Su Ze finished his game, lit a cigarette, and walked towards the balcony.
He directly dialed the number of the Forerunner's supreme commander, Situ Jiayang.
"Calling me at this hour, you better have something important, or you're in trouble!" Situ Jiayang's voice came through the phone, tinged with irritation.
"..." Su Ze recounted everything that had just happened to Situ Jiayang in detail.
After a moment of silence, Situ Jiayang said, "So, you've been invited too... We were just discussing this meeting yesterday."
Situ Jiayang lit a cigarette. "So, are you willing to go?"
"I’ll follow orders," Su Ze replied.
"Two days, right?" Situ Jiayang crushed his cigarette in the ashtray, visibly frustrated. "Wait for further instructions. We're still discussing this matter. We should have a decision by tomorrow or the day after."
...
In the wilderness, a handsome young monk trekked under the moonlight, his footsteps leaving imprints in the soft soil.
A shadow flickered across the sky, obscured by thin clouds.
A young man appeared in front of the monk.
"Wait, wait, wait! Hold on, don’t start a fight!" the young man exclaimed, stopping the monk from raising his hand.
"You’re the messenger of the gods?" the young monk asked calmly, his hands clasped together.
"That’s right! Since you know who I am, this should be easy," the young man sighed in relief.
"What brings you to me, monk?" asked Xuanyuan Jin, a prodigy of the younger generation alongside Su Ze and Mo Ziang.
The young man quickly explained the details of the secret realm competition.
"A secret realm competition?" Xuanyuan Jin seemed surprised.
A secret realm is a world created by beings using divine laws. These laws are the very power gods use to create worlds. As long as the laws are sufficient, creating a secret realm isn’t difficult, and the beings capable of such creation are beyond the current understanding of Earth.
A secret realm is an independent world within the vast universe, like a grain of sand hidden in an endless desert. Few beings, other than its creator, can find it.
Creators often store their treasures within these realms.
Sometimes, a secret realm serves as a tomb for its creator, a place where they rest after death.
However, for unknown reasons, the entrances to these realms sometimes appear in other worlds.
Since Earth’s spiritual awakening five hundred years ago, fewer than ten secret realms have opened on Earth. Each opening has caused a stir among nations, with supernaturals rushing to enter them.
Now, the gods have created a secret realm for a competition, aiming to reclaim what belongs to them.
Xuanyuan Jin smiled faintly.
"So, what do you say?" the young man asked.
Xuanyuan Jin replied calmly, "I’ll participate."
With just those words, the young man relaxed. "Out of all the people in China, you’re the easiest to talk to."
Xuanyuan Jin smiled without responding.
The young man flicked his fingers, and a faint mark appeared on Xuanyuan Jin’s arm. "When this mark grows brighter and fills up, it means the competition is near. I’ll come to fetch you then."
"You’re the first person from China who didn’t immediately try to fight me upon meeting me. I can answer some of your questions. Do you have any?" the young man said smugly. "Who knows, I might even share some tips for the competition, hehehe..."
Xuanyuan Jin clasped his hands together and chanted a Buddhist mantra. "Indeed, I have a question."
"Go ahead!" the young man grinned confidently.
Xuanyuan Jin’s lips curled into a smile. "Tell me, who’s more powerful—Buddha or the gods?"
The young man: "????"
Are you out of your mind?
I thought I’d finally met a normal person! I was even planning to give you some insights into the realm’s layout.
And you ask me, ‘Who’s more powerful—Buddha or the gods?’ Is that something a Buddhist disciple should even ask?
"Damn it! What are you trying to do?"
Seeing Xuanyuan Jin slowly raise his hand, with immense divine power gathering within it, the young man panicked!
Xuanyuan Jin’s eyes shone brightly. As he raised his hand, a radiant Buddhist light illuminated the sky for kilometers, as bright as the midday sun!
"Since ancient times, Buddha and the gods have stood in opposition. I say Buddha surpasses the gods!"
"Damn it, another lunatic!"
A massive golden palm descended, but the young man had already vanished without a trace.
"Indeed, Buddha is superior."
Xuanyuan Jin continued his journey under the stars as if nothing had happened, leaving a trail of footprints in the soft soil.
...
Su Ze cooked some late-night snacks. Little Hanyu sat on the sofa, eating earnestly, her cheeks puffed up like a hamster. It was clear she was enjoying the food.
Su Ze absentmindedly stroked the [Ghost Slayer] in his hand, feeling a heavy weight in his chest. He took a deep breath, trying to suppress his emotions.
After being invited by the self-proclaimed messenger of the gods, Su Ze began to question whether it was right or wrong for him and Little Hanyu to become lovers...
If it were the version of himself before meeting Uesugi Akizuki, he wouldn’t have hesitated to enter the secret realm... But now, he felt fear...
Part of that fear stemmed from the possibility of death, though he wasn’t afraid of dying himself. The greater part came from his concern for Uesugi Akizuki... He couldn’t bear the thought of what would happen to Little Hanyu if he were to die.
But he truly loved her...
No wonder members of the Forerunner and Night Watcher rarely dated ordinary people—they must fear the possibility of dying at any moment...
Little Hanyu stopped eating and crawled over to Su Ze. She suddenly hugged him, cupped his face in her hands, and kissed him on the lips. Su Ze was momentarily stunned, then smiled.
"Don’t..." Little Hanyu paused, struggling to find the right words. She wanted to say something like "don’t worry," but her limited vocabulary made it hard to express. After a moment, she said earnestly, "Shinpai shinaide kudasai. (Don’t worry.)"
Su Ze snapped out of his thoughts and smiled, pinching her cheek. "If I have to leave you for a while, think of me, but don’t be sad. Be happy, okay?"
Little Hanyu felt like she’d heard this before and was a bit annoyed, but Su Ze’s seriousness made her comply. She hugged him tightly, burying her face in his neck, and said in a soft voice, "Anata ga itta you ni, anata no koto wo kangaeru to, watashi wa shiawase ni narimasu."
(As you said, when I think of you, I’ll be happy.)
Su Ze was genuinely touched that she could say so much in one go.
...
At dawn, a phone call woke Su Ze. He fumbled for his phone and answered it.
"The meeting’s concluded. Come to Kyoto," Situ Jiayang’s voice came through.
"Alright," Su Ze replied.
A few hours later, Su Ze and Little Hanyu arrived in front of a skyscraper in Kyoto.
Of course, Su Ze couldn’t bring Little Hanyu into the meeting, so he left her in a waiting room on the lower floor.
He entered the office on the 13th floor, where Situ Jiayang sat in his chair, frowning and smoking a cigarette.
Su Ze knocked on the door.
"Come in."
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
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.
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
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!
