Chaos Era, Year 1814.
"Ah! Moke, let go! Let go now! You broke the skin—I’m bleeding!" Liyana shrieked, flailing her arm as Moke clenched his teeth around her hand.
"If you dare pat my head again, I swear I’ll bite your fingers off!" Moke finally released her, growling the threat.
"Eh? I just couldn’t help it… You’re seriously cute for a man. What a waste…" Liyana muttered, casting a minor healing spell on herself.
"Bastard…"
"Enough, both of you. Stop bickering," Xia Lun commanded coolly. "Stay alert. Something’s coming."
The two fell silent. Liyana slung her longbow off her back, and Moke tensed, his hand hovering over the dagger at his waist.
Moke had ventured into the labyrinth with Xia Lun’s team multiple times now, and Xia Lun acknowledged his skills and experience as a rogue.
And his knack for attracting monsters.
Just as Moke had warned, ever since he joined, mindless creatures had been drawn to them like moths to a flame.
"ROAR—"
A thunderous bellow shook the earth, tremors rippling like an earthquake as a monstrous land dragon charged toward them.
It was a four-legged beast, mountainous in size, with a triangular head, pillar-like limbs, and a humped back resembling a small hill.
"Shall I handle this?" Aina asked Xia Lun.
"Please."
Aina smirked, pride flickering in her eyes. She knew Xia Lun struggled against such colossal foes—his sword would be little more than a toothpick to this beast.
With a light tap of her staff, a vast crimson magic circle erupted beneath the land dragon, engulfing it entirely.
The surge of elemental energy alerted the creature, and it roared in fury.
Then came the devastation. The magic array erupted with apocalyptic flames, blinding the group as if the sun had risen at their feet.
Liyana glanced at her bow, coughed awkwardly, and strapped it back. Moke slowly withdrew his hand from his dagger.
Well, they’d considered helping.
As the inferno faded, the air remained thick with fire mana. The ground ahead had melted into glowing magma, and at its center stood a charred monolith, the scent of roasted meat wafting from it.
"Can we… eat that?" Liyana gulped.
"Technically, yes. But you’d regret it," Moke said. "That thing’s meat could crack your teeth."
"Good work," Xia Lun told Aina.
"Hmph. It was nothing." She flipped her hair, stowing her staff.
A flawless one-hit kill.
The rivalry between her and Xia Lun continued.
"Just… what are they?" Moke whispered to Liyana.
"Xia Lun’s a hero blessed by the goddess. His strength makes sense… But Aina? No clue. She’s always been a mysterious noble mage," Liyana admitted.
"That can’t be all," Moke pressed. "I’ve met other blessed ones. They’re strong, sure, but nothing like this."
Liyana pondered. "Maybe the goddess gave Xia Lun extra power because he’s handsome?"
Moke: "…"
"What’re you two gossiping about? Get over here. A land dragon this size has to have a core," Xia Lun called, already slicing into the carcass with his sword.
Magic cores—crystalline mana reservoirs from monsters—were prized for crafting staves or powering arrays.
Liyana sighed and climbed onto the corpse. She hated this grisly work; the stench clung for days.
Aina, the MVP, lounged nearby, snacking while the others toiled.
Hours later—
"What’s this?"
A gaping slit in the dragon’s belly spilled out a slippery, bulbous sac.
"Uh… Liyana, don’t touch that. It’s the stomach—" Xia Lun warned.
Too late. Her dagger slit the organ open, unleashing a wave of putrid stench.
Yellow-green sludge oozed out, littered with half-dissolved swords and armor.
"Ew—disgusting!" Liyana leapt back, narrowly avoiding the mess.
"What happened?" Moke rushed over, gagged, but held his lunch.
"Wait… what’s that?" Xia Lun spotted an angular mass lodged in the stomach’s tear—untouched by acid.
Squelch.
A pale-yellow crystal, coffin-sized, slid to Xia Lun’s feet.
No core. Cores weren’t this big, nor found in stomachs.
And cores didn’t contain people.
Through the translucent crystal, a figure loomed—a bald, near-naked giant clad only in shorts. His bronzed muscles gleamed, radiating menace.
Crack—
The crystal shuddered, fissures spiderwebbing its surface.
BOOM.
"HYAH!"
With a battle cry, the man burst free, arms flexing as he vaulted onto the ground before them.
Liyana and Moke gaped.
"Did you slay the dragon? You saved me!" The man boomed, voice like a war drum. "Thank you!"
"Uh… you’re welcome," Xia Lun managed.
"I’m Musen. My party took a contract to kill it, but… we were no match." Musen eyed the corroded gear. "My comrades… I alone survived, sealing myself in magic crystal."
"My condolences," Xia Lun said, offering spare clothes.
Musen’s face darkened. "I’d hoped to escape its bowels and avenge them… But I’m weak. Just a cleric who can’t fight."
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
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.”
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
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!
