The seafood from the East Sea was exceptionally delicious, but the elderly steward from the Lingxi Sect had a particular fondness for braised pork trotters. The roasted trotters at this inn were tender and springy, and the old man couldn't fathom who had come up with such a delicacy—the flavor was simply divine.
"Hmm, you make a fair point!"
Qiao Ziyu pondered and realized that even if he had spent two hundred Mystic Crystals, it was still worth every penny. The reason for his fury earlier was mainly due to how infuriating the whole ordeal had been.
Damn it, three thousand disciples couldn’t even secure a single Dragon Pearl—what a rip-off!
Had he just paid upfront, he wouldn’t have minded. Thinking this way, he felt much better.
"At least the Transcendent Remnant Bone is in my hands now."
A faint smile finally appeared on Qiao Ziyu’s cold, stern face.
"Young Sect Master, please open it quickly and let us witness its marvels as well."
The steward’s anticipation grew, his cheeks twitching as he gnawed on the pork trotter even faster.
"Very well. I’m not one to hoard treasures—let’s all study it together."
Qiao Ziyu nodded.
After all, so many people had helped him negotiate, even if they hadn’t succeeded. It would be heartless to keep it all to himself.
He opened the box, revealing a pristine white bone fragment, its surface shimmering with golden marrow and faint divine patterns.
"Truly profound..."
"Magnificent! What a treasure!"
"Hey, you rascal, everyone’s watching—mind your words!"
"I meant the Young Sect Master’s treasure..."
The crowd was utterly entranced.
"What insights have you gained?"
Qiao Ziyu maintained a composed expression, though inwardly, he was puzzled.
The bone looked extraordinary, yet he felt no enlightenment from it, nor did his Transcendent Body react in the slightest.
"Young Master, I... I don’t see anything."
The disciples merely marveled at its aura, shaking their heads in bewilderment.
The steward found it somewhat familiar. After a moment of contemplation, he said,
"Young Master, our roots and bones are mediocre—how could we compare to you? Surely, you must feel a deep, bloodline connection with it?"
"Ah... yes, indeed. It does feel like reuniting with kin."
Under the expectant gazes of the crowd, how could Qiao Ziyu admit he felt nothing?
The mood was set, the price already haggled over—wouldn’t it make him seem inferior if he confessed now?
"Young Sect Master, what enlightenment have you attained?"
"Patience. Let’s all contemplate it together..."
With a magnanimous wave, Qiao Ziyu moved to place the box on the table.
But he forgot—he had just cast a hex of misfortune upon himself, and the Lingxi Sect disciples weren’t exactly known for their manners, tossing leftovers carelessly on the floor.
"Hmm?"
Qiao Ziyu suddenly noticed something odd—the transcendent aura of the bone was fading rapidly.
But what puzzled him more was the sensation under his foot.
Looking down, he saw a thoroughly gnawed pork trotter.
Qiao Ziyu: "?"
Whoosh!
Before the entire assembly, he reenacted the legendary swordsman Bai Jinghong’s ultimate technique—the Invincible Firewheel.
"Young Sect Master! Are you alright?"
"See? I told you our Young Sect Master could do a backflip!"
"Who threw that trotter? Have you no decency?!"
The steward hurled his own half-eaten trotter to the ground, discreetly wiping his mouth before rushing to help Qiao Ziyu up.
"Young Sect Master, are you unharmed?"
A cultivator of his level wouldn’t be injured by a mere fall, though he did look rather disheveled.
The scene descended into chaos.
But Qiao Ziyu had no mind for trivialities—his head was spinning.
"Where’s my Transcendent Remnant Bone?!"
"It fell on the ground, I think."
"I don’t see it..."
"How could the bone get mixed up with pork trotters? Maybe a dog ran off with it?"
"Tsk... Young Master, didn’t you say you felt a bloodline connection? Try sensing it again?"
"What are you all standing around for? Find it now!"
Qiao Ziyu nearly spat blood from sheer frustration.
Under his command, three thousand Lingxi Sect disciples stormed out, ready to wrestle dogs for a bone overnight.
......
"Li Mo, how exactly did you turn a pork trotter into the Transcendent Remnant Bone?"
Qian Bufan was browsing the auction catalog when he suddenly voiced his doubt.
Li Mo shook his head.
"I don’t possess such miraculous means to transform the mundane into the divine. I merely made it look extraordinary. By now, it’s probably reverted to its original state."
"Elder Qian, take these funds and procure some necessities for the sect."
He handed over the two hundred Mystic Crystals sponsored by the Lingxi Sect—no small sum for the Qingyuan Sect at present.
"Then I won’t stand on ceremony."
Qian Bufan accepted, though he felt slightly awkward taking money from a junior. Still, he knew this was but a drop in the bucket for Li Mo.
Besides, it was clear who would lead the Qingyuan Sect in the future.
After pocketing the crystals, he asked,
"Li Mo, which items at tomorrow’s auction do you need most?"
"The selection is quite diverse..."
Li Mo skimmed the list—it was filled with rare treasures of all kinds, each worthy of an auction.
The East Sea’s natural treasures went without saying...
"Elder Qian, there’s even three-thousand-year-old Sea Silk?"
"I’ve heard of it, but never seen it. It rarely appears at auctions."
Sea Silk was precious, but typically used for clothing—like pearl-white lotus silk. Rare, yet not usually auction-worthy.
Of course, exceptions existed.
"This Sea Silk changes color with the weather... At three thousand years, it’s practically sentient! Ah, right—"
Qian Bufan seemed to recall something.
"Rumor has it that once it gains sentience, the silk shifts hues based on the wearer’s emotions."
"Oh?"
Li Mo straightened slightly. "And its texture?"
Though puzzled by his interest, Qian Bufan answered,
"Supposedly, it’s as smooth as pearl-white lotus silk, as light and breathable as dark cloud gauze..."
"!"
If this were used to make Southern-style attire for the "Ice Block," wouldn’t that be incredible?
Who’d ever seen ice with packaging that changed colors? That would be beyond spectacular.
Just imagining it made Young Li feel like his nose had been punched.
"This—we must acquire it."
"Very well... Wait, why is your nose bleeding?"
"I’m hungry—salivating, you could say."
"?"
Elder Qian had never seen someone "salivate" through their nose before.
In the end, Li Mo marked not just the Sea Silk but seventy percent of the catalog.
Any natural treasure might prove useful, and the Qingyuan Sect’s coffers were thin—stocking up on resources was wise.
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】
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!
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.
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
