Owe a Million? I'll Repay My Debt by Refining Pills and Become a Great Emperor

Gong Er, a finance professional, gets into an unexpected car accident. Still bitter over the stock options he never cashed in, he transmigrates to the Tianxuan Continent, into the body of a good-for-nothing young man with the same name who had just been driven to his death by a broken engagement. Bound to the "Deadbeats Who Don't Repay Their Debts" System, he starts with a debt of one million! To stay alive (mainly because he's afraid the System will punish him by turning him into a deadbeat), he has no choice but to use modern knowledge and the System's advantages to make money like crazy in the cultivation world (to repay his debts), cultivate and grow stronger (to protect himself), and study the four arts (to make money and stay alive).

Along the way, he rescues Gong Xiaomiao, a sweet, clueless girl in the same miserable predicament who has fainted from hunger by the roadside, his honest and simple-minded junior fellow disciple Wu Liang, and a little black cat named Meiqiu who tries to scam him. Thus, the "Broke Cultivation Squad" is born: a scheming big brother, a snarky little sister, an earnest junior disciple, and a mysterious, adorable pet.

With his modern financial savvy and the System's assistance, Gong Er sends shockwaves through the cultivation world:

The squad levels up along the way (Gong Er gets knowledge poured into him by the System, giving him a cultivation level that looks higher than it is but a solid foundation; Xiaomiao has a special constitution and occasionally unleashes bursts of power; the junior disciple advances steadily; Meiqiu eats and awakens new abilities), swindles and schemes (crossed out: does business with ingenuity), gets out of trouble (mainly through Gong Er's unconventional tactics and Meiqiu's unexpected skills), and builds wealth (with debt repayment as the top priority). Gong Er's scheming nature is on full display: he calculates every move involving his enemies, business partners, and even passersby, but is fiercely protective of his own people, especially his sister and junior disciple.

They get caught up in sect rivalries, treasure hunts in secret realms, and struggles for control of the empire. Gong Er always uses information advantages, loopholes in the rules, and modern thinking to overcome stronger opponents, paying the least and gaining the most. His reputation evolves from "shameless profiteer" to "peerless strategist"