After finishing their meal, the two walked down the road.
At this moment, Fang Jun remarked, "Seems like that Qi Tao really isn’t a good guy."
Lin Mo nodded.
"Probably another fishpond player like Gao Yuanqiang."
"Speaking of Gao Yuanqiang, he dumped Geng Xiao," Fang Jun said as casually as if he were discussing what to eat for dinner.
"Saw that coming," Lin Mo replied, even more indifferent.
However, Fang Jun glanced at Lin Mo. "I thought you’d react, considering Qi Tao was trying to flirt with Jiang Yunlu today—though she wasn’t having any of it."
After all, Jiang Yunlu was undeniably beautiful, with a grace most of their peers lacked.
If not for Lin Mo’s intimidating reputation in Class 8, plenty of guys would’ve already tried pursuing her.
A girl that pretty? At least half the boys in class had a crush on her.
But people ought to know their limits.
Even Chu Miaomiao was the same. Everyone knew Lin Mo had ties to her too, so the guys didn’t dare approach her or openly gossip about her.
Who knew if they’d end up beaten up by Lin Mo for it?
The two returned to school.
—System: I still think the host is too timid. If it were me, I’d just slaughter his whole family!—
During evening self-study, Jiang Yunlu left for badminton training.
Lin Jiajun couldn’t help but sigh. "If Jiang Yunlu places in the tournament, she’ll get a direct recommendation for college. But her grades are already solid—do you think she’ll still take the final exams?"
The question was clearly directed at Lin Mo.
Lin Mo nodded.
"She will. The finals are a challenge she wants to face."
Jiang Yunlu had the spirit of an athlete.
And athleticism was all about pushing limits and chasing victory.
Whether in badminton or academics, those were the heights Jiang Yunlu aimed for.
Most importantly, in her past life, she had taken the final exams.
During self-study, everyone was doing homework.
Lin Mo suddenly stood up, drawing the attention of the entire class.
"I’m going for a walk."
With that, he headed for the door.
Ma Ruixiang, sitting at the teacher’s desk, didn’t say a word.
Lin Mo didn’t even need permission to leave.
Top student privileges.
Lin Jiajun kept writing, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. He had a good guess where Lin Mo was going.
Acting all indifferent, but deep down, he still cared.
Lin Mo’s "walk" eventually led him to the badminton gym.
He wasn’t here to play, of course—just to stir up trouble.
Climbing to the second floor, he saw plenty of people training.
His spiritual sense had long locked onto Qi Tao.
From the stairwell, Lin Mo spotted Qi Tao "teaching" a girl.
His "teaching" seemed to require close proximity, though the girl didn’t seem to mind.
Meanwhile, a few guys on the opposite court frowned in disapproval.
"Qi Tao’s really crossing the line."
"What do you know? It’s mutual consent. Look at those girls—they’re practically begging for his attention. See Ruan Ting? She’s practically glued to him. Pretty sure she has a boyfriend too, some guy from Class 9, right?"
They all glanced at a boy from Class 9.
The boy chuckled. "Yeah, her racket was a gift from her boyfriend."
"Oooh~"
The group exchanged knowing looks.
Gossip was universal, regardless of gender.
Qi Tao finished his "demonstration" and let go of Ruan Ting’s hand, stepping back with exaggerated politeness.
"Try it yourself now." Then he walked off, grabbing his water bottle near the coach.
"Coach Wang, this batch of students has some real talent."
Wang Yiping grinned. "Absolutely. Especially Jiang Yunlu—she’s in a league of her own right now. If we pair her with Xu Congjun for mixed doubles, we’ve got a real shot at winning."
At the mention of that, Wang Yiping sighed.
"What a shame."
Qi Tao looked at him curiously.
"What’s the shame?"
"There’s an incredible talent who refuses to join the team. With him, we might’ve swept every event."
Qi Tao was skeptical.
"A talent? Better than me?"
He was the provincial singles champion, with a winning record even in training camps.
Wang Yiping sighed again. "A generational talent. Far better than you. But his grades are too good."
All Qi Tao heard was "far better than you."
"Coach Wang, that’s a stretch. How good could he really be?"
His tone had an edge—youthful pride flaring up. Wang Yiping noticed but didn’t soften his words. Instead, he pointed at Xu Congjun practicing nearby.
"You’ve played Xu Congjun. Your win rate against him is about 60-40, right? But this kid? He’d wipe the floor with Xu Congjun. That’s the level we’re talking about."
Qi Tao’s breath hitched.
This guy was that monstrous?
"If he joined the team, he could probably—"
"Make the national team without breaking a sweat."
Wang Yiping had been a national player himself.
But he shook his head.
"Doesn’t matter. He’s not interested."
Just then, Wang Yiping’s gaze sharpened. He spotted Lin Mo at the stairwell and hurried over.
Qi Tao followed, curious about the sudden movement.
Lin Mo’s spiritual sense wandered freely, but his eyes stayed fixed on Jiang Yunlu’s training.
Qi Tao noticed his gaze as he trailed behind Wang Yiping.
Jiang Yunlu’s proportions were flawless—her long legs, accentuated by her sport shorts, were toned and powerful.
Her right arm, honed by years of gripping a racket, had defined yet elegant muscle, radiating healthy vitality.
Clearly, she trained her left arm too.
Most badminton players ended up with a weak left arm and a bulky right. To balance it, Jiang Yunlu practiced with both hands.
Right now, she held the racket in her right hand, knees slightly bent, eyes locked onto the shuttlecock arcing toward her.
Her opponent, a male student, wound up for a smash—the shuttlecock streaked toward her backhand, sharp and low.
Jiang Yunlu didn’t panic. She glided back half a step, body unfurling as she twisted her wrist inward and snapped the racket forward.
The shuttlecock shot back faster, skimming the net.
The boy lunged, scrambling to lift it—
But the shuttlecock clipped the net and dropped softly.
A loud round of applause erupted from the side.
Jiang Yunlu looked up and saw Qi Tao smiling at her.
A wave of irritation rose in her chest.
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
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.”
