For a full day, Qingshan Patriarch stepped from the Martial Spirit Realm into the Martial King Realm after leaving the Martial Spirit World. This step was just like a carp leaping over the dragon gate. Among the entire Southern Sand Cultivation World, he was one of the top existences.
"Hahaha... Xuanwu, you forced me to accept your duel. But if you knew I broke through to the Martial King realm now, I wonder what your expression would be!"
Qingshan Patriarch's face was glowing with radiance, sweeping away his previous decadent look.
"Congratulations, Master, on breaking through to the Martial King realm."
Luo Lanxue respectfully knelt on the ground.
Qingshan Patriarch flashed over in a blur, helping Luo Lanxue up with both hands, smilingly saying, "Snow, quickly get up. Previously, I wrongly blamed you. You, Luo Lanxue, are a great contributor to my Qingshan Sect, and will be recorded in the history of my Qingshan Sect."
"Master overpraises me. This is something I should have done." Luo Lanxue said.
"Right, I was busy breaking through previously and haven't asked you, tell me about that mortal...no, senior. What exactly is his background?" Qingshan Patriarch gently stroked the martial arts book in his hand, eagerly asking Luo Lanxue.
"He looks very young and handsome, with an extraordinary temperament..." As Luo Lanxue gradually enlarged that figure in her mind, she continued, "At the time, I didn't think much of it, but looking back now, his behavior and manners all exuded the feeling of a legendary grandmaster..."
Qingshan Patriarch narrowed his eyes, carefully pondering Luo Lanxue's words. "Go on."
"He runs a small martial arts school, selling many martial arts manuals..." Luo Lanxue added.
"Many martial arts manuals?"
Qingshan Patriarch gasped, mouth agape.
Luo Lanxue nodded solemnly.
"Snow, no matter how young he looks, based on your description, I guess he is a super old monster." Qingshan Patriarch said gravely, "And I preliminarily deduce that his cultivation is at the Martial Emperor realm!"
"Martial Emperor..."
Hearing this, Luo Lanxue was greatly shocked.
Although she had guessed it herself, getting confirmation from Qingshan Patriarch still made her feel shaken.
Back then, even Qingshan Patriarch, the founder of Qingshan Sect, only had the cultivation of a Martial Emperor!
"However, this is just my initial speculation. We'll have to pay this senior a visit to know for sure." Qingshan Patriarch said in deep thought, "So Snow, come with me down the mountain to visit this senior."
Upon hearing this, Luo Lanxue's delicate body quivered as she stammered, "Master, I... I..."
"What's wrong?" Qingshan Patriarch frowned.
"I'm afraid I've already offended this senior!"
The anxiety in Luo Lanxue's eyes finally spilled out completely, her face full of deep regret, feeling extremely remorseful.
These couple of days, needless to say, her heart had been tangled up and complicated.
It practically suffocated her. Although Qingshan Patriarch's breakthrough resolved the sect's crisis, remembering her disrespect that day at the stall, her heart was filled with dead ashes.
Under Qingshan Patriarch's urging, Luo Lanxue reluctantly recounted the scene before her eyes.
Qingshan Patriarch's expression changed at the news.
"Master, I was wrong."
Seeing this, Luo Lanxue kowtowed heavily, tears already streaming out, "At the time, I really thought he was just a mortal, and had no idea he was an unworldly eminent person!"
"Hmph!"
Qingshan Patriarch's face was livid as he berated Luo Lanxue, "You, even if he was just a mortal, you shouldn't have only given him one gold coin!"
"But, but I only had one gold coin on me at the time!" Luo Lanxue explained anxiously, "And I thought one book, one gold coin would definitely be enough. Besides, at the time, I was thinking about your duel with Patriarch Xuanwu, so I committed a terrible mistake in the moment."
Qingshan Patriarch fell silent.
He had thought it was great blessing for Qingshan Sect, but now with this incident, one misstep could lead to Qingshan Sect's destruction.
"It's truly fortunate you made it back alive!" Qingshan Patriarch lamented.
Luo Lanxue's eyes brimmed with tears, full of bitterness in her heart.
Who could say otherwise?
Looking back, she had simply brushed past the gates of hell, and might have even implicated the entire Qingshan Sect because of this.
"Luckily junior sister was there." Luo Lanxue said gratefully, "Although I only gave that senior one gold coin, he didn't pursue the matter. He even said to consider it as gifting the book to junior sister. He probably spared me because he saw how cute junior sister was!"
"So for meeting the senior, it'd be better if Master goes yourself." Luo Lanxue said dejectedly.
Qingshan Patriarch pondered briefly before solemnly shaking his head, "Not only can you not avoid going, you must go."
Luo Lanxue parted her red lips.
"But Master, if I go and provoke that senior's anger, it'd be even more disastrous for Qingshan Sect...so I think it'd be better if I steer clear of this!" Luo Lanxue pleaded.
"Hmph, what do you know?" Qingshan Patriarch chided, "With that senior's insight, do you think he won't know you're my, Qingshan Patriarch's, disciple and of Qingshan Sect, even if you don't go?"
Hearing this, Luo Lanxue's delicate body shuddered.
"Since that senior didn't make a move against you at the time, it shows he didn't take these trivial matters to heart." Qingshan Patriarch stroked his beard and said, "Given his status, if you properly apologize with me later, he wouldn't bother quibbling with a junior like you."
"On the contrary, if we secretly schemed or acted like leaping clowns behind his back, that might actually enrage that senior."
"Master's lesson makes sense. Then disciple will bear the punishment and let that senior do as he wills." Luo Lanxue gritted her teeth and nodded.
Afterwards, Qingshan Patriarch grabbed Luo Lanxue and flew towards Pingjiang City in two streams of light.
...
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.”
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.
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…
