And so it was.
The two of them sat in the courtyard.
They chatted idly, back and forth.
As the conversation dragged on, a strange atmosphere settled between them.
Why?
Why had he been so direct and flirtatious earlier, only to suddenly turn cold later?
Was it… was it some kind of ploy?
Yi Feng's pupils flickered repeatedly.
This woman.
Wasn’t she here to deliver my payment?
If so, then hurry up and hand over the remaining Celestial Crystals!
Their thoughts were worlds apart.
After sitting for what felt like an eternity without Shi Qingwu mentioning the payment, Yi Feng couldn’t sit still any longer. He needed to find a way to bring it up.
But, of course, directly asking for it didn’t seem appropriate.
So, he thought of a more subtle approach.
He glanced casually at Su Bai, his lips twitching slightly.
Su Bai, as if he could read Yi Feng’s mind, understood his intentions just by observing his lip movements.
Before long.
Su Bai brought over a landscape painting.
“Sect Leader Shi, since we have some free time, I recently acquired this painting. I’m quite fond of it. Would you like to take a look together?” Yi Feng asked with a smile.
“Sure!”
Seeing that Yi Feng, who had been silent for so long, was now inviting her to admire a painting, Shi Qingwu’s heart leaped with joy, and she quickly nodded in agreement.
The landscape painting.
Was laid out on the table.
The two of them examined it carefully.
But Yi Feng’s intentions lay elsewhere. The painting, which had come from who-knows-where, seemed utterly ordinary to him.
However, that didn’t stop him from making his move.
“Sect Leader Shi, look at the waterfall in this painting. Doesn’t it seem alive?” Yi Feng asked softly.
Shi Qingwu studied it closely.
She couldn’t help but marvel, “The waterfall is indeed painted exceptionally well. As you said, it feels alive, as if the water is truly flowing within the painting.”
???
Hearing Shi Qingwu’s words, Yi Feng’s expression darkened.
A sea of question marks filled his mind.
Damn it.
This lousy painting? Alive? Alive my ass!
And when I asked you to look at the water, did I really mean for you to just look at the water?
Those two words Su Bai had added to the waterfall—“Pay Up”—were so big! How could you possibly miss them?
After thoroughly admiring the painting.
Shi Qingwu’s mind was completely absorbed in the artwork, and she had completely missed those two words.
Yi Feng furrowed his brow.
“Senior Yi Feng, is something wrong?” Shi Qingwu asked anxiously.
“No, nothing.”
Yi Feng forced a gentle smile, though his mind was racing, trying to figure out what to do next.
His gaze inadvertently swept into the distance, and another idea struck him.
“Sect Leader Shi, would you like to join me in admiring the scenery?” Yi Feng asked with a smile.
“Of course!”
Shi Qingwu eagerly agreed.
Her heart was fluttering like a startled deer. She hadn’t expected Yi Feng to invite her to admire the scenery after they had just finished looking at the painting.
The two of them walked out of the courtyard.
They passed through a small grove and arrived at the edge of a cliff within the Hundred Refinements Sect.
The cliff was shrouded in mist.
Birds chirped, and flowers bloomed nearby.
With every deep breath, the air was rich and fresh.
“Sect Leader Shi.”
“Hmm?”
“Look at those two mountains over there…”
Shi Qingwu looked up, puzzled, then turned her gaze toward Yi Feng.
“What do you think those two mountains would look like if they were combined?” Yi Feng asked with a sly smile.
“Them?”
Shi Qingwu studied the two peaks again, her vision slowly blending them together.
After a long while…
Her expression shifted to one of surprise.
When combined, those two mountains formed the shape of a heart!
She immediately covered her mouth, her delicate body trembling slightly.
So, this was Yi Feng’s way of expressing his feelings for her.
In her eyes.
A glimmer of light flickered.
This cliff.
As the sect leader of the Hundred Refinements Sect, she had visited it countless times.
In the past, the scenery had always seemed mundane to her.
But today, she finally discovered its true beauty!
Seeing the look of realization on Shi Qingwu’s face, Yi Feng’s lips curled into a smirk.
He asked, “So, Sect Leader Shi, what do you think it resembles?”
“Your feelings for me.”
Shi Qingwu lowered her head, instinctively taking a step closer to Yi Feng, her voice soft and coy.
????
Hearing Shi Qingwu’s words, Yi Feng’s expression darkened instantly.
Feelings?
