Whether it was a weekday or the weekend, the nightlife in Haicheng was always a blur of glitz and glamour.
Young, attractive men and women came and went, either already at a bar or on their way to one.
At 9:15 PM, Su Yang and his two companions arrived at the lounge bar he had booked, named Carman.
This type of bar was relatively quiet, perfect for a small group of friends to sit down and chat.
However, business was booming, and the place was nearly packed. Looking through the glass window from the outside, Su Yang suggested, "How about we sit outside by the entrance? It's too crowded inside."
"Sure, it'll be nicer to sit outside and enjoy the evening breeze anyway," Xu Zilin smiled.
"Okay, let's sit over there." Su Yang pointed to an empty table on the right side of the bar's front courtyard.
"Alright." The three of them walked over to the table, and Su Yang pulled out a chair and sat down first.
Xu Zilin naturally took the seat to his right. Su Yang thought Ren Lingxi would sit next to Xu Zilin, but to his surprise, she walked around and sat on his left, sandwiching him between them.
This scene made the guys at the neighboring tables burn with envy. Two absolute stunners surrounding one guy.
"Sigh, looks like the world is going to lose another fairy's innocence tonight!"
"Maybe even two..." another guy muttered through gritted teeth, his eyes narrowed.
......
Meanwhile, not long after Su Yang's group sat down, a waiter came out of the bar holding a drink menu.
He hurried over to them and asked, "Are there just the three of you tonight?"
"Yeah, just three."
"Great, here's the menu. Take a look and see what you'd like to drink."
Su Yang took the menu, which looked like a vintage notebook, and flipped through it. Beside him, Ren Lingxi turned and smiled at the waiter, "Hey there, do you guys have any good food besides drinks?"
"Food? We sure do."
"Like what?"
"We have fruit platters, bar snacks, and handmade cakes."
"Oh? Then bring us some of each."
"Sure thing, so one portion of everything I just mentioned?"
"Three slices of cake, one fruit platter, and maybe three or four different snacks."
"You got it." The waiter replied while jotting it down on his notepad.
Su Yang hadn't even ordered the drinks yet, and Ren Lingxi had already sorted out the food.
"Are you here to drink or to eat?" Xu Zilin rested her chin on her hand and tilted her head, smiling at Ren Lingxi.
"They don't conflict! I can eat and drink at the same time."
"You're such a foodie."
Soon, Su Yang and Xu Zilin ordered three one-liter pitchers of craft beer in different flavors.
Seeing this, Ren Lingxi asked, "One pitcher each?"
"Yep."
"That won't be enough. I need two pitchers just for myself. Waiter, bring two more—make it two pitchers per person!" Ren Lingxi waved her hand boldly.
Hearing this, Su Yang quickly grabbed Ren Lingxi to stop her. "No, no, no, don't talk big. We'll just start with three pitchers, and we can order more if it's not enough."
It wasn't that Su Yang thought it was too much alcohol; he was genuinely afraid these two would drink themselves into a stupor again. Mostly because every time he drank with girls other than Pan Ning, they ended up passed out by the end of the night.
From Zhao Mengrou and Gu Xiaoman in the beginning, to Xu Zilin, Lu Yun, Xia Zhiyu, Tao Shu, and others later on.
Although he had reaped some unexpected rewards after they got drunk a few times, he didn't actually like getting intimate when people were intoxicated. It always felt like it was missing something.
Ren Lingxi grinned, "Fine, fine. We'll start with this and order more later."
"Alright, please wait a moment." The waiter took back the menu and turned to leave.
Sitting outdoors meant Su Yang could smoke, so he pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
Seeing this, Xu Zilin said, "Give me one too."
"You smoke?"
"I do, just rarely. I'm in a good mood today and feel like having one."
"Maybe you shouldn't. If you don't usually smoke, skip it. Girls shouldn't smoke too much."
"Yeah, Zilin, why would a girl smoke?" Ren Lingxi chimed in.
Xu Zilin just smiled, ignoring their advice. She picked up the pack of cigarettes on the table, took one out, placed it between her red lips, and lit it.
Su Yang was stunned. "You really know how?"
"Why would I lie to you? An occasional cigarette is fine."
"Alright then."
About ten minutes later, the waiter returned with the three pitchers of beer and the array of snacks Ren Lingxi had ordered, placing them on the table.
"Here is everything you ordered. If you need anything else, just press the service bell."
"Okay, thanks."
"You're welcome."
After the waiter left, Xu Zilin took the initiative to pour the drinks. She raised her glass and said, "Come on, let's toast."
"Cheers." The three clinked their glasses and downed their drinks in one gulp.
"Mhm, tastes pretty good. Let's have another." Xu Zilin poured more drinks.
Seeing this, Su Yang said, "Slow down, don't get drunk again."
"It's fine, I'm in great form today. I definitely won't get drunk." Xu Zilin winked with a smile, clinked glasses with Su Yang, and downed another one.
