Su Muxue fell silent for a few seconds, digesting the three conditions.
Harsh?
From an official standpoint, they were somewhat demanding.
Especially the second and third clauses—they practically granted Su Qi near-total autonomy, placing him almost entirely outside the official chain of command. It was an easy recipe for unpredictability.
But… did they have a choice?
The reason she had come in the first place was precisely because of Su Qi’s "special ability," which seemed to disregard conventional hierarchies.
Such an ability was either useless or decisive at critical moments.
And Su Qi himself would be taking on immense risks.
"I understand," Su Muxue nodded solemnly. "I’ll relay your conditions verbatim to Guardian Jiang."
Su Qi could tell she was here for serious business, even if her approach had been off.
His tone softened slightly. "Take care. I won’t see you out."
The dismissal couldn’t have been clearer.
Su Muxue didn’t linger. After giving Su Qi one last deep look, she turned and strode away.
But before she’d taken more than a few steps, Su Qi’s voice suddenly called out urgently behind her.
"Fourth! Fourth condition!"
"Help me pay my phone bill!"
Su Muxue: ???
【Joy +666】
……
The sound of Su Muxue’s footsteps faded into the distance until silence returned.
Only Su Qi and Liu Yuan remained in the living room.
Liu Yuan tilted her head up, her small face etched with worry. "Big brother… was that really okay?"
She was referring to Su Qi’s firm stance and the stringent conditions he’d imposed on Su Muxue.
Su Qi reached out and gently ruffled her hair.
"It’s fine," he said, his voice back to its usual warmth. "We just need to live our lives well. As for the rest…"
Beneath the calm surface, however, a flicker of unease passed through his eyes.
"Descendants"… "Martial Exam"… "Deceptions within deceptions"… "Luring the tiger from the mountain"…
These fragments pieced together painted a picture of looming storm clouds.
He really hated trouble.
"Big brother… if it’s too dangerous…"
"I won’t take the Martial Exam."
For Liu Yuan, the exam itself hardly mattered anymore.
Seeing the concern in his sister’s clear eyes, Su Qi felt a warmth in his chest.
He patted her head again.
"Don’t overthink it. Even if you don’t take the exam, I’d probably still go to check things out."
He didn’t elaborate on the pros and cons—some things were better left for her to learn later.
"Oh…" Liu Yuan nodded, not fully understanding but obediently accepting it. Then, abruptly: "Big brother, I’m hungry!"
Su Qi: …
Definitely a little glutton today.
After stashing the "freebie" in his room, Su Qi headed to the kitchen. Soon, the clatter of pots and pans echoed from within.
His cooking skills were… passable. Barely.
For example:
Reheating pre-made meals over boiling water…
Or tossing a no-prep, no-chop "lazy pack" into a pot…
If he actually tried cooking from scratch, his best effort would probably be scrambled eggs with tomatoes.
But back then, they’d always eaten separately.
This was the first time he’d cooked for his sister…
Alone in the living room, Liu Yuan wasn’t sure what to do.
She absentmindedly picked up the long-forgotten remote and turned on the TV.
These days, television felt more like a relic than anything practical.
The screen lit up with a popular fantasy romance drama.
A cast of gorgeous actors, backed by what was rumored to be a billion-dollar production budget for flashy special effects.
Yet the plot was painfully bland, the leads’ chemistry dripping with the artificial sweetness of processed sugar.
The side characters were blatant tools—either plot devices or glorified extras, devoid of any human depth.
Somehow, the emptier the story and the more nonsensical the logic, the higher the ratings and online buzz.
Criticism never stopped, but the paychecks of these idol actors kept soaring, as if trapped in a bizarre cycle.
Meanwhile, veteran actors who actually honed their craft were slowly pushed to the fringes by the market and capital.
What a strange era.
Liu Yuan lost interest and turned it off.
Perched on the sofa, she swung her legs restlessly.
The sudden quiet felt almost oppressive.
Then she remembered something important…
What exactly was that "freebie"?
Curiosity prickled at her like a kitten’s claws.
Her brother had even taken it straight to his room before heading to the kitchen…
Liu Yuan twisted around, her knees sinking into the soft cushions.
Peeking over the backrest, her twin white hair buns swaying, she stole a glance toward the kitchen.
Su Qi’s back was turned, seemingly engrossed in something—probably wouldn’t emerge anytime soon.
But Su Qi’s senses were razor-sharp. The moment he detected her gaze, he abruptly glanced over his shoulder.
Liu Yuan ducked down, heart pounding.
After a full two and a half minutes, she dared another peek.
Su Qi was clearly struggling with the kitchen!
A bold idea sprouted in her mind.
Just one look!
She slid off the sofa soundlessly, her white-stockinged feet barely touching the floor.
Tiptoeing, she sneaked up to Su Qi’s door.
Bad news: It was locked.
Good news: Not fully.
Liu Yuan carefully pressed the handle, easing it downward.
Whether due to her height or fear of making noise, she even rose onto her tiptoes.
Bit by bit…
Until—click.
She froze, shooting a guilty look toward the kitchen.
No reaction from Su Qi.
Pushing the door open just a crack, she peeked inside.
Her brother’s room… wasn’t what she’d imagined.
Not messy, but far from tidy.
The bed was still unmade, blankets haphazardly piled to one side.
The desk was relatively clean—a few stacked books, and in the center, the "untouchable slide"…
Ahem, aka Su Qi’s computer.
The window was open, curtains fluttering in the breeze.
Liu Yuan’s eyes darted around the room.
Where was the "freebie"?
It had been in a plain paper bag, neither too big nor small.
Her gaze landed first under the desk.
Nothing.
Then the wardrobe.
She nudged it open a sliver—a few of Su Qi’s everyday clothes hung inside, with a pile of yellowed, long-unworn ones at the bottom.
Not there either.
Nightstand?
Just a charger and two snack packs that looked past their prime.
Under the bed?
After a brief hesitation, she crouched and peered beneath.
Only dust.
Weird…
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
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'!"
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
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.”
