The black-clothed man's pupils behind the mask contracted sharply, a tempest of shock surging in his heart.
As a cultivator of the Enlightenment Realm, having dominated a region for many years, he had never encountered anyone who could suppress his spiritual power with just a single sentence!
He tried to mobilize his spiritual power to break through that invisible shackle, but the moment the power circulated to his meridians, it was like crashing into an iron wall, instantly stagnating.
Just what level of strength was this? The Great Ascension Realm? Or a realm even beyond legend? This seemingly lazy and casual young man actually concealed such terrifying depth!
Zhao Hongyuan was even more startled, his whole body going numb, his back instantly soaked with cold sweat.
He had speculated countless times about Ye Chuan's strength, at most thinking the other was a hidden peak Spirit Transformation realm expert. But now, feeling that aura like the might of heaven and earth, he realized how shallow his understanding had been!
That pressure carried not a shred of malice, yet it made even breathing difficult for him, more suffocating than when he had faced his Enlightenment Realm ancestor in the past.
He hurriedly put away his magical treasure, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. "Master, please calm your anger! It was my momentary recklessness, I should not have acted out in your shop!"
Only one thought remained in his mind—thank goodness he hadn't actually made a move, otherwise his position as City Lord would likely have come to an end.
The black-clothed man also slowly reined in his killing intent, sitting back down in the chair, though his gaze towards Ye Chuan now held several additional points of awe.
The entire shop fell silent. The customers exchanged glances, their reverence for Ye Chuan deepening yet another layer—this was no ordinary forging shop, but clearly the dwelling of a reclusive master!
Just as the atmosphere eased, the forging furnace suddenly emitted a low hum. Amidst the churning black flames, a pitch-black Soul-Devouring Scythe slowly rose.
The scythe was wreathed in faint black mist, the whispers of vengeful spirits on its bone spikes growing clearer, yet not daring to act out under Ye Chuan's invisible pressure.
Then, a beam of light shot into the sky, nearly dimming the heavens and earth!
A top-grade magical treasure was born!
Ye Chuan glanced at it. Indeed, it was a top-grade treasure, already possessing a weapon spirit upon its birth.
A wild joy flashed in the black-clothed man's eyes. He stood up, grasped the Soul-Devouring Scythe, feeling the violent yet docile weapon spirit within, and bowed deeply to Ye Chuan.
"Thank you, Master! This favor will surely be repaid!"
With that, his figure flickered and vanished out the door, not uttering another unnecessary word.
"Master, I'm here for an enhancement!" The moment the black-clothed man left, Zhao Hongyuan immediately scurried to Ye Chuan's side, presenting his Rift-Space Seal like a treasure, his eyes brimming with barely suppressed excitement.
The pain of yesterday's fall from the fourth layer back to the second had long been tossed aside by the desire to break through. Staring at the six layers of white light on the Rift-Space Seal, he thought—since six layers had succeeded, the seventh couldn't be far off!
It could all succeed!
He had a strong feeling!
As long as he broke through, his strength would reach a new level, and then the status of Xuancheng City on the Tianxuan Continent could rise as well!
Forty million spirit stones was a lot, but if it succeeded, everything would be worth it!
He slapped his storage pouch onto the counter, his hand trembling slightly.
"Master, I've walked on thin ice my whole life. Do you think I can make it to the other shore?"
"Who knows."
Ye Chuan glanced at the storage pouch, then at Zhao Hongyuan's anxious appearance. "Go all out. Don't hold back too much."
Zhao Hongyuan hurriedly placed the Rift-Space Seal into the forging furnace, clasping his hands tightly before his chest, his palms sweating with tension.
His eyes were glued to the furnace mouth, not daring to blink even once, his heart pounding as if trying to leap out of his throat.
He prayed incessantly in his mind!
It must succeed! It must succeed! As long as I reach the seventh layer, I'll be the strongest City Lord of Xuancheng City!
I might even be able to contend with Enlightenment Realm cultivators!
I could become the number one person below the Enlightenment Realm!
But the next second, the light from the forging furnace abruptly dimmed. A piercing "zila" sound, like nails scraping on sheet metal, rang out as the silver flames instantly turned an eerie black-purple.
A sense of foreboding instantly seized his heart.
"Not good!" Zhao Hongyuan's heart tightened. Before his words finished, the Rift-Space Seal flew out of the furnace trailing a plume of black smoke.
He frantically caught it. The moment his fingertips touched the seal's body, his face turned deathly pale—the original six layers of white light had dwindled to only three, and the spatial fluctuations had weakened greatly!
"Th-three layers..." Zhao Hongyuan staggered back two steps, collapsing to sit on the floor. The storage pouch slipped from his hand, spirit stones scattering everywhere, but he had no mind to pick them up.
Trembling, he raised the Rift-Space Seal, gazing at the three layers of white light so faint they seemed about to extinguish, muttering to himself,
"Forty million... that was my bottom-line savings... Why was I so greedy! If only I had known when to stop, I'd at least still have six layers now..."
"Six layers is plenty strong too, why did I have to aim for seven? Oh heavens."
He punched his own chest hard, regret flooding over him like a tide, wishing he could turn back time to the moment before deciding to attempt the breakthrough.
He beat his chest and stamped his feet, regretting so much that his intestines almost turned green.
Now, in one fell swoop, he was back to square one. Forget the seventh layer, he hadn't even kept the sixth.
The nearby customers watched his disheveled appearance, wanting to offer comfort but not knowing where to start, could only silently avert their gaze, afraid of inviting bad luck.
Watching Zhao Hongyuan's collapse, Ye Chuan leisurely spoke up: "Why not gather some more? Maybe it'll succeed next time."
"Think about it carefully. Isn't failure something that runs through life?"
Zhao Hongyuan choked on his words at this, jerking his head up to look at Ye Chuan, a flicker of struggle in his eyes—That's right, what if it really succeeded?
But the thought of his empty wallet instantly replaced that bit of struggle with despair.
He hung his head, waving a hand weakly. "No more, no more... If I try again, I'd have to mortgage all of Xuancheng City... I can't gamble away the entire city for one magical treasure..."
He lay on the ground, like a deflated ball, without even the strength to stand up, his heart filled with nothing but endless vexation and regret.
A long time passed before Zhao Hongyuan finally got up, dispirited and broken-hearted, and left the shop, leaving behind only a heartbroken silhouette, completely devoid of the high spirits he had when he entered.
"He seems really sad," Hu Li remarked, seeing this scene, though she had witnessed it several times before. She always felt those people were rather pitiful.
"What gambler loses every day?" Ye Chuan said. "What gambler laughs every day?"
"Having tasted success, he'll still come back." Glancing at the ninety million spirit stones he had just earned, Ye Chuan shook his head.
Faster than robbery.
Even banditry didn't bring in money this fast.
"If I take these to the real world, won't I be the biggest spirit stone wholesaler?" Ye Chuan stroked his chin.
"Then enhancing to +14 would be a piece of cake."
"Going for +15 isn't out of the question either."
Well, that's about enough.
"Hu Li, close up. We're done with business for today." Ye Chuan said. After all, the big fish had been caught; there was no rush to earn from the remaining small fry.
"Okay, boss!" Hu Li immediately got up to close the door.
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.
. 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!"
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."
