Douluo Continent: Narration Modified, Everyone Goes Crazy!

Chapter 66 Shen He's Insight: The Yu Clan's Deception!

"Wow! They're even willing to stay and vouch for us, so it must be true this time!"

Seeing that Tang San and Master Yu had both made such guarantees, everyone was tempted, but only Shen He noticed something was amiss.

First of all, the original work never mentioned any God of Wealth, and ascending from Douluo Continent is not a simple matter. It involves the ocean, so wouldn't the followers of the Sea God care?

Or is this god of wealth actually the god of the sea?

Isn't that nonsense? You can find ancient books that have survived from records dating back tens of thousands of years?

Shen He was initially unsure, but Master Yu's suggestion of retrieving the item in installments made him realize that this was clearly a Ponzi scheme.

It's not entirely fake, though. Things salvaged from the ocean can indeed fetch a good price, and there have been treasures found in shipwrecks over the years. So, Master Yu can indeed operate this scheme. But you should know that Ponzi schemes don't usually collapse in the early stages.

What about later? By relying on deception and fraud, as long as some people profit in the early stages, more and more people will believe it. With more investors, the cash flow will eventually reach a point where Master Yu can no longer control it, which is when the so-called Ancient God Treasure Project will collapse.

Moreover, Master Yu was clearly prepared to stall for time and run away. With a 1.5x return and a month's time, this installment plan was enough for him to deceive people for a long time. Under this return, it was not impossible to maintain the operation for more than ten years, but no matter what, Master Yu's ability was not enough to grasp this so-called ancient god's treasure plan.

"Get out of here! We're not participating in this so-called Ancient God Treasure Project!"

Upon seeing that Master Poyu's scheme was a Ponzi scheme—or rather, a Yu Clan scam—Shen He had no intention of getting involved and making a quick buck.

After all, he could already imagine the scene of the entire mainland population chasing after Master Yu and Tang San after the collapse. Now that "Douluo Academy" is thriving, why would he do something that would obviously ruin his reputation?

"And you too, I'll be issuing a statement soon: Douluo Academy is not allowed to participate in this so-called Ancient God Treasure Project! Of course, if you insist on getting yourself into trouble and something happens, I won't be responsible!"

After giving a stern warning to the students in his academy, Shen He immediately ordered the gatekeepers to kick the two shameless master and apprentice out.

This guy actually tricked me, a time traveler! This is outrageous!

Others may not know who you and your master are, but do you think I don't? You're like a leopard that can't change its spots; you never forget to lie, no matter what!

"Oh dear! Even Douluo Academy can't handle the risks involved! It seems this ancient god's treasure is out of our reach."

Seeing that Shen He had the gatekeeper kick him and Tang San out without hesitation, Master Yu thought that Shen He was afraid of being killed and robbed because of the divine treasure he had made up, and that he was using this as an excuse to spread the word throughout Tian Dou City.

"I never expected Dean Shen He to be so young yet lack any drive. He doesn't even dare to get involved in this treasure related to the gods! What a misjudgment!"

"Isn't our cultivation as Soul Masters all about defying fate and changing our destiny? If we don't participate in a program that offers a chance to rise above others and become gods, what kind of Soul Master are we?"

"This is a chance for even ordinary people to become high-ranking gods! With a little effort, everyone can rise up and take control!"

Yu Da Shi and Tang San also took this opportunity to travel around Tian Dou City to persuade the people. Shen He originally did not want to get involved in this obvious scam, but Yu Da Shi used it as proof that the Ancient God Treasure was risky and that Douluo Academy would not participate.

Doesn't this just increase the credibility of Master Yu's flawed plan?

In addition, Master Yu and Tang San kept talking about what the God of Wealth's treasure contained, and even made up a complete story about the God of Wealth becoming a god.

"Once you obtain this treasure of the God of Wealth, even ordinary people can cultivate!"

"The God of Wealth became a god through his inexhaustible treasures! If you obtain his treasures, you too have a chance to become a god!"

"Our Ancient God's Treasure Project will be carried out in multiple phases. If you're worried about it being a scam, you can pay a small amount of Gold Soul Coins the first time to test the waters. Once we've raised enough funds, we'll set sail to salvage the treasure. We can even have a guarantor as a witness!"

"The maximum duration will not exceed one month! You can also contribute your labor if you wish!"

Some people, seeing that Master Yu's words were reasonable and well-founded, couldn't resist trying to spend some gold soul coins, but Master Yu told them that the first round of spots was full and they could only apply in the second or third round.

"What! Is it that popular? Quickly put it on the second round of slots!"

The people felt that with so many people, it couldn't be a scam, and they all signed up for the second and third sessions.

Little did they know that this was just the beginning of Yu's scam. Under the guise of installment payments, they would use the gold soul coins from the later installments to give back to the earlier participants a month later, gradually gaining their trust and snowballing their scheme. As long as enough people participated, they wouldn't realize they had been deceived.

Master Yu even miraculously managed to seduce Prince Xuexing, who had been ousted from his leadership position after the merger of the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy.

It can be said that after his elder brother, Emperor Xueye, Prince Xuexing also fell victim to the same tactic.

"If you obtain that legendary ancient god's treasure, wouldn't it be a piece of cake for you, Prince Xuexing, to ascend the throne? Besides, this is something even the Dean of Douluo Academy wouldn't dare to do. If you succeed, wouldn't that prove you're even stronger than Douluo Academy?"

When Prince Xuexing heard that even Shen He dared not do it, he was also tempted.

"And all you need to do is contribute your manpower and effort! After the treasure we salvage is divided among ourselves, we'll split the rest equally!"

Upon hearing that he wouldn't have to contribute any gold soul coins, Prince Xuexing immediately made the decision. Could there be any trickery involved in something that only required manpower and effort?

Little did he know that this was just the beginning. Once he saw that someone's investment had actually yielded a 1.5x return, he too would be unable to escape the fate of having to pay up.

Even if some clever people see through it, they might not be able to escape, because they all feel that the round they invested in is not the round that will collapse. Some people might even help Master Yu if they see that there is profit to be made, so that the gold soul coins will keep snowballing.

This Yu family scam exploits human greed and overconfidence.

For a time, Master Yu and Tang San were incredibly famous in Tiandou City because of their so-called Ancient God Treasure Plan!

While amassing wealth from the people, they even used the initial funds as bait to contact sects such as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, attempting to use the pretext of a plan to have some powerful soul masters hunt sea soul beasts to protect their safety at sea.

This would make the Ancient God's Treasure plan more believable, and also allow them to harvest additional Sea Soul Beast materials as income, extending the scam's duration and allowing the funds to roll over several times.

(End of this chapter)