From Joy of Life, the Tian Gang is reversed

Chapter 228 The Art of Boasting and Deception
You're just a clueless book reader who doesn't know anything, yet you want to be surnamed Zhao!
As a lucky time traveler who has entered the book and knows the future development, wouldn't it be better to make a fortune for yourself?

Why do so many things?
What's the point of having such a strong sense of responsibility?
He encouraged the flow of qi into the rivers and lakes, forced growth, drained the pond to catch all the fish, promoted the imperial examination system, and made Confucianism the sole state ideology, so that the court would be more disciplined and the people could live in peace.
Who do you think you are? A king returning to power?

Is this something a country bumpkin like you should do?
Do you know how many people you've taken advantage of? Do you know how many people you've blocked from advancing?
They might even ruin the chance for Little Meng Tianzun to show his divine power in front of others!
If I don't mess with you, who will I mess with?
"Who are you?"

Zhao Xun's words made Huang Longshi even more uneasy.

Since arriving in this world, several hundred years have passed. From the initial fear of entering the world of the book, to gradually adapting to this world.

He had never felt this way in hundreds of years.

Although Zhao Xun didn't explicitly state his meaning, it was already quite clear: he knew the purpose of his actions, he knew his biggest secret, and he might even know what he had always wanted to know—why he was in this familiar world, becoming a book reader.

"Who I am is not important. What is important in this world is that I am Zhao Xun, the heir apparent of Prince Jing'an." Zhao Xun looked at Huang Longshi, a hint of sympathy flashing in his eyes. "As for who you are, that is also not important. No matter who you were before, here, you are Huang Longshi, and that is important."

“You are proficient in the art of divination and can manipulate the fate of a world at will. You should be able to understand what I am saying.”

“I understand that identity is important in this world.”

"Identity is very important in this world. Poor stowaway, your original identity disappears after you enter this world. Without this identity, you won't even know where to be reincarnated after you die," Zhao Xun sneered.

"I only care about this life, and I never care about what happens after I die."

"Your life this time is truly extraordinary!" Zhao Xun shook his head helplessly. "Do you know how long it takes to cultivate a civilization? How much energy does it require?"

"First, we need to find a world suitable for life to survive, sow the seeds of life in this world, and let life evolve over countless years until intelligent life, such as humans, emerges. These are all initial investments."

Then, spend time guiding and nurturing them, teaching them how to make fire, build, craft tools, farm, and hunt. Of course, from this point on, there will be benefits. Going a step further, teach them to write and record, which is also beneficial. As time goes on, tribes are established, totem worship emerges, projection appears, and primitive beliefs are established, which is also a huge benefit. Then, wars and plunder occur, primitive states are established, and religious wars begin, with the winner taking all, which is still a huge benefit…”

"Do you understand what I mean?"

Huang Longshi's expression had begun to blank out, but after hearing Zhao Xun's words, he suddenly came to his senses and said, "Oh, I understand."

"Whether you understand or not, or how much you understand, you must know that all the processes can be ignored, but there are only two words that cannot be ignored: 'profit.' This is a business, understand? They've acquired the land, built the houses, and purchased the goods. What they need next is profit. And you, you rush into their shop and give away all the goods they're trying to sell. Tell me, who do you think you are?"

"I..." Huang Longshi was deeply shocked and speechless.

He stood there, motionless for a long while, slowly digesting, analyzing, and understanding the meaning behind Zhao Xun's words. Finally, he let out a long breath, and his mind gradually calmed down.

"So, everything in this world, all living beings, are merely commodities, their existence solely for the purpose of being harvested?"

"You can't understand things at a higher level, you can think of it that way." Zhao Xun smiled slightly.

"So, you people treat all living beings as commodities, manipulating their destinies to develop in the direction you want, right?"

"Wow, this is such a great summary," Zhao Xun thought to himself.

Looking at Huang Longshi's actions, he is a self-important fellow with a strange arrogance. He believes in the idea that his fate is in his own hands, not in the heavens. That's why he defied the world and started the Spring and Autumn Period War. He also recklessly leaked the imperial court's fortune into the martial arts world, causing it to burn like oil. That's why he thought of using his own strength to create peace for all generations.

what is this?
This is an ancient time traveler, from the late 1990s or early 21st century!

These kinds of people love nothing more than two words: defying the heavens! "Going against the heavens will bring retribution." Looking at Huang Longshi, who was gradually getting agitated, Zhao Xun sighed softly, as if he felt a little regretful.

"My fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens." A resolute glint flashed in Huang Longshi's eyes as he flicked his fingers, pressing them directly towards Zhao Xun. "I beg the angels to return to heaven!"

With a single palm strike, everything in the room was silently reduced to dust.

"Land Immortal Realm, you should go to Martial Emperor City to fight Wang Xianzhi."

The palm strike, which was almost capable of annihilating everything, stopped abruptly three inches away from Zhao Xun.

Or rather, it was a missed opportunity.

Only then did he realize with astonishment that the Zhao Xun in front of him was merely a "shadow".

"you……"

"Although I am not skilled in martial arts, you cannot kill me. Otherwise, I would not dare to steal your fortune in front of you. What do you say?"

"Seventeen Techniques of Light and Shadow!"

Looking at the half-real, half-illusory Zhao Xun before him, a hint of surprise finally flashed in Huang Longshi's eyes, "This..."

"It's just a trivial skill." Zhao Xun looked at him and smiled. "Huang Longshi, you entered the Celestial Realm with the first rank of Confucianism, but you have too few Confucian methods. Do you know why?"

"suddenly--"

This time, the palm strike was even more ferocious, but the force, powerful enough to shatter metal, still easily passed through Zhao Xun's shadow without leaving a trace of injury.

"Keep going, do it a few more times, and see if you can find my weakness and discover my true form."

Suddenly, suddenly, suddenly...

Huang Longshi moved swiftly, sweeping through every corner of the room with his palm strikes, but unfortunately, he couldn't shake Zhao Xun in the slightest.

Zhao Xun's shadow stood before him, silently watching Huang Longshi unleash "all" of his abilities until Huang Longshi finally stopped, somewhat dejected.

“This is my bedroom, and it’s also the property of the Jing’an Prince’s Mansion. You’ve even scraped off half of the wall plaster, so you have to pay for it,” Zhao Xun said, looking at him. “If you don’t pay, I will do everything in my power to sabotage your plans, destroy your dreams, make all your efforts over the past few centuries go to waste, and erase your name and all records about you from history, leaving no trace of you.”

"Do you think I'm afraid?" Huang Longshi raised his head, a hint of anger in his eyes.

“I know you’re not afraid. I’ve seen plenty of hotheads like you. Defying the heavens, huh? I’m in my own hands, not in the heavens’ hands. Don’t you think you’re anything special? Do you think the heavens will even look at you?” Zhao Xun sneered. “You’re just a clueless country bumpkin. But you still have to pay me back.”

Huang Longshi stared intently at Zhao Xun's shadow. After a long while, he finally lowered his head. "Someone will deliver it. Whatever tricks you have up your sleeve, I'll take them."

"You're so self-righteous!" Zhao Xun sneered. "What I care about is profit, and I've already squeezed you dry. Why would I use any means to take advantage of a country bumpkin destined to perish?"

(End of this chapter)