The woman's crimson skirt fluttered like a peony about to bloom, with glimpses of her fair legs shimmering beneath.
She arched her willow-leaf brows, scanning the scene with restless energy, as if itching for action.
She wasn’t alone—several familiar faces trailed behind her.
Hmm?
Shang Wu’s gaze halted.
"My precious disciple?"
"...Master."
Li Mo recognized the voice instantly, though for a moment, he doubted his ears.
"Master, where did you get the money to rent this entire tavern?"
"Naturally, the sect covered it."
Qian Bufan and Xue Jing ascended the stairs, while Tang Xiaobao waved at Li Mo.
"So it’s you lot." Shang Wu frowned, visibly disappointed.
"......" Ignoring his battle-hungry master’s sulking, Li Mo turned to the others.
"Elder Qian, Elder Xue, Purple Sun Prefecture and Yunzhou are far apart. How did you arrive so quickly?"
Xue Jing chuckled. "You two youngsters made such a splash, and our Qingyuan Sect has no stronghold in Yunzhou. Even with the nearby Hengyun Sword City, this old man couldn’t rest easy."
"We drove the war chariot nonstop, burning through two whole Profound Crystals to get here by dawn," Qian Bufan added, wincing slightly at the expense.
"I see."
Warmth spread through Li Mo and his fellow disciples, deeply moved.
When it mattered, their elders were utterly dependable.
Though Qingyuan Sect couldn’t rival the grandeur of Hengyun Sword City, it had bonds those great sects could never replicate!
"Master, didn’t you say there was another reason?" Tang Xiaobao asked, puzzled.
"You mentioned our sect hasn’t shone this brightly in years. With such a world-shaking, face-showing moment, how could we miss the chance to—"
Thwack!
Elder Xue expressionlessly smacked Tang Xiaobao’s head.
The latter clutched his skull, aggrieved. That was exactly what his master had said before they left!
He still needed to refine his final meridian to reach full maturity.
Tang Xiaobao decided the adult world was far too complicated.
Li Mo: "......"
Everyone else: "......"
So much for their heartfelt moment.
As the elders took their seats, the group tacitly ignored the awkwardness, and the atmosphere warmed again.
After sipping his tea, Xue Jing remarked casually,
"I’d planned to send Xiaobao to fetch you, but you’d already picked this prime spot."
"I paid a hefty sum to reserve this tavern," Qian Bufan said, gazing at the glimmering lake and the Dragon Gate in full view. His earlier stinginess faded.
"Spare no expense on the road—we’ve got disciples climbing the Hidden Dragon Ranking. We can’t skimp on appearances."
He then grumbled,
"Though the owner here isn’t the most honest..."
"Exactly!" Shang Wu nodded, summoning a waiter.
"Fetch your boss!"
The waiter scratched his head and approached Li Mo.
"Boss, she’s calling for you."
Shang Wu: "?"
Qian Bufan: "......"
Why hadn’t he taken Li Mo as a disciple? Was it really because the inner sect slots were full?
Why hadn’t he just kicked someone out?
Just then—
Gasps rippled across the bustling lakeshore.
Li Mo turned to see the majestic Dragon Gate shimmering with radiant light.
The glow wasn’t harsh, and the inscribed characters remained crisp, forming a luminous screen.
Its presence rivaled the three suns hanging overhead.
"This hardly seems like the work of martial artists," Li Mo murmured.
No wonder the entire Nine Heavens and Ten Earths deferred to the Yantian Sect’s authority.
Such a spectacle left little room for doubt.
Once Ying Bing’s eyes landed on the Dragon Gate, its grandeur faded.
She studied the inscriptions, calm yet pensive.
Something about them felt familiar?
Jiang Chulong fidgeted with her sleeve, her gaze darting nervously before she finally mustered the courage to look.
The elders and others watched with bated breath.
They knew the two youngsters were locks for the ranking—but where would they place?
Soon, elegant, sweeping characters flashed across the screen:
[Hidden Dragon Ranking, 100th: Huang Donglai.]
[Martial Arts: Five-Aperture Insight, mastered Wind Cloud Leg and Five Poisons Scripture, comprehended the Cloud-Soaring Movement at Hengyun Sword City, and perfected the high-tier body-refining art—Turtle Shell Body. Exceptional agility, formidable physique, and deadly poison techniques.]
[Record: Engaged numerous 8th/9th-Aperture Insight experts (e.g., River Lance, Thousand-Mile Eagle) without defeat or victory, always escaping unscathed. Eliminated multiple lower-realm foes. Multiple aliases...]
[Epithet: The Poisonous Two-Faced Turtle.]
"......"
The lakeshore fell silent for a heartbeat.
Everyone knew the Hidden Dragon Ranking was reserved for prodigies.
But Huang Donglai’s nickname made them question its prestige.
Yet no one could deny—
The man was undeniably strong, shrugging off 9th-Aperture experts.
Just... in the most baffling way possible.
Li Mo: "......"
The Poisonous Two-Faced Turtle? Seriously?
"Pfft—HAHAHAHA!" Shang Wu doubled over laughing.
"Precious disciple, did you cross paths with this guy at the martial summit?"
"Met him. Fought him," Li Mo said, recalling the slippery opponent.
"Thoughts?" Shang Wu asked.
"Unbelievably tanky, absurdly fast, and his damage... Well, poison was banned at the summit. I nearly caved and used my hammer."
Li Mo deadpanned.
"You defeated a 5th-Aperture expert with just your sword?"
Xue Jing and Qian Bufan exchanged glances.
They knew what had happened in the Blood Phoenix Secret Realm.
But while Li Mo’s swordsmanship was refined, surpassing five apertures to beat a Hidden Dragon prodigy?
And if he’d used his divine weapon...?
Xue Jing suddenly realized—they still didn’t know what Li Mo had gained from Hengyun Sword City’s sword marks. They’d meant to visit and express gratitude.
"Xiao Mo, how did your sword enlightenment go?"
"......"
Li Mo blinked, then grinned.
"I was this close—just this close—to becoming a Sword Prodigy."
Too bad the elders and founders of Hengyun Sword City had vetoed it.
"Tch, isn’t our little Bing the Sword Prodigy?" Shang Wu teased, convinced he was boasting.
"What kind of ‘prodigy’ are you, then?"
"Not a prodigy, alas. These days, they call me... the Sword Immortal."
"You? A Sword Immortal?"
Shang Wu’s eyes brimmed with skepticism.
"Ah, what a shame I just bought this tavern. They must have fine wine here..."
Shang Wu beamed. "Ahem. All jokes aside, the title is well-earned."
Ah, the perks of bribery.
Her masterly dignity was crumbling fast.
Li Mo’s smile froze.
Wait.
The Hidden Dragon Ranking listed each entrant’s greatest strength.
His wasn’t swordsmanship.
Did that mean his cover was about to—
The luminous screen flickered, already reaching the 85th rank.
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
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.
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
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!
