Most of these people were far from incompetent.
They had simply grown accustomed to dependence, to seeking safety under the protection of the strong.
To put it kindly, their mindset hadn’t shifted—they lacked grit, lacked independence.
To put it harshly… well, no need to be that blunt.
Only when that protection was no longer within easy reach were they forced to unleash their survival instincts.
Su Qi… was this intentional on his part, or did he truly not care?
Perhaps only he knew the answer.
The atmosphere in the group had grown unbearably tense.
Just as some began entertaining thoughts like, "Maybe it’d be better to die here,"
Su Qi’s footsteps paused ever so slightly ahead.
Every heart in the group lurched in response.
What had happened?
Then, Su Qi raised his hand, pointing slightly to the right of their path.
Faint outlines of buildings were barely visible in the distance.
"We’re almost there."
With that, he strode forward without another word.
The group froze.
That was it?
No reassurance, just a simple statement.
Yet it was precisely this simplicity that reignited hope in the nearly broken group.
Painful as the journey had been, at least the direction was clear.
The instinct to survive drowned out all resentment.
Supporting one another, gritting their teeth, they followed Su Qi’s lead.
As they advanced, the ashen haze noticeably thinned.
The scene ahead was like a damp glass wiped haphazardly—blurry, but the outlines became clearer.
The suffocating, scorching air eased slightly.
They were on the right path!
A few in the group staggered, knees nearly buckling.
Not from exhaustion, but from the sudden release of tension at the sight of hope.
Liu Yuan, clutching Su Qi’s sleeve, finally allowed herself a relieved exhale.
They were almost out of that desolate wasteland of ash.
"We… we made it…"
A young examinee muttered hoarsely, voice cracking with emotion.
"Saved…"
Relief surged like a tide, washing away fatigue and fear.
But Su Qi frowned. "Wait before going further."
Most hesitated, then forced themselves to endure the lingering discomfort, trusting his judgment.
A handful, however, saw safety within reach—open terrain, no visible threats.
Even if danger lurked, wouldn’t Su Qi, a powerhouse capable of annihilating tenth-tier Source Realm creatures, intervene? Surely he wouldn’t let them die?
Five examinees broke away, breaking into a sprint.
The moment the first crossed fifty meters—
Disaster struck.
The ground beneath them erupted without warning.
Dozens of crimson shadows, like coiled vipers, shot from the fractured earth.
They were no larger than hounds, but their limbs were thick, ending in razor-sharp bone blades.
Worst were their heads—clusters of compound eyes gleaming with predatory hunger.
"Ah—!"
The three in front had no time to react. Bone blades impaled them mid-stride; others were pounced on, needle-like mouthparts piercing their throats.
"Holy shit!"
"Damn it!"
The remaining two scrambled back, stumbling.
These Source Beasts weren’t high-tier, maybe fourth or fifth at most.
Natives of this Source Realm, they’d fled here when the ash descended, surviving in its fringes.
Normally, the five could’ve handled them easily.
But now, drained by the ash and depleted of energy, they stood no chance.
Even their reflexive counterattacks faltered—exhaustion and empty reserves left them defenseless.
The red beasts weren’t about to let prey escape.
They lunged, closing the gap.
Su Qi moved.
A single step forward placed him squarely before Liu Yuan.
A larger beast—likely the pack leader—zeroed in on her, bone blade aimed at her neck.
Su Qi’s motion seemed unhurried, yet his hand intercepted with precision.
A hair’s breadth from contact, his fingers closed around the creature’s skull.
Crack!
The sound of shattering bone.
The beast’s head crumpled like an eggshell in his grip.
He flung the carcass aside, smashing two others mid-leap.
His expression never wavered, as if swatting a fly.
The remaining pack didn’t retreat. If anything, their bloodlust intensified.
Screeching, they charged the weakened examinees, blades scraping sparks from the ground.
Death loomed again.
Even the official escorts were spent, having shielded the group from the ash’s worst effects.
Now, they could only rally for a desperate stand.
Yun Huang’s pupils constricted. These beasts weren’t strong individually, but numbers and the group’s exhaustion tipped the scales.
If Su Qi only protected Liu Yuan, the others would—
Yet amid the chaos, Su Qi remained still.
Unfazed, as if the onslaught were merely gnats to be brushed aside.
The lead beast vaulted toward a paralyzed examinee, blade gleaming in the dim light.
The boy shut his eyes, bracing for impact.
One second.
Two.
No pain came.
Cracking one eye open, he witnessed the impossible.
The beast hung mid-air, frozen inches from his face.
Then—
Thud.
Its chest caved inward, as if crushed by an invisible fist, before exploding in a shower of gore.
Foul blood drenched the boy, but he barely registered it, gaping at the spectacle.
What… just happened?
Before he could process it—
Thud! Thud! THUD—!
A rapid-fire sequence of bursts followed.
Every crimson beast met the same fate—bodies detonating mid-charge, painting the ashen ground in visceral carnage.
Some had just leaped into mid-air, others had barely lifted their front claws, and a few even had their mouthparts mere inches from the examinees' skin.
Yet at the same exact moment, it was as if something inside their bodies detonated, bursting them apart from within.
There were no violent explosions, no surges of energy.
Just an eerie, inexplicable disintegration—one after another, they erupted into showers of gore and fragmented flesh.
In mere seconds, dozens of ferocious crimson source beasts were reduced to a gruesome mess on the ground.
The air thickened with a nauseating, metallic stench of blood.
Everywhere except the small patch of ground where Su Qi and Liu Yuan stood, it looked as though a grotesque rain of viscera had fallen.
Everyone froze in shock.
They had expected Su Qi to intervene.
They had even anticipated her striking down the source beasts with overwhelming force.
But no one could have imagined it would happen like this—in a manner so bizarre, so utterly incomprehensible!
This wasn’t a battle.
This was a one-sided slaughter.
No—not even slaughter.
This defied description.
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
+【Epic Battles!】 "Your Highness, they say Linxi Temple is miraculous. Won’t you make a wish?" "A wish? It should be making wishes to me." "That may be so, but since you’re already here..." "..." "Fine. Then grant this princess a consort to play with." "He must be obedient, devoted, and utterly infatuated with my body—so much so that he’d kneel and kiss my feet." "Your Highness, that’s not a consort. That’s a dog." "Then add clever, witty, heroic, ambitious yet pragmatic..." "Hmm, that’s enough for now. I’ll add more later." After tossing out these words half in jest, Princess Anle departed the temple—only to catch a fleeting glimpse of the Bodhisattva statue smiling at her. Meanwhile, Yang An, fresh out of university, was having a very bad day. Good news: He’d transmigrated into another world with a cheat granting tenfold combat power. Bad news: He’d immediately fallen into the clutches of a certain villainess. Good news: Said villainess possessed peerless beauty and royal status. Bad news: She was absolutely monstrous!!! In the frozen wilderness, Yang An knelt beneath Qin Guo’er’s feet, drenched in sweat despite the cold. Desperately clutching her porcelain-perfect foot—the very one poised to crush his throat—he could only think: How do I survive this?! Need answers NOW!
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
