The Ashbeast glared at the tiny creature before it.
This insignificant being showed not a trace of fear—instead, it dared to provoke it.
This was something the Ashbeast could never tolerate.
With a sweeping motion of its massive arm, it ruthlessly swung toward Niya in front of it.
Even a high-ranking warrior would need to retreat from such a ferocious attack.
However, the one standing before it was no ordinary warrior—she was one of the four Blood Clan Dukes, second only to Aina herself.
The pale, towering arm swept forward like a colossal white pillar, the howling wind whipping Niya’s silver hair back wildly.
"What an impatient creature."
Niya extended her slender arm, her dark-red nails flicking lightly through the air. A crimson streak flashed into existence, transforming into an unstoppable blade that sliced through the Ashbeast in an instant.
The entire space was suddenly dyed in blood as the five-story-tall Ashbeast collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Niya examined her delicate fingers, the lingering glow of blood illuminating her swan-like neck. She turned her head. "Feina, how’s it going on your end?"
"You made too much noise—I lost focus and messed up once already." Feina fiddled with the array of materials and magic stones before her. "I’m not great with spatial arrays. Come help me."
Niya skipped over cheerfully.
With Niya’s assistance, the spatial array soon emitted a faint silver glow, as if connecting to another place.
"What’s on the other side of this array?" Niya asked curiously.
"Not sure. Aina only gave me coordinates… Should we go take a look?" Feina’s tone was indifferent.
"Sure." Niya nodded.
"Wait, you’re actually considering it? I was joking!" Feina looked startled. "What if Aina gets angry?"
"If Aina didn’t say anything, it can’t be that important," Niya reasoned. "We’ll just tell her we were testing the array to make sure it worked properly. She won’t blame us… Aren’t you curious why Aina sent us here to set this up?"
"Fine, I can’t argue with you." Feina sighed in resignation.
The two stepped onto the spatial array together.
The silver light gradually brightened, and space began to ripple.
Suddenly, Niya and Feina leaped off the array in unison, their faces filled with shock. In that brief moment, cold sweat had already drenched their backs.
Just before the teleportation completed, they had sensed several overwhelmingly terrifying presences!
If they had truly crossed over, they would have had no chance of survival.
"What… what was that?" Feina swallowed hard, her heart still pounding.
"No idea. Felt like the lair of some monstrous existence." Niya’s body trembled uncontrollably, her nails digging deep into the stuffed bear she held.
They had come dangerously close to death.
"Why would Aina have us set up an array leading there?" Feina patted her chest, trying to calm herself.
They were Blood Clan Dukes! Yet the beings on the other side had terrified them with just their aura.
"No clue." Niya cast a wary glance at the spatial array. "Maybe it’s a trap Aina set for someone."
---
Xia Lun and Aina arrived at the meeting point with Liyana.
Kalinda was already waiting with four senior students.
Among them was a familiar face—Delyan, the senior who had overseen their entrance exam.
However, when Delyan saw them, she froze for a moment before blushing slightly.
Xia Lun found her reaction odd. What was that about?
Liyana let out a playful whistle, then stepped forward and lifted Delyan’s chin with a charming smile. "Long time no see, my little lioness."
Xia Lun: "…"
This woman… had already gotten involved with someone else so quickly?
"Liyana… stop it." Delyan shyly pushed her hand away.
The other three students included a girl in a white dress and two tall, slender young men in white robes.
The two boys looked nearly identical—likely twins.
Seeing Delyan and Liyana’s intimate exchange, their eyes flickered with surprise.
"Ahem." Kalinda cleared her throat and introduced the group. "These three are companions assigned by the headmaster to join us in the Ash Corridor… I’ll be primarily responsible for their safety."
In other words, the seniors needed to stay sharp and look after themselves.
Delyan and the others nodded, unfazed. This was just a test for them—Kalinda’s presence was merely a precaution.
Since the Ash Corridor was a conquered dungeon, they wouldn’t face any real danger as long as no one acted recklessly.
"Gauss. Goth." The twins gave brief introductions. Xia Lun and Aina quickly noted their distinguishing features, while Liyana squinted at their near-identical faces in confusion.
"Liss," the white-dressed girl murmured softly.
Xia Lun assessed their strengths at a glance—Gauss, Goth, and Delyan were all high-tier mages, while Liss was mid-tier.
However, Liss specialized in healing magic, an indispensable role in any team.
Xia Lun and the others also gave simple introductions.
"Stay close to me at all times, understand?" Kalinda reminded Xia Lun’s group. Given their youthful appearances, she saw them as children personally entrusted to her by the headmaster.
Xia Lun smiled and nodded.
"Good luck, little lioness." Liyana planted a kiss on Delyan’s cheek before sauntering back to Xia Lun’s side.
Delyan’s face burned crimson.
The atmosphere at Olifant Academy was quite liberal, with no interference in students’ personal relationships.
"Adorable, isn’t she?" Liyana boasted to Xia Lun. "So confident and authoritative when we first met, but now she’s all shy and flustered after I won her over. The contrast is just perfect."
Xia Lun sighed. "Someone like you shouldn’t be toying with an innocent girl’s heart."
"Don’t say that. I’ve made up my mind—if she’s willing, I’ll stay with her for her entire life," Liyana said, pursing her lips. "Then I’ll move on to the next one."
Aina blinked. "I’ve never seen you commit to anyone before."
"That’s because they all cheated on me!" Liyana fumed. "In the end, they still couldn’t accept that I’m not a man!"

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]

lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.