"I'm truly foolish, really..."
"Knowing full well he couldn't possibly win, yet still pretending not to understand..."
"But at least I forced his true self to take action, so it wasn't a total loss, heh..."
Hu Fangyuan bitterly comforted himself, though the disappointment in his eyes was impossible to hide.
He felt as though he'd been set up by Chen Yi, yet he had no proof.
First, Chen Yi deliberately held back, leaving openings to let Hu Fangyuan gain a slight advantage. Then he proposed a wager, luring Hu Fangyuan into recklessness. Once hooked, Chen Yi didn’t even bother pretending anymore—he unleashed an invincible momentum, crushing Hu Fangyuan’s three divine killing techniques in succession, cornering him into doubling down. Forced to burn his Origin Dao Traces to activate a forbidden art, Hu Fangyuan watched helplessly as that bastard’s true self intervened, seizing the Spring-Autumn Cocoon and refining it in an instant...
It was all too coincidental. If not for the fact that Chen Yi had genuinely tried to stop him from burning his Origin Dao Traces midway, Hu Fangyuan would’ve been certain this was all a carefully laid trap—a classic "invite the enemy into a jar" scheme.
Then again, it could’ve just been an act. After all, was there anything Chen Yi wouldn’t do?
Hu Fangyuan spared no malice in his suspicions.
"Hey, Black Dirt, are you mentally chirping at me?"
Chen Yi strode over, resting a massive halberd on his shoulder, his tone teasing. "Be a good sport—you lost."
Hu Fangyuan’s lips twitched. He simply raised a middle finger in salute. "Who the hell can outplay you?!"
Smack!
Fast as lightning!
Chen Yi flicked a condensed remnant of Origin Dao Traces straight into Hu Fangyuan’s face, grinning amiably. "Don’t say I bullied you. These are your own Dao Traces—I only kept about two and a half tenths. Now, you’ve got two choices."
"One: Take this remnant. Spend some time refining it, and it might still be usable."
"Two: Pretend you won this round. That Five-Finger Fist Heart Sword of yours had some merit—I learned a thing or two. As a bonus, I’ll convert fifty Golden Immortals for you."
"Which’ll it be?"
On the surface, it seemed like a choice. In reality, Hu Fangyuan had no choice at all.
Origin Dao Traces were unique. Once burned, all traces of that Dao path vanished from one’s cultivation journey—an irreversible loss. The only option was to start anew, forging a fresh set of Dao Traces.
Of course, aside from that critical factor, the remnant still held immense value. With proper handling, it could nurture at least one Great Luo Immortal... if not for the fact that Chen Yi had already "licked" it.
He’d reshaped the remnant in his own image. Even if Hu Fangyuan took it back, he’d need to expend tremendous effort to purify it.
But refining something tainted by Chen Yi’s will? A thankless task!
So, the choice was obvious—fifty Golden Immortals.
"At least you’ve got some conscience left."
Hu Fangyuan chose to forgive him.
Given his understanding of Chen Yi, the fact that the guy hadn’t taken everything and then some was already a miracle. Now he was even offering fifty Golden Immortals? It was like a starving dog suddenly swearing off feces!
"What’s that muttering about?" Chen Yi side-eyed him, then pointed at the remnant. "This thing’s mine now, right? Do me one more favor—impart some wisdom to a kid, explain cultivation basics, and we’ll call it even."
Hu Fangyuan: "..."
I knew it. I freaking knew it!
Of course he wouldn’t just take without giving. Behind every "kindness" lurked another demand!
"That Fang Fan kid, right? Bring him out. I’ll enlighten him."
Hu Fangyuan forced a benevolent smile.
What else could he do?
Trapped like a fish on the chopping block, his only option was cooperation.
Chen Yi nodded. "Good. Step forward, Little Fang. Ask whatever you’re curious about."
With that, he retreated a few paces, pretending disinterest while secretly eavesdropping.
After all, this was a Supreme Primordial—a being countless cultivators would kill just to glimpse, let alone receive personal guidance from.
Sure, Chen Yi was more of a "pilot" these days, far removed from the nitty-gritty of cultivation theory, but listening couldn’t hurt. Cross-referencing knowledge never hurt—he was always eager to learn!
"Junior Fang Fan pays respects to Senior Hu!"
Fang Fan was impeccably polite. After settling onto a small stool, he bowed deeply.
Truth be told, while the Venerable One (Chen Yi) was mighty, his explanations on cultivation were often vague, riddled with gaps and outright errors. Following his methods wouldn’t just risk divine annihilation—it’d practically guarantee a qi deviation...
So, the Venerable One was best revered from afar. For actual cultivation guidance, Fang Fan sought others.
Hu Fangyuan’s eye twitched at the sight of the purple halo floating behind Fang Fan’s head. He managed a strained smile.
"No need for formalities. Any doubts you have, I’ll clarify."
"My questions might be... numerous," Fang Fan admitted sheepishly, bowing again. "May Senior preach the Dao, dispelling the fog shrouding my path. This junior is eternally grateful."
Polite children were always endearing.
Though Hu Fangyuan loathed Chen Yi, he found Fang Fan rather likable.
Forming a karmic bond with a youth recognized by a Chaos Supreme Treasure wasn’t a bad deal. If only his backer weren’t that detestable scoundrel...
"The Dao begins with observation..."
After a brief pause, Hu Fangyuan effortlessly expounded the essence of the Dao.
A Supreme Primordial stood shoulder-to-shoulder with a Dao Ancestor, their comprehension of the Dao perfected to the point where their words became law—they were the Dao itself.
Hu Fangyuan’s speech flowed like blossoming lotuses. Fang Fan listened, entranced.
An ordinary True Immortal would’ve dozed off quickly—the increasingly profound Dao principles were beyond their grasp.
It was like a university professor teaching elementary school: simple arithmetic? Easy. But equations, functions, limits, derivatives, multivariate calculus, differential equations, algebra, topology... What kind of elementary student could follow that?
Fang Fan, however, was no ordinary True Immortal.
With the Myriad Mysteries Ring—a treasure housing infinite realms, each stratified into nine layers, ascending from mortality to Dao Ancestor—he could be considered a reincarnated Dao Ancestor in spirit.
Not only did he comprehend Hu Fangyuan’s teachings, but he could also immediately apply the knowledge.
So, getting one-on-one tutoring from a Dao Ancestor-level entity? He’d struck gold.
This was the supercharged booster his beloved Venerable One had hooked him up with. Used well, he’d soar to the heavens in no time.
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...
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?"
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
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.”
