"Senior Brother..."

An ordinary-looking girl sat behind the counter and greeted a boy as he entered the Refining Hall.

The boy did not look at her as he headed deeper into the hall.

When they saw him, all the disciples inside the Refining Hall stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him. Various expressions flashed through their eyes.

"What a shame! How could the sect master have such a useless son?"

"Indeed, it is a shame."

"I heard he has been moving from one hall to another for the past three years, trying to learn a side occupation."

"Yes, with his trashy talent, how could he learn anything? All the hall masters were furious, but since he is the sect master's only son, no one dares to stop him."

"What's he doing in the Refining Hall again? I thought he visited last year."

"Shut up!" The girl behind the counter snapped, silencing the gossiping disciples. "If you dare say another word, I won't hesitate to report you to the sect master's wife."

The moment they heard "sect master's wife," dreadful expressions appeared on their faces, and they scrambled to finish their work.

In the Dust Valley Sect, the most feared person was neither the sect master nor the supreme elders.

It was the sect master's wife. Rumors even said the sect master himself was afraid of her.

She was powerful and overbearing, never hesitating to punish anyone who angered her. And since she had given birth to Mao Jin, he became her reverse scale—untouchable.

Thus, despite Mao Jin's trashy talent and infamous reputation, no one dared to bully him.

On the contrary, he was the bully.

Mao Jin was arrogant and wouldn't hesitate to start a fight over the smallest grievance.

Although he was the weakest disciple in the sect, he constantly challenged those far stronger than him.

At first, disciples were afraid to fight back, but Mao Jin's arrogance knew no bounds, forcing them to retaliate—albeit carefully, avoiding his vital spots.

However, everything changed three years ago.

He had tried to force himself on one of the most beautiful girls in the Inner Court—only to receive the beating of his life.

Against a Mortal Rank-9 disciple, Mao Jin's Mortal Rank-1 strength was utterly useless.

He was pummeled so severely that it took him three days to wake up from a coma.

Since then, his attitude has changed. He stopped throwing his weight around and developed a new hobby, moving from one occupational hall to another.

At first, many thought he might have talent in a side occupation. But after a few months, it became clear he was lackluster at everything and immediately, people lost interest in him.

Inside a Refining Room, Mao Jin wore a solemn expression as he worked on an item.

Anyone who saw him now would be shocked. The Mao Jin they knew had never been serious about anything.

And they would be right.

This was not the Mao Jin they knew.

The original Mao Jin was long dead.

Jun Wu, a transmigrator from Earth, had taken over his body.

As he worked, his gaze flickered to the floating panel in the corner of his vision. Hope surged in his chest.

As a transmigrator, he had a golden finger—a system. But its first mission was a daunting task.

[Mission: Make Money.]

 [Details: Money makes the world go round. Learn to make money. To earn your first income, everything must solely depend on you. You can't resell what others created. Use your brain. Create something big.]

For three years, he had tried everything to trick the system into recognizing his earnings, but he had failed. His lack of talent limited his options.

He was eighteen this year, and if he failed to activate the system before his birthday, it would vanish forever.

How could he allow that to happen?

After moving from hall to hall, he realized he had a small talent in runes and formations. So, he had spent the past one and a half years working on an idea.

And today, he will complete his project.

Gripping a rune inscription pen, he carefully engraved symbols onto a glowing rectangular jade. This was the lowest-grade jade he could afford without troubling his parents.

Besides, with his weak spiritual energy, anything of higher quality would be useless.

Finally, after an hour, he was done.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and prayed.

He could not afford to fail.

On the refining table were seven palm-sized rectangular jades and a conical device made from spirit wood.

The conical item stood 20 centimeters tall.

Mao Jin stared at his creations and took a deep breath.

"Please work. Please…"

His heart pounded against his chest as he pulled a low-grade spirit stone from his spatial pouch.

Carefully, he placed it atop the conical device.

The moment he did, the formation inside it lit up.

"Hahaha! It works!"

Tears of joy dripped from the corners of his eyes.

He has worked tirelessly for the past three years, and now his efforts have finally paid off.

Recovering from his excitement, he knew this was just the beginning.

He grabbed a palm-sized jade and sent a portion of his spiritual energy into it. Instantly, the jade glowed.

Not only that, the conical device released a matching light.

Seeing this, Mao Jin burst into laughter.

He had succeeded.

His future was about to change forever.