(3.15, the second review failed again, leading straight to a full tribunal. I passed out from revising the draft. Meanwhile, a bunch of apocalypse-themed novels next door seem to get a free pass—what’s up with that?)
Su Qi’s drowsy eyes snapped awake in an instant.
The air trembled with a sharp, piercing shriek.
A blade sliced through the night, leaving behind ghostly afterimages.
Before the metallic hum of the blade faded, Su Qi had already flipped a card into activation.
A crackling azure flash, like arcing electricity, took barely half a moment to materialize into the faint outline of a sword in Su Qi’s hand.
[Card Name: Earth’s Harmonic Seal]
[Type: Illusion]
[Rarity: Primordial]
[Energy Tier: ? (Tier 1)]
[Description: The very earth humanity treads upon will sing praises when His gaze falls upon it.]
[Special Skills: Morning Dew’s Grace / Shattered Land / Soaring Kites and Dancing Warblers / Thunder and Judgment / Snow-Clad Lament]
[A portion of ‘World’s Power’ can be actively wielded by the bearer. Alternatively, it will autonomously block one fatal strike at the cost of imposing a stacking debuff. To dispel it, the bearer must complete an ‘amusing’ task as ‘equivalent exchange.’]
Truth be told, Su Qi really didn’t want to fight.
As mentioned earlier, Su Qi had spent three months crafting a total of four cards:
One cultivation manual—[Heaven’s Forged Chord]
One passive defense—[Earth’s Harmonic Seal]
One single-target nuke—[Tidal Moonfall]
One AoE wipe—[Mountain and Starfire]
And yet, they were utterly useless.
Not because the cards were weak.
In fact, each one was more absurd than the last.
As for the displayed Tier 1 energy rating, Su Qi suspected it wasn’t some pretentious flex—just that the cards required only Tier 1 energy expenditure to achieve what humans would deem ‘impossible.’
So, what was the catch?
Complete an ‘amusing’ task.
Not every assignment would be as lucky as the last one—flirting with a 160cm girl.
What if the next task was: ‘Publicly share your browser history with every contact’?
Su Qi would like to see you handle that.
But in this moment, hesitation wasn’t an option.
Survive first, worry about browser history later.
The killing intent radiating from the assailant wasn’t even concealed.
They wanted Su Qi dead.
The sword flashed like lightning, surging like furious tides.
It clashed with the descending blade behind Su Qi.
A rapid series of clangs rang out, sparks blooming like ephemeral night-blooming flowers. The scorching shockwave curled the strands of hair on Su Qi’s forehead.
Then came a violent whirlwind of displaced air, sending debris and foliage spiraling into the sky from the aftermath of the clash.
The sword tip quivered, and with a thunderous roar, it sent the enemy’s blade flying several meters back.
Only then did Su Qi get a chance to see who had attacked.
But the opponent seemed intent on staying hidden.
Under the moonlight, all Su Qi could make out was a shadowy figure shrouded in a black cloak.
“Intel was wrong?”
The voice was deliberately hushed, genderless.
Su Qi detected no trace of panic or fear—just puzzlement.
So, what was this person here for?
Why strike suddenly?
Hired by the Yun family? Surely they wouldn’t go this far?
Or was the target Li Hu or one of the students he brought along?
Su Qi didn’t bother asking.
Even if they answered, it’d likely be half-truths meant to mislead.
The only certainty was that the attacker was Tier 7—a top-tier one at that, bordering on Tier 8.
That clean parry just now? It drained half of Su Qi’s soul force in an instant.
Fighting a Tier 7 as a Tier 6 and holding back?
Suicidal much?
Of course, Su Qi still had a last resort, but that was a scenario best avoided.
Yet the enemy didn’t press the attack either. What were they thinking?
They—
Their sword arm was seared as if struck by lightning, the pain bone-deep, nearly knocking them unconscious.
What were they thinking?
They wanted to run.
They could block two strikes at most. The third would be fatal.
But turning their back now meant certain death.
And so, the two stood locked in a stalemate, each lost in their own calculations.
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)
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
] [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!"
