Chapter 84: Competing in the Selection Tournament Again

With me here, you will never have to live a hard life again.

There was not the slightest trace of falsehood in his words. If he were asked to marry her, he might refuse; but if he were asked to care for her, then he would do so sincerely for the rest of his life, until the day he died.

“Mm, to be honest, it was all right. I was poor when I was little, but I never felt life was bitter.”

He nodded. “When I was young, my family wasn’t well off either, but it felt rather carefree back then.”

She smiled. “When you’re a child, having food to eat and clothes to wear is enough. It’s not like now, when people compare themselves with one another all the time. There’s always someone above you, so of course happiness is hard to find.”

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. He no longer had to worry about money at all, and yet he did not feel much happier than when he had been delivering takeout every day to earn a living.

Perhaps contentment really was the secret to lasting joy.

Wild beasts had no cars, no houses, no money—yet people did not necessarily live happier lives than they did.

Still, Shen Xin felt there was nothing wrong with looking upward, and nothing wrong with a spirit of competition either.

He did not reject a cozy family life, nor did he reject people who strove to better themselves.

What he rejected was a life spent working from dawn to dusk, only to barely keep body and soul together.

That kind of life was hell. It was better to break free of that circle and try something new.

After accompanying Tang Zirann to burn incense and pay respects, he went with his parents and little sister to honor their own ancestors. Tang Zirann followed along as well. Shen’s mother kept talking before the family grave, roughly saying that Tang Zirann would be their daughter-in-law, and that she hoped their ancestors would bless her with good health and smooth fortunes.

Shen Xin did not believe in such things. He thought it was right to pay respects to one’s ancestors, but asking the ancestors to bless their descendants—wouldn’t that be exhausting for them?

Ancestors were ordinary people too, weren’t they? If you begged them like that, what were they supposed to do?

Besides, maybe they had already been reincarnated.

Of course, he did not contradict his mother to her face. He treated it as a set of beautiful wishes.

Whether things turned out well still depended on oneself.

In ordinary New Year holidays, there were not many visitors at home, but after relatives learned that Shen Lan had been admitted to Imperial Capital University and that Shen Xin was doing well for himself, quite a few people came by on the first day of the new year.

Most of the relatives from Shen’s father’s side came. Shen Xin did not feel much either way; seeing his parents smiling from ear to ear, he simply entertained the guests warmly.

People naturally seek advantage and avoid harm. One could not demand that others break the rules for the sake of one’s own affairs.

Water flows downhill; people move upward.

There was nothing wrong with that.

It was also what drove human progress.

As long as you grew strong and prosperous, friends and relatives would gather around you.

If you were content to sink into decline and made no effort to improve, you could hardly blame your kin for distancing themselves.

Visits to relatives and friends continued until the sixth day of the first month. Originally, Shen Xin had been reluctant to let his parents go to his new home in Niu City, mainly because he feared attracting unwanted attention.

But now that he thought about it, it was not really like that. Anyone truly intent on dealing with him would certainly have investigated his limits thoroughly. Better to be generous about it; with fewer worries, life felt less exhausting.

In any case, there were two giant geese. The four of them rode on the geese while Shen Xin drove the car, and they arrived one after another at Shen Xin’s new home.

After touring the place, his parents were full of praise for it.

They only felt that the barren ground in the courtyard ought to be planted with vegetables, and several storage sheds should be built to raise livestock.

Shen Xin smiled and said, “The city has everything we need. Zi Ran and I rarely cook at home anyway, so there’s no need to grow vegetables or raise livestock.”

As soon as Shen’s mother heard that, she was displeased. “Food outside isn’t healthy. It’s full of additives. It’s not as good as cooking for yourself. Zi Ran, what do you think?”

Tang Zirann hesitated for a moment, then nodded in reluctant agreement.

Shen Xin kept smiling. “Mom, Dad, little sis, stay a few more days and you’ll see how convenient city life really is. At noon, we’ll eat out.”

Shen’s father and mother said in unison, “Eat at home. Why waste money like that?”

Thinking it over, Shen Xin let them have their way. Everyone had their own ideas; there was no need to try to change his family’s minds.

With his parents around, time passed quickly. Every few days, Shen’s parents would ride the giant geese over, helping to tend the vegetable plot in the courtyard. They also stocked the pond with fish and built several sheds to raise chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs.

But all of it was in vain. The whole lot was ravaged by the giant geese and the two strange beasts.

Shen Xin’s parents persisted for a while, but in the end they had no choice but to give up.

Soon it was the second day of the second lunar month, the day the dragon raised its head.

Shen Xin deliberately got a haircut, then rode the giant geese with Tang Zirann to Holy City.

He intended to continue taking part in the selection tournament, except this time he planned to have Tang Zirann compete with him.

After waiting in line for ages, the two of them finally registered, then checked into the Dragon Hidden Manor.

The next day, the selection tournament began. Just as before, he did not climb the pyramid at first, waiting until the timing was right before pulling Tang Zirann with him and using five successive blinks to appear easily atop the pyramid.

He was still holding back. Otherwise, two blinks would have been enough to reach the summit.

Once on the summit, he watched his surroundings warily; if anyone dared make a move against him, he would strike back without hesitation.

Very soon an hour passed, and both he and Tang Zirann obtained Holy City citizenship, though they were still only third-tier citizens.

A young man in a bright floral shirt, beach shorts, and oversized sunglasses stopped him as before, smiling. “Friend, do you want to join our Heaven-Origin Sect?”

The Heaven-Origin Sect was the largest faction in Holy City, but he had no intention of joining any organization at the moment. Smiling, he replied, “Next time. I’ll definitely join the Heaven-Origin Sect next time.”

The man in sunglasses was not angry. He took out a business card and said with a smile, “Here’s my card. If you ever become interested, feel free to contact me anytime.”

“Sure.”

Shen Xin took the card and went strolling through Holy City with Tang Zirann.

Holy City had a population of just over one hundred thousand, yet the city was vast in area. It was laid out with impressive order and divided into residential, agricultural, industrial, academic, and commercial districts.

In his previous cycle, he had only wandered through the commercial district, and at most passed through the others.

In truth, Holy City was not as bustling as Niu City. First, its population was small, so there were not many buildings and not many high-rises. Second, its infrastructure was not especially developed; the roads were not wide, and there was not much greenery in the city.

There was really not much to see. If it were not for letting Tang Zirann broaden her horizons, he would not have wandered around aimlessly.

After looking for a while, Tang Zirann said a little disappointedly, “Brother, so this is the Holy City you were talking about? There’s nothing particularly special about it.”

Shen Xin nodded. “True, but all the people here are superhumans, and the things sold in the shops are top-quality goods—cheap and excellent. They’re hard to find anywhere else.”

“Then let’s buy some things and sell them in Niu City. Maybe we can make a fortune.”

Shen Xin laughed. “No rush. We’re only third-tier citizens right now, so we can’t buy much. Let’s finish a few tasks first.”

As he spoke, he downloaded the Holy City All-Purpose App and found a digging task in the bounty board. The request was to find a section of Mystic Spirit tree root in the desert. A living root would earn one thousand contribution points, while a dead root would earn one hundred. The approximate location was also provided.

Looking at the task, Shen Xin smiled knowingly. He showed the details to Tang Zirann once through and said, “Come on, let’s use earth-escaping arts to dig up tree roots.”

“Wow, this task is great. Come on, let’s go. We’re getting rich!”

“You little money grubber.”