Liyana stared at the big, bald man holding a clay pot with a sheepish grin, her frustration bubbling up. "So, you're the one who led those killer bees here?"
"Ah... my apologies. I didn’t know anyone else was around," Musen replied, his face full of remorse. "I heard screams earlier—was anyone hurt? I can help with healing right away."
"No one was hurt!" Liyana snapped back.
It had been her, after all, who had been shrieking and fleeing for her life from the swarm of killer bees moments ago. Even Xia Lun found those bees troublesome, let alone an archer like her... With that many bees, a single arrow shot would’ve just skewered them like kebabs.
"Musen, what’s with the...?" Xia Lun eyed the pot of honey in Musen’s hands curiously.
"Oh, this? A commission," Musen patted the clay pot, his grin widening. "A high-grade delicacy. Many nobles have a taste for it—should fetch a good price."
A sky-darkening swarm of killer bees... Most adventurers wouldn’t stand a chance against them. Only someone as tough as Musen could walk away with the honey unscathed.
Liyana tilted her head. "Musen, where’s your team?"
Musen scratched his head awkwardly. "Haven’t found new teammates yet, so I came alone."
Moke blinked in disbelief. "But... you’re a priest, aren’t you?"
Then again, Moke glanced at the bulging muscles barely concealed beneath Musen’s white robes and realized the question was pointless.
Priests, known for their healing and support magic, were usually among the weakest in combat... but Musen was clearly an exception.
Moke couldn’t help but imagine the cross hanging from Musen’s neck doubling as a war hammer—though he kept that thought to himself.
Liyana subtly nudged Xia Lun.
Xia Lun nodded, as if understanding her silent suggestion.
Then, he handed Musen a freshly grilled meat skewer. "Want one?"
"Much obliged." Musen accepted it cheerfully.
"Mind sharing some honey?"
"Of course, Xia Lun... Take the whole pot. I’ve got plenty more where that came from."
Liyana facepalmed, exasperated.
Musen still hadn’t joined a team—Liyana’s hint had been for Xia Lun to recruit him.
Aina’s expression darkened slightly. She had assumed that skewer was meant for her.
But soon, another skewer, lightly glazed with honey, was held to her lips.
For some reason, Aina didn’t take it. Instead, she took a small bite.
The honey wasn’t overly sweet—it carried a refreshing hint of lemon, perfectly balancing the meat’s richness.
Liyana watched, wide-eyed. Had Xia Lun already won her over?
Seeming satisfied with the taste, Aina finally took the skewer from Xia Lun’s hand.
Xia Lun walked over to the tents and began packing them up.
The tent frames were made of highly conductive magical material, normally pliant like liquid. No assembly was needed—just a bit of mana to erect them instantly. A dwarven invention, and every adventurer’s top choice for convenience.
Outside, the furious buzzing gradually faded. The killer bees seemed to realize the wall of fire was impenetrable and finally retreated.
All that remained were countless charred insect carcasses, a sight that sent shivers down the spine.
"Finally, they’re gone," Liyana sighed in relief.
Aina calmly stowed her staff away, as if nothing had happened.
Had this not been a forest, she could’ve reduced the entire swarm to ashes with a single spell.
Xia Lun swung his sword once, the sheer force of the slash clearing a clean path ahead.
"Whoa, Xia Lun! What was that for? You scared me!" Liyana yelped. "Trying to show off in front of Aina? Didn’t think you’d stoop to something so childish..."
"Shut it," Xia Lun growled, a vein throbbing on his forehead.
"Oho~ Someone’s flustered—OW! Xia Lun, stop! Don’t you dare hit me with that scabbard—!"
Aina glanced at Xia Lun and Liyana’s playful scuffle but said nothing. She was used to Liyana’s noise by now, as if none of it concerned her.
Musen’s jaw dropped slightly, stunned by Xia Lun’s display of power.
That level of swordplay wasn’t something an ordinary warrior could pull off... yet Xia Lun made it look effortless.
For someone his age, such strength was nothing short of extraordinary.
"Shall we go, Musen?" Xia Lun offered a warm smile.
Was this a display meant for him?
Musen wasn’t sure.
Truthfully, he hadn’t been in high spirits lately, no matter how cheerfully he laughed with Moke and Liyana. Beneath the surface, a shadow loomed over his heart.
After all, someone like him didn’t seem to have the right to weep or grieve.
A hulking, muscular man breaking down in tears would be nothing but a joke.
Yet he was a priest—his heart was just as tender as any other’s.
His former teammates had been his comrades. They’d adventured together, laughed together, celebrated victories together... and now, they were all gone.
Risk and death were part of the job—something every adventurer accepted from the start. But when it actually happened... Musen still couldn’t bear it.
He never wanted to lose precious companions again, never wanted to feel that heart-wrenching pain. That was why he’d hesitated to join another team.
"Pretty strong, huh? Captain Xia Lun," Moke clapped Musen on the shoulder. "I don’t think any monster stands a chance against him."
"And Aina!" Liyana chimed in. "Aina’s crazy strong too! She can one-shot anything—I can’t even imagine her losing!"
Musen stared blankly at the two figures ahead.
The sun rose slowly from the eastern treetops, casting light over the group and the path before them.
Xia Lun sheathed his sword. Aina adjusted her hat slightly, as if shielding her eyes from the glare.
It was time to move on.
"Something on your mind, Musen?" Xia Lun noticed the man’s gaze—hopeful, yet hesitant.
"I... Could I join your team, Xia Lun?" Musen asked, his voice uncharacteristically timid for his imposing frame.
"Of course. We could use a priest," Xia Lun replied with a smile.
"Yesss!"
Liyana cheered, and even Moke looked delighted.
After all, while Xia Lun and Aina never got hurt... they certainly did.
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
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!
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.”