"Don't just drink, have some snacks."
"Okay, let's play a little drinking game. Just drinking feels like it's missing something," Ren Lingxi suggested.
"Sure, what do you want to play?"
"Fifteen-Twenty. It's the only one I know."
"Okay, every man for himself. We'll take turns challenging each other," Su Yang said with a smile.
"Alright, Su Yang, I'll challenge you first. The loser drinks a cup." Ren Lingxi filled her glass and then got her hands ready for Fifteen-Twenty.
Seeing this, Su Yang laughed, "Looks like you're a pro at this?"
"Hehe, I'm pretty good. Don't underestimate me."
"Haha, alright, bring it on."
Su Yang got his hands ready too, and the two of them called out simultaneously.
"Fifteen-Twenty, ten!" As Ren Lingxi spoke, she opened both her hands.
"Fifteen-Twenty, fifteen!" Su Yang only threw out a five.
Su Yang won instantly.
Ren Lingxi frowned. "Oh? You're that good, Su Yang?"
"Just lucky. Drink up!"
"I will." Ren Lingxi picked up her glass and downed it in one shot without any hesitation, more straightforward than a lot of guys.
Su Yang gave her a thumbs-up. "Nice, very straightforward."
Ren Lingxi frowned slightly as she swallowed the liquor, wiped the corner of her mouth, and looked at Xu Zilin. "Zilin, your turn. Let's go."
"You're acting pretty fierce today. I'm going to have to put you in your place." Xu Zilin smiled and filled her glass.
Ren Lingxi scoffed dismissively, "Tch, we'll see who puts who in their place."
"Come on."
The two called out together.
However, they didn't have an instant winner like Su Yang just did. After four continuous rounds...
On the final call, Ren Lingxi shouted "Ten" and threw a five.
Xu Zilin shouted "Five" and also threw a five. Ren Lingxi finally won the round.
She immediately beamed, pointing at Xu Zilin and cheering, "Haha, you lost! Drink, drink!"
"I'll drink. My tolerance..." Xu Zilin was about to brag about her high tolerance, but remembering the last two times she drank with Su Yang and ended up blackout drunk, she quickly shut her mouth.
She picked up her glass and downed it in one go.
Su Yang leaned back in his chair with a smile, quietly watching the battle between the two beauties.
After Xu Zilin finished her drink, it was Su Yang's turn again. He played Ren Lingxi first, and this time, after two rounds of shouting, he lost a game.
But he wasn't in a hurry to drink. He turned to Xu Zilin and said, "Come on, your turn. I'm challenging you to a toast."
"Oh? Talking big, aren't we? Are you sure you're going to win?"
"Worst case scenario, I drink two glasses. No big deal."
"Arrogant! Bring it on!" Xu Zilin rolled up her sleeves, revealing her fair arms, and started shouting out the drinking game with Su Yang.
After three rounds, Su Yang lost again.
Seeing Su Yang lose, the two girls immediately grinned and high-fived each other. "Yes!! That's what you get for being cocky. You wanted to toast me? You can toast yourself!"
Su Yang smiled nonchalantly. "It's just two glasses of booze. Piece of cake."
Saying so, he grabbed the drinks and quickly downed them.
Ren Lingxi nudged Su Yang's arm with her shoulder and laughed, "Impressive, Brother Su Yang. Last time in Licheng, it got too late and we left before we could drink much. I didn't expect you to hold your liquor so well."
Su Yang wiped his mouth. "Not to brag, but to drink with you two lightweights, I only need ten percent of my power."
"You're the lightweight!" Ren Lingxi retorted indignantly.
Su Yang laughed. "Oh? You know what a lightweight means?"
"Who doesn't? It just means someone who sucks at drinking."
Su Yang smiled. He had actually learned the term back in Lincheng when he was drinking with Tao Shu.
"Su Yang, you're unusually arrogant today. In that case, Lingxi and I are teaming up against you."
"Fine, but don't think you can cheat. Before you team up, you have to finish a solo round with everyone first."
Xu Zilin chuckled sneakily. She had wanted to slip by, but didn't expect Su Yang to catch her.
She played against both of them once. She beat Ren Lingxi but lost to Su Yang—one win, one loss—and drank a glass.
After that, the two girls teamed up to take on Su Yang.
Before they even finished two rounds, the three pitchers of alcohol were completely emptied. It was mainly because their glasses were quite large; a pitcher was gone after just a few pours.
Just as the three of them were getting into the groove, Ren Lingxi pressed the service bell. "What did I tell you, Brother Su Yang? I said three pitchers definitely wouldn't be enough. We need at least six more."
Today, while drinking with the two beauties, Su Yang didn't use his Wine God cheat, so he wasn't as unnaturally sober and rational as he usually was.
He replied with a beaming smile, "Alright, let's do it! I'm definitely going to put you two in your place today!"
......

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!

ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!

lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.

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."