My feelings?
What the hell are you talking about?
It’s Celestial Crystals!
Celestial Crystals!
Celestial Crystals, damn it!
Those two mountains combined form the shape of a massive Celestial Crystal! Don’t you know what a Celestial Crystal looks like?
Yi Feng was on the verge of losing his temper.
It was clear to him now—this woman was trying to avoid paying her debt.
He straightened his face, turning to Shi Qingwu with an unusually serious expression.
His demeanor.
Was more solemn than ever.
“Sect Leader Shi, at this point, there’s something I must be honest with you about…”
Yi Feng spoke each word deliberately.
Seeing Yi Feng’s unprecedented seriousness and the weight of his words, Shi Qingwu’s heart tightened.
Is he…
Is he about to confess his feelings to me?
Finally.
With tears welling in her eyes, her heart pounding with excitement, and her gaze filled with anticipation, Yi Feng extended his hand toward her.
“Pay up.”
“Three hundred thousand Celestial Crystals.”
“Right now!”
“Huh?”
Shi Qingwu, who had been brimming with expectation, froze in place as if turned to ice.
Her mind felt as though it had been struck by lightning.
Shame and anger made her wish she could vanish into thin air. She bit her lip so hard that it began to bleed…
Her body trembled uncontrollably.
“I… I…”
Shi Qingwu’s lips quivered as she struggled to control her emotions. She took out a storage ring and handed it to Yi Feng.
“Here are the Celestial Crystals you need.”
“I… I have matters to attend to. I’ll take my leave now.”
With that, she pretended as though nothing had happened, forcing a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, and quickly disappeared from Yi Feng’s sight.
Shi Qingwu rushed back to her cave dwelling, her face filled with self-mockery and bitter laughter.
Of course!
In his eyes.
She was nothing more than a minor figure, a mere sect leader of a small sect, someone he could toy with at will.
Her strength was insufficient.
Her status was insufficient.
How could someone like him ever take an interest in her?
They were simply not on the same level…
“What’s…
“What’s with all the drama?
“All I did was ask for the money…”
Seeing Shi Qingwu’s emotional state, Yi Feng was utterly baffled. Yet, for some reason, as he held the pouch of Celestial Crystals, he felt a strange unease in his heart.
Returning to the courtyard, Yi Feng had no interest in doing anything else.
He slept soundly through the night.
By the time he woke up, it was already the next day.
After a quick wash, he began packing his belongings.
Having stayed here for so long and now having received his payment, it was time to leave. Seeing the tearful faces of the thirteen young attendants, Yi Feng comforted them one by one.
After promising to come back for them in the future, Yi Feng picked up a nearby wine jar and left.
This time, he left without telling anyone.
As long as no one knew he had truly departed, the deterrence of his Golden Immortal level 60+ would remain, which might still bring some benefits to Shi Qingwu.
A light drizzle fell.
He walked out of the Hundred Refinements Sect’s mountain gate.
On a distant mountain peak.
Two women stood holding umbrellas.
Their gazes followed Yi Feng’s retreating figure.
“I will strive to catch up to you.”
The leading woman murmured under her breath, her eyes filled with determination. She then turned to the black-clad woman behind her.
“Arrange for me to undergo the Ancient God’s Legacy of the Hundred Refinements Sect!”
“What, Sect Leader?”
“You wish to undertake the Ancient God’s Legacy?”
The black-clad woman was utterly shocked. “But that legacy is a path of certain death…”
The woman said nothing, only walking resolutely back toward the sect with unwavering determination…

transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”

【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)

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]

tions: attribute allocation, analysis, proficiency, and simulation. Specializing in mechanical alchemy, from crafting sorcerous battle armor to handcrafting mechanical maidens, his mechanical legion conquers endless realms... Relying on his wits, he begins with a student-teacher romance, wins over a female director, enslaves a female assassin and a underworld queen, becoming the husband of a Grand Duchess... He enslaves the Goddess of Magic from the divine realm, developing his power simultaneously in both the Wizard World and the Realm of Gods...