Chapter 1: Treasure Recognizes Its Master

  The sweltering summer day emitted scorching sunlight, making the air feel stifling.

  Pedestrians on the road are in a hurry, occasionally wiping away sweat from their cheeks.

  The weather in June is just so disgusting, but for those who have just graduated, everything is so beautiful, even the disgusting weather. Because freedom has already begun to beckon them, and studying anything has become a mere cloud!

  Along the way, most of them were young boys and girls who came out to have fun. With passion and youthfulness in the air, even the sultry weather seemed more vibrant. However, among the many young people, there was a handsome young man who hurried along, heading towards the distant antique street.

  Inside Antique Street.

  "Lin Fan little brother, you're here again looking for that legendary treasure!" A young man walking on Antique Street suddenly heard someone calling his name, turned around and saw an old boss he got along well with.

  "Right, Uncle Lin, come and try your luck!" Lin Fan rubbed his head and smiled.

  "You're always thinking about strange things! Now that you've just graduated from high school, why don't you take advantage of the two-month break to come work for Uncle Lin and earn some living expenses? Don't worry, I won't shortchange you!" said Mr. Lin.

  "Thank you, Uncle Lin! I've already found a job, so I won't bother you anymore! Uncle Lin, I'll leave first and not disturb your business!" Lin Fan shook his head in refusal.

  "That's good, if you don't do well in that job, Uncle Lin is always welcome here!" Uncle Lin saw that Lin Fan didn't agree and had to give up. Looking at Lin Fan's distant figure, he couldn't help but let out a sigh: What a great kid, yet with such a miserable fate.

  After strolling around Antique Street for a long time, Lin Fan still hadn't found what he wanted to buy.

  Suddenly, when passing by a small stall, Lin Fan's heart skipped a beat, as if something was calling out to him.

  Lin Fan stopped and looked at the things on the small stall.

  All that can be seen is that the small stall is filled with many old goods, mostly old books and some decorative items.

  She carefully examined the goods on the small stall for a long time.

  "Boss, how much is this book?" Lin Fan suddenly picked up a slightly worn-out book from the small stall and asked. The title of the book was just one word "Tao", and when he flipped through it, it was all blank, without a single word!

  "Good eyes, young man! This is a real treasure! Legend has it that it was made by the founder of Taoism himself, and it's an unparalleled treasure! Don't look at its worn-out appearance and blank content, but inside, it hides earth-shattering secrets. If you're a destined person who can decipher the great secret within, you'll become an unmatched existence! I think you must be that legendary destined person, to have picked it out with just one glance. In that case, I'll sell it to you at a blood-letting price - just 1000 yuan!" The boss, who looked like a sly merchant, said to Lin Fan.

  It seems that the boss has done a lot of research on young people today, knowing that they all fantasize about getting some kind of magical powers or treasures, and cultivating immortality.

  "Cheating ghost! Is the treasure of Hong Jun Dao Zu worth only that much money? It must be fake! 10 yuan! Alright, I'll buy it, if not then forget it." Lin Fan haggled.

  "Hey kid, you're too ruthless, dropping the price to 10 yuan in one go. And now you want me to add this ring for 500 yuan? I'm telling you, this is a set, if it weren't for seeing that you really wanted to buy it, I wouldn't have taken it out." The boss took out another ring and said with gritted teeth.

  The ring is entirely black, seemingly made of an unknown metal, with strange patterns etched onto its surface.

  When the ring and book were put together, Lin Fan's inner calling feeling became even stronger.

  "The ring is pitch black and doesn't look good at all. The shape is okay, though. 50 yuan, how about it? If you're willing, we can make a deal." Lin Fan continued to haggle over the price.

  "Come on, little brother, add a bit more. It's so low, I won't make any profit at all. You know I still have to support my family." The boss pleaded.

  After some bargaining, both sides finally completed the transaction at a price of 100 yuan for two items.

  Lin Fan rushed back home as soon as he got the thing, leaving the cunning boss behind to secretly rejoice: "The thing I picked up was sold for 100 yuan, what a huge profit!"

  It's called home, but it's actually just a dilapidated house. Lin Fan was an orphan who was abandoned in a small park when he was young and later picked up by an old man who collected scraps, the owner of this house, and brought back home to raise him.

  Because the old man didn't know Lin Fan's surname, he let Lin Fan have the same surname as him, which is Lin. As for Lin Fan's name, the old man found a jade pendant on his neck with the character "Fan" engraved on it, so he named him Lin Fan.

  In order for Lin Fan to go to school, the old man worked even harder. And Lin Fan did not disappoint the old man's expectations, performing exceptionally well from a young age.

  Unfortunately, in the summer of Lin Fan's third year of junior high school graduation, the old man unfortunately passed away due to overwork.

  Lin Fan has become human again!

  To fulfill his grandfather's wish that he would get into college, Lin Fan did not give up on his studies and started working part-time to earn a living and tuition fees.

  During this time, Lin Fan became fascinated with antiques and would occasionally use the money he earned from part-time jobs to buy small trinkets on Antique Street.

  Lin Fan placed the broken book and black ring on a worn-out table, looking at them with a puzzled expression.

  Is it really like what Zhong said, that I have to shed blood to recognize my master? Lin Fan thought.

  Lin Fan found a needle and pricked his finger, squeezing out a few drops of fresh blood onto the broken book and black ring.

