(3.13, failed review, can only keep revising and aim for a Friday release—otherwise it’ll have to wait until next week… Sorry for the lack of updates during the review period, but 94K words is such a tricky number. Once it hits 100K, it’ll automatically trigger the debut promotion, and we can’t waste that opportunity while stuck in the "black room"...)
The night deepened.
The nights in Yuanjing were eerily quiet.
Only the occasional chirping of insects broke the silence.
Su Qi glanced at Liu Yuan, already asleep in her hammock.
That brat didn’t even bother to guard against anyone—she had her back turned to him.
Honestly, that just left her even more exposed.
What’s more, with the martial exam approaching, Su Qi hadn’t seen Liu Yuan practice even once today.
He couldn’t make sense of it.
But Su Qi was different.
No matter how terrifying one’s talent was, it had to be converted into real strength as soon as possible.
He’d only broken through to the sixth rank a month ago, yet he’d casually mentioned to Xiao Yuanwei in the afternoon that he was close to the seventh.
And there wasn’t a hint of exaggeration in that claim.
[Card Name: Heaven’s Forged Strings]
[Type: Illusion]
[Rarity: Primordial]
[Energy Level: ? (First Tier)]
[Description: The sky that humans must gaze up at is nothing more than strings for Him to pluck at will.]
[Special Skill: Pleasing Strings’ Chime]
[Upon activation, the wielder automatically gains the strongest known source-energy absorption technique in human history. In exchange, after each breakthrough, the wielder must complete an "interesting" task as "equivalent exchange" to continue using it.]
At first, Su Qi assumed this "strongest" referred to the best in Great Xia—or perhaps on Earth.
But as time passed, he realized his imagination had been too limited.
It wasn’t the strongest technique humans possessed—it was the strongest one they knew of.
And humanity’s traces might not be confined to Earth alone.
In fact, this technique might not even be designed specifically for absorbing source-energy—it’s just that source-energy was the only valuable energy on Earth.
Su Qi combined this with the name of his unique talent and the celestial patterns that manifested around him during cultivation…
From this, he deduced that this was likely a technique once used by the "Him" repeatedly mentioned in the card’s description.
And "Him" was typically the pronoun reserved for deities.
In other words, if Su Qi stayed on this path, he might very well become the first person on Earth to shatter the twelve-rank limit.
But…
Su Qi closed his eyes.
In the void of his vision, stars ignited.
The first glimmer of nascent radiance slowly unfurled its brilliance.
Even if this technique were placed before the most talented individual in Great Xia, they might spend their entire life grasping only a fraction of it.
Yet, thanks to the card’s special skill, Su Qi could comprehend it effortlessly, following its guidance step by step.
Under Su Qi’s meticulous control, the celestial patterns gradually brightened.
The process was slow—his mastery over the stars remained clumsy.
A full two hours passed before he completed the simplest cycle.
Had Liu Yuan opened her eyes then, she would have seen nine dim stars orbiting Su Qi.
Then again…
Even that faint starlight would appear dazzling to an outsider.
Unseeable. Unthinkable.
A forbidden sight—one that would evaporate reason in an instant for those who dared to glimpse its truth.
The nine stars formed a vortex around Su Qi, a whirlpool of condensed source-energy!
Like a whale swallowing the sea, it voraciously devoured everything.
But soon…
Su Qi’s brow furrowed.
Tonight’s source-energy "quality" felt off.
Normally, source-energy was somewhat like oxygen—
invisible to the naked eye yet renewable.
In the short term, the amount in any given area was limited. If one person absorbed it more efficiently, others would find their own absorption rates dropping.
But since everyone’s daily cultivation time was finite, and source-energy regenerated quickly enough, this rarely caused major issues.
At most, people just avoided overlapping their sessions with those above the tenth rank.
Yet, based on the "quality" Su Qi sensed, this level of interference would require at least four seventh-rank cultivators practicing simultaneously within five kilometers.
Other class instructors?
But Old Li was only sixth-rank.
Was he such a bad actor that he couldn’t even fake his cultivation level?
Or was he genuinely weak—hence why he had to compensate with acting skills?
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
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?!
