"Was it you who caused Wu Ya to drop out?" One of the men spoke with a dark, icy tone. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to get into Yinshan Academy?"
The other man, equally hostile, reached into his pocket as if he might pull out a knife at any moment.
"Me?" Ye Shuang chuckled. "Conspiring with friends to frame a classmate—someone like that would’ve been a master schemer in ancient palace dramas. Too bad in this society, they’re just a pathetic little wretch."
Wu Ya’s eyes widened. "Who are you calling a wretch?!"
"Say it again!" The man beside Wu Ya stepped forward aggressively, raising his hand to slap Ye Shuang.
But before his hand could land, Chen Qin suddenly slapped the man across the face. The blow stunned him momentarily, and before he could react, Ye Shuang followed up with a sharp kick to his stomach.
The seamless combo sent the man sprawling to the ground.
"Pathetic," Chen Qin remarked, sounding bored as she draped an arm over Ye Shuang’s shoulder and looked down at the fallen man.
"You bastard!" The other man lunged forward but froze when he saw the numbers on Ye Shuang’s side. Instead, he pulled out a gleaming dagger from his pocket.
"None of you are leaving here today," he sneered.
"Eek!" Tang Keke paled.
But Ye Shuang remained unfazed. Meanwhile, Chen Qin walked to the car’s trunk and pulled out a grain sampler—a meter-and-a-half-long tool with a sharp, spear-like tip and a blood groove designed to make wounds that wouldn’t stop bleeding easily.
"Ye Shuang, let’s poke a few holes in these thugs," she said casually.
"We live in a civilized society—no need for violence," Ye Shuang said, though he took the sampler from her. "This is just a friendly duel. We’ll stop before things get ugly."
The man’s face twisted in disbelief. What kind of person keeps something like that in their trunk?!
He glanced at his puny dagger, then back at the massive grain sampler in Ye Shuang’s hands, his expression souring. The difference in reach was laughable.
"Weren’t you saying none of us would leave? Why are you just standing there? Cat got your tongue?" Ye Shuang taunted.
"You—you—"
At that moment, Chen Qin drawled, "As The Analects say: ‘When a man is about to die, his words are kind.’"
Ye Shuang nodded. "Meaning, once you beat someone half to death, they’ll start talking nicely."
What the hell?!
Are you two some kind of outlaws?!
And since when does The Analects mean that?!
Wu Ya was genuinely terrified now. The last time Ye Shuang had slapped her twice, the pain had lingered for days. If he was willing to use that grain sampler on her…
In the end, the three of them could only slink away in defeat.
Ye Shuang watched them go before handing the sampler back to Chen Qin. "Why does your brother even have something like this in his car?"
"Self-defense, obviously. You know Chen Hai loves road trips. Sometimes you run into troublemakers blocking the road in the middle of nowhere."
"And the cops don’t check it?"
"It’s just a grain sampler, not a weapon," Chen Qin said with a grin. "You gotta be prepared. What, you’d rather wait to get stabbed or killed before calling the cops?"
"Justice delayed is justice denied—especially if you’re already dead."
Ye Shuang didn’t argue. He glanced at Bai Yuyou and Tang Keke—the former as calm as ever, while the latter was still shaken.
"Let’s go. No big deal," Ye Shuang said with a smile.
The incident was just a minor hiccup. Soon, the four arrived at a dessert shop—though it was more of a high-end restaurant.
"888 per person?!" Tang Keke’s eyes nearly popped at the menu.
Since when was dessert this expensive?
"What’s wrong?"
"It’s a bit pricey. I didn’t bring enough," Tang Keke admitted sheepishly. She hadn’t planned on letting Ye Shuang and the others pay in the first place.
"My treat. Eat as much as you want," Chen Qin said warmly, her demeanor a far cry from the fierce woman who’d slapped someone earlier.
"Don’t worry, Keke. Dig in," Ye Shuang added, and she finally relaxed.
After a while, Tang Keke couldn’t resist whispering to Bai Yuyou, "Yuyou, is this the same sister who gave you the car?"
Bai Yuyou, cheeks stuffed with pudding like a little hamster, blinked and nodded.
"Rich, gorgeous, and confident… tough competition," Tang Keke muttered. She wasn’t sure Bai Yuyou stood a chance.
Money-wise?
Probably outmatched.
Looks-wise?
Though Bai Yuyou was ethereally beautiful with her unique aura, Chen Qin wasn’t far behind.
Personality-wise?
…
Tang Keke glanced at Bai Yuyou, who was wholly absorbed in her dessert, then stole a peek at Chen Qin, who was chatting and laughing effortlessly with Ye Shuang. Yeah, not looking good.
"Yuyou, Yuyou, you need to step up your game," Tang Keke whispered urgently.
Bai Yuyou tilted her head, confused.
"Never mind."
Just then, Chen Qin asked the waiter for a candle and lit it on a small cake.
"Happy early birthday, Ye Shuang," she said, resting her chin on her hand. The candlelight flickered against her face, making her even more radiant.
"Thanks."
Ye Shuang blew out the candle, though internally, he sighed. Twenty-seven already?
It felt like graduation wasn’t that long ago, yet here he was, barreling toward thirty. The thought of marriage and kids, once so distant, now loomed uncomfortably close.
After dessert, they strolled around the mall before it was time for Chen Qin to leave.
"Let me drive you."
"No need," Chen Qin said, glancing at him. "The airport’s a long round trip… and you still have to take the little one bra shopping, right?"
"I could still drop you off."
"I just don’t want you overexerting yourself," she said, pressing a slender finger to his forehead with a soft laugh. "Remember—next week, you’re taking me shopping and cooking for me."
"Got it."
With a wave, Chen Qin hailed a cab and left. There was so much more she wanted to say, but now wasn’t the time.
Not long after she left, Ye Shuang’s phone buzzed with a message from her.
Chen Qin: What I said earlier wasn’t meant to pressure you.
Chen Qin: Don’t think I’m desperate—plenty of guys are after me.
Chen Qin: Hmph.jpg
Ye Shuang replied with a sticker before turning to Bai Yuyou and Tang Keke.
"Let’s go."
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.”
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
tions: attribute allocation, analysis, proficiency, and simulation. Specializing in mechanical alchemy, from crafting sorcerous battle armor to handcrafting mechanical maidens, his mechanical legion conquers endless realms... Relying on his wits, he begins with a student-teacher romance, wins over a female director, enslaves a female assassin and a underworld queen, becoming the husband of a Grand Duchess... He enslaves the Goddess of Magic from the divine realm, developing his power simultaneously in both the Wizard World and the Realm of Gods...
