"It seems to be called Shatuo City?" Ye Chuan flashed to a spot not far away, observing from a distance.
Yellow sand stretched across the sky, and the city stood between the crimson desert and an oasis, half-rooted in the scorching gravel. The arched gate was carved with coiling sand serpent totems, their scales embedded with fragments of sunstone. Whenever the wind swept through, the stone scales would shimmer with flowing golden light, breathing in the arid heat of the Gobi like living creatures.
The city guards wore black iron armor lined with camel wool, curved crescent-shaped sabers hanging at their waists, the hilts adorned with red silk and wolf-tooth ornaments. Spotting an approaching merchant caravan, they shouted in thickly accented voices,
"Show your token, unload your saddles for inspection—hey friend, air pass!"
"Token?"
Ever since his Heavenly Dao infant transformation, Ye Chuan's teleportation range had exceeded a hundred miles. With just a flicker of movement, he appeared inside the city.
Stepping into the city, he was greeted by a mix of spices, roasted meat, and spiritual energy. The main street was paved with desert-toned stones, flanked by shops with pointed roofs, wooden beams draped with prayer flags and dried desert dates, the banners flapping loudly in the wind.
"Really has that Western Region flair, no wonder Princess Ademi looks like a Dilraba double."
"Different lands breed different folks," Ye Chuan mused with interest.
In the shops, Western Region cultivators in embroidered vests haggled over goods. The stalls displayed artifacts and carpets inlaid with Gobi agates.
Ye Chuan spotted some gemstone jewelry at one stall and asked,
"Hey friend, how much?"
"One spirit stone, take your pick," the vendor replied.
"These should suit Luo Xi just fine." Ye Chuan bent down to browse, not even bothering to bargain given the low price. After picking out a few beautiful agate pieces, he grabbed some extras for Bai Qianshuang and Lan Xiaoke.
"Here, spirit stone." Tucking the jewelry into his backpack, he tossed the vendor a small pouch.
"Heh."
"Feels like sightseeing." Ye Chuan strolled leisurely through the city, in no hurry to find Princess Ademi. Instead, he savored the tourist-like vibe.
"What kind of bread is this?" A whiff of spices caught his attention. He turned to see a stall piled with round flatbreads and asked.
"Naan!" the vendor corrected. "Not bread."
"What’s in it?"
"Flour, eggs, milk, onions..."
"Isn’t that just bread?" Ye Chuan pressed.
"Naan!"
"Fine, naan it is—just a translation thing. Give me one."
"One silver."
"Uh… spirit stone okay?" Ye Chuan didn’t carry Xiluo Kingdom’s currency.
"Spirit stone?" The vendor’s voice instantly perked up. "One spirit stone, friend, all of it’s yours!"
Judging by the vendor’s tone, one spirit stone could buy the entire batch.
"Deal." After paying, Ye Chuan stuffed all the naan into his spatial backpack—space wasn’t an issue.
Taking a bite, the texture was indeed bread-like, though a bit tough, with onions and strong spices.
"Not bad, just a bit hard." Munching as he walked, he continued his aimless wandering.
Before he knew it, night fell.
Lamps flickered to life across Shatuo City, warm yellow glows seeping through windows, stretching pedestrians’ shadows long across the earthen paths.
The aroma of roasted lamb wafted from taverns, making Ye Chuan pause to buy some.
"Mm, time to log off. Got that beach trip tomorrow." He gnawed on a lamb leg, grease glistening at the corners of his lips.
"Burp. Tianxuan Continent, log out."
……
……
His vision shifted.
When he opened his eyes again, Ye Chuan was back in his room.
"Nothing planned tomorrow… maybe I’ll just grind the adventure world for a few days." Stretching on his bed, he immediately checked his status.
[Status: Auto-cultivating. Time remaining until late-stage Nascent Soul realm: 1,000 days (affected by cultivation techniques, spiritual roots, physique, etc.)]
A thousand days?
Typical Nascent Soul realm—three years just for a minor breakthrough.
"Too slow." Ye Chuan shook his head. Bai Qianshuang next door was already nearing Spirit Transformation.
But Ye Chuan didn’t rely solely on idle cultivation. Occasional lightning tribulations and serendipitous encounters kept his progress decent.
The real kicker was his home’s Spirit Gathering Array, which had a small chance to gift free minor breakthroughs. He even suspected Bai Qianshuang’s rapid advancement was due to its overpowered effects.
"Whatever." Tossing his phone aside, he rolled over.
Time to sleep.
After another restless turn, he found himself wide awake. With a flash, he appeared in the neighboring room.
Lan Xiaoke was curled up in bed, softly snoring, belly exposed.
"Out cold. Was hoping for some cuddle service." Seeing her deep asleep, Ye Chuan didn’t wake her—just slipped in.
"Mmm?"
Lan Xiaoke mumbled drowsily before dozing off again.
"Mmm?"
Ye Chuan adjusted slightly, feeling her steady heartbeat, then settled in.
The night passed without incident, XX.
……
……
Morning.
Today was beach day, so everyone rose early—even Luo Xi had arrived ahead of time.
"Hum, hum~" In the kitchen, Luo Xi, clad in an apron, flipped breakfast on a sizzling pan.
Hearing movement behind her, she glanced back to see a long-haired girl standing nearby.
"Awake, Qian Shuang?" Luo Xi smiled sweetly.
"Didn’t sleep… cultivated." Bai Qianshuang shook her head, a stubborn cowlick sticking up as she entered the kitchen. "Need help?"
"Don’t worry, I’m almost done." Luo Xi gently declined. "Could you wake up Chuan Chuan for me?"
"Ye Chuan."
"Yeah, he sleeps in sometimes. Can you fetch him?" Luo Xi prodded the frying eggs with long chopsticks, adding,
"Oh, remind him to pack swimwear. Can’t have him showing up at the beach bare, right?"
Bai Qianshuang’s gaze, however, was fixed on the sandwiches on the table—unclear if she’d even registered Luo Xi’s words.
"Here."
Luo Xi stuffed a small sandwich into Bai Qianshuang’s mouth. "Off you go, Qian Shuang."
"Mmm… chew chew… got it." Bai Qianshuang nodded.
She headed to Ye Chuan’s room but found it empty.
"…Hm?" Not spotting him in bed, Bai Qianshuang’s brows furrowed slightly as she extended her spiritual sense—quickly locating him in the adjacent room.
Along with Lan Xiaoke.
Currently linked.
"……"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
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?!
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.
