Autumn fell into dusk.
Outside Ten Thousand Beasts City, golden sunlight streamed down from the heavens. The afterglow of the setting sun spilled across Ye Shu’s face as he rested both hands behind his head, leaning against the soft back of the Lion King and narrowing his eyes in comfort.
As for Xia Hanmo and the others, they were seated on other beasts.
Ye Shu lifted his eyes slightly and glanced at Jiang Xin and Xia Hanmo, who were sitting together atop the same giant bear. He felt somewhat perplexed.
Perhaps it was just his imagination.
But he had the distinct feeling that those two had secretly reached some kind of under-the-table deal behind his back. Otherwise, how could they have gone from bickering in the inn to getting along so harmoniously?
Still, he couldn’t be bothered to care.
As long as they could coexist peacefully, he had plenty to be thankful for. As for the reason, who cared?
“Hmmm…”
Little Beast sat cross-legged atop the Lion King’s head, propping up her cheek with one hand as she gazed at the sunset on the horizon. She seemed to still be pondering what Ye Shu had said earlier.
“Still thinking about it?”
Seeing this, Ye Shu smiled gently.
He straightened up and rummaged around in his robes, reaching left and right before finally pulling out a yellowed booklet. He handed it to Little Beast.
“Here. It’s for you.”
“What is it?”
Little Beast accepted the booklet. On its cover, four crooked characters had been written: The Heavens Reward Diligence. She flipped through it and found row upon row of densely packed writing inside. It looked like a cultivation technique.
“A cultivation method specially made for the beast race,” Ye Shu said lazily. “After so many years, the cultivation methods of the older generations of the beast race have long since been lost. Nowadays, beasts can only cultivate through their innate bloodline inheritances. Naturally, once they reach the level of their ancient predecessors, they can advance no further.”
“But if I made you start from scratch and explore everything the way the ancients did, it would be far too time-consuming and arduous. That’s why this exists.”
Ye Shu pointed at the large characters on the cover.
“As the saying goes, ‘The heavens reward diligence.’”
“This cultivation method is nothing particularly miraculous. It has no special effects, and compared to human cultivation techniques, its cultivation speed can barely reach the level of a Profound-grade technique.”
“But it does have one advantage.”
“Any magical beast can cultivate it. Even if you possess the most worthless bloodline and have no talent whatsoever, you can still improve little by little through hard work.”
“This… this…”
Little Beast was utterly dumbfounded.
Everyone knew that magical beasts could not cultivate human techniques. They could only absorb the essence of the sun and moon and rely on the power of their bloodlines. Their muscles, bones, and meridians varied wildly from species to species. Besides, entire races often went extinct, making it impossible to establish a unified cultivation system.
And yet her master had actually—actually…
Simply pulled out a cultivation technique and claimed that any magical beast could use it?
And that hard work alone could guarantee results?
It was practically a dream.
Little Beast held the cultivation manual in both hands, which trembled as if she were cradling an entire world.
This was too precious.
Precious beyond words.
She raised her head and looked at Ye Shu, her large eyes filled with excitement and gratitude. To be able to produce something so precious without even blinking—what kind of trust and affection did that represent?
She didn’t even dare imagine it.
How much effort and sweat must her master have secretly poured into creating such a thing?
How could she ever repay him?
“Master, I…”
Little Beast’s lips moved, but she didn’t know how to express her thanks.
“Heh, it’s nothing.” Seeing her reaction, Ye Shu scratched his head. “Really, it’s not as exaggerated as you think. I…”
Before he could finish speaking, Little Beast hugged the cultivation manual and launched herself into his arms, giving him a fierce kiss directly on the lips.
Ye Shu’s eyes widened as he felt the girl’s sweet, soft lips against his own. He knew that the fact that he had only spent one night cobbling this thing together was something he could never reveal.
“???”
Jiang Xin and Xia Hanmo, sitting atop the bear, stared wide-eyed.
Wait, how had the two of them suddenly started kissing?
“Look, look!” Xia Hanmo nudged Jiang Xin with her elbow and pointed at Little Beast, her expression turning sly. “We only looked away for a moment, and these two are already kissing.”
“You know what kind of heartless scoundrel he is,” she said. “He won’t even spare a beast!”
“True.” Jiang Xin nodded deeply in agreement.
Only Jiang Mingyue watched the scene with gritted teeth.
Why could the wind come in? Why could dogs come in? Why couldn’t she?
“Uh…”
The surrounding beasts had also noticed what was happening. One after another, they turned their heads away and pretended to admire the distant scenery.
Only Little Fancy Rat stared at the kissing pair with open curiosity.
The afterglow of the setting sun drifted gently down, bathing the two of them in golden light.
The girl’s face was so close that Ye Shu could clearly see the fine down on her cheeks, as well as her trembling eyelashes, quivering from embarrassment.
Only after quite some time did Little Beast slowly pull away.
She lowered her head, her little face flushed like the beautiful sunset on the horizon.
Ye Shu smiled and drew her into his arms.
“You’ve grown up.”
Little Beast nestled against him, the corners of her lips lifting happily as if she could already see the beautiful future ahead.
However, at this touching moment—
An ill-timed voice suddenly rang out from the front of the beast procession.
“I’m sorry, everyone.”
The Giant Ape City Lord stood with his back against a towering tree, a three-zhang-tall stone sword strapped behind him. Blocking the path of the East Desolation beasts, he pointed at Ye Shu atop the Amethyst Lion King.
“My king requests your presence.”
…
Dressed in green, Ye Shu stepped on the afterglow of the setting sun as he walked toward a secluded little courtyard. Under the brilliant golden light, no emotion could be discerned from his handsome, delicate face.
There was no point in pretending anymore.
Inside the courtyard stood Ao Xue, dressed in a pale-blue gauze skirt. She wore ice-blue glazed shoes and a simple silver crown atop her head, as though she had just completed some ancient ritual. A thin silver chain encircled her waist, while two tiny golden bells hung from her snow-white ankles, chiming softly in the breeze.
She turned around and looked at Ye Shu, smiling faintly.
“Hello, my human pet.”
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
