Although Aina and Xia Lun had taken their relationship a step further, their interactions… didn’t seem to have changed much.
Life went on as usual—venturing out, completing commissions, and quietly raising their adventurer team’s rank.
After the incident in Olie City, the Adventurer’s Association had investigated and made an exception to promote their team directly from lv.1 to lv.3. Now, they weren’t far from reaching lv.4.
“Xia Lun, have you thought about recruiting more members?” Liyana suddenly asked. “Someone approached me earlier, asking if our team needed more people.”
Most high-ranking adventurer teams grew stronger and expanded their numbers—typically, a lv.5 team would have hundreds of members.
Dawn’s Wings was gradually gaining some reputation, with much of the attention focused on Xia Lun. Many had heard that he possessed the blessing of a goddess, making him exceptionally powerful.
“Honestly… I still prefer the current atmosphere,” Xia Lun replied after a moment of thought. “With more people, issues like uneven resource distribution and conflicts could arise… What do you all think?”
The others nodded. Their team’s roles were already well-rounded, with everyone fulfilling their duties and familiar with one another.
They were still in contact with Lady Ankula as well. Though she didn’t join them on adventures, she played a significant supporting role.
Xia Lun sat down beside Aina.
Aina’s expression remained unchanged, and Xia Lun didn’t make any further moves.
“Need some water?” Xia Lun offered his waterskin.
“No,” Aina replied flatly.
Xia Lun: “The weather’s nice today.”
Aina: “Yes.”
“Hope we’ll find something good in the dungeon today.”
“Good.”
The rest of the team exchanged glances.
It was hard to believe these two were a couple.
Not that they could blame them—neither Xia Lun nor Aina had any prior experience with romance, making it easy for their conversations to hit dead ends.
“Hey, hey, Xia Lun, just talking won’t cut it… You need to take more action,” Liyana, the most experienced in love among them, advised. “Holding hands, at least—that shouldn’t be too hard, right?”
Xia Lun glanced at Aina beside him.
It should… be fine, right? They’d already kissed before…
Carefully, he reached for Aina’s delicate hand.
Slap!
Aina swatted his hand away instantly.
Like a startled cat with its fur bristling, she scratched Xia Lun sharply.
Xia Lun withdrew his hand sheepishly, a bright red mark now visible where Aina had struck without holding back.
“Don’t mess around,” Aina said coolly.
The others pretended not to notice, turning their heads away, clearly struggling to hold back laughter—though none dared to actually laugh.
After all, Xia Lun was their captain, and Aina was their mage… both were pillars of the team.
Who would’ve thought these two had such a side to them?
“Something’s approaching.”
Xia Lun’s gaze sharpened instantly. Playful banter aside, he knew when to get serious.
“I’ll handle it,” Aina said, rising slowly.
“I—” Xia Lun started to stand but was immediately cut off by Aina’s command.
“Stay seated.”
Xia Lun obediently sat back down.
Though Musen had treated his injuries, the wounds from the Chaos Dragon Clan weren’t healing so easily, still throbbing faintly.
He’d hidden it well—the others hadn’t noticed anything amiss—but nothing escaped Aina’s eyes.
The Chaos Dragon Clan was far beyond ordinary monsters… the fact that Xia Lun had managed to retrieve the Dragonblood Flower and escape unscathed was a testament to his strength.
Aina took a step forward, her figure blurring into nothingness.
“If you two ever get married, you’re definitely going to be henpecked, Xia Lun,” Liyana sighed, patting his shoulder. “If you’re like this now, you’ll be hopeless if you don’t toughen up.”
“We’re just dating normally right now. Who knows what’ll happen in the future?” Xia Lun waved it off.
“Liyana, don’t say that about Captain Xia Lun,” Moke chimed in, as always taking Xia Lun’s side. “Being able to date Lady Aina… Captain Xia Lun is already amazing.”
Liyana clicked her tongue. True, with Aina’s overwhelming presence, trying to outmatch her was nearly impossible.
“As long as you’re happy, Xia Lun,” Musen said. “Everyone has their own definition of love and happiness. We shouldn’t impose our views on others.”
“I see…” Liyana nodded, though not entirely convinced. “So Xia Lun’s into this kind of dynamic… Tsk, who’d have thought a straight-laced guy like you could be so twisted.”
Aina returned at some point, sitting back down silently beside Xia Lun and startling Liyana.
Her robes were pristine, as if she’d never left.
“No injuries?” Xia Lun asked with concern.
“Of course not.”
Aina tossed a fist-sized magic core into Xia Lun’s lap, the faint scent of blood still clinging to it. “For you.”
“This is your spoils, Aina,” Xia Lun tried to return it.
“Take it,” Aina ordered, her tone brooking no argument.
Xia Lun hesitated but still seemed reluctant.
“It’s a return gift,” Aina added, softening her tone slightly. “The flower… I liked it.”
After all, the Hero was now her partner—different from the subordinates she’d had in the vampire clans. She shouldn’t be so domineering. Aina quietly reminded herself.
She’d never had an equal to converse with before, and now she was still struggling to adjust.
The Dragonblood Flower sat in a prominent spot in her spatial ring, displayed in a small pot.
Naturally, it was just a memento of her conquest over the Hero—nothing more.
“Thank you,” Xia Lun smiled, finally accepting the magic core.
Liyana watched the exchange with envy.
Well, now she understood—Xia Lun wasn’t just in a relationship; he was practically being spoiled!
That magic core would fetch an astronomical price if sold. If someone gifted her something so valuable, she’d gladly endure cold shoulders every day too.
“Here…” Xia Lun suddenly offered his waterskin again. “Want some water?”
This time, Aina didn’t refuse. She took it from him, opened it, and took a small sip.
Xia Lun: “Ahem… The weather’s really nice today.”
Aina: “Mm. The sun is warm.”
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
