Qin Xiao looked at the golden task panel before him, a brow twitching slightly as his lips curled into a playful, mocking arc.
Only a fool would pick the first option.
As for the second...
It was exactly what he wanted!
Since she didn't believe him, he would let Qin Rushuang fall into hell!
"A year's worth of rations for a million soldiers..."
Qin Xiao muttered to himself, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.
The reason he had returned to the capital this time, aside from the palace summons and the eighteen consecutive imperial gold medals, was the looming crisis of food supplies.
The imperial court had cut off his rations.
If the commoners of Northern Liang hadn't been penny-pinching and starving themselves to supply the Northern Liang army, his million-strong force would have likely starved to death long ago.
The mere thought of it filled Qin Xiao with a gut-wrenching fury.
I was fighting on the front lines for you.
And you bastards cut off my supplies!
Sooner or later, he would drag those cowards hiding in the shadows out and exterminate their entire nine generations!
"Qin Xiao! What’s the matter? Guilty conscience?"
Qin Rushuang sneered, her eyes fixed on the silent Qin Xiao as the corners of her mouth tilted upward.
She knew it. The moment she uttered those words, Qin Xiao would surely yield!
Every single time, she used this method to force him into submission.
She had once saved Qin Xiao's life, and for that, she would make him spend his entire life paying back that debt!
The more miserable Qin Xiao was, the happier she became.
She wanted nothing more than to watch Qin Xiao fall from the heavens into the mud!
"Guilty conscience?" Qin Xiao smirked. "I am upright and honorable!"
"Didn't you want me to repay the favor from all those years ago? Fine. I shall repay it now!"
Qin Rushuang’s face lit up with joy.
A hint of color returned to her deathly pale face.
"Qin Xiao, you said it! You can't go back on your word!"
Empress Dowager Wen was even more ecstatic, shouting in front of everyone.
"Everyone, bear witness! Qin Xiao is the Emperor; his word is final! Qin Xiao, do not break your promise, or the people of the world will despise you!"
The people of Northern Liang were stunned.
Jia Xu immediately stepped forward, his face etched with anxiety.
"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"
"You have already done so much for the Princess Royal. That life-saving debt has long been paid in full."
"Why must you now transfer your cultivation to the Princess Royal and voluntarily suffer the agony of the cold poison? Your Majesty, you possess a body of supreme value; how can you cripple your own martial arts!"
The Northern Liang generals bowed their heads and clasped their hands, speaking out in persuasion.
"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"
"We beg Your Majesty to withdraw the order!"
Qin Xiao was the greatest warrior in the world.
Once he transferred his cultivation to Qin Rushuang, he would be no different from a cripple.
If he were then ridiculed by the world, where would the Emperor’s dignity remain?
"My decision is not for you to question!"
Qin Xiao’s gaze swept over the generals, his voice low and heavy.
His majestic voice echoed throughout the entire palace.
The originally noisy and boisterous scene instantly fell into a deathly silence.
It was as if a bomb had been detonated right next to their ears.
Everyone was stunned.
After a long silence.
Thud!
The Northern Liang generals all knelt on the ground.
"We wouldn't dare!"
Qin Rushuang and Empress Dowager Wen were also taken aback.
Then, they were overcome with joy.
"Good! Qin Xiao, hurry and transfer your cultivation to me!"
"Once my cold poison is cured, I will surely forgive you."
Qin Rushuang sat cross-legged on the floor, urging him.
However, a playful laugh rang out.
"Who said I was going to transfer my cultivation to you?"
Qin Xiao's words were like a bucket of ice water, instantly plunging the mother and daughter into a freezing abyss.
"Qin Xiao, didn't you just say it so clearly! Why are you changing your mind now!"
Empress Dowager Wen trembled with rage.
"Have you forgotten the life-saving favor?"
Qin Rushuang’s eyes turned red.
"I never expected you, Qin Xiao, to be such a cold-blooded and heartless man! I misjudged you!"
Facing their words, Qin Xiao casually waved his hand.
"Didn't you say that Holy Monk Shen could solve your cold poison? I have decided to betroth you to him!"
As soon as Qin Xiao said this.
Boom!
Everyone was shocked!
They all looked at Qin Xiao in disbelief.
They knew a thing or two about what happened back then.
They knew exactly what kind of man this Holy Monk Shen was.
But because the Princess Royal liked him, they could only do their best to flatter and fawn.
In private, however, they all mocked Qin Rushuang for being blind, falling for such a monk.
