Era of Chaos, Year 1818.
"I'm s-sorry, Xia Lun, it's all my fault, it's all because I wasn't paying attention..." Liyana buried her face in Xia Lun's chest and cried bitterly. Xia Lun stroked her head comfortingly.
"It's alright, getting ambushed by that thing wasn't your fault... This labyrinth is still too dangerous for you all. It was my poor decision to bring everyone here." Xia Lun endured the agonizing pain and spoke as softly as he could. "You don't need to blame yourself."
"But... Xia Lun, your arm..." Liyana wailed helplessly like a child, her gaze fixed just below his left shoulder.
Where Xia Lun's left arm used to be, there was nothing but empty space and a blood-soaked sleeve.
On the battlefield.
"Aina! Don't use highly destructive magic! Xia Lun's arm is still in its mouth!" Moke roared at Aina.
"I know!" Aina's eyes turned exceptionally cold as the surrounding temperature plummeted. With a wave of her staff, the air instantly froze. Fine ice crystals materialized out of nowhere, forming countless ice shards that lined up behind her.
"I'll stop the bleeding first, Xia Lun!" Musen rushed over in a hurry. His brow was furrowed in utmost seriousness, and his usually genial face was pulled tight. Although he usually loved to joke around, he felt no joy even though he was finally being of use.
To protect Liyana, Xia Lun's left arm had been bitten off by the monster that suddenly ambushed them.
Boom—Rumble—!
Intense magical fluctuations rippled across the battlefield. Aina was locked in a fierce battle with a hideous, four-legged, six-eyed monster.
The creature was incredibly agile. If it were ordinary adventurers, even high-tier warriors and mages might not be its match. But its current opponent was Aina.
Sturdy walls of ice, as if summoned from a freezing abyss, erupted from the ground with a soul-chilling cold. They instantly formed a cage, cutting off all of the monster's escape routes. Then, countless ice shards shot out, piercing its massive body like a death by a thousand cuts, sending blood and flesh flying.
A terrifying, icy glint flashed in Aina's eyes. Expressionless, she manipulated the frost, butchering the creature like a slaughterer carving meat on a chopping block.
"Roar—"
A massive icicle pierced cleanly and precisely through the monster's thickly armored throat, skewering it completely.
The monster let out a mournful roar. Eventually, its struggles grew weaker and weaker. Those pairs of frenzied eyes completely lost their luster, and its massive body crashed down, making the ground tremble slightly before it ceased all movement.
Moke hurried forward, ignoring the gore. His dagger danced as he expertly sliced through the monster's tough hide and muscle, disemboweling it in a few quick strokes. Without hesitation, Moke dove straight into the monster's stomach and began rummaging around.
"Found it! Xia Lun's arm is still intact, it hasn't been chewed up!" Moments later, Moke ran up to Musen, clutching Xia Lun's arm.
Although the arm was covered in sticky blood and digestive fluids, the bones and muscles remained intact.
"Yes, it can be reattached." Musen carefully examined the severed end for a moment, nodded slightly, and slowly revealed a smile.
Moke immediately felt a surge of wild joy.
"That's wonderful, Xia Lun, boohoo—" Liyana burst into tears again, wiping her snot and tears all over Xia Lun. Xia Lun helplessly patted her back.
"Phew—" Aina breathed a slight sigh of relief, though her face remained icy. A sharp sting came from her hand, and only then did she notice that in her extreme tension, the nails of the hand gripping her staff had dug deeply into her soft palm. They left behind several deep, crescent-shaped bloody indentations; any harder, and they would have pierced the skin.
A soft, pure, and holy white light surged from Musen's palms, beginning the process of reattaching Xia Lun's severed arm.
Finally, the light gradually faded. Xia Lun's left arm was back on his torso. The skin was perfectly fine, and even the scar was extremely faint. It looked completely unharmed.
However, Xia Lun found that while he could feel his arm, when he tried to lift it, the arm was like a sleeping boulder, completely motionless. Just trying to raise it was incredibly strenuous.
"This is normal... If you want to fully recover, it will take about a week," Musen explained in a muffled voice, wiping the fine sweat from his forehead.
"Mhm, thank you for your trouble, Musen."
"It's truly great that you're okay." Musen rubbed his large bald head, returning to his usual honest smile.
Xia Lun used his still-mobile right hand to lift his left arm. It was a very novel sensation; it felt as if his left hand had become a puppet's limb, completely paralyzed.
"Ah, Moke, you smell terrible," Liyana teased with a smile, wiping the tear stains from the corners of her eyes.
"I just took a trip inside that monster's stomach. Unlike someone who did absolutely nothing but sit there and cry," Moke rolled his eyes at Liyana.
"I... I just panicked for a moment! If Xia Lun was really left disabled, I wouldn't know how to face my parents in the future... oh, and Aina too." Liyana stuck out her cute pink tongue.
Aina wasn't sure why Liyana suddenly mentioned her.
Aina raised her staff, and a water sphere two meters in diameter was summoned, floating right in front of Moke.
"Wash up," Aina said indifferently. She had seen everything Moke did earlier.
"Ah... thanks." Even though they had been together for so long, Moke still wasn't used to talking to Aina... Not just him, Musen was the same. Aina's aura was simply too overwhelming, making it hard for normal people to approach her. Only Liyana was somewhat close to her.
Xia Lun was obviously an exception.
"It's nothing."
Aina pointed to the side, and the water sphere wobbled away to a spot not far off.
"Musen, keep an eye on Liyana for me. Don't let her peek." Moke followed the water sphere, ready to take a good bath.
"Hey! Who would want to peek at you! What kind of person do you take me for?!" Liyana started complaining again.
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her," Musen replied very seriously. "Liyana, Moke is a taken man now, we can't let you see him naked."
Liyana looked indignant and aggrieved. "Musen, even you're saying that!"
Xia Lun couldn't help but chuckle. The party was once again enveloped in a cheerful atmosphere.
Aina presented a monster core to Xia Lun.
"Why give it to me? You're the one who killed that thing," Xia Lun asked with a smile.
"It hurt you. You take it." Aina's face, hidden beneath her hood, was somewhat icy.
"This is your loot. That monster was high-tier, its core is quite precious..."
Xia Lun looked at Aina's earnest expression and ultimately accepted the monster core.
"Thank you. I'll cherish it."
Aina frowned.
Actually, she had wanted Xia Lun to smash this monster core just to vent his anger.
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.”
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
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!
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
