The daylight was fading, and the night was deepening.
Emperor Zhou and Zhou Jia had mainly come to visit Chen Xia, so they didn't say much and seemed a bit reserved in their speech. After exchanging greetings, they didn't want to disturb Chen Xia further and took their leave.
Bai Lu was left standing there, confused, scratching his head and still not quite understanding the situation.
He turned to Chen Xia and asked quizzically, "Is she really your senior sister?"
Chen Xia nodded and replied, "We've been old friends for hundreds of years. When I first met her, I was still a young boy."
"Aren't you still one now?" Bai Lu asked, looking at Chen Xia's youthful face.
"Back then, I was a pure-hearted youth," Chen Xia clarified.
"Aren't you pure-hearted now?" Bai Lu frowned and asked.
"I'm still pure, but not a youth," Chen Xia shook his head, deciding not to continue the conversation with the argumentative Bai Lu.
"But aren't you just a you-" Bai Lu persisted, about to ask again.
"How about a game of chess?" Chen Xia interjected.
Bai Lu instantly fell silent and turned to leave. He still had some questions in his mind, but he didn't voice them.
For instance, why Zhou Jia, as Chen Xia's senior sister, seemed so reserved in front of him.
Not just Zhou Jia, even Emperor Zhou appeared reserved in Chen Xia's presence.
Bai Lu couldn't figure it out and didn't dare to think too deeply about it. So he began to focus on his meditation and cultivation.
He now realized that he and Chen Xia were not really "cut from the same cloth."
But he comforted himself with a saying: cultivators without umbrellas must run harder in the rain.
That's what he needed to do now. Not necessarily to run ahead of everyone else, but at least not to fall behind.
Bai Lu still held onto a glimmer of hope, a characteristic aspiration of youth.
He was growing, but he hadn't yet matured.
Outside the small house, a spirit tree swayed, its buds beginning to bloom.
Night fell.
The moon shone faintly.
Beneath All Heavens.
The first inter-realm war officially broke out, involving six realms.
Compared to this war, the battles between the realms and the Heavenly Rain Realm seemed like child's play.
This conflict involved seven Great Emperors, and beneath them, over a hundred Zhun Di and Great Saints!
It was said that the instigator of this great war was a newly risen Great Emperor, known for his extremely hot temper and exceptionally strong combat prowess. He was even able to overpower some veteran Great Emperors.
This Great Emperor was named Vast Boundless, the current ruler of the Ten Thousand Demons Realm. He led the previously oppressed Ten Thousand Demons Realm into battle, igniting the prelude to this war.
It also thoroughly established Vast Boundless's reputation.
Most of the great cultivators across the realms had heard of his name and knew him to be an unparalleled fierce warrior.
Currently, the six realms were fighting their own battles, locked in fierce combat. The realms with two Great Emperors had a slight advantage, but they didn't dare to be complacent, fearing that the other realms might join forces to eliminate them first.
Besides these, two Great Realms were also eyeing them covetously, hoping to play the role of the fisherman and swallow up these realms.
However, given the current progress of the battle, it seemed unlikely that the Great Realms would have a chance to intervene.
Because among the six realms, apart from the Ten Thousand Demons Realm, none were truly fighting with murderous intent.
But Vast Boundless was different. This guy was truly reckless. He didn't care which realm you were from or which Great Emperor you were; he would beat you up mercilessly if he caught you.
If you were of equal strength to him, it was still okay; at least you could retreat safely.
But if you were slightly weaker than him, you were in for a brutal beating.
The other Great Emperors' evaluation of Vast Boundless was quite succinct.
"Mad dog, he's just a mad dog, biting anyone he catches. Don't call him Great Emperor Vast Boundless anymore, call him the Mad Dog Emperor!"
Actually, it wasn't a bad fit, considering his identity as a big yellow dog.
Vast Boundless had a strange habit during battles. While fighting, he would frantically ask:
"Have you seen my brother Chen Xia? Have you seen him? Have you? If you haven't, take a beating!"
How the hell am I supposed to know who your brother is?!
All the Great Emperors had been beaten by Vast Boundless for this reason, so they not only resented the big yellow dog but also had a deep impression of this Chen Xia.
Chen Xia hadn't even shown up, but the big yellow dog had already drawn hatred towards him.
When it comes to being a dog, you're truly unparalleled, Big Yellow!
The sun shone brightly.
It was a good day.
Outside the small house, the spirit tree had long since borne bright red fruits, weighing down its branches, which swayed gently.
Bai Lu got up early today, tidied himself up nicely, and hurried outside. He smiled at Chen Xia and said,
"Today, Dragon Riding Mountain is coming to the city to recruit cultivators. Do you want to come and watch? You could cheer me on too."
Chen Xia thought for a moment but still shook his head, "Not interested."
Bai Lu wasn't disheartened; at least Chen Xia had considered it for him.
So he set off alone towards the city center, heading for the towering recruitment and selection site that looked like a small mountain.
Many other cultivators were heading there too, and he was among the older ones.
Bai Lu lowered his head, feeling a bit embarrassed, and didn't want to talk with the other cultivators.
The selection queue was very long, stretching all the way to the top of the "small mountain". He stood in line, watching the sun move across the sky, slowly moving forward with the crowd, constantly reviewing the new techniques he had learned.
Finally, as evening approached, it was his turn.
Bai Lu stepped forward excitedly, ready to demonstrate what he had learned over the years.
But he froze on his first step forward.
In front of him were many examiners dressed in luxurious robes.
Among them, he saw two familiar faces.
Hao Lin and Yu Jun.
They were his childhood friends, his former best friends.
But it seemed that was all in the past now.
The two also glanced at him, perhaps with a slight flicker of emotion, but it quickly faded to indifference.
"Begin," came the flat voice of the examining elder.
Bai Lu stiffly demonstrated the mystical techniques he had learned. They weren't particularly impressive, just familiar.
His expression was still somewhat dazed.
"Average talent, average comprehension, average techniques..."
Three "averages" completely shattered Bai Lu's dream.
He didn't know how he made it back, only that he walked in a daze the entire way.
Late at night.
He stood on the empty street, staring at the vacant road, unable to utter a word.
When even the moon had hidden away,
He slowly pushed open the door, looked at Chen Xia, and voluntarily reached behind him to produce a jug of wine, asking,
"Care for a drink?"
Chen Xia understood.
Outside, the heavy fruits from the spirit tree fell, sinking into the muddy soil.
With a soft thud.
He had finally matured.
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.
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
