A few days later...
"I'm off to the club, Chuan. The anniversary celebration is coming up, and as the host, I need to rehearse." Luo Xi, as usual, was heading to her club activities. After all, Silver Mountain Academy's 70th-anniversary celebration was approaching, and she had a lot to prepare for.
The anniversary was the academy's biggest event, with numerous activities planned across the campus.
"Alright, go ahead. But give me a kiss before you leave."
"We're in the classroom! No way~ I'll do it when no one's around." Luo Xi giggled, pinching Ye Chuan's cheek before skipping out of the room.
Watching her ponytail bounce away with light, cheerful steps, Ye Chuan slowly withdrew his gaze.
Pulling out his phone, he opened WeChat and messaged Wang Yanran.
Ye Chuan: I'm ready.
Wang Yanran: [Location] Hilton Hotel
Wang Yanran: I'll be waiting for you here, Senior~
Today was the day he had promised to help Wang Yanran capture a "Ghost King." According to her, though, it was just a fifth-tier Transcendent—roughly around the early to mid Qi Refinement stage in strength.
This time, Ye Chuan had brought Lan Xiaoke along.
"Let's go. We're hunting a Ghost King." Ye Chuan glanced up to see Lan Xiaoke peeking out from the ventilation duct, only half her face visible.
With just half her pale, ghostly face pressed against the duct, the sight was unsettling—especially since Lan Xiaoke was already a ghost, her ghastly white complexion adding to the eerie vibe.
But as the timid ghost herself put it, this place felt like home. She used to hide here every day, spying on people playing with their phones.
Hearing Ye Chuan's voice, Lan Xiaoke floated down. She had already reached the mid-stage of Qi Refinement. While breaking through to the initial stage had only taken minutes, advancing to mid-stage had taken days. Still, her cultivation speed was astonishingly fast.
At the very least, Bai Qianshuang had remarked that the Jade Void Sect had a successor—well, a ghost successor.
"Ghost King... sounds terrifying." Lan Xiaoke shrank back, her cowardly demeanor making Ye Chuan twitch his lips. "You're a Qi Refinement expert now. Can’t you at least act a little braver?"
"I don’t really feel any different." Lan Xiaoke knew she had grown stronger and no longer feared sunlight, but she still didn’t have a clear grasp of her own power.
And now Ye Chuan wanted her to face a Ghost King?
A Ghost King!
That sounded ridiculously powerful—way beyond what a little ghost like her could handle.
"Enough. Let’s move." Ye Chuan grabbed Lan Xiaoke and left the classroom.
After hailing a cab, he arrived at the designated hotel—where Wang Yanran was already waiting downstairs. When Ye Chuan got there, he noticed another man standing beside her.
He vaguely remembered him—the guy who had chased Lan Xiaoke with Wang Yanran last time.
His name, though, escaped him.
"I want to come too." Zhang Chao grinned.
"Why is there someone else?" Ye Chuan asked, eyeing Zhang Chao. Meanwhile, Lan Xiaoke, spotting both Wang Yanran and Zhang Chao, immediately hid behind Ye Chuan. She hadn’t forgotten how they’d hunted her down last time.
"Sorry, Senior. Zhang Chao followed me on his own. I couldn’t get rid of him." Wang Yanran rubbed her temples in frustration. She’d warned Zhang Chao, but it was useless—he did whatever he wanted.
Especially after hearing Ye Chuan was coming, his interest had only grown.
"Hey, how’d you knock me out with one punch last time? What’s your actual strength?" Zhang Chao smirked, studying Ye Chuan curiously.
"Why should I tell you?" Ye Chuan shot back, though he didn’t particularly dislike Zhang Chao. After all, the guy had been one-punched.
"Come on, you’re already buddy-buddy with Wang Yanran. Take me along!" Zhang Chao, ever the extrovert, slung an arm over Ye Chuan’s shoulder. "No hard feelings, right? We’re all pals now."
"No~ hard~ feelings~? You almost killed me last time!" Lan Xiaoke muttered from behind Ye Chuan, glaring at Zhang Chao with deep resentment.
Ye Chuan didn’t mind Zhang Chao’s attempt to befriend him—anyone who could cough up benefits was fine by him.
But Lan Xiaoke wasn’t having it. She started rolling around in the air behind Ye Chuan, whining,
"Ye Chuan, he bullied me! He bullied me! Say something!"
Since Zhang Chao hadn’t drunk the spirit-seeing talisman water yet, he couldn’t see Lan Xiaoke’s dramatic performance. Ye Chuan turned to Wang Yanran, about to speak, but she seemed to already know what he wanted. She handed Zhang Chao a bottle of the concoction.
"Here. Drink up."
Zhang Chao grimaced at the foul-tasting liquid. They hadn’t even left to hunt the Ghost King yet—why did he have to drink this crap?
Still, since he’d need it eventually, he pinched his nose and downed it in one go.
"Bleh—ugh—cough—" Zhang Chao’s face twisted, his eyes rolling back as he gagged, his whole body trembling like he was about to keel over.
"That bad?" Ye Chuan raised an eyebrow.
He didn’t need the talisman water to see Lan Xiaoke.
Wang Yanran explained, "It’s not that bad, actually. The talisman water itself is tasteless—just a bit like ink."
"Then why’s he like this?" Ye Chuan pointed at Zhang Chao, who looked like he was on the verge of death.
"Oh, I’ve been annoyed with him lately. I added some bittering agent to it."
"Wait, WHAT?! You made it disgusting on purpose?!" Zhang Chao gaped.
Wiping his mouth, he finally noticed Lan Xiaoke behind Ye Chuan.
"You?"
"You attempted murderer!" Lan Xiaoke huffed. "You owe me compensation! Emotional damages!"
Zhang Chao looked baffled. He shrugged with a grin,
"Hey, little ghost, I was just hired by Wang Yanran to exterminate a stray. What’s wrong with that?"
"I’m not a stray!"
Seeing Lan Xiaoke so worked up, Ye Chuan stroked his chin and said to Zhang Chao, "Tell you what—if you can beat her in a fight, I’ll let you tag along."
Zhang Chao blinked. He pointed at Lan Xiaoke as if to ask—
This tiny thing?
You’re serious?
To him, she was just a one-punch knockout.
"Yeah." Ye Chuan nodded with a smile. Meanwhile, Lan Xiaoke panicked, still traumatized from last time. "I can’t do it!"
"Relax. Give it a shot. Have some confidence." Ye Chuan patted her head.
"So, when do we start?" Zhang Chao cracked his knuckles, eager.
Beating up Lan Xiaoke?
Easy.
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
is also known as: "Sword Flying Under the Desk: My School Life" "Balancing Cultivation and STEM Homework" "The System That Taught Me to Take College Entrance Exams While Surviving Heavenly Tribulations" Good news: I got reincarnated. Even better news: I got reincarnated with a system. So, should I chase wealth? Or pursue immortality? Maybe become a superhero for the motherland? But with regrets weighing on this second life, I’d rather fix what I missed before. System: "Host, the cultivation world is full of dangers. You must form your Golden Core immediately!" Lin Mo glanced at the truck he’d just stopped with one hand. "At my level, it’s not like I’ll piss off ‘Little Boy’ or ‘Fat Man,’ right? Whatever—I still have two math problems left. Go play by yourself." System: "How can you still focus on homework at a time like this?! Host! Don’t throw your life away!" Lin Mo stayed silent, burying himself deeper into his workbook.
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.
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
