Chapter 247: The Ups and Downs of Dingyu’s Life

As for the true nature of the war, it was not something Li Fan could currently ascertain.

When the dark clouds that had hung over everyone's heads gradually dispersed, and when the conscripted Cultivators returned to their hometowns, the war, which had lasted more than eight months, seemed like a dream, as if it had never happened.

Only when occasionally mentioning those Cultivator friends who had disappeared forever could one vaguely recall this tragic war.

Li Fan naturally also had Cultivator acquaintances who had perished in the war.

Not to mention Chen Ying from the Medicine Hall, who had died early in the Five Old Men Association's sneak attack.

In Congyun Sea Yanwu Hall, Jiang Zhengji and Du Xingchang both died.

Ce Zhen Hall also suffered heavy losses.

Three people were conscripted.

Gong Boyu and another Nascent Soul Formation Master named Mu Bowen were caught in the battle between Soul Transformation experts and did not escape the calamity.

Only Zhang Zhiliang survived.

As for the countless other Cultivators who held various positions on Wanxian Island, had only met Li Fan once before, and perished in this war, their numbers were even greater.

The ferocity of the Tianling State war was evident.

Fortunately, what this world never lacked were Cultivators who would press forward, one after another, fighting desperately for their lives.

Following a notification from the tianxuan mirror, the war and the death it brought were quickly forgotten by everyone.

Within three years, every Cultivator could purchase Cultivation Techniques at a 30% discount.

Each person was limited to one purchase and could not transfer it.

As soon as the news broke, Cultivators who had been feeling a bit down perked up and became excited.

Those whose contribution points were just a little short and could now afford their desired Cultivation Technique with the discount naturally purchased it immediately and began to Cultivate joyfully.

As for those who were quite a bit short on contribution points, but could barely afford the Cultivation Technique if they worked hard for three years, they began to frantically take on tasks and accumulate contribution points.

Finally, there were those Cultivators who had little contribution points left and no chance of getting enough, no matter how hard they tried, even in three years.

Some methods like "borrowing" or "getting rich overnight" became their last resort.

As the most famous method for getting rich quickly in Congyun Sea, the Set Fish at the end of year 16 attracted several times more Cultivators than usual.

The sky above the island was packed with people who came to join the fun.

Li Fan was naturally among them.

He clearly remembered that this time's Fish King was a white pomfret.

Although he currently had enough contribution points, Li Fan would not miss any opportunity to increase his wealth.

He selected his target and placed his bet.

The twenty-seven-day observation period flashed by.

Soon it was the day when the lake water erupted skyward and the grand prize was announced.

Most of the Cultivators had bloodshot eyes and tense expressions, not daring to make a sound, only staring intently at the countless fish competing with each other in the lake below.

The final result surprised Li Fan.

This time's Fish King was not the white pomfret Li Fan remembered.

Instead, it was a golden, Divine Qi-filled spearfish.

"I won! I won!"

Amidst the continuous sighs and curses of the Cultivators, an extremely excited howl was particularly noticeable.

Following the sound, Li Fan saw a disheveled young Cultivator, his clothes ragged, but now incredibly excited, his face flushed red.

"The grand prize! I won! The grand prize!"

As if afraid others wouldn't know, he screamed frantically.

Ignoring the many murderous gazes, the young Cultivator laughed uproariously, looking insane.

"Oh my, isn't that Han Yi? I heard a few years ago a Foundation Establishment Master scammed him out of all his savings, and he's been living miserably. I never thought he'd turn his luck around today and win the grand prize!"

"What kind of dog-shit luck is this!"

"Why don't good things like this ever happen to me? I just lost the few hundred contribution points I painstakingly saved!"

"This time, with so many people, and it's the grand prize. The winner takes all, and it's the end of the year, so the usual prize pool will be cleared out…"

"Damn, the final reward is probably at least a million contribution points or more!"

After a quick estimation, the Cultivators looked at Han Yi differently.

And Han Yi, who was a little carried away after winning the grand prize, finally noticed something.

His expression became nervous and uneasy under the increasing number of gazes.

Fortunately, the rules of Set Fish were still in place; in broad daylight and in front of everyone, the winner's safety was guaranteed.

Otherwise, if killing and seizing treasures became so easy, and the rules were broken, fewer and fewer Cultivators would participate in Set Fish in the future.

It would be better to use this opportunity to widely promote it and attract more Cultivators to participate in the future.

A small Foundation Establishment cultivator, desperate and impoverished, gambles everything and completely turns his life around.

From then on, he heads towards the Peak of his life, with Nascent Soul and Soul Transformation within reach.

What slogan could be more appealing than this living example?

After an exchange of glances, the organizers of Set Fish quickly brought Han Yi to the center of the crowd.

After some calculations, they immediately transferred the enormous reward totaling 1.56 million contribution points to Han Yi.

Upon receiving the reward, Han Yi no longer looked excited.

He just seemed a little dazed, as if he couldn't believe any of it was real, and his face still held a hint of bewilderment.

And the greed in the eyes of the surrounding Cultivators grew even more frightening.

For the safety of this lucky individual, the organizers of Set Fish decided to personally escort Han Yi back to Wanxian Island.

Those Cultivators who had lost all their stakes to Han Yi followed behind unwillingly.

Soon, surrounded by the crowd, Han Yi left this sea area.

Only the golden spearfish king, quietly digesting the essence of the other participating fish, remained.

And Li Fan.

Looking at the golden spearfish king whose aura was constantly growing stronger, Li Fan couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

"Why is the outcome in this life different from what I experienced?"

"Where did the variable come from?"

Li Fan, who missed out on the grand prize, didn't feel much mental imbalance.

Besides Set Fish, he had many other ways to earn a large amount of contribution points.

The reason for the different outcome was what truly interested him.

"Logically speaking, besides the increased number of participants, there shouldn't be anything that could affect the outcome of Set Fish."

Li Fan stood still and pondered for a long time, but couldn't come up with a reliable answer.

He simply used the Mystic One Transformation Dao secret technique to continuously replay the scene of the recent Set Fish in his mind.

Slowly, Li Fan noticed something.

What Li Fan considered "no major variables" was from the perspective of a Cultivator.

However, from the perspective of the countless fish participating in Set Fish, variables were everywhere.

It could be a change in water flow caused by an item carelessly discarded by a Cultivator.

It could also be a fish that changed its movement trajectory, intimidated by a Cultivator's aura.

…

Because fish are too weak, and Cultivators are too strong.

The weak cannot protect themselves; they can only drift with the current, manipulated by so-called variables.

Li Fan gained some insight.