Purple Sun Prefecture, the residence of the prefect.
The young man, still dressed in his moon-white Confucian robe, sat in the study flipping through county records, giving the impression of a scholar rather than the domineering Crown Prince of Great Yu.
He looked up at Dan Hong, who had entered with Qing Que, her face deathly pale, and remarked indifferently:
"You returned sooner than I expected."
Qing Que lowered her head and whispered:
"Something happened."
"Speak."
Jiang Yu resumed reading the records as Qing Que recounted the events that had just transpired. The sound of turning pages gradually slowed.
"You're saying Ying Bing shattered your combined attack with a single strike?" Jiang Yu frowned, lifting his gaze.
Qing Que nodded, glancing at the woman in the pink dress beside her. "Dan Hong's sword heart has likely been tainted by inner demons. Her swordsmanship will never progress further..."
Jiang Yu, however, seemed unbothered by this, murmuring instead:
"So, the fifth-ranked Hidden Dragon is actually stronger than the fourth?"
"Your Highness! I can never practice swordsmanship again!"
Dan Hong wept pitifully, hoping the Crown Prince would avenge her:
"She didn’t just cripple me—she also humiliated you."
Jiang Yu remained expressionless, his voice cold:
"Understood. Return to the Heavenly Mountain Sword Manor. There’s an open position compiling the Sword Codex."
"Leave."
Dan Hong stared in disbelief at the man she had served for six years, his indifference no different from how he treated the young princess.
Qing Que led her out of the courtyard. Only once they were outside did Dan Hong let out a bitter laugh:
"Of course. The royal family is heartless. What am I to them?"
"Dan Hong, compiling the Sword Codex at the manor isn’t a bad outcome. If not for prior arrangements, ordinary people wouldn’t even have this opportunity."
Qing Que’s words carried hidden meaning.
The positions for compiling the Sword Codex were limited and required advance planning—meaning His Highness had long foreseen Dan Hong’s recklessness and arrogance leading to this downfall.
Returning to the manor to focus on compiling the texts might allow her to rebuild herself in the future.
But Dan Hong failed to grasp the advice. Her unfocused eyes sharpened, burning with hatred.
"If I don’t purge these inner demons... I’ll remain a cripple forever..."
......
Autumn Water Pavilion.
The twilight lingered, the sky the color of tear-stained eyes, casting a faint glow over the small pavilion.
Dinner had just been served when Elder Qian arrived as if on cue.
Shang Wu asked warily, "Elder Qian, have you eaten?"
"Funny you ask—no, I haven’t."
"Then go eat first and come back later."
"???"
A question mark seemed to float above the short, stout Elder Qian’s head. In his years of mooching meals, the expected response to "Have you eaten?" was always "Join us," not dismissal.
Elder Qian huffed, looking at Ying Bing and Li Mo seated at the table:
"Eat? How could I eat these past two days? Look at these dark circles, look at my stomach!"
"With these two disciples in our Qingyuan Sect, I’ll lose ten years off my life!"
On the surface, the matter was settled.
But Elder Qian’s resentment was palpable, like a wronged maiden.
Li Mo, feeling guilty, quickly set out another pair of chopsticks.
Yet Elder Qian waved him off, pridefully declaring that delayed hospitality was worthless—he wouldn’t eat now even if begged!
"I’d rather starve to death, die outside, than take a single bite from you!"
"Alright."
The phrase sounded oddly familiar to Li Mo. He then asked:
"If you’re not here for food, then...?"
"Now that we can’t hitch a ride with the Crown Prince to Rotten Ke Mountain, what are you and Little Bing planning?"
"We’ll leave tomorrow as originally planned."
Li Mo and Ying Bing had never intended to travel with Jiang Yu anyway.
"The anomalies at Rotten Ke Mountain weakened today. I just returned from scouting."
Elder Qian wasn’t surprised, sighing before swallowing hard.
"There were still anomalies today?"
Li Mo raised an eyebrow, taking a bite of braised land fish.
But he hadn’t gone to Rotten Ke Mountain at all.
Meaning the anomalies were the mountain’s own doing.
"Yes, much weaker. After all the commotion before, today was a letdown."
Elder Qian smacked his lips, recounting the day’s events.
Today, Rotten Ke Mountain had shown signs of reversed elemental feng shui—still notable, but nothing like the earth-shaking phenomena before.
"By the way, it’s possible that what lies beneath Rotten Ke Mountain isn’t a hidden sanctuary."
"Then what is it?"
"It might be the tomb of a powerful figure."
Elder Qian’s expression turned grave.
Tomb?
Ying Bing’s slender fingers paused around her chopsticks, her eyes thoughtful.
The elder’s words reminded her of Rotten Ke Mountain’s layout.
The feng shui there was indeed exceptional—a prime location for burial.
"Tombs aren’t like legacies. Legacies are meant for trials, but tombs are far more dangerous. No expert wants their remains desecrated after death."
"So, I’ve decided to bring out some of my personal treasures."
Elder Qian opened his spatial pouch.
"They say Elder Qian’s knowledge is vast. What have you prepared?"
Though Li Mo was wealthy and well-equipped, even he couldn’t claim to possess every rare artifact under heaven.
Clatter—
A black hoof dropped onto the table.
"A black donkey’s hoof?"
"Indeed. Highly effective against corpse demons."
Elder Qian dumped the rest of his items unceremoniously.
Corpse-suppressing talismans...
Miasma-dispelling bells...
Senior Brother Ouyang’s illustrated book...
Huh?
"This..."
Li Mo picked up the book—a collector’s edition, no less. What use was this in a tomb?
Elder Qian coughed lightly. "Ouyang said it’d keep you entertained on the road, but indulgence leads to ruin, so I confiscated it."
With that, he tucked the book back into his spatial pouch.
Then, without further ado, he shoved the remaining items at Li Mo, turned, and left with a flourish.
"Senior Brother Ouyang gave this?"
Li Mo stared at the empty dishes on the table.
The words rang as hollow as Elder Qian’s earlier vow never to eat.
......
Nightfall.
After preparing another meal, Li Mo sat in the courtyard, contemplating the Divine Intent of the Lunar Goddess. Meanwhile, Ying Bing seemed absorbed in studying another avian spirit form.
Left to his own devices, Li Mo resumed his training.
Bathing in moonlight, he assessed his progress.
Before reaching the Inner Realm, both the Divine Intent of the Great Sage and the Lunar Goddess needed to be perfected.
But the former lagged far behind the latter.
Hours passed. The night deepened.
A ripple from his inner world summoned him back to his room. Lying down, he entered the pocket dimension.
On the Yin-Yang training grounds, Jiang Chulong stood waiting, clutching a peach blossom branch.
The young princess murmured softly:
"Teacher, today... I think I can defeat the Golden Crow senior."
"And... and... I’m about to break through."
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."
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
