Today was another day for Kasha to return to the countryside for supplies.
The journey was peaceful, without any obstacles like last time.
There were no bandits either—the world had become much safer now. Even a girl like her dared to travel alone on a horse-drawn carriage along the rural path.
The laws of the Yalan Empire were strict, even dispatching knight orders to eradicate notorious outlaws... Knights granted titles were at least mid-tier warriors, so no bandit dared to cause trouble. Otherwise, they’d immediately become trophies hanging from a knight’s lance.
The royal family had even hired a group of fortune-telling witches who could divine the whereabouts of criminals... Such tales had long circulated among the people. Though no one knew if they were true, there was no doubt they served as a powerful deterrent to those with ill intentions.
With the war between demons and humans over, refugees dwindled, and life grew more prosperous. Few were desperate enough to turn to banditry.
On the surface, this era had indeed stabilized, establishing a new order.
And all of this was naturally the achievement of that great hero... The foundation of this order came from the hero’s notes.
Well... In truth, Xia Lun hadn’t left behind any notes, but Aina probably knew that.
"Mr. Joli, good morning! Are you heading to the woods to practice swordsmanship?"
As soon as Kasha arrived at the village entrance, she spotted Joli carrying an iron sword, clearly bound for the forest.
"Yes, little Kasha," Joli replied with a shy smile.
"Oh, come on, Mr. Joli! I’m not little anymore—I’ve already come of age!" Kasha pouted, proudly puffing out her ample chest. "I’m a grown woman now."
The handsome elf naturally attracted the admiration of many village girls.
"Ah... My apologies. In my memory, not long ago, you were still that little girl with a runny nose."
"That was ten years ago!" Kasha retorted, her face flushing red.
Joli scratched his head and, after exchanging a few more pleasantries with Kasha, disappeared into the woods without another glance.
Aunt Liyana had said she’d come back to drag him to the Elven Forest...
He had to improve his strength before then, or he’d embarrass himself in front of others again.
Joli’s mind wandered back to his duel with Xia Lun.
Xia Lun was truly incredible, effortlessly deflecting every one of his sword strikes.
If he ever got another chance to spar with him... Was there any way to break through his defense?
Joli closed his eyes, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
A few leaves drifted down from the trees, only to be shredded into dust by an unseen sword aura before they could touch him—though Joli himself seemed oblivious to it.
"Hah—"
Joli opened his eyes, a trace of resignation flickering in them.
No matter how he simulated it in his mind, he stood no chance against Xia Lun.
Xia Lun was simply too strong, flawless in every way... And Joli had noticed—Xia Lun had clearly held back, never launching an offensive. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have lasted more than a few exchanges.
He was still far, far behind.
Still, there was a small consolation: Xia Lun was Aunt Liyana’s teammate, undoubtedly a top-tier adventurer. Even if he couldn’t match him, being able to exchange blows meant he wasn’t too far off from the average adventurer, right?
Joli swallowed hard, then shook his head.
No, he couldn’t think like that. That was complacent... He had to keep aiming for the heights of someone like Xia Lun if he wanted to grow stronger.
Two wisps of air spiraled from his nostrils, swirling briefly in the forest before vanishing.
Joli began his training for the day.
Raising his sword high above his head, he brought it down in a straight, vertical slash.
The falling leaves in the air seemed to accelerate their descent as his blade descended.
But Joli’s focus was solely on his sword—he noticed none of this.
Had Xia Lun been here, he might have recognized that Joli’s training method was identical to his own.
Joli’s mind gradually emptied, his body melting like liquid, merging with the sword in his hands.
He loved this feeling—losing himself completely in sword practice... It was an escape from the harsh reality of his unremarkable life at his age.
"Whoosh—"
An arrow shot toward Joli from behind.
Joli turned, swung his sword—and the arrow split cleanly down the middle, from tip to fletching, into two perfectly even halves.
"Wh-Who’s there?" Joli tensed, startled by the sudden ambush.
Liyana’s figure slowly emerged from the trees.
"Oh, it’s you, Aunt Liyana... Really, must you tease me like this?" Joli relaxed upon seeing her, flashing his trademark shy smile.
Liyana’s expression was complicated. Tease? That arrow had been serious. Of course, she hadn’t aimed for his vitals—had he failed to block it, it would’ve grazed his arm.
Just as Xia Lun had said... This kid had grown frighteningly strong.
...
Rewind to a quarter-hour earlier.
"Xia Lun, is Joli really that strong now?" Liyana turned to ask Xia Lun inside the carriage.
The carriage door was open—after being smothered by Aina for so long, Xia Lun needed some fresh air.
"Liyana, this is the third time you’ve asked me that," Xia Lun sighed. "His swordsmanship has indeed reached the pinnacle."
"Really...? But I still can’t quite believe it," Liyana muttered. "In my memory, Joli was always clumsy at everything. Well-behaved and obedient, sure, but he always seemed a bit slow..."
"That sounds like an impression from centuries ago, Liyana... People change."
Xia Lun knew that better than anyone. It was hard to believe the passionate, lively Aina now was the same person from a thousand years ago.
Aina nuzzled gently against Xia Lun’s back.
"Fine, you’ve got a point."
"If you doubt Joli’s strength, why not test him yourself?" Xia Lun countered.
"Test him? How?" Liyana asked curiously.
"Simple. Shoot an arrow at him and see," Xia Lun replied calmly, though he coughed lightly to rein in Aina’s mischief behind him.
"Eh? Really?" Liyana frowned. "What if he gets hurt?"
"Hurt? Who’s hurt?"
As if triggered by the keyword, Mo Lini flipped a page in her book, and Musen popped out.
Liyana: "Not now. Go back."
"Okay." Musen retreated into the book.
Liyana turned back to Xia Lun. "Are you serious? You really think I should?"
Xia Lun remained unfazed. "Just shoot."
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
esick Sect? Well, at least it's considered a respectable orthodox sect. Wait a minute— What kind of vibe are you all giving off? Shouldn’t this be a love-struck, romance-obsessed sect? Why does everyone here sound more like demonic cultivators? "Master, today he’s getting married. This disciple wishes to descend the mountain and crash the wedding, then toy with him to death right in front of his wife..." "Elder, I only got into your sect through connections, so why won’t you teach me anything?" "Because I also became an elder through connections." Thankfully, Su Ji was just an outer sect labor disciple. Surely, nothing too crazy would— "Junior Brother, you’ve broken through to Qi Refining. Once you sever your useless spiritual root, you can officially become an outer sect disciple." "The Great Dao is merciless. Don’t let a worthless spiritual root waste your essence and spirit, hindering your cultivation." Is this really the Lovesick Sect? ... Three years later, Su Ji sat in the seat of the Lovesick Sect’s sect master, sighing with emotion. His rise to this position all started when his junior sister adamantly insisted on preserving his "spiritual root." "Mmm... Senior Brother, what’s our relationship now?" "Stop talking. Keep going." "By the way, that newly promoted top-tier sect—didn’t they come to buy our Love Beans?" "One top-grade spirit stone per Love Bean—is that really so expensive?" "I suspect they’ve eaten too many Love Beans." "Now they’re lovesick." Well, this really is the Lovesick Sect after all.
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
