” Meng Jingzhou fumed. Usually nothing happens, but as soon as I met Old Lu today, an almighty half-immortal like me became a street charlatan.
He snapped his fingers, temporarily blocking the passersby’s perception of the two of them. The crowd looked bewildered, then forgot what had happened here and continued shopping as though the two didn’t exist.
Lu Yang nodded inwardly. He had witnessed this move from Great Yu’s second Imperial Preceptor. It could truly be called a divine skill.
Meng Jingzhou rubbed his eyes. Fortunately, he had only been dazzled, not seriously affected. His eyes were just bloodshot. He shook his head, his vision somewhat unfocused as he saw double. “Old Lu, your karma is absurdly heavy. Even when I looked at Old Ancestor Meng and Old Ancestor Jiang, their karmic threads weren’t as many as yours.”
After condensing his Karma Incipient Dao Fruit, Meng Jingzhou had tested it on Jiang Ping’an and Meng Junzi, observing and studying their karma. Immortals were of too high a level.
A Karma Incipient Dao Fruit struggled to affect them, and karma wasn’t so easily perceived. Meng Jingzhou had tried several times before finally making out a rough picture, but the gains were worth it.
For peers at his own level, there were far fewer restrictions. He could look freely. For instance, he could see Lu Yang’s karma clearly. But the cost was obvious. Lu Yang was so deeply entangled in karma that it was beyond what Meng Jingzhou could withstand.
Lu Yang felt that Meng Jingzhou wasn’t faking it and felt a twinge of guilt. “Could you have seen it wrong? Maybe take another look?”
“Fuck off.” Were it not for the crowded street, Meng Jingzhou would have loved to give the cheeky Lu Yang a couple of kicks.
After a good while, Meng Jingzhou’s eyes returned to normal. “I’ve always wondered why an honest guy like me ends up in trouble wherever I go. Turns out you’re the reason!”
Meng Jingzhou could finally clear his name. Condensing this Karma Incipient Dao Fruit is totally worth it.
Heavens take pity on me. Before meeting Lu Yang, I was at most a local tyrant in the imperial city. I might have been lawless, but my influence was limited to peers.
Since meeting Lu Yang, I first brashly invited Big Senior Sister onto the carriage to discuss how to cheat, then encountered half-immortal battles and immortal battles, which became as commonplace as everyday meals. Even my old ancestor couldn’t cover for me.
“You really weren’t faking it just now?” Lu Yang was skeptical. “Even Great Yu’s second Imperial Preceptor didn’t react like that when he looked at my karma.”
“Pah! How is that the same? You were only at the Golden Core Stage then. How much karma could you have then? Old Lu, your karma isn’t just vast in quantity; its quality is also extraordinary. I can discern a faint imperial aura in it.”
“Imperial aura?” Lu Yang’s expression turned peculiar. Where would I get an imperial aura? Old Meng, are your eyes really okay?
Meng Jingzhou nodded. I’m a professional in this field; I can’t have misread. “Old Ancestor Jiang also has this kind of imperial aura, but yours is even denser. That means that you’ll become an even greater emperor than Old Ancestor Jiang!
“But don’t worry. As your good brother, I definitely won’t spread this around. Just give me a heads-up before you rebel. I’ve never tried rebelling before.” Meng Jingzhou winked, extremely interested in this topic.
“That said, it’s strange. You’re not yet an emperor, yet you have extremely stable imperial karma. When did you become a crown prince?” Meng Jingzhou stroked his chin, pondering. This doesn’t add up. Could it be that my cultivation of the Karma Incipient Dao Fruit isn’t quite there yet and I made a mistake? But that shouldn’t be. I’ve observed immortals’ karma without error.
Lu Yang remained silent. He believed his imperial aura wasn’t due to some rebellion but because he was the next successor of the Great Dou Dynasty. Come to think of it, the Great Dou Dynasty’s system is quite progressive. Throughout history, which dynasty didn’t pass the throne to blood descendants? Only the Great Dou Dynasty passes the throne to a Pillar Minister with no blood ties. Selecting the most capable minister as successor regardless of bloodline... This system is truly ahead of its time.
“Xiao Yangzi, you accidentally said your inner thoughts aloud,” the Everlasting Immortal Fairy reminded him. Lu Yang had muttered during his internal monologue, and though it was soft, it couldn’t escape an immortal’s hearing. She was quite happy to hear his thoughts.
Lu Yang was deeply ashamed. As a veteran minister of the dynasty, I should be composed and steady, yet I had made such a basic mistake. “Whenever I think of Your Exalted Majesty’s brilliance and how our Great Dou Dynasty system is far more advanced than those feudal, corrupt dynasties, I get carried away and can’t control my emotions. It won’t happen again.”
He returned to the real world and continued, “You said you excel at reading romantic fortunes. Could you look at mine?”
Meng Jingzhou patted his chest and gave a thumbs-up. “We’re brothers. No need for such formality. Which girl have you taken a fancy to? I’ll play matchmaker and tie the red thread for you directly.”
He flashed a confident smile. “Bet you didn’t know, right? Not only can I read karma, but I can also alter it. Go on, who is it?”
Just then, Meng Jingzhou shivered.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Yang asked.
Meng Jingzhou scratched his head, baffled. “No idea. I suddenly felt a killing intent, but it’s now gone. Didn’t you feel it?”
Lu Yang shook his head in bewilderment. “No.”
“Strange,” Meng Jingzhou mumbled. I have traveled between stars, condensed my Incipient Dao Fruit, and been running my fortune-telling stall. Everything has been going smoothly. Yet ever since I encountered Lu Yang today, it has been misfortune after misfortune.
“Forget it, let me read your romantic fate.” Meng Jingzhou dared not look directly at Lu Yang’s karma again. One more glance, and I may lose my eyes.
He shook the copper coins in his hand. Any knowledgeable person would be startled. These were the master templates for the coins from the Great Qian, Great Yu, and Great Xia dynasties. Every coin in circulation was minted from these templates.
Meng Jingzhou chanted, using the coins to anchor the shadow of Lu Yang’s romantic fate and indirectly deduce it.
Lu Yang felt something odd with his body, but couldn’t pinpoint it. The Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s reminder clarified it. “You’re sensing the Meng boy calculating your karma.”
Meng Jingzhou’s expression turned peculiar after divining the result. “A femme fatale fate profile? Prone to sparking conflicts and disputes, plunging the world into chaos?”
𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
This can’t be right.
Worried that Lu Yang would mock his inaccurate divinations again, Meng Jingzhou decided to reveal only part of the result. “Old Lu, your romantic peach blossom luck is quite strong. Many people are interested in you.”
“Oh, just as I thought.” Lu Yang was pleased. He figured Meng Jingzhou wouldn’t deceive him about something like this. The result isn’t unexpected. After all, I am famous. I have admirers everywhere in the Cultivation World.
“Master Meng, is there a way to increase my karma?” Lu Yang asked humbly. Since Omniscience is connected to karma, perhaps more karma will make it easier to advance to the Omniscience realm?
Meng Jingzhou’s eyelid twitched. “With your amount of karma, don’t deliberately look for ways to increase it. You could easily suffer a backlash. Just leave it alone; it’ll increase on its own.”