"The southern gate of the Human City has fallen."
That morning, sunlight failed to pierce the ancestral hall of Dawang Village.
A wind-formed falcon alighted on the altar table, its voice carrying Feng Zhi's words.
Li Mo, his hair now entirely silver, had just lit incense for the ancestors. He gazed silently at the flickering candlelight, its glow dim and unsteady in the breeze.
After a long pause, he finally spoke:
"What of the warriors from the Celestial Clan and the Earth City?"
"They've retreated to the inner citadel, preserving their strength. They’ll reclaim the southern gate only after Emperor Jiang fully bonds with the Divine Sword. But you won’t live to see that day."
"Not necessarily." Li Mo shook his head.
The voice in the wind sounded puzzled. "Your sister has already left the town. Even she gave up. Why stubbornly remain here?"
She could sense that Ying Bing was no longer in Dawang Town.
Perhaps her fleeting interest in mortal life had waned—a brief taste of humanity before drifting away again.
The Celestial Clan, in their endless years, often grew restless. Whims arose and faded like passing breezes.
Just as she had whimsically come to warn Li Mo.
"Regardless, thank you."
Li Mo cupped his hands toward the pale-green falcon.
Seeing his obstinacy, Feng Zhi said no more, dissolving back into the wind.
By midmorning, the villagers had gathered in the ancestral hall. Though unaware of the Human City’s fate, the urgent summons left some with creeping dread.
Besides Dawang Village’s original inhabitants, neighboring villagers and displaced refugees who had settled here also arrived.
Those who entered were all seasoned martial artists—once bare-bottomed children splashing in rivers or raiding bird nests, now gray-haired elders.
Any one of them could hold their own in the Earth City. Among them, Er Niu stood out, talented enough to establish his own school.
"Brother Li, why summon everyone so suddenly?" Er Niu was the first to ask.
"The southern gate has fallen," Li Mo stated bluntly.
Gasps erupted. Some refused to believe it; others sighed in despair; a few trembled with fear.
They counted the days—the fifty-year cycle had just begun.
The gate’s collapse had been instantaneous.
And from Li Mo’s tone, the Celestial Clan had no intention of reclaiming it anytime soon.
Which meant Dawang Village would soon face the full brunt of rampaging demons.
"What should we do?"
"Didn’t the Earth City’s warriors expand new settlements between their domain and the Human City? Should we head there?"
"Likely too late," Li Mo said.
"Our group could make it if we hurry, even with the elderly and children..." Tiezhu, the honest blacksmith, suggested.
He was the old village chief’s descendant, his mother once a girl who’d admired Li Mo. Li Mo had taught him much of the smithing craft.
After a thoughtful pause, Er Niu said,
"Brother Li means we might outrun the demons, but not others."
"The Human City is vast, its population immense. Too many will flee for survival. The Earth City’s new settlements can only take a fraction, and we hold no value to them. We’d likely be turned away."
"Er Niu’s right."
"Since when have the Earth City folks cared about us?"
"If they truly valued lives, they wouldn’t have retreated."
Many villagers had ventured to the Earth City before. After mastering martial arts, some abandoned farming, dreaming of making their mark there.
Most returned.
The reason was simple—like wide-eyed graduates flocking to metropolises, only to find their ambitions shattered. They became drops in an ocean, cogs in a machine.
Those better than them worked harder; those worse off had connections.
If toiling as beasts of burden was inevitable, why leave the fields?
After letting the tension simmer, Li Mo raised a hand, silencing the hall.
"Each must choose their path. Those who wish to seek refuge in the Earth City—no one will stop you."
"But those who stay today must stand together. No one betrays the group."
His voice, though aged, carried the same firmness as his youth.
Some bowed deeply to the ancestral hall and left. Most remained.
Er Niu took a deep breath.
Under everyone’s gaze, he walked to the hall’s entrance—
Then firmly shut the door.
Grinning, he asked, "Brother Li, what’s the plan?"
"Abandon delusions."
Li Mo shot him an exasperated look.
"The Celestials sit aloft; the Earthlings chase profit. Neither can be relied on. We fight alone!"
"All those years training in Form Imitation martial arts—time to put them to use!"
"Prepare yourselves!"
As the founder of Form Imitation, Li Mo’s mastery was unfathomable.
And everyone knew—Village Chief Li was a genius.
The thought inexplicably bolstered their confidence.
......
"What’s Li Mo planning?"
"His Form Imitation arts are impressive, but against this demon horde? Useless."
"Small groups are manageable, but these demons are coordinated. Kill a few, and swarms retaliate."
"Is he charging head-on?"
Beyond the River-Mountain Scroll, spectators puzzled over Li Mo’s intentions.
If they didn’t know, certain entities knew even less.
"Look! They’re here!"
Someone pointed skyward.
In the scroll’s depiction, a hundred-strong demon troop had arrived a hundred li from Dawang Town.
Hulking and reeking of malice, each dwarfed the demons Li Mo had first encountered.
Yet ironically, their leader was another serpent-man—this one with crimson scales, wielding bloodied axes.
More demons poured through the southern gate.
Some, under the Beast Hall’s command, marched toward the Earth-Human border. Others scattered across the Human City.
"A human settlement ahead! Hah! I smell so much living flesh!"
The serpent-leader roared with glee:
"A sizable feast awaits!"
The demons beat their chests or brandished weapons, drunk on bloodlust.
But tempered by the Beast Hall’s discipline, they restrained themselves, awaiting orders.
"Brothers, follow me—"
"Hold!"
A gruff voice interrupted.
The demons startled as another serpent-man emerged from the woods—equally burly, gripping a sickle and hammer.
Serpent-leader: "?"
Who’d gotten here faster?
"Which faction are you from?"
"Local demon. You wouldn’t know me."
"???"
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!
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】
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.
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
