The Rain Pavilion stood at the heart of Rain Lake, merely a hundred meters from the shore. Yet the tempestuous Rain Dao Laws raging between made it impossible for boats to advance even an inch. Despite being so close, it took nearly half an hour just to barely make landfall at the pavilion.
Chen Dalei crawled onto the shore, drenched from head to toe, his lips twitching as he glared at the equally soaked but utterly unperturbed poleman.
"Is this what you call 'famously fast'?"
"Of course! Sinking fast counts too, doesn’t it? Full salvage and survival guaranteed!"
"I didn’t catch your name?"
"Just a humble nobody. Folks call me Old Liang—feel free to do the same."
"You’re Liang Hui?!" Chen Dalei suddenly recalled the ticket seller’s warning before his departure.
"Oh? You’ve heard of me?" Liang Hui eyed the out-of-town traveler with surprise. "If you did your research, why’d you still pick me?"
Chen Dalei: "..."
Did I even have a choice?
It’s not like I could’ve bothered those two other polemen who were too busy passionately debating whether tomatoes are fruits or vegetables.
Chen Dalei sighed softly. "Forget it. You should leave now. Wouldn’t want you getting caught in the crossfire."
Liang Hui’s expression turned odd at that. "Sir, the 2,998-spirit-stone ticket isn’t just for pole service—it includes security too. It’s my duty to keep you safe. Don’t worry about me getting hurt. If I didn’t have the skills, how could I even work as a poleman here?"
"The real concern is you—only at the eighth layer of Foundation Establishment. If danger comes, just step behind me. Survival guaranteed!"
The minimum standard for polemen was the Nascent Soul stage, plus specialized training to endure the Rain Dao Laws’ fury and the distorted water-pressure field of Rain Lake—hauling a thousand jin across three round trips!
The reason his boat kept sinking back in the day was simply because he overloaded it. Others dared carry ten passengers at most; he took twenty, sometimes even thirty!
While others earned twenty or thirty thousand spirit stones in commissions daily, he pulled in fifty or sixty thousand!
His excellence bred envy, leading to isolation and slander—earning him the infamous "sinks fast" reputation that ruined his business.
Then, when that little menace Jin started causing trouble, passenger numbers plummeted. No more fat profits, just scraping by on the city god’s basic stipend.
Otherwise, he’d never settle for just one passenger!
"If you researched this place and still came, you must be gambling that the little menace wouldn’t show up. But don’t worry—I’m not bragging when I say even that brat would call me 'Uncle' to my face!"
Liang Hui thumped his chest, oozing confidence.
Chen Dalei’s lips curled into a faint smirk. "You sure you won’t leave?"
"Tsk—"
Liang Hui shuddered, his back suddenly burning as if pierced by a razor-sharp force.
He knew this feeling all too well.
No mistake—the little menace was here!
Damn it, caught red-handed while boasting. Now he was in trouble!
In an instant, a hundred escape plans flashed through Liang Hui’s mind. Yet he steeled himself, turning to shield Chen Dalei, hands weaving a golden barrier to meet the fireball streaking across the lake’s surface.
Clang!
A flash of cold steel—then the spear lunged like a dragon!
Liang Hui, at late-stage Nascent Soul, didn’t last a single exchange against Jin, an early-stage Nascent Soul. The sheer force of the high-grade Nine Heavens Ember Annihilation Spear sent him flying into the lake!
The spear’s momentum didn’t stop, driving straight toward Chen Dalei—halting just an inch from his throat.
"Why didn’t you dodge?!"
Jin’s crimson eyes bore into Chen Dalei’s calm face, the child’s murderous aura thick enough to solidify.
"Because I wasn’t afraid," Chen Dalei replied evenly.
"Why not?!" Jin pressed, trying to intimidate him.
"Fear just wasn’t there," Chen Dalei said with a serene smile. "So you’re Jin? Truly... impressively built."
Clang!
Jin yanked the spear back, baring his fangs in a grin. "Not bad—didn’t piss yourself. Yeah, I’m Jin. Mom told me to call you 'big bro,' but I say respect’s earned. You’re too weak. You call me 'big bro' instead!"
"Kid, you might look grown, but no need to force the act. Playing adult must be exhausting, huh?"
Chen Dalei’s tone was almost paternal. He naturally reached out, intending to pat Jin’s head—but settled for the boy’s thick, rock-solid pectorals when height failed him.
Jin froze.
Wait, why’s he so casual?
Acting like he’s actually the big bro now?!
"Hands off!"
Jin roared, muscles bulging like an enraged tiger as he swung a fist at Chen Dalei.
"Ah, you stubborn child..."
Chen Dalei sighed. With a flick of his wrist, a belt of twelve octagonal talisman stones materialized around his waist, each engraved with a different zodiac animal.
Yi had said this belt—named "Sage Lord’s Might"—was a casual artifact he forged five centuries ago. The twelve zodiac talismans held mystical power: once worn, the user lacked nothing. At full strength, it made one invincible below the Immortal realm, and even against Immortals, a mutual kill was possible.
Such overwhelming power against a mere early-stage Nascent Soul like Jin was outright bullying.
But alas, this was the weakest trinket Yi had given him.
Bam!
The moment the belt settled, Chen Dalei channeled the Ox Talisman’s power, instantly amplifying his physique to Herculean levels. A single finger effortlessly halted Jin’s massive fist.
"How?!"
Jin’s eyes widened. He hadn’t gone all out, but no eighth-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator should’ve stopped it—let alone with one finger, so casually!
That belt was cheating! It boosted strength and endurance!
"Nothing’s impossible." Chen Dalei smirked. "Lesson for today, kid: in this world, strength matters—but so does backing. You think you’re tough?"
"You talk too much! Fight me outside!" Jin seethed. Even if he couldn’t budge that finger, he hadn’t used his treasures yet. He refused to yield!
"Fine. Since words won’t reach you, I suppose I’ll have to resort to... slightly rougher methods."
Chen Dalei shook his head, then yanked Jin by the arm—vanishing from Rain Pavilion in an instant!
Though he’d restrained most of his power, the residual force still cracked the pavilion’s structure.
In seconds, torrential rain gushed through the fissure, widening it further. The downpour outside now had an indoor counterpart—a relentless indoor drizzle.
y came from. The chests contained supplies, currency, class-change scrolls, skills, talents… and even godhood! The laws of the world were completely rewritten. This became a world where everyone gambled with their fate! Some people, despite having nothing, opened a divine artifact and rose to the top, eventually ruling the world. Others went bankrupt, opened nothing but worthless junk, and leaped from skyscrapers in despair. Lin Ye arrived in this world from another reality, utterly bewildered. “What is going on? Why is everyone a gambling addict?!” “Opening chests? No way. I refuse to gamble. I’ll start with myself!” Until— On his first chest, he obtained a Mythic Talent: Void Incarnation! He could become completely intangible, pass through all things, and reduce everything to nothingness! … On his fiftieth chest, he obtained a Mythic Weapon: Blade of Karma! With a single slash, karma shattered, twisting the universe and overturning the myriad phenomena of creation! … On his ninety-ninth chest, he obtained a Mythic Divine Treasure: Primordial Purple Energy! It could split open the heavens and earth, create all things, and evolve countless worlds with a single thought! Lin Ye: “Now that I think about it… shouldn’t someone have told me that every chest is guaranteed to contain something Mythic?!”
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
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."
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
