Wang Jianqiang had just left his residence when he spotted two familiar figures approaching.
Chen Jiaojiao and Niu Shouren?
He raised an eyebrow.
Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen Chen Jiaojiao for over two months.
As Wang Jianqiang noticed them, they also caught sight of him.
Chen Jiaojiao’s expression flickered, her gaze evasive.
Beside her, Niu Shouren’s face twisted into a sneer.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Trash King?”
“Shouldn’t a useless waste like you be hiding in your hole instead of embarrassing yourself out here?”
Hearing Niu Shouren’s taunt, Wang Jianqiang arched a brow, a thought forming in his mind.
Chen Jiaojiao hadn’t sought him out for so long—something must have happened.
His eyes lingered on Chen Jiaojiao.
Her information flashed through his mind.
When he saw the mere 10 points of favorability remaining in the status bar, his suspicions grew firmer.
“Ah, Shouren, it’s you.”
Wang Jianqiang acted as if he hadn’t heard the insult, smiling amiably.
“I attended the Outer Sect Tournament a while back and caught your match. Didn’t you get eliminated in the first round? Hope you’re doing alright?”
Niu Shouren’s face twitched.
He had indeed participated—and been knocked out in the first round.
Not just that, he’d been beaten so badly he needed half a month to recover.
For someone as prideful as him, it was a humiliation. Now that Wang Jianqiang had brought it up, his cheeks burned with shame.
“Hmph, I only entered for experience. Results mean nothing.”
“True,” Wang Jianqiang nodded, as if agreeing.
Niu Shouren’s expression relaxed slightly—until Wang Jianqiang continued, “With your skills, you were never going to achieve anything anyway.”
His face stiffened, speechless.
“Enough, Trash King. Cut the nonsense.”
“Jiaojiao and I were just about to look for you. Running into you here saves us the trouble.”
“Oh? Looking for me? What for?”
Wang Jianqiang glanced at Chen Jiaojiao.
She avoided his gaze, staying silent.
Niu Shouren pressed on, “We’re here to sever ties with you, old trash. From today onward, you have no connection to us as a couple.”
“Are you sure? Jiaojiao went to great lengths to mend things between us before.”
Wang Jianqiang’s eyes fixed on Chen Jiaojiao.
Niu Shouren frowned. “What do you mean, ‘mend things’?”
Chen Jiaojiao paled. “Wang Jianqiang, Shouren has made it clear. We’re done.”
“Don’t bother us again.”
With that, she tugged Niu Shouren away, their retreat almost hasty from Wang Jianqiang’s perspective.
“Jiaojiao, what was that about? What ‘mending things’? Did you beg him?”
“It’s your fault for being so stubborn and refusing to interact with him! I had to smooth things over.”
“I see… You’ve suffered, Jiaojiao.”
…
Their conversation drifted back on the breeze.
Wang Jianqiang couldn’t help but chuckle.
Chen Jiaojiao’s betrayal didn’t affect him in the slightest.
He’d never held high hopes for this ungrateful woman to begin with.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have kept his alchemy skills hidden from her all this time.
Not a single Perfect Cloudmist Pill had he given her—even the Perfect Verdant Spirit Pills, she’d only received four.
Still, one thing puzzled him.
Niu Shouren's cultivation level had previously been on par with Chen Jiaojiao's, both having recently broken through to the seventh layer of Qi Refinement.
So why was Chen Jiaojiao still at the early stage of the seventh layer, while Niu Shouren had already reached the ninth layer?
After pondering for a moment, he shook his head and dismissed these thoughts, heading toward the Outer Affairs Hall.
Half a day later.
Wang Jianqiang returned to his residence.
With a wave of his hand, five jade slips materialized before him.
These five jade slips were his preparations for the upcoming Cold Spring Secret Realm expedition.
Three of them contained pill recipes, while the other two were blueprints for magical artifacts.
The three pill recipes were all for high-grade first-tier pills: the Spirit Restoration Pill, the Earth Yellow Pill, and the Blood Surge Pill.
The Spirit Restoration Pill accelerated the recovery of spiritual energy.
The Earth Yellow Pill was a healing pill.
As for the Blood Surge Pill, consuming it granted a temporary boost in strength, but the side effects were severe—it was a life-risking pill.
The two blueprints were for the Radiant Seal and the Windchaser Boots, both high-grade magical artifacts.
Dong Yue had previously mentioned that outer disciples were not permitted to purchase high-grade blueprints.
Yet, for some reason, upon learning that he was preparing for the Cold Spring Secret Realm, she made an exception and sold him these two.
Naturally, he wouldn’t refuse such an opportunity and bought them on the spot.
With these items at his disposal, his journey into the secret realm would undoubtedly be much safer.
Afterward, he focused his mind and examined each of the five jade slips.
"Ding! Detected inferior pill recipe. Optimization and upgrade require 30 cultivation points. Proceed?"
"Ding! Detected inferior pill recipe. Optimization and upgrade require 30 cultivation points. Proceed?"
"Ding! Detected inferior pill recipe. Optimization and upgrade require 30 cultivation points. Proceed?"
"Ding! Detected inferior blueprint. Optimization and upgrade require 30 cultivation points. Proceed?"
"Ding! Detected inferior blueprint. Optimization and upgrade require 30 cultivation points. Proceed?"
Three consecutive system notifications rang out.
"Yes."
As the thought flashed through Wang Jianqiang’s mind, the system responded again.
"Ding! Spirit Restoration Pill recipe successfully optimized and upgraded to the Perfect Spirit Restoration Pill recipe."
"Ding! Earth Yellow Pill recipe successfully optimized and upgraded to the Perfect Earth Yellow Pill recipe."
"Ding! Blood Surge Pill recipe successfully optimized and upgraded to the Perfect Blood Surge Pill recipe."
"Ding! Radiant Seal blueprint successfully optimized and upgraded to the Perfect Radiant Seal blueprint."
"Ding! Windchaser Boots blueprint successfully optimized and upgraded to the Perfect Windchaser Boots blueprint."
After optimizing and upgrading all the pill recipes and artifact blueprints, Wang Jianqiang took out the materials he had prepared earlier and began crafting.
In the blink of an eye, a month passed.
After a full month of relentless crafting, the results were impressive.
He had accumulated five hundred Perfect Cloudmist Pills.
The more frequently consumed Perfect Spirit Restoration Pills and Perfect Earth Yellow Pills numbered over a thousand each.
Since the Blood Surge Pill would rarely be used, he prepared only twenty.
Additionally, he crafted twenty copies each of the Perfect Radiant Seal, Perfect Windchaser Boots, Perfect Minor Mountain Seal, Perfect Darkwater Ring, Perfect Cloudwater Frostblade, and Perfect Moonwater Robe.
As for the Perfect Amethyst Slippers, they were no longer necessary now that the superior Perfect Windchaser Boots were available as a replacement.
"Senior Brother, the notice has been issued," Wang Yuyao came to inform him one day.
"In three days, we depart for Falling Snow Mountain."
Falling Snow Mountain was where the entrance to the Cold Spring Secret Realm lay.
"So the secret realm is finally opening?"
A glimmer of anticipation flashed in Wang Jianqiang's eyes.
He didn’t let Wang Yuyao leave afterward.
Instead, he led the blushing Wang Yuyao toward the inner room.
Since she was already here, they might as well do something.
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
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?"
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
