Asher Damien woke up to the sound of someone screaming.
Not his problem.
He shifted slightly, his back pressed against the cold alley wall. The slums were already alive with noise—merchants yelling about overpriced goods, beggars fighting over scraps, and the occasional sound of someone getting mugged in broad daylight.
Classic.
He exhaled slowly, flexing his fingers. His body still felt weak, but there was a difference now. A shift.
Qi.
It was faint, barely there, but it pulsed inside him—a reminder that he was finally back on the path of power.
But he had a bigger problem.
He was still broke.
And being broke in a cultivation world was a crime punishable by death.
Alright. Time to fix that.
He stood up, brushing dust off his ragged clothes, and stepped into the crowded streets of Ironcrest. The air smelled of cheap food, sweat, and bad decisions. He fit right in.
As he walked, he heard a familiar voice.
"Y-You lied to me!"
Ah.
Turning the corner, Asher found the same girl from yesterday—now holding the same jade bottle she had "bought" before.
The scammer merchant was back to work, his smug grin firmly in place.
The girl was shaking. "You said it was a Qi Refining Pill!"
The merchant shrugged. "And? It refines something. Maybe your patience."
The girl's face burned with rage. She looked like she was about to explode.
Asher sighed. Did he have to do everything himself?
He stepped forward, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Didn't I warn you?" he asked, his tone half-amused.
She turned, blinking. "You again?"
The merchant's face twisted when he saw Asher. "You! You nearly ruined my stall yesterday!"
"And yet, here you are," Asher said, unimpressed. "Selling trash again."
The merchant scoffed. "What do you care?"
Asher smirked. "I don't. But she does." He glanced at the girl. "Let me guess. You spent everything you had. Again."
She turned red. "…Maybe."
Asher sighed. "Alright. Time to fix this."
He turned to the merchant. "New deal. You give her back double what she paid, or I make sure every single person in this market knows you're selling rat droppings as alchemy pills."
The merchant paled. "Y-You wouldn't—"
Asher didn't even respond. He just turned around and inhaled.
"HEY, EVERYONE! THIS GUY IS SCAMMING—"
The merchant panicked. "ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!" He grabbed a pouch of silver and shoved it into the girl's hands. "Take it and go!"
The crowd that had started forming slowly lost interest.
Asher patted the merchant's shoulder. "Pleasure doing business."
The merchant glared at him like he wanted to set him on fire.
Which, in this world, was a very real possibility.
Asher turned back to the girl. "There. Problem solved."
She stared at the silver in her hands, then at him. "…Why are you helping me?"
He grinned. "I'm not. I just enjoy ruining that guy's day."
Her lips twitched. "I… I'm Shin Kaede. From the Shin family."
Asher raised an eyebrow. "Family?"
She sighed. "Not a powerful one. Barely surviving."
Ah. A struggling family. Made sense. The weak were trampled in this world.
He started walking. "Well, Shin Kaede, try not to get scammed again. I won't always be around."
She followed him. "Wait. You don't belong to a sect, do you?"
He smirked. "Nope."
Her eyes lit up. "Then you should join the Shin family!"
Asher stopped.
Then, very seriously, he said:
"I would rather fight a hundred angry Spirit Beasts while naked."
Shin Kaede blinked. "That's… oddly specific."
He shrugged. "Not my first time."
She frowned. "Then what are you going to do?"
He smiled.
"Make money."
Gambling.
After what happened yesterday, he wasn't exactly welcome at the gambling den. But Asher Damien was a professional menace.
So he walked in anyway.
The moment he stepped through the door, every thug inside turned to glare at him.
A large man—the same Foundation Establishment cultivator from yesterday—cracked his knuckles. "You got balls showing up here again, brat."
Asher gave him a cheerful smile. "What can I say? I missed you guys."
The thug growled. "You cheated us."
"Did I?" Asher tilted his head. "Or were you all just really bad at gambling?"
The man's face twitched. "You know what? I was just gonna beat you up, but now?" He grinned, cracking his knuckles. "I'm gonna enjoy it."
Ah. Finally. Some fun.
The moment the thug lunged, Asher moved.
His footwork was flawless. A lifetime of combat experience in a child's body.
He sidestepped just as the man's fist swung forward. Instead of dodging completely—he grabbed the man's wrist.
And then, using the thug's own momentum—he twisted.
CRACK!
The sound of a dislocated shoulder.
The thug screamed.
The entire gambling den went silent.
Asher grinned.
"Who's next?"
Fifteen minutes later, Asher walked out of the gambling den with a pouch full of silver and a room full of unconscious thugs behind him.
Shin Kaede, who had been watching from outside, gawked. "You… just beat up a whole gambling den."
Asher shrugged. "In my defense, they started it."
She blinked. "No, they didn't."
"…Details."
Shin Kaede sighed. "Alright, fine. You have money now. What's next?"
Asher smiled.
"Time to buy some real cultivation techniques."