Several men forcefully pulled the sword embedded in the tire out, their minds swirling with confusion as they examined the exquisitely crafted weapon. Where the hell had this thing come from?
The road was empty except for their car, and the surroundings were pitch black. How could something like this just appear out of nowhere?
"Boss, maybe this sword fell from the sky? Like, from a plane or something?" one of the men suggested, struggling to come up with a plausible explanation.
What was even stranger was that the sword hadn’t just pierced the tire—it had sunk deep into the metal rim. Yet, pulling it out hadn’t been particularly difficult.
And then there was the fact that the damn thing had been glowing when it flew toward them.
"Fuck, this is some ghostly shit. Our tire gets wrecked by this thing?" the boss muttered under his breath, gripping the sword tightly. They had a woman tied up in the car, and if the vehicle was out of commission, dragging this out could spell disaster if someone stumbled upon them.
Weird. Seriously weird.
Inside the car, Qiao Xin, bound tightly, had tumbled to the floor from the impact. She winced in pain but quickly realized the flat tire might be her chance. Struggling to her feet, she peered outside.
But no matter how hard she looked, there was no sign of rescue—just darkness and the men standing around. The desolate surroundings sent a chill through her.
If only someone would show up. Her phone had already been confiscated.
Just as the boss pulled out his phone to call for backup, his peripheral vision caught a figure approaching. The person moved at an unhurried pace, yet in just a few steps, they were right in front of them.
In the dim light, the figure seemed almost spectral.
What the hell?!
The boss froze, his hand trembling slightly, but he soon got a clear look at the newcomer—a young man in his early twenties, dressed in a simple T-shirt and shorts, with flip-flops on his feet.
He looked like an ordinary guy.
"Whoa, tough break with the flat tire, huh?" The man—Ye Chuan—noticed the Qingfeng Sword in the boss’s hand but feigned ignorance. "At least no one’s hurt."
"Hey, that’s a pretty nice sword. Bet its owner’s a real looker, right?"
Since he’d wrecked their car, Ye Chuan figured he could either play dumb and try to sweet-talk the sword back or just take it by force. After all, it was his only weapon.
And as a cultivator at the early Foundation Establishment stage, who the hell dared mess with him?
The boss scowled at the sudden appearance of a stranger in the middle of nowhere. "None of your damn business. Get lost!"
He didn’t want any witnesses, so he immediately tried to shoo Ye Chuan away.
But then—bang! A loud thud came from inside the car, rocking the vehicle.
Ye Chuan’s eyes flicked toward the sound. "Huh? What’s in there?"
"Just a damn husky. You know, the kind that tears up houses? Now piss off before I cut you!" The boss raised the sword threateningly and shoved at Ye Chuan.
Inside the car, Qiao Xin panicked. Spotting Ye Chuan outside, she twisted her body, pressing her high heel against the window button. As the glass lowered, she strained to make noise.
"Mmmph!!!"
Ye Chuan arched a brow at the sight of the bound woman.
Well, well. A damsel in distress?
A city beauty, tied up at night, with three men. Classic.
"Get lost!" The boss shoved Ye Chuan again—but the guy didn’t budge. It was like pushing a brick wall.
"Shit, how’d the window roll down?!" Realizing the jig was up, the men surrounded Ye Chuan.
"Kid, you picked the wrong night to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong," the boss sneered. "You got two choices: surrender quietly, or we beat the crap out of you first."
Qiao Xin’s heart sank. She’d just doomed this young man—there was no way he could escape now.
Ye Chuan rubbed his chin. "I’ll take option three."
He snapped his fingers.
The next second, the boss’s hand was empty.
What the—?!
He gaped at Ye Chuan, who now held the sword.
Ye Chuan had simply recalled it to his spatial storage. He examined the blade and sighed. "Out here at night, no one would even hear you scream, buddy."
The men lunged at him.
"Fuck your act! Remember my name—" The boss roared, "Peng Yuyan of Haizhu!"
...
Thirty seconds later, all three men were on their knees, bruised and battered.
"Begging for mercy already? And here I thought you were Peng Yuyan—more like ‘Peng Loser’ of Haizhu." After breaking their arms and legs, Ye Chuan strode to the car, where Qiao Xin was still staring in shock.
How had he taken them down so easily?
Noticing her gaze, Ye Chuan sliced through her ropes with the Qingfeng Sword. "Why’re you staring? I’ve got a girlfriend. Prettier and hotter than you."
Qiao Xin, about to thank him, choked on her words. She prided herself on her looks—how dare this guy dismiss her like that?
And she wasn’t even old—just twenty-six, still in her prime.
"Regardless, thank you for saving me," she said, composing herself. "I’m Qiao Xin, CEO of Tianhai Group. They kidnapped me."
She retrieved her phone from the front seat and made several calls, her eyes icy as she glared at the groaning men.
After hanging up, she turned to Ye Chuan. "What’s your name? And why were you out here in the middle of nowhere?"
Ye Chuan stayed silent.
"Ah, I’m not interrogating you," she clarified, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Blushing slightly under his handsome gaze, she added, "I just... want to repay you. Anything you want."
"Money." Ye Chuan uttered one of his greatest loves with deep affection.
Qiao Xin: "..."
So blunt, huh?
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
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.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
