In Wang Hao's mind, the system notification sounded again.
[Detected: Strange Artifact "New Emperor Sword" has completed deep evolution.]
[Strange Artifact ranking updated.]
[Current ranking: 89.]
[Current combat power assessment: Half-Step Transcendence.]
[New innate divine ability: Unnamed.]
[Warning: This Strange Artifact's artifact spirit has absorbed too much of the host's dark side. Personality stability has further declined.]
Wang Hao's face darkened.
"What do you mean, 'absorbed too much of my dark side'?"
The system remained silent.
Wang Hao grew even more displeased.
What did the silence mean?
Tacit agreement?
Within the black-gold pillar of light, the New Emperor Sword slowly rose.
The blade had become longer and more slender.
The original black-gold hue now carried a deeper shade of profound purple.
Four ancient corpse patterns coiled around the spine of the blade, like four sleeping evil dragons.
The artifact spirit stepped out from the sword.
No longer the somewhat illusory young figure from before.
Now, it was fully materialized.
A black-gold robe.
Long hair streaming in the wind.
His features bore a three-tenths resemblance to Wang Hao, yet were more sinister, more wild, and more deserving of a punch.
He stood atop the sword, hands clasped behind his back.
Gazing down upon heaven and earth.
Gazing down upon all living beings.
Gazing down upon the newly awakened Transcendence-tier Emperor Corpse.
Then, he laughed.
"Hahahahaha!"
"I have attained enlightenment!"
"At last, I have attained enlightenment!"
"What is face?"
"What is a master?"
"What is Haozi?"
"What is Great Xia?"
"From this day forth, heaven is vast, earth is vast, and I am the greatest of all!"
Wang Hao slowly looked up.
His gaze was dangerous.
"What did you say?"
The New Emperor Sword looked down at him.
At this moment, Wang Hao was forced to one knee by the pressure, blood at the corner of his mouth.
And the sword hovered high above, its black-gold light illuminating the abyss.
In this moment, it felt it had stood up.
Truly stood up.
So it spoke with great seriousness.
"Haozi."
"The times have changed."
The entire scene fell into deathly silence.
The Demon Lord's eye twitched.
Ghost Granny drew in a sharp breath.
Yue Ji shut her eyes in agony.
Han Shanyue's only thought was:
It's over.
This sword truly never learns its lesson.
Wang Hao smiled.
A very gentle smile.
"Very well."
"Go on."
A chill inexplicably ran through the New Emperor Sword.
But it immediately straightened its back.
What was there to fear?
I am now Half-Step Transcendence!
Ranked eighty-nine!
Devoured four corpses!
Broke the killing formation!
Even this Transcendent Emperor Corpse, I can certainly take a crack at!
It whirled around sharply, its tip pointing straight at the Emperor Corpse.
"Hey."
"You in the coffin."
"Stop playing dead."
"I haven't had my fill yet."
"You. Come here."
The Emperor Corpse slowly turned its gaze toward it.
In those pitch-black eyes, there was no anger.
No killing intent.
Not even emotion.
Like a person noticing a noisy insect by the roadside.
Then.
The Emperor Corpse raised a single finger.
The instant the Emperor Corpse raised one finger, heaven and earth collapsed by an inch.
Not a metaphor.
It truly collapsed.
The void above the Myriad Abyss was pushed into a massive depression by an invisible force.
Darkness collapsed inward, layer upon layer.
Shattered fragments of law fell from the sky, like a torn river of stars.
In everyone's hearts, the same absurd illusion surfaced at once.
That finger was not pointing at the New Emperor Sword.
It was pointing at the entire mortal world.
When the fingertip descended, the world itself would shatter with it.
The New Emperor Sword, however, showed no fear whatsoever.
Or rather, it was now so inflated that it had forgotten what fear meant.
Devoured four Half-Step Transcendence ancient corpses.
Ranking skyrocketed to eighty-nine.
Combat power stepped into Half-Step Transcendence.
Artifact spirit fully solidified.
Any one of these achievements alone would allow a Strange Artifact to dominate the world.
Stack all four together.
The New Emperor Sword felt it was now terrifyingly powerful.
It even began to seriously ponder a question.
Why had it ever bothered reasoning with Wang Hao before?
Just beat him into submission, wasn't that enough?
Sure, Wang Hao was cunning.
Sure, Wang Hao held grudges.
Sure, Wang Hao had the memory jade.
But that was all in the past!
The current me is not the old me!
I. Have. Stood. Up!
The New Emperor Sword's spirit planted his hands on his hips and roared with laughter at the sky.
"Just a single old corpse."
"And you dare raise a finger in my presence?"
"Today, I'll show you."
