Ling River Dock.
The sky was darkening, caught between the lingering sunset and the rising crescent moon.
The temple fair at the dock was just coming to an end.
With a casual flick of his hand, the temple’s abbot plucked the smiling head of the flower-holding Buddha statue and placed it atop his own.
He turned to face the three figures behind him.
“Are you here to offer incense, or to pray for blessings?”
Upon hearing this, the one wearing a dragon-headed mask among the three stepped forward and spoke:
“Better to rely on oneself than to beg for divine favor.”
“Well said.”
The Laughing Buddha nodded slightly, the smile on his borrowed head widening, as though pleased by the answer.
“You three have given me quite the pleasant surprise.”
“From today onward, you are members of the Drizzle Tower. You may take on assignments from the Shadow Hall.”
“Succeed in this task, and you’ll be promoted to Human Butchers as an exception.”
He stretched out his palm, revealing three copper Swallows of the Hall, resting in his massive hand.
For a fleeting moment, the swallows seemed alive, their wings fluttering as if imbued with a will of their own.
“No need to rush. Complete the task, and these Swallows will be yours.”
“May we ask what the task entails?”
The Three Evils of Huai Mountain exchanged glances before the dragon-masked man asked in a muffled voice.
The Laughing Buddha replied calmly:
“Escort a shipment downstream with me.”
“Remember, this is confidential. Not a word to anyone, lest the Qingyuan Sect catches wind and interferes.”
“If word leaks, no one can save you.”
A shipment?
And the Qingyuan Sect must never know?
Or face utter ruin?
The trio—Tiger, Dragon, and Leopard—exchanged glances and fell silent.
The Laughing Buddha mistook their hesitation for fear of the risks, unwilling to cross the Qingyuan Sect.
With another chuckle, he added:
“I’ve been the abbot of this dock temple for over a decade, watching fishermen haul in their catch every day. I’ve learned one thing.”
“The fiercer the waves, the more valuable the fish!”
“If you three aren’t willing to take risks, how will you ever rise to greatness?”
After a long silence, Li Mo concealed his surprise and pressed further:
“If you want us to take such a risk, at least tell us what we’re transporting.”
“Just delivering some children to a summoning outpost of the Demon Calling Sect.”
The Laughing Buddha answered patiently before asking again:
“You’re smart men. What’s your decision?”
As his words faded, faint Buddhist chants echoed through the small temple, soothing the mind and body.
The message was clear:
Now that you know the truth, this ship isn’t one you can simply step off.
The dragon-masked man clasped his hands in salute:
“We are at your service.”
The Laughing Buddha had barely relaxed when a dagger, hidden in the shadows, shot toward his back.
The strike was silent until the last moment, when a surge of killing intent erupted.
The Laughing Buddha, a Perception Realm cultivator, reacted with unnatural speed.
His body twisted like a slippery serpent, evading the fatal blow.
He spun around and caught the blade between his fingers.
Had he not trained in Buddhist arts, sharpening his awareness to break free from the killing aura, the strike might have wounded him gravely.
“What is the meaning of this!?”
The smile on his borrowed head twisted into the wrathful visage of a Ming King.
No answer came.
Instead, he was met with a mist of clouds, thick as an impending storm, filling every inch of space around him.
A domain?
He quickly realized it only resembled one, lacking the pressure of an Inner Landscape martial artist.
Yet the icy chill seeped into his bones.
“Ying Bing!?”
A gust of wind howled—
Pale cyan sword light and the silent dagger’s killing aura swirled together, shaking the bloody glow around him.
He thrust his palms forward, and two phantom handprints shattered the incoming blades.
But what followed were two gleaming swords—
One red, one blue, entwined like twin dragons of ice and fire.
Crack—
The dazzling slash struck as if hitting metal.
“Cough!”
He spat out a mouthful of burning ice shards.
That strike had nearly killed him. Had he been slower…
Strangely, his body bore no wounds, but the headless golden Buddha statue in the temple dimmed noticeably.
“Had I not spent over a decade building my foundation here, I’d have capsized in a ditch today!”
“Li Mo, you’ve delivered yourself to me—”
Before he could finish—
“No need to reason with demonic heretics. Attack together!”
“I’ll smash the statue—you cut him down!”
Li Mo summoned a hammer and barked orders.
He had seen through it: without destroying the Buddha statue, they couldn’t kill their foe quickly.
A mere Perception Realm cultivator, yet so troublesome.
The Laughing Buddha: “......”
He wanted to stop them—
But he couldn’t fight the other three at once.
Ying Bing was the real threat. The other two were little more than annoying flies he could swat aside with ease.
But this girl… she was terrifying.
Even one-on-one, with over a decade’s worth of accumulated prayer power, he’d likely be forced onto the defensive.
And now there was Li Mo too.
The intel he’d received said Li Mo used a sword—since when did he wield a hammer?!
Boom—
Third Form of Settling Heaven and Earth: Thunder’s Judgment.
The hammer descended like a rolling storm, thunderous as the first strike of spring, shaking the world!
This was an Inner Breath cultivator?!
In sheer terror, the Laughing Buddha hurled a string of black prayer beads, hoping to block the blow.
But the beads shattered mid-air, their trapped souls wailing before dispersing into nothingness.
The decade’s worth of prayer power—
Under the true wrath of heaven, it crumbled like rotten wood.
Clang—
A bell’s toll pierced metal and stone.
The golden statue cracked like a spider’s web, its layers peeling away to reveal bleached bones beneath.
At last, he could no longer resist the icy sword energy.
The frigid wind pierced through him—
The sword energy, sharp as needles through leaves, riddled his body with holes. Blood froze before it could even drip.
......
Meanwhile—
Boom—
At Ling River Dock, a finely dressed young man paused mid-step as he questioned the locals.
“That came from…”
“That’d be the Laughing Buddha Temple. We fishermen always pray there before setting sail.”
The old fisherman’s words struck Luo Yu like lightning.
The Laughing Buddha Temple?
Wasn’t that where children had vanished during the temple fair?
Without another thought, he shot toward the source of the disturbance like a startled swan.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
