The study was filled with the mixed scent of old parchment and magic crystal incense. The dark brown oak desk was large and heavy, with several maps of the Hill Empire's territory spread across its surface.
The locations of the royal capital and various territories were marked in red ink on the map, its edges weighed down by a paperweight inlaid with a blue magic crystal.
And Ye Chuan appeared here.
"I'm here."
Kaiaolen sat in the carved chair behind the desk, seemingly lost in thought. Seeing Ye Chuan casually plop down, he said,
"How is Elara's studying going?"
His tone carried genuine concern.
"The Imperial Academy's entrance exam is no ordinary test. Not only must the written portion be passed, but the practical combat assessment also demands a high score. She'll also have to deal with the sabotage from the children of other noble families. Ever since Elara's magic stopped progressing, she's lacked self-confidence. I must trouble you to take good care of her."
Ye Chuan leaned back in his chair, took a sip of the juice on the table, and replied lazily,
"Don't worry, her progress isn't slow, and she even had some practical combat today."
"That's good..."
Ye Chuan continued, "We did practical combat in the labyrinth today. Even after taking an arrow, she managed to counter-kill a goblin. She's not stupid; she knew to switch to low-power, quick-cast magic."
"As long as she practices combat a few more times, it'll be more than enough to handle the Academy's exam."
Ye Chuan wasn't entirely clear on the Imperial Academy's requirements either, but since Aurora could become the number one mage of the new generation, Elara definitely could too.
After all, once Elara's curse was resolved, her rate of progress had been very fast.
"Elara was shot by an arrow?!" Kaiaolen immediately stood up. "Is she alright?!"
"How could you let my precious granddaughter get hurt!"
Ye Chuan: "..."
"Tsk, doting grandfather much? If you're so afraid of her getting hurt, just lock her up and hide her at home. I guarantee no one will be able to hurt her."
"This..."
"Alright... I wasn't thinking straight."
Kaiaolen sat back down and sighed. "With you around, I can rest easy."
"If she manages to enroll, regarding your compensation, I've already had people prepare the gold coins."
"Whatever you say." Ye Chuan waved his hand. Gold coins that weren't yet in his hands were just empty promises anyway, so he lacked much interest in the compensation.
"So then, did you call me over just to talk about this?"
The relaxed expression on Kaiaolen's face instantly faded. His brows furrowed, and he let out a heavy sigh.
"You guessed it... I wanted to see you regarding the matter of Count Leon."
"Who?"
"You don't know him—" Kaiaolen explained.
"Count Leon is one of the most powerful lords in the Hill Empire. I had hoped to persuade him to join forces against the disguised monsters in the royal capital, but the envoy he sent... was simply impervious to reason."
Kaiaolen's tone carried a hint of helplessness.
"That envoy stubbornly insisted that the abnormal activity in the royal capital was a lie I fabricated."
"No matter how I explained it, or even brought out the things Torres brought back, he just thought it was all a staged act by us."
"He doesn't believe there are monsters capable of disguising themselves as humans?" Ye Chuan raised an eyebrow.
"Exactly." Kaiaolen nodded. "Furthermore, Count Leon has always been cautious and paranoid. He's far away and has never encountered the anomalies around the royal capital. The envoy, even more so, only believes what he sees with his own eyes."
"So they think the so-called disguised monsters are nothing but an excuse we made up to rope in allies. They even suspect that I'm trying to seize the empire."
Ye Chuan thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's simple. Just let him see it with his own eyes."
"See it with his own eyes?" Kaiaolen paused, startled.
"You mean go to the royal capital? But the royal capital is currently controlled by those monsters; venturing deep into it rashly is too dangerous. Besides, that envoy is as timid as a mouse; he might not be willing to risk his life with us."
"There's no need to go to the royal capital," Ye Chuan said. "There are quite a few disguised monsters even in Miral. Do you think there would be any less in that Count Leon's territory?"
"Just catch a few and show them to the Count face to face."
Realization dawned in Kaiaolen's eyes, and he slapped the desk.
"Great idea! Since the disguised monsters could infiltrate Miral, there's no reason they would spare Valoran. That old geezer Leon's territory is rich in resources, and its slums and commercial ports are a mixed bag of people—it's the perfect hunting ground for these monsters to hide and prey!"
"Valoran?"
"Valoran is the territory where Count Leon resides. It's about half a month's journey from here. Located along the Golden Trade Route, it has a dense and highly mobile population. A place like that would definitely be easy for disguised monsters to exploit."
Kaiaolen said in a deep voice, "As long as we can catch a few live disguised monsters in Valoran and bring them before Leon, the evidence will be irrefutable. No matter how paranoid he is, he won't be able to deceive himself anymore!"
But the excitement didn't last long before Kaiaolen's face darkened again, his brows tightly knitted. "It's just... I can't leave for the time being."
He pointed to the territory map on the desk, where lines marked in red ink crisscrossed.
"I am currently communicating with Count Blaine, Count Oscar, and Countess Elena. They are already showing signs of wavering, and we are just about to finalize a time for a face-to-face meeting these next few days. If I rashly leave Miral, all the previous plans will be thrown into chaos."
He looked at Ye Chuan. "Xixi, I can only ask you to make the trip personally for this matter."
"Me?" Ye Chuan pointed at himself.
Kaiaolen nodded.
Ye Chuan held out his fingers and rubbed them together.
"You won't be short on money." Kaiaolen was speechless.
This guy... is he a mercenary?
No, even a mercenary wouldn't be as desperate for money as you, right?
"That works."
"Xixi, why are you so short on money?" However, Kaiaolen was also a bit curious about why Ye Chuan needed money so urgently.
From Kaiaolen's perspective, Xixi didn't seem to have any financial difficulties at all.
"..." Hearing Kaiaolen ask him this, Ye Chuan fell silent for a moment and let out a deep sigh.
"I don't make money for myself."
"You mean—"
"I need to buy a place to relieve many people... They are all waiting for me to spend money to save them... So I need money, a lot of money, enough to buy that place."
"As long as I buy it, there won't be so much suffering anymore."
Kaiaolen stared blankly at Ye Chuan. He had considered countless possibilities, but he absolutely never imagined Ye Chuan would give an answer like this.
So that was it...
To think that Xixi was such a philanthropic person!
Is it an orphanage?!
Xixi was making all this money just to buy an orphanage?!
It was to stop everyone from suffering?!
"I misunderstood you." Kaiaolen opened his mouth, ultimately unable to stop himself from shaking his head.
He had thought of many superficial reasons, but he never expected this.
"You are a good man. Elara definitely made no mistake following you. If possible in the future, I also hope to visit that place and have a look," Kaiaolen said.
"You want to go have a look? Experience it for yourself?" Ye Chuan cast a sidelong glance at Kaiaolen.
Seeing as you're a decent and righteous lord, how come you're just like that old pervert Si Daofu?
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.
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."
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.”
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.
