Sunny beaches, ocean waves, but no cacti in sight.
"Burp." Ye Chuan lay sprawled on a beach chair, wearing swim trunks and sunglasses.
Not far away by the shore, a group of girls giggled and splashed in the water, their youthful energy giving Ye Chuan a sense of surreal nostalgia.
"Ah, this is what youth looks like," Ye Chuan mused aloud.
A voice chimed in from beside him, "You’re only twenty and already reminiscing about youth?"
"Something like that," Ye Chuan replied, glancing at the neighboring beach chair where Ke Ning lounged, a high-tech Rubik’s cube floating lazily above her.
"Not joining them in the water?"
"No. Just watching is enough. UV rays stimulate melanocytes," Ke Ning said flatly. "Besides, I don’t like sunbathing."
"Don’t like sunbathing, yet you’re dressed rather boldly," Ye Chuan remarked, eyeing her pink bikini—the most revealing swimwear among the group.
"Are you secretly a closet exhibitionist or something?" he teased.
"..." Ke Ning paused for a beat. "What do you think?"
"Never mind. Since we’re at the beach, might as well enjoy it." Ye Chuan reclined, his gaze lingering on the generous view Ke Ning seemed entirely unbothered by.
Turning his attention back to Luo Xi and the others, he saw they’d started a game of beach volleyball.
"Nice shot," Ye Chuan muttered under his breath as he watched.
Pulling out his phone, he checked the status of each tenant. But when he noticed Bai Qianshuang’s favorability had plummeted, he frowned. "Huh?"
What’s this…?
Scrolling through the logs, he saw Bai Qianshuang’s favorability had been dropping steadily. Once the highest, it had now fallen below even Lan Xiaoke’s, nearly matching Ke Ning’s.
"We’re here to relax—how is her favorability still dropping?" Ye Chuan pondered. Was it because of the volleyball game with Lan Xiaoke?
He could cut back on that.
The last thing he wanted was Bai Qianshuang awakening her empress memories and decapitating him.
"Nope." Ye Chuan stood abruptly and strode toward Luo Xi and the others.
"Chuan-Chuan, wanna join?" Luo Xi grinned, hugging the volleyball. The sunlight caught her smile, warm as a summer breeze.
"Sure. Four’s perfect for a match."
Ye Chuan caught the ball Luo Xi tossed his way, his eyes flickering toward Bai Qianshuang—only for her to avert her gaze the moment their eyes met.
She’s in a bad mood, huh?
"I’ll team up with Qianshuang!" Lan Xiaoke, ever the opportunist, immediately latched onto the strongest player present.
No way we’ll lose, right?
"Fine, you two pair up. Luo Xi and I will take you on," Ye Chuan said.
Plus, watching from the opposite side had its perks.
"Here we go." Ye Chuan served, deliberately aiming for Bai Qianshuang.
Bai Qianshuang: "..."
The volleyball soared toward her. After a brief pause, she leaped and struck.
A seemingly gentle tap unleashed terrifying force, sending the ball rocketing toward Ye Chuan like lightning.
"Whoosh—!"
It landed in the sand behind him, kicking up a towering spray.
"Uh…" Lan Xiaoke and Luo Xi gaped.
Since when did volleyball pack that much power?
"My apologies. I may have used a bit too much strength," Bai Qianshuang said coolly. "But given your cultivation, a hit like that shouldn’t harm you."
"No, it wouldn’t hurt," Ye Chuan admitted, scratching his cheek. With a flick of his fingers, the ball returned to his hand.
He gave it a light tap, this time directing it toward Lan Xiaoke.
"Hyah!" Lan Xiaoke sprang up to receive it, her energetic movements leaving Ye Chuan momentarily stunned.
"I got it!" Luo Xi intercepted the return pass.
"Chuan-Chuan!"
Ye Chuan followed up, again targeting Bai Qianshuang.
In a blur of motion, Bai Qianshuang vanished and reappeared mid-air, her palm striking the ball with spiritual energy. It shot back like a meteor.
"..."
Ye Chuan blinked. She’s really not holding back.
He could’ve phased out or teleported to dodge, but considering the aftermath, he simply closed his eyes and stood his ground.
Seeing him make no move to evade, Bai Qianshuang’s eyes flickered. At the last second, she extended her hand, channeling energy to halt the ball mid-flight.
It spun furiously in front of Ye Chuan’s face before dropping harmlessly to the sand.
Ye Chuan picked it up. When he looked up again, Bai Qianshuang had already turned away.
"I need a break," she said flatly, then vanished in a flash.
"Qianshuang…" Luo Xi and Lan Xiaoke exchanged glances before fixing their eyes on Ye Chuan. It was clear who was responsible for her mood.
"Chuan-Chuan, what did you do to her?" Luo Xi demanded, poking his cheek. "Did you do something bad?"
"Yeah, yeah!" Lan Xiaoke chimed in, nodding vigorously despite having no clue what was happening.
"Me?" Ye Chuan grimaced. Bai Qianshuang’s foul mood was indeed his fault, but not for the reasons they assumed.
Still, watching her retreating figure, he sighed and decided to follow.
---
"Crash…"
"Crash…"
Waves lapped against the rocks, sending up sprays of foam.
Seated atop a jagged outcrop, the raven-haired girl stared blankly at the horizon, her gaze distant and unfocused.
"Thud. Thud." Footsteps approached from behind, sinking into the damp sand.
Bai Qianshuang didn’t turn. Her spiritual sense had already identified the visitor.
Ye Chuan studied her back for a moment before teleporting beside her and sitting down.
"Qianshuang."
"..." Silence.
"I—"
"Liar." Bai Qianshuang cut him off, her voice icy.
"Uh, what did I lie about—?"
"We are cultivation partners. Yet you refuse to engage in dual cultivation with me, choosing Xiaoke instead," she said evenly. "Our compatibility would yield far greater benefits. With her, you gain nothing."
"Unless… you find me displeasing?"
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
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!
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
