Year 876 of the Qian Calendar.
A new batch of "criminals" was being escorted.
All were thrown to the border adjoining the Ten Thousand Mountains.
The crowd was listless, their faces ashen, like a dried-up well long deprived of rain, devoid of any vitality.
Moments later.
Driven by the instinct to survive.
The crowd began to move forward, establishing a new settlement in the remote and desolate frontier.
...
Year 880 of the Qian Calendar.
The initial batch of "criminals" had firmly rooted themselves in Qingniu Town, settling down despite the annual harassment by demons, managing to barely survive.
Close to the Ten Thousand Mountains.
This proximity was both perilous and resourceful.
Warriors and merchants frequently traveled back and forth, staying in Qingniu Town while exploring the edges of the Ten Thousand Mountains for herbs and minerals.
The residents of Qingniu Town benefited from this.
A couple, living a stable life, had their first child.
They named him Zhang Tieniu.
The couple's thinking was simple: Tieniu, Iron Bull, sounds like something easy to raise.
...
Year 882 of the Qian Calendar.
Father Zhang, the family's pillar, died in the winter demon tide, leaving Mother Zhang to raise Aniu alone.
Demons were fierce.
Bloodthirsty and bone-devouring.
The slightly improved Qingniu Town instantly turned into a living hell.
By the following spring, the town's population had halved.
Some wanted to flee, but there were always border troops stationed at the gates leading to the heart of the Qian Dynasty.
If one were to escape to other towns along the border.
It would be better to stay in the familiar Qingniu Town.
...
Year 887 of the Qian Calendar.
Aniu was 7 years old.
He stood under the mottled jujube tree, his skin dark and sallow, a testament to years of running under the sun.
"Mother, I'm hungry..."
Aniu clutched his stomach.
Habitually seeking food from his mother.
Soon, Mother Zhang brought a bowl of dumpling soup, advising Aniu to drink slowly.
"I know, Mother!"
Aniu drank heartily, licking his lips with satisfaction, his expression particularly simple and honest.
"Being able to eat is a blessing, being able to eat is a blessing..."
Mother Zhang laughed heartily.
Later on.
Aniu's appetite shrank.
Not because he couldn't eat, but because he dared not eat.
In Qingniu Town, where food was precious, being able to eat was never a blessing but a subtle sin.
Aniu discovered this.
Due to his large appetite, Mother Zhang became afraid to eat, only having a shallow layer at the bottom of her bowl.
Aniu didn't like this.
He really didn't like it.
...
Year 895 of the Qian Calendar.
Aniu was 15 years old.
He was quite foolish, his mother said so, everyone said so, and Aniu also believed it.
As Aniu grew, his physique became robust.
He became an even bigger eater, often feeling guilty and remorseful because of it.
Fortunately, besides eating, Aniu had another advantage: farming.
Aniu was very skilled at farming.
Even in the barren frontier land, his cultivation yielded good harvests.
People praised and congratulated Aniu's mother.
Saying that the name "Iron Bull" was truly fitting.
"Hehe, hehe..." Aniu stood by, laughing foolishly, scratching his head, unsure of what to say, while his mother, beaming with joy, greeted the neighbors.
...
Year 898 of the Qian Calendar.
Including Qingniu Town, the border towns suffered a more terrifying demon tide.
For some reason.
Every year, the demon tides grew increasingly terrifying.
The flow of warriors and merchants began to dwindle.
Avoiding being swept into the demon tide and losing their lives.
The people of Qingniu Town could only remain living on the border, with no way out.
Year 900 of the Qianli Era.
An Niu was 20 years old.
He had become a robust young man, with a simple-minded look and a hint of foolishness. His thick eyebrows and big eyes, along with his dark complexion, made him appear quite honest.
This year, An Niu encountered something strange.
Upon learning of the officials' wanted notices, he hurried to inform Elder Brother Xu.
Yet, from inside Elder Brother Xu's house, he heard the loud scurrying sounds of rats.
An Niu admired him greatly: "Elder Brother Xu is amazing, even the rats in his house are impressive. Such noisy rats must be really fat."
An Niu craved rat meat.
...
An Niu was clumsy.
He knew he didn't understand the words of the scholarly teachers, nor the obscure martial arts techniques.
But An Niu felt lucky.
Because of Xu Xi's presence