Dusk gradually deepened, and the magic lamp inside the carriage cast a warm, hazy glow. Aina’s slender fingers gently combed through Xia Yi’s soft hair, while the vampire’s pale skin shimmered with a pearly luster beneath the warm light.
“From now on, Xia Yi will study the secret arts of the vampires with me,” Aina said calmly, lightly tapping the tip of the child in her arms’ nose. “He’s my son.”
“No. We already agreed, Aina. He’ll learn swordsmanship from me first.” Xia Lun beckoned to Xia Yi, motioning for him to come over. “Xia Yi is my son too.”
“He came out of my womb. At most, you only played a supporting role, so he should listen to me, Xia Lun.” Aina raised her chin slightly, ripples appearing in her blood-red eyes as she showed no intention of letting Xia Yi go.
“Hah… Do you have any idea how much effort I put into having this child? You should know better than anyone, Aina.” Xia Lun retorted without backing down.
Aina’s expression stiffened, and her ears visibly flushed red. She glared at Xia Lun in embarrassment and annoyance. “What are you saying in front of the child?”
“What?” Xia Yi lifted his head and looked at his mother in confusion.
Aina suddenly coughed lightly and forcibly changed the subject. “Xia Lun, I think we should respect the child’s opinion as well and discuss it with Xia Yi.”
Xia Lun was slightly taken aback, then his gaze softened with a hint of relief. “You’re right.”
“So…” Aina cradled the small head of the child in her arms. Her not-so-long fingernails pressed against Xia Yi’s soft, chubby cheek as she leaned toward his ear, her tone turning somewhat menacing. “Xia Yi, do you want to learn swordsmanship from your father… or the secret arts of the vampires from your mother?”
“Aina, that’s coercion! This doesn’t count as a discussion at all!”
Xia Lun could not stand to watch any longer. He pulled Xia Yi out of Aina’s arms and then patted the boy on the shoulder.
“Come on, Xia Yi. You don’t have to be afraid. Father will protect you… Tell Father, what do you want to learn?” Xia Lun asked gently.
“Your father can’t protect you. He can barely protect himself.” Aina gave a soft snort. She licked the corner of her mouth, revealing her sharp fangs, as if implying something.
Xia Lun glared at Aina, and she glared right back without the slightest intention of yielding. Her delicate chin lifted slightly, giving her an air of proud defiance.
“I…” Xia Yi finally began hesitantly.
Xia Lun and Aina immediately focused their attention on the boy once more.
“Father, Mother, I don’t want to learn either of them… Is that okay?” Xia Yi scratched his head and put on a conciliatory smile.
Xia Lun and Aina simultaneously drew in a deep breath, then exchanged a meaningful look.
“Aina, be careful with your strength. Don’t give the child any lasting injuries,” Xia Lun said with considerable seriousness.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.” Aina’s gaze grew even colder, seeming more dangerous than before. “Even if I beat his bottom raw, I have a way to heal him.” She leisurely rolled her wrists.
Xia Yi finally seemed to realize that he was in a very bad situation.
“Fa—Father, help me!” Like a frightened little animal, Xia Yi suddenly lunged at Xia Lun and clung tightly to his leg.
“If you refuse to study the secret arts of the vampires with me, I’ll definitely spank you,” Aina threatened fiercely. As expected, this trick was still effective.
Xia Lun rubbed his chin and thought for a moment before threatening him as well. “If you refuse to learn swordsmanship from me, I’ll definitely have Mother spank you.”
Xia Yi’s eyes widened. He looked at his frosty-faced mother, then at his father, who wore a smile hiding a knife. His little head could not make sense of it all, and he could only let out a single syllable.
“Huh?”
“Do you understand now?” Xia Lun said with a smile, patting Xia Yi on the head. For the first time, Xia Yi felt that his father might be even more frightening than his mother.
“I-I understand…” Xia Yi drooped his head like a little plant wilted by frost, replying weakly.
If he did not want to be beaten, it looked like he had no choice but to learn both. He could already foresee his dark and miserable future.
“Let Xia Yi study swordsmanship with me in the mornings. His memory will be clearer after exercising,” Xia Lun said, turning to Aina to discuss the details now that they had achieved their goal.
“Mm. Then he can study vampire secret arts with me in the afternoons. For vampires, cultivation is also quite effective as evening approaches.” Aina nodded slightly, returning to her usual cool composure.
There was no doubt that the best time to practice vampire secret arts was at night. But as for nighttime… the two of them naturally had other plans.
Besides, Xia Yi was still only a child. Adequate sleep was quite important for his growth and development.
“Waaah…” Xia Yi’s little face had completely fallen. He muttered in resignation, “Then what about noon? You might as well let me study then too…”
“Learning archery with me at noon would be a great idea!” Liyana suddenly poked her head into the carriage and said cheerfully.
“That is a good idea.” Aina nodded.
“Then I’ll have to trouble you, Liyana.” Xia Lun gave her an approving look. Having one more skill was naturally a good thing; it might provide him with an additional measure of protection in the future.
How were Aunt Liyana’s ears so sharp? Xia Yi now wanted nothing more than to slap himself.
Although Xia Lun had previously said that Xia Yi was not suited to learning too many weapons at once, and that mastering the one-handed sword would allow him to understand other weapons by analogy… swordsmanship and archery were clearly two entirely different paths.
As for vampire secret arts, if Xia Yi studied them well, it might not be impossible for him to integrate them into his swordsmanship in the future and forge a path of his own.
Xia Yi had made his choice when he was still very young: he wanted to become a warrior like his father. That was why he had not asked Aina to teach him magic. Otherwise, the boy might have ended up with one more subject to study.
The method Aina and Xia Lun used to help Xia Yi choose had been quite simple. They placed a staff and a longsword in front of him, and the young Xia Yi crawled toward the longsword.
This sort of method, similar to the traditional “first-birthday grab,” was not actually mere feudal superstition. Both the staff and the longsword emitted a presence that the child could sense. This showed that Xia Yi was naturally more attuned to the longsword and better suited to becoming a warrior.
Back then, Aise had grasped both the longsword and the staff at the same time… so the couple had taught him both magic and martial arts.
Xia Lun sighed inwardly. Aise truly had been a genius capable of cultivating both magic and martial arts.
Xia Yi’s talent seemed inferior to that of his former elder brother, and he did not appear to have much interest in magic either.
Whenever he sat on Aina’s lap and accompanied her while she read, his little head would bob up and down every so often, as though he might fall asleep at any moment.
Xia Lun did not expect Xia Yi to become extraordinarily powerful in the future. However, he still needed enough strength to protect himself in this world.
Beyond that, Xia Lun’s greatest wish was for Xia Yi to live a happy and carefree life.
It was just that… Xia Yi did not look very happy at the moment.
and couldn't return to the real world. Finally, I gave up and decided to go with the flow, only to discover that writing a diary could make me stronger. Since no one could read it, Su Luo wrote freely, daring to pen anything and everything. Female Lead #1: "Not bad. This diary helped me steal all the protagonist's opportunities. I just want to get stronger." Female Lead #2: "I don’t care about reaching the peak of the cultivation world. Right now, I just want to enjoy the chaos." Female Lead #3: "What? Everyone around me is a spy? I’m the Joker Demon Lord?" ... It’s so strange. Why is the plot completely off track, yet the ending remains the same? Are you all just messing with me?!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
] [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!"
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
