Soon, a squad composed of super martial artists jogged over. The leader, a middle-aged man clad in high-quality gear, scanned the area with sharp eyes but found nothing.
Strange. Where did that giant monster rabbit from earlier go?
Finally, his gaze landed on a girl holding a spirit sword not far away, along with a man who looked familiar.
Could it be…
"Mr. Ye Chuan," the man called out tentatively, seemingly recognizing him.
"You know me?" Ye Chuan asked casually as the man greeted him.
"I saw you at the Super Martial Assembly," the man replied respectfully. "I’m Wang Zhuang, captain of the Alliance’s special task force."
Ah, the Wang family. That explains it.
"The monster was already dealt with. Just clean up the scene," Ye Chuan explained.
"Understood." Wang Zhuang had been chasing that monster rabbit earlier, but in the time it took to round a corner, the creature had been obliterated—not even a trace left behind.
Incredibly strong.
"Why did the transport fail? And why were you transporting monsters in the first place? Explain," Ye Chuan pressed.
Wang Zhuang could only share what he knew. "Capturing live monsters is for Alliance research—analyzing their data to find weaknesses."
Ye Chuan doubted the monsters could escape so easily. "Then how did it break free?"
"The Liberators. They sabotaged our transport vehicle."
Seeing Ye Chuan’s confusion, Wang Zhuang quickly clarified, "There’s an organization called the Liberators. They believe the dimensional rifts are divine punishment for humanity, that the monsters are messengers sent by the gods."
"So they preach this ideology, claiming we should side with the monsters."
"Some even go around causing destruction."
Ye Chuan: "..."
Huh?
The rifts appeared barely any time ago, and already we’ve got cultists?
"Got it. I’ll ask Yan Ran for the rest. You’re dismissed."
"Yes, sir!" With that, Wang Zhuang left with his team.
Liberators…
"It’s raining," Ye Chuan murmured, glancing up as if hesitating to say more.
"Chuan, why would such a group exist? Doesn’t that mean the world’s going to get even messier? We just got some peace," Luo Xi said, baffled by the idea of people helping monsters wreak havoc.
Unbelievable.
"Not surprising," Ye Chuan replied. "But they won’t last."
He paused, turning to Bai Qianshuang beside him. Her eyes were downcast, fixed on the melted ice cream on the ground. Even the way her stray hair drooped betrayed her gloom.
"Want me to get you another one?" Ye Chuan offered with a smile.
"What’s lost won’t return," Bai Qianshuang said softly. "Rest in peace, my three-bite refreshment."
"That’s… heavy," Ye Chuan and Luo Xi muttered, sweating a little.
In the end, the shopkeeper replaced the ice cream, and Bai Qianshuang’s mood lifted as she ate.
……
Later, while resting at a milk tea shop, Ye Chuan got up to fetch their drinks. Seated beside Bai Qianshuang, Luo Xi leaned forward slightly, her gaze lingering on the delicate ring adorning the other girl’s finger.
"That’s a pretty ring," Luo Xi remarked, propping her chin on her hands with a playful grin.
"Hm?" Bai Qianshuang blinked. "Ye Chuan gave it to me. It’s a storage ring."
"Ah, figures." Luo Xi held up her own ring, her expression tinged with melancholy. "I thought he’d only given one to me. Seems like everyone’s got one."
"I guess I’m not that special."
"Ye Chuan is kind," Bai Qianshuang said.
"Chuan’s a smooth-talker who loves tricking girls," Luo Xi countered, then locked eyes with her. "Qianshuang, do you like him?"
"I don’t—" Bai Qianshuang’s voice faltered. Under Luo Xi’s gaze, she found herself unable to finish. After a pause, she admitted,
"I don’t know."
Romantic feelings?
Bai Qianshuang had never experienced them. She truly didn’t understand what they entailed.
Last night, Lan Xiaoke had spent hours lecturing her—something about shouting "I’m not ‘hey,’ I’m Chu Yuxun!" to the boy you like. Bai Qianshuang had been utterly lost.
"You don’t know, huh~" Luo Xi chuckled but didn’t press further.
"What’re you two chatting about? Who ordered the honey lemon tea?" Ye Chuan’s voice cut in as he returned with a drink carrier.
"Mine!" Luo Xi raised her hand and took the cup.
"Pearl milk tea," Bai Qianshuang said, accepting her favorite flavor.
Ye Chuan took a sip of his own drink. "So, what were you talking about?"
"Girls’ secrets. Can’t share," Luo Xi teased.
"Since when were you two so close?" Ye Chuan raised a brow.
"Obviously." Luo Xi nudged Bai Qianshuang. "Right, Qianshuang?"
Bai Qianshuang looked puzzled but, seeing Luo Xi’s bright smile, nodded along. "Exactly."
"Girls’ secrets," Luo Xi repeated.
"Exactly," Bai Qianshuang echoed.
"Copycats," Ye Chuan muttered, deciding not to pry.
By evening, Ye Chuan returned home with Bai Qianshuang and Luo Xi, their shopping bags filled with the day’s haul.
"You’re back?" Lan Xiaoke floated up from the couch, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
"Bought some clothes and stuff," Ye Chuan said.
"Any for me?"
"Can’t you just shapeshift your outfits?"
"Not the same! These are part of my body," Lan Xiaoke protested. Besides, who said ghosts couldn’t wear clothes? She’d even taken photos with Bai Qianshuang in them.
"By that logic, aren’t you just… naked all the time?"
Lan Xiaoke froze, blinking. "Eh…"
"..."
After a long silence, she glanced down at her clothes. Well… he had a point.
"Whatever, I can’t see it anyway." Lan Xiaoke shrugged, adopting an "out of sight, out of mind" stance.
"Go help with dinner," Ye Chuan said, flicking her forehead.
"Fine."
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
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.”
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
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'!"