Now that Qin Xiao had publicly betrothed Qin Rushuang to the capital's famous Holy Monk, they were completely stunned.
Jia Xu’s eyes lit up, and he immediately stepped forward.
"Your Majesty is wise!"
Empress Dowager Wen’s face changed drastically.
She knew the true character of this Shen Han all too well.
With even a slight investigation, his filthy deeds would be clear as day.
But she had never told Qin Rushuang.
Firstly, she feared it would drive a wedge between mother and daughter.
That was why she had leaked the information about Shen Han to Qin Xiao in the first place.
This was what had led to the rift between Qin Xiao and Qin Rushuang.
"No... you can't do this! No!"
Empress Dowager Wen shook her head, her face turning paler by the second.
If Qin Rushuang married Shen Han, she would definitely suffer a fate worse than death!
"Qin Xiao! How can you be so wicked!"
She rushed forward, tugging at Qin Xiao’s dragon robes.
"Hurry and transfer your cultivation to Rushuang! You promised! Hurry!"
"You can't let Qin Rushuang marry Shen Han! You absolutely cannot!"
Qin Xiao looked down coldly at Empress Dowager Wen.
"Old hag, why are you obstructing your own daughter’s happiness?"
"Could it be that because you were domesticially abused by Emperor Qinwu every day, you can't stand to see your own daughter find happiness?"
"In this world, how can there be such a wicked mother like you!"
With that, he flicked his sleeve.
Empress Dowager Wen was sent sprawling to the ground.
"Shen Han is not a good man! He is a wolf in sheep's clothing! You can't let Rushuang marry him!"
Empress Dowager Wen sprawled on the floor, screaming hysterically.
When Qin Rushuang saw this and heard Qin Xiao’s words, her gaze toward Empress Dowager Wen gradually turned cold.
"Mother, this is my lifelong happiness. I hope you won't slander Brother Shen!"
"I know Brother Shen's character better than anyone. If you continue like this, don't blame me for disowning you as my mother!"
"My affairs are not for Mother to worry about."
After saying this, Qin Rushuang flicked her sleeve and walked away.
Seeing Qin Rushuang’s departing figure.
Empress Dowager Wen’s face turned gray. She spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.
Qin Xiao glanced around and raised his hand.
"Prime Minister, come here."
Cai Kun hurried over.
"Your Majesty, your old servant is here!"
"Take your men and notify the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple. Tell them that I have betrothed Princess Qin Rushuang to Shen Han."
"May I ask Your Majesty, when shall the wedding be held?"
"The sooner the better. Let's make it... tomorrow."
Cai Kun was stunned upon hearing this.
Good heavens, he was in that much of a hurry to send Qin Rushuang to her death?
"Hmm?" Qin Xiao’s eyes narrowed slightly, his tone carrying a hint of dissatisfaction.
"What? Can the Prime Minister not even handle such a small matter?"
Cai Kun’s body trembled.
He quickly lowered his head. "I wouldn't dare. I shall go to the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple immediately!"
Then, he led his men and hurried away.
After seeing Cai Kun’s figure disappear, Qin Xiao waved his hand.
"Scram, all of you."
Hearing this, the civil and military officials felt as if they had been granted a grand reprieve. They quickly bowed and departed.
As for the ten thousand Imperial Guards, Qin Xiao directly exiled them to Ningguta.
Those who were not loyal to him did not deserve to live!
"Jia Xu, didn't you just say that the national treasury is short on silver and the border generals are starving?"
"I have a way!"
Qin Xiao led his men back into the bedchamber.
He picked up a cup of tea and took a sip before looking at Jia Xu.
Jia Xu looked on, puzzled.
"Oh? Does Your Majesty have a sound strategy?"
At present, the Great Qin Empire was in a state of utter ruin.
Ever since Qin Xiao ascended the throne, the imperial treasury had been completely empty, unable to produce even a single tael of silver.
Neither the court officials nor the aristocratic families would lift a finger to help him.
They were all just waiting to see him become a laughingstock; how could they possibly donate their wealth to him?
Jia Xu was well aware of this fact.
Once famines struck the various regions and Qin Xiao could not provide the silver for relief, rebellions would erupt across the land.
When that happened, everyone in the world would place the blame squarely on Qin Xiao.
It was safe to say that sitting upon this imperial throne, Qin Xiao was truly walking on thin ice!
"Wan Fo Temple!"
Qin Xiao softly uttered the three words.
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...
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
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.
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!
