"Lessa, thank goodness you're back."
Sister Landa exhaled in relief upon seeing Lessa, but her heart immediately clenched again when she noticed Lessa's torn clothes and the large stains of blood.
"What happened to you? How did you end up like this?" Landa grasped Lessa's hands with concern. "Let me take a look."
"I'm fine... Never mind that. Sister Landa, you need to take Milumina and leave this place—now!" Lessa spoke with chilling calmness.
Landa and the others weren’t from the village, so they had no reason to be dragged into this conflict.
"What in the world is going on?" Sister Landa couldn’t help but press.
Lessa took a deep breath, her voice tinged with bitterness. "Someone is targeting the village..."
If Landa learned that it was the Goddess Church’s own people attacking the nameless village, she would undoubtedly refuse to leave.
Lessa had seen the group of priests Kalein brought with him—all of them were elites, skilled and ruthless. If a battle broke out, the carnage would be horrific... and Lessa wasn’t confident she could protect everyone in the church while fighting.
"There’s no time to explain. Just take the children and run—through the back of the village."
Then, Lessa turned to Xia Lun and the others. "Mr. Xia Lun, I know you’re powerful adventurers... The village is surrounded by a group of cultists who plan to sacrifice everyone here. I need your help to fight them."
But Xia Lun didn’t respond. His gaze was locked onto the holy scripture in Lessa’s hands.
Lessa noticed his stare.
"This... this is just an ordinary religious text..." she said nervously. Clearly, she wasn’t good at lying, but she was afraid Xia Lun might take advantage of the situation.
"May I see it?" Xia Lun asked softly.
Lessa hesitated. "This..."
"Open it," Aina commanded, her tone leaving no room for refusal.
A cold shiver ran down Lessa’s spine. Unable to resist Aina’s order, she slowly opened the scripture.
A golden, ethereal figure gradually materialized from its pages.
"What’s wrong, Miss Lessa? The power I gathered earlier has been mostly depleted. I’ll need some time to recover," Musen said apologetically. "After all, I’m just a book now..."
His voice cut off abruptly as he stared in disbelief at the familiar faces before him.
"Ah!"
Liyana let out an incredulous shriek. "Musen! What the hell happened to you? You turned into a ghost?!"
"Liyana... Still as lively as ever, I see," Musen mused, though his eyes never left Xia Lun.
"Xia Lun... Is that really you?" Musen’s expression suddenly turned solemn.
"It’s me," Xia Lun nodded.
"I can’t believe it..."
"He’s the real deal—Aina brought him back," Liyana interjected, darting forward and attempting to slap Musen’s shoulder, only for her hand to pass right through his translucent form.
"Whoa, you really are a ghost now?" Liyana gaped at his spectral body.
"A spirit bound to an artifact, not a ghost," Musen corrected. "I chose to become an artifact spirit to continue serving the Goddess Church... I never thought I’d see you all again."
His gaze shifted to Aina beside Xia Lun, and she gave him a slight nod in return.
"Mr. Musen, do you know these people?" Lessa remained tense. "But now isn’t the time for reunions—those cultists could storm in at any moment..."
Musen, however, rubbed his bald head and waved dismissively. "Don’t worry, Miss Lessa... Now is exactly the time for reunions. Because the problem is already solved."
"Huh?"
Lessa had no idea what he meant.
"Kalein is a bishop-level powerhouse, far beyond high-tier strength, with the title of 'Blade of the Sanctum'... And his team? Every priest under him rivals a high-tier mage!" Lessa exclaimed.
Kalein had attacked her earlier with such ease, even letting her escape back to the village—proof that he didn’t consider her a threat.
With such a foe waiting outside, they were practically in a death trap... Yet Musen claimed the situation was resolved?
"Trouble?" Xia Lun glanced at Musen.
"Need you to step in, Captain Xia Lun," Musen replied sheepishly, scratching his bald head—a stark contrast to the man who had once forced Kalein back with a single punch.
Captain?
Musen just called this young man, who didn’t look much older than her, "Captain"?
Lessa’s mind was in chaos.
Kalein had mentioned that Musen had once been part of the Hero’s party... and this young man’s name was also Xia Lun...
The thought barely formed before Lessa forcefully dismissed it.
This man... the Hero? How... how could something so absurd be true?
She couldn’t bring herself to believe it, instinctively rejecting the answer in her heart—a perfectly normal reaction.
"I’ll help, but on one condition," Xia Lun raised a finger. "Musen, rejoin us."
"R-Really?" Musen’s voice trembled with excitement. "I can really adventure with you all again?"
"The 'Pious Scripture'... belongs to the Goddess Church," Lessa bit her lip, her voice tight. "As a sister of the Church, I can’t just hand it over to you."
"You have two choices, Miss Lessa."
Xia Lun wasn’t surprised by her resistance.
"One: Make a deal with us. Give us the scripture, and we’ll handle the enemies outside."
"Two: We take the scripture by force, then deal with the enemies on our way out."
"I trust you’ll make the wise decision."
Lessa’s lips twitched. The only difference between the options seemed to be whether she’d get beaten up in the process.
"Ha ha ha! Captain Xia Lun, it’s been so long... You’ve changed quite a bit. The old you would never say something like that," Musen laughed heartily.
He believed this Xia Lun was the real Hero... Even if it were a lie, Musen would choose to believe it now.
Xia Lun smiled. "Well, it has been years... I’m not the same person I was back then. I’ve learned to be a little selfish."
It was clear Xia Lun was in high spirits.
And so was Aina.
"If... if Mr. Musen agrees, then I’ll give you the scripture... But you must promise not to damage it!" Lessa finally relented. "The scripture is a treasure of the Goddess Church. One day, I’ll take it back from you!"
Liyana took the scripture—Musen’s vessel—from Lessa’s hands and whistled.
"Xia Lun, time to move out!"
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!
] [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!"
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】
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