  After waiting for a while, none of the situations Lin Fan had imagined occurred. The blood still stuck to the broken book and black ring, without being absorbed or anything.

  Lin Fan tried many methods but none of them worked, so he could only think that the feeling of being called was just an illusion.

  Finally, Lin Fan put the broken book into the drawer, and the black ring was threaded with a red string and hung around his neck.

  The next day, at night.

  In a secluded alleyway, two young men were surrounding a girl, preparing to rob her.

  "Hand over your money quietly, or you'll be in for a good time." One of the young men (A) said to the girl.

  The girl was so scared that she trembled and handed over her bag. Another young man (B) grabbed it, opened it and took a look.

  "Wow, you're quite rich!" Young B exclaimed, pulling out a large stack of money from his bag, roughly around 3-4 thousand, and said with delight.

  "I'm telling you, brother, why don't we rob another one? Look, this chick is pretty good-looking." The young man A said to the young man B who was holding the money with a sly smile.

  "Oh no!!" The girl's face changed drastically as soon as she heard they still wanted to abduct her, and she hastily cried out for help.

  "Go ahead and shout, even if you shout yourself hoarse, no one will come to save you! Haha!" said Young A.

  "Stop!!!"

  A loud shout came from the other side of the alley, and everyone turned their heads to see a young man walking out of the darkness. The newcomer was Lin Fan, who had just returned home from working outside.

  Upon hearing the sound, both the girl and the two young men were stunned.

  However, the girl soon came to her senses and someone had come to rescue her. Taking advantage of the two young men still being stunned, the girl immediately escaped behind Lin Fan.

  Seeing the girl escape, the two young men sighed in secret, what a pity.

  "So you're just a little devil. Kid, get out of here or I'll make you look good." The young man B threatened as he saw that the newcomer was only a teenager. At the same time, he flashed a dagger in his hand, which danced nimbly and played various tricks, dazzling people's eyes.

  Lin Fan blocked in front of the girl, protecting her and said: "You run quickly, I'll help you block them. Remember to call the police after running out."

  The girl heard this and hastily turned around and ran away.

  "Quick! Stop her, don't let her get away!" Young man A shouted anxiously to young man B.

  "I won't let you get away with this!" Lin Fan said, pouncing on Youth B.

  Young man B instinctively stabbed the dagger in his hand, but unexpectedly stabbed Lin Fan's heart. Suddenly, a stream of blood spurted out. Lin Fan slowly fell backwards.

  "He's dead!!!!" As soon as they saw someone had lost their life, the two young men hastily fled the scene.

  Just as Lin Fan thought he was going to die, the ring on his neck absorbed the fresh blood flowing from his heart and gradually emitted a mysterious glow that slowly enveloped him.

  Finally, when the light enveloped Lin Fan completely, the light suddenly brightened, illuminating the entire alley in an instant, but then disappeared abruptly between heaven and earth, taking with it Lin Fan who was also enveloped by the light.

  All that was left on the ground was Lin Fan's flowing blood, proving what had just happened here.

  About half an hour later, the girl brought the police to the alley, but found that there was only a pool of blood at the scene and no one else.

  The police investigated the scene and determined that it was a case of intentional harm, with the victim suffering serious injuries and possibly being taken away by the perpetrator.

  Not long after the police and the girl left, the space in the alley suddenly distorted, and Lin Fan, who had originally disappeared, fell out of the distorted space.

  Lin Fan's face was rosy, and the wound on his chest had healed and disappeared. If not for seeing Lin Fan's clothes covered in fresh blood, it would have been hard to believe that Lin Fan had just narrowly escaped death!

  What on earth happened? What did Lin Fan go through during his disappearance?

  It turned out that Lin Fan disappeared and appeared in a strange space. This space is boundless, with gray misty gas and purple gas everywhere.

  Lin Fan was suspended in mid-air, with the grayish-purple gases constantly entering and exiting his body. The wound on Lin Fan's chest healed at a visible rate, quickly disappearing without even leaving a scar.

  After the wound healed, those strange gases no longer entered or exited Lin Fan's body.

  Suddenly, the space where Lin Fan was located suddenly distorted, and when the distorted space returned to its original state, Lin Fan had already disappeared from this strange space.

  "...Evil..." Lin Fan slowly came to, finding himself lying on the cold ground.

  "Ah! I remember being stabbed in the heart, how did the wound on my chest disappear?" Memories flooded back, Lin Fan recalled being stabbed with a knife on his chest, and that knife seemed to have pierced into his own heart! The feeling of being on the verge of death made Lin Fan feel waves of fear, the feeling that life could be lost at any moment was truly terrifying!

  "Huh? Where's my ring? How did it end up on my left hand?" While checking his wound, Lin Fan suddenly discovered that the ring originally hanging from his neck was gone. After frantically searching for a while, he finally found the ring on his finger.

  Lin Fan tugged at his ring finger and was shocked to find that the ring seemed to be stuck on his finger, unable to be taken off.

  "Has he acknowledged his master? Yes, it must be so. The energy of the ring must have healed my wounds after acknowledging his master!" Lin Fan thought quickly in his heart.

  But Lin Fan couldn't understand one thing: he had already tried the blood recognition test before, but it hadn't worked! Why did it work now? Was the blood on his chest special? Or was the blood in his heart special?

  Too many annoying thoughts surged up, Lin Fan couldn't figure it out and shook his head, throwing away those annoying thoughts. What's most important now is to go home and get rid of the blood-stained clothes on his body!