Lan Xiaoke's revival took longer than Ye Chuan had anticipated, and with no progress bar to track it, he eventually left the room after waiting a while, seeing no signs of movement from her.
In the living room, Bai Qianshuang happened to step out to grab a snack. When she spotted Ye Chuan, her footsteps quickened slightly, as if she were about to turn back into her room.
"Qianshuang."
"..." Bai Qianshuang paused, her slender fingers fidgeting slightly before she turned gracefully toward him. "Ye Chuan, what is it?"
"Why have you been avoiding me lately?" Ye Chuan chuckled. Ever since that incident during her bath, the girl had seemed to be keeping her distance.
Bai Qianshuang’s face was still too easily flushed.
Cornered by Ye Chuan’s directness, her gaze began to wander—left, then right—before she finally muttered stubbornly, "No, you’re misunderstanding."
"Oh?" Seeing her denial, Ye Chuan simply smiled softly. "Want to go for a walk with me?"
"I... I still need to cultivate, to consolidate my cultivation base." Bai Qianshuang hesitated for a few seconds before ultimately retreating into her room like a startled rabbit.
"Guess she needs a bit more time."
Ye Chuan didn’t mind. There was no rush—once Bai Qianshuan figured things out, it would be easier to proceed.
Just as he was about to head out for a stroll, the sound of a door unlocking came from behind him. The gap in Bai Qianshuang’s door slowly widened, revealing half of her delicate face. "I... I’ll go with you?"
"Hm? Sure." Ye Chuan grinned at the sight of her actually opening the door to talk to him.
"Let me change first."
"Alright."
A short while later, Bai Qianshuang emerged again, smoothing out her clothes. Despite there being not a single wrinkle, she seemed unusually conscious of her appearance in front of Ye Chuan.
"You look great," Ye Chuan said.
"..." Bai Qianshuang averted her eyes, not daring to meet his gaze. "You bought this for me."
"Let’s go."
"Mm."
Stepping outside, Ye Chuan had only intended to get some fresh air. But since he now had Bai Qianshuang with him, he decided to head to the nearby park.
The weather was lovely—sunlight spilled across the asphalt, and the chirping of cicadas leaked through the rustling leaves.
The roads and buildings had mostly been repaired. Humanity had shown remarkable resilience in the face of disaster. On such a peaceful, beautiful afternoon, no one would guess that monsters had roamed these streets not long ago.
"Ha ha ha!"
"Don’t run!"
Children played along the roadside as Ye Chuan and Bai Qianshuang walked side by side. The girl kept her head slightly lowered the entire way, her gaze fixed on the trees lining the path—never once turning toward Ye Chuan.
Ye Chuan didn’t mind. After exchanging a few casual words, they arrived at the largest lakeside park in the area.
"Everyone... doesn’t seem afraid anymore," Bai Qianshuang murmured, observing the elderly men playing chess under the shade and the couples cuddling on benches.
"Life goes on, no matter what hardships come our way," Ye Chuan said, sitting beside her to enjoy the view. "Living optimistically is more important than anything."
His words carried a double meaning—one meant specifically for Bai Qianshuang.
Bai Qianshuang fell silent for a few seconds. A strand of hair slipped over her forehead, failing to hide the flicker in her beautiful eyes. "I don’t understand."
"What don’t you understand?" Ye Chuan asked.
"I... used to cultivate hard to repay my sect."
"Now, I cultivate for revenge."
"But I..." A trace of confusion surfaced on her face. The Tianxuan Continent seemed impossible to return to, and her Nascent Soul-level strength wasn’t enough for vengeance. Everything left Bai Qianshuang feeling utterly lost.
What was she supposed to do?
Like a castaway adrift at sea with no shore in sight, she had no sense of security at all.
"Live well. Be yourself." Ye Chuan’s words pulled her back from her thoughts.
"..."
"I’m not one for grand speeches, and at your age, I’m hardly some wise old man handing out life advice..." Ye Chuan suddenly grinned.
"But I think—if someone’s alive in this world, they shouldn’t live just for others, right?"
"Facing your own heart matters more than anything."
"Simply put, make yourself happy."
Bai Qianshuang gave a small nod.
"Sorry."
"Why apologize?" Ye Chuan blinked at her sudden words.
"I really have been avoiding you lately." Bai Qianshuang met his gaze earnestly. "I’m sorry."
"Ha ha ha..." Ye Chuan couldn’t help but laugh.
His abrupt laughter left Bai Qianshuang frozen for a moment, as if she couldn’t fathom why he found it so amusing.
But the next second, she felt warm hands cupping her face.
"..." Her eyes flickered slightly.
"You’re adorable when you’re serious—even when apologizing."
Bai Qianshuang’s usually expressionless, snow-pale face finally reacted, flushing pink. Yet she didn’t pull away, simply staring back at Ye Chuan.
"Close your eyes," he said.
Her lashes trembled, but she slowly obeyed.
A moment later, she felt something being pressed into her hands.
Baffled, she opened her eyes to find a bouquet of white flowers.
"Flowers...?"
"Spirit-Calming Blossoms. You should recognize them, right?" Ye Chuan said. "They have a soothing effect on cultivators. I figured you overthink things sometimes—don’t strain yourself so much."
"Flowers..." Bai Qianshuang held them silently against her chest.
Noticing the way she was looking at him, Ye Chuan smirked, amusement crinkling the corners of his eyes. "What? Did you think I was going to kiss you?"
Caught off guard, Bai Qianshuang stiffened like a robot before mechanically turning her back to him. "I thought... you were going to teach me a cultivation technique."
"Terrible excuse."
"..." She turned back around, clutching the flowers before finally meeting his gaze. "Ye Chuan... do you want to become my Dao Companion?"
"The kind with feelings, or without?" Ye Chuan knew Bai Qianshuang’s understanding of Dao Companions differed from others—or perhaps he himself wasn’t entirely clear on how things worked in the Tianxuan Continent.
"I want..." She hesitated. "The kind with feelings."
"Then you wouldn’t take another Dao Companion, would you?"
"No." Bai Qianshuang shook her head. "Only you, Ye Chuan."
"I see..." Ye Chuan grinned.
"Let me think about it. Or—how about you kiss me now? Then I’ll say yes."
The blush on Bai Qianshuang’s face deepened. Gripping the bouquet tightly, her voice trembled slightly.
"You’re terrible."
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.”
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
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."
