"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.
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!
] 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.
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?!
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