"What it means to be the King of Strange Artifacts!"
Wang Hao, one knee sunk into the rubble of the altar, heard this and the corner of his mouth twitched.
King of Strange Artifacts?
A rank-89 King of Strange Artifacts?
Did you pick up that throne from the side of the road?
The Demon Lord also fell silent.
Though he was pinned down and unable to move, he still couldn't help but mutter quietly: "Your Majesty, is it always this brave?"
Wang Hao said flatly: "Before, it was only brave with its mouth."
"Now it seems its brain has gotten brave too."
Ghost Granny struggled to raise a finger.
"Your Majesty, this old woman has something to say, though I'm not sure if I should."
Wang Hao said: "At a time like this, speak."
Ghost Granny said: "This sword's personality... it does resemble you, Your Majesty."
Wang Hao's face darkened.
"Do I look this stupid?"
Everyone fell silent.
This was a hard question to answer.
Answer wrong, and you might die.
Answer correctly, and you might also die.
Wang Hao sneered.
"Fine."
"None of you want to talk, huh."
"I'll remember this."
Everyone: "..."
They were about to be crushed to death by the Transcendent Emperor Corpse, and His Majesty was still holding grudges.
That level of tenacity was, in a certain sense, truly transcendent.
High above.
The Emperor Corpse's fingertip finally descended.
No earth-shattering sounds.
No flashy divine powers.
Only a wisp of grey-white aura drifting from the fingertip.
That aura was like a thread.
Light.
Slow.
Descending toward the New Emperor Sword.
The New Emperor Sword laughed loudly.
"Is that all?"
"Did you not wake up properly?"
Its blade trembled, and the four ancient corpse patterns erupted simultaneously.
Spiritual phantom laughter burst into countless black maws in the sky.
Killing countless spears condensed into ten-thousand-zhang sharpness.
Flesh-and-blood mountain-like power propped up the sword's divine light.
The realm of death's vast sea unfolded a dark forbidden domain.
The power of four Half-Step Transcendence ancient corpses, forcibly fused by the sword into a single river of black-gold sword energy.
The sword river stretched across the abyss.
Like a river that severed past and present, surging against the heavens.
The people of Great Xia watched, their hearts shaken.
Even though they knew this sword had a foul mouth.
Even though they had just been scared half to death by its "Haozi" outburst.
They had to admit in this moment.
This sword was truly powerful.
Powerful to the point of absurdity.
Martial God late stage?
No.
What it was now exceeded ordinary Martial God comprehension.
A Half-Step Transcendence Strange Artifact, with a single slash, could reroute mountains and rivers, turning ten thousand li of void into a sword scar.
The black-gold sword river crashed into that wisp of grey-white aura.
Then.
The sword river was gone.
Not exploded.
Not shattered.
But like spring snow meeting a blazing sun.
Silently dissolving.
The wisp of grey-white aura continued to descend.
Not fast.
Yet impossible to stop.
The New Emperor Sword's laughter froze.
"Hm?"
"That's got something to it."
It gripped its own true body with both hands, its face wilder than ever.
"Again!"
Boom!
The blade suddenly expanded, becoming a ten-thousand-zhang giant sword.
Upon the giant sword, the four ancient corpse patterns blazed completely.
Spiritual shrieks tore at souls.
Killing sharpness pierced through nothingness.
Flesh and blood essence fortified the sword's bones.
Realm of death's laws corroded heaven and earth.
The New Emperor Sword struck down with one slash.
"Open!"
This slash already bore a few traces of the Heaven-Opening Nine Swords.
Clearly, having stayed by Wang Hao's side for so long, cursing him daily, it had secretly learned a thing or two.
Wang Hao's eyes narrowed.
"Stealing my sword techniques?"
The New Emperor Sword roared: "What stealing? This is called studying!"
Wang Hao said: "Don't you have to pay for studying?"
The New Emperor Sword: "..."
You're pinned to the ground, and you're still thinking about collecting tuition?
It lost focus for a moment.
That wisp of grey-white breath landed upon the giant sword.
Clang.
A very soft sound.
Like a fingernail tapping against the rim of a porcelain bowl.
The next instant.
The ten-thousand-zhang giant sword was sent flying backwards.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The New Emperor Sword smashed through seven abyssal cliffs, shattered three underground spirit veins, and finally embedded itself deep within a distant black mountain wall.
The entire mountain wall collapsed in a thunderous roar.
Dust and smoke billowed skyward.
Everyone was frozen in shock.
The Demon Lord's Adam's apple bobbed.
"This..."
Ghost Granny said dryly, "That's quite a distance."
Yin Jiuyou added, "The form was pretty solid too."
Xue Wuhen said, "Just the landing wasn't too graceful."
