The Eighth-Rank River God ultimately steeled himself and stepped into the Yusu Temple.
Head bowed, back bent, trembling with every step, he dared not make the slightest disrespectful move, his posture so reverent it bordered on absurd.
After all, no one strikes a smiling face—as long as he played his cards right, surely they wouldn’t kill him without reason?
If they really wanted him dead, that man outside would’ve done it already. Why bother making him dirty their sacred space?
So, there was still room for negotiation!
"Ah!"
But to the River God’s shock, the moment he crossed the threshold—before he could even steady himself—a sharp cry rang out, followed by the crack of a whip slicing through the air, aimed straight at him!
Damn it! They’re unreasonable! They lured me in just to kill me!
"Spare me, Great One! Spare me!!!"
In a flash!
The Eighth-Rank River God thudded to his knees, shaking like a leaf, kowtowing so fast his forehead might as well have been a pestle grinding against the floor.
Yet, what surprised him even more—
That whip, which had seemed so deadly... why did it feel like it did no damage?
The strikes landed on him like tickles, less satisfying than an idle scratch...
What the hell is going on?
Lin Yuyu: "......"
This was... honestly kind of embarrassing.
The Group Leader had told her to spar with the River God, but even after going all out—even ambushing him—she hadn’t even broken his skin.
The way he was groveling on the ground almost felt like mockery of her weakness!
"River God, looking down on the little rookie from the bottom of his heart..."
Ye Wuchen, the on-site recorder, muttered under his breath, stating facts as they were.
"Big Senior, you’re so mean!" Lin Yuyu’s face flushed red.
"N-no, no! I wouldn’t dare, I really wouldn’t..." The River God’s cowardice was absolute, still kowtowing without pause.
What else could he do? The figures inside were far more terrifying than the one outside. Under their gaze, he felt suffocated—like back in his pre-godhood days ten thousand years ago, when his mortal enemy, the giant serpent, had coiled around him, the icy grip of death creeping into his heart...
"You wouldn’t dare?!" Gu Yuan suddenly spoke. "Your scales just shattered my junior’s divine whip. How do you plan to compensate for that?"
River God: ???
Excuse me, since when is this fair?
Your junior was the one whipping me. I suppressed my combat instincts and didn’t even fight back! She’s just weak—how is that my fault?!
This is pure bullying of an honest god!
"Then... how does the Great One suggest I compensate?"
"Simple. Hand over your River God’s Scepter to her." Gu Yuan’s tone was calm, as if discussing the weather.
The River God had known stepping into this trap wouldn’t end well—but how could you say something so outrageous with such a straight face?!
The River God’s Scepter was the foundation of his divinity, just like the sacred idol enshrined in the Yusu Temple—a symbol of heavenly mandate, granting him authority over his domain!
True, such authority could be transferred, but only if the holder willingly relinquished their godhood and passed it to a successor. But without the scepter... what would happen to his life?
"Great One, is there truly no alternative?"
The River God’s gaze darkened abruptly.
"So, you’d prefer to be erased from existence?" Gu Yuan took a slow step forward.
"Fine, fine! I thought I was ruthless, but I’ve never met anyone as unreasonable as you!"
The River God could endure no more. He rose slowly, his eerie vertical pupils locking onto Gu Yuan. "Yes, my little catfish offended you, and that was its mistake. But you already roasted it—why must you kill me too?!"
"If I’m not mistaken, you’re all Outer Realm Demons, aren’t you?!"
"If I surrender my position, will you really let me reincarnate?!"
"May you suffer Heaven’s wrath!"
With that, his divine form began to swell unnaturally!
The unjust death of an Eighth-Rank God would surely draw the attention of the Heavenly Dao!
Once that happened, everything here would be thoroughly investigated!
If he couldn’t live... neither would they!
"That’s enough. Stand down." Chen Yi shook his head lightly, raising a finger. The River God’s expanding form instantly stilled as Chen Yi’s words became law:
"The River God of Clearwater, while passing through Fishwater Village, discovered the local Land God to be exceptionally gifted and diligent. After thorough evaluation, he chose to pass his mantle to her."
The Heavenly Dao of the Divine Land was of a high tier—even Gu Yuan’s strength couldn’t flawlessly deceive it. Only Chen Yi himself could intervene so seamlessly.
Gu Yuan, of course, understood this. His role was merely to handle the less savory tasks on behalf of his leader.
Meanwhile, the River God was utterly dumbfounded.
Not only had this demon effortlessly snuffed out his internally combusting divine soul, but he’d also lied to the Heavenly Dao’s face without consequence?!
How could an Outer Realm Demon be this brazen?!
Utterly outmatched—game over!!!
Lin Yuyu was also stunned.
This whole operation had left her speechless.
She’d thought the Group Leader had her spar with the River God to highlight her inadequacies and motivate her to grow stronger!
But no—it was all to establish karmic ties, paving the way for her to usurp his godhood?!
This... this... this is too absurd!
"Little rookie, mind blown yet?" Ye Wuchen chuckled warmly. "Thought about how you’ll manage as a River God?"
Lin Yuyu shook her head frantically. "I can’t! I’m only Thirteenth-Rank—how can I handle Eighth-Rank duties?!"
"Don’t worry!" Fang Zheng reassured her. "You don’t need to do much. Just sit in that Eighth-Rank seat. We’ll handle the rest!"
Lin Yuyu’s mind was a tangled mess. "Senior Fang Zheng, I don’t get it. Weren’t you all here just for research and observation? Why are you getting involved now? What exactly are you trying to do?"
Fang Zheng smiled faintly. "No matter how clear an outsider’s perspective, they’re still just spectators. Some truths can only be uncovered by diving in yourself."
"Still don’t really understand..." Lin Yuyu remained baffled.
"Heh, don’t worry your little head over adult matters. Just be our mascot!" Ye Wuchen rubbed his hands excitedly.
"Playing the weakling only to reveal overwhelming power—haven’t done this in ages! Just imagining those fools trying to strong-arm me, only for me to ‘snap’ and reveal my True Immortal cultivation, scaring them half to death... ah, the thrill!"
But then, Chen Yi—who had just wrapped up the scene—suddenly stiffened. Without delay, he issued quick orders: "Old Ye, take command of this investigation for now."
The moment he finished speaking, his primary consciousness withdrew. At the same time, his one-star Chaos avatar reverted to a colored pearl, joining fourteen others to form a necklace that slapped around Ye Wuchen’s neck.
"Ahhh—this familiar feeling... Brother Yi, what now..."
Ye Wuchen stood frozen for a second before his thoughts descended into further chaos.
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!
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
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'!"
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
