Mian returned to his dormitory.
It had been nearly a month since that incident.
Though life at the estate had been luxurious—velvet bed canopies, silver tableware—Mian still found himself missing his own narrow little bed.
"Mian! You're back!"
"Is everything okay at home?"
Walking down the corridor, the classmates he passed greeted him warmly. He was quite popular. Strong, gentle, and always willing to help others—no one looked down on him anymore for being a commoner. Quite a few noble ladies had even thrown themselves at him, but Mian always pretended not to notice.
"Yeah… nothing serious. Thanks for your concern." Mian smiled, a little shy and reserved, neither distant nor too close with anyone.
Officially, he'd told everyone he had some family matters to attend to and had taken a temporary leave from school.
The moment the door clicked shut behind him, Mian leaned his back against it and took a deep breath.
The familiar smell.
He collapsed onto his bed, a faint smile spreading across his face.
Only a month—not long at all. Luckily, the windows had been closed, so no dust had settled. Though no one had cleaned, the room was still tidy.
It seemed no one had entered. Everything was exactly as he'd left it.
The copy of Basic Spell Analysis lay open on the desk, still on the same page. The feather quill was still resting diagonally on the edge of the ink vial.
"A month…" Mian murmured. Just thirty days, but he had been through so much. It felt like another life, yet also like it had all happened just yesterday.
Like it was all just a cruel dream.
Teacher Enrais had invited him for a barbecue. After eating and drinking their fill, he'd come back here… Tomorrow, he was supposed to go listen to Teacher Enrais's lecture.
If only reality were like that.
Mian lay on the bed and wiped the corners of his eyes, which had grown a little wet.
Then he pulled out the Soul Judgment Blade and held it up in front of him. A purple glow shimmered along its edge. On closer inspection, the blade was inscribed with dense, intricate patterns finer than spider silk.
Mian didn't think he'd ever have a reason to use it again.
Though it was an invaluable treasure, he planned to seal it away—as a memorial to the soul that had passed.
As for Aise, he couldn't really bring himself to hate him.
In the end, he was just a lonely soul, a pitiful wretch unable to control his own fate.
Death had truly been the best ending for him.
Mian slowly put the dagger away.
"Goodnight, Aise."
---
"Oh, this thing is really something!"
Liyana looked enviously at the staff in Xia Lun's hands.
The staff was made from a single, natural piece of oak, warm and honey-colored like polished wood. At the base, a simple silver band was inlaid, inscribed with flowing runes that resonated faintly with the wood's own spiritual energy.
Wolund had personally delivered it. It was a tradition at Olifinton: graduates were gifted a precious roundwood staff and a graduation medal. Many regarded it as the highest honor; carrying it outside would earn you looks of respect.
But Xia Lun felt he hardly deserved the staff. In his hands, it could only really be used as a club to hit people.
Aina casually tossed her own staff to Liyana to play with.
"It's so smooth."
After handling it for a while, Liyana happily dashed off to show it off to Mo Lini.
Wolund, of course, didn't dare say a word about any of this.
"Aina… uh, ahem, Aina, will you two come back here again someday?" Wolund asked nervously.
"We'll see. Maybe when you get married, Xia Lun and I might come back for a visit." Aina glanced at Wolund meaningfully.
"That would be my honor…" Wolund wiped the cold sweat from his brow.
As the top figure at Olifinton, the only thing that could still make him nervous was having a conversation with the person in front of him.
"Look after Mida and Yisi for me. Don't let them cause any trouble." Aina then handed the two kids over to Wolund.
"Of course…" Though his face showed a grimace, Wolund agreed.
Even if those two little terrors were stronger than him.
"If they don't behave, just pull out Aina's name." Xia Lun patted Wolund on the shoulder. Wolund nodded deeply—that was exactly what he always did.
After Wolund left, Xia Lun noticed Aina puffing out her cheeks, looking a little upset.
"What's wrong?" Xia Lun chuckled, wrapping his arms around his wife.
"Xia Lun, are you saying I'm that scary?" Aina squirmed a little in his arms. "Why not use your name instead?"
"Because you're the Lord Demon King, full of authority—a dignity that even the stars would revere. Compared to you, I'm just a nameless adventurer." Xia Lun explained, his warm breath brushing past her ear. "Besides, Mida is your daughter. It's normal for her to be afraid of you… But in my eyes, you're not scary at all—you're always the cutest."
"R-really?" Aina was a little shy from his words, but it was obvious she was quite pleased.
"So, how cute do you think I am?" Aina lifted her chin and asked.
"A hundred times cuter than Mo Lini and Little Lan combined." Xia Lun replied seriously.
"Am I really that cute?" Aina covered her mouth in feigned surprise, but she couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from curling up. She seemed surprised by the answer, but it was clear the Lord Demon King was very satisfied.
"Of course, Aina… Just look at your soft little face, your smooth hair, your perfect body…" Xia Lun gently caressed Aina's cheek in the most gentlemanly manner. "There's no creature on earth cuter than you. All the beautiful things in the world couldn't carve out someone like my Aina."
"That's way too exaggerated." Aina was dizzily charmed. Her usually cold face softened like melting honey.
"No, Aina, it's not exaggerated at all… That's exactly what you are in my heart." Xia Lun pinched Aina's reddened earlobe and continued his sweet talk offensive.
"Alright, I get it. What reward do you want? Just say it." It was clear Aina was very satisfied with Xia Lun's performance. "What do you want to do tonight?"
Xia Lun leaned over to Aina's ear.
Mumble, mumble, mumble.
"Fine, I'll give it to you." After hesitating for a moment, Aina shot Xia Lun a playful, reproachful look, but she still agreed.
Just as the atmosphere grew more intimate and their lips were about to meet, Liyana suddenly burst in.
"Aina! Here's your staff back!"
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!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