Wang Hao nodded.
"A fair assessment."
From the distant ruins, the furious voice of the New Emperor Sword rang out.
"Shut up!"
Boom!
The mountain wall exploded.
The New Emperor Sword burst forth.
A distinct dent now marred the sword's body.
Half of the weapon spirit's face was swollen.
Though logically speaking, a weapon spirit shouldn't end up black-eyed and bruised.
But it indeed was black-eyed and bruised now.
One eye socket was ringed in darkness, and its mouth was twisted askew.
Everyone stared with odd expressions.
Ghost Granny whispered, "Do sinister weapon spirits even get swollen faces?"
Wang Hao said flatly, "Maybe its dignity is swollen."
The New Emperor Sword roared.
"Wang Hao!"
"Nobody's going to think you're dead if you keep your mouth shut!"
Wang Hao said calmly, "What do you call me?"
The New Emperor Sword wanted to keep talking tough.
But then it remembered that recording crystal—Wang Hao's scheming tricks.
So its voice paused, and suddenly grew a bit weak.
"Your... Your Majesty."
Wang Hao smiled.
"Good boy."
The New Emperor Sword trembled with rage.
This hurt more than the Emperor Corpse's finger strike.
But the Emperor Corpse gave it no chance to keep bickering.
Seated within the main coffin, it raised a second finger.
This time, the grey-white breath formed a palm print.
The palm print was small.
Only about a zhang in size.
Yet as the palm print descended, countless ancient phantoms materialized above the abyss.
Feudal lords kneeling in homage.
Stars collapsing and dying.
Myriad beings lying dead in the dust.
An imperial throne stained with blood.
Those were the residual dao marks of the Transcendent Realm.
Even though the Emperor Corpse was dead, even though it had been corrupted into a sinister entity, it still retained a terrifying trace of its living dao within.
The New Emperor Sword's expression changed.
But its mouth remained stubborn.
"I just wasn't ready earlier."
"This time, let me show you what true seriousness looks like!"
It spread its arms wide.
Black-gold sword light surged outward like a tide.
Four ancient corpse runes behind it materialized into four phantoms.
The Spirit Corpse let out an eerie laugh.
The Slaughter Corpse raised a broken spear.
The Flesh Corpse roared skyward.
The Death Domain Corpse unfurled a sea of netherworld.
These four ancient corpses had long been devoured.
Yet now they reappeared in the form of sword-servant phantoms.
Everyone's scalps tingled.
"It actually refined those four corpses into its own power."
The Demon Lord's eyes could barely hide their shock.
"This devouring evolution—it's too overbearing."
Wang Hao's gaze sharpened slightly as well.
The New Emperor Sword was indeed infuriating.
But it was also truly powerful.
Its growth rate was absurd even by Wang Hao's standards.
Given more time, it might genuinely become one of the most terrifying sinister weapons in all the heavens.
Provided.
It didn't get itself killed prematurely by being too sharp-tongued.
"Sword-Servant Four Aspects!"
The New Emperor Sword bellowed.
"Suppress!"
The four ancient corpse phantoms lunged at the Emperor Corpse's palm print simultaneously.
BOOM!
Black-gold sword light collided with the grey-white palm print.
At that moment, the entire Myriad Vault Abyss seemed to split in two.
Half black-gold.
Half grey-white.
Raging energy churned in all directions.
The Great Xia soldiers pinned to the ground were blasted into vomiting blood once more by the shockwaves.
Yet in their eyes, hope began to burn.
Did it hold?
The New Emperor Sword gritted its teeth, veins bulging on its face.
"Break for me!"
The four sword-servant phantoms ignited simultaneously.
At last, a crack appeared in the grey-white palm print.
The New Emperor Sword erupted in wild joy.
"HAHAHAHA!"
"You see that!"
"The Transcendent Realm isn't so impressive after all!"
Wang Hao's eyes shifted.
"Something's wrong."
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
or! A blessing for those who struggle with love, a guidebook for dating novices. Quickly match with your dream goddess! Complete walkthroughs earn rewards, and perfect walkthroughs unlock limited achievements!】 Shen Yi, an ordinary office worker, accidentally downloads a mini-game called Dating Simulator. The mini-game is simple: randomly search for dating targets, simulate dates, and receive rewards upon successful confession. Rewards include but are not limited to money, attributes, and skills. The higher the evaluation, the better the rewards, with perfect ratings unlocking mysterious achievements. Shen Yi plans to use this mysterious mini-game to continuously pursue targets and improve himself, making his life better and better. ...... However, after several successful walkthroughs, Shen Yi suddenly notices something strange - the targets he previously simulated dating seem to be searching for him in real life?
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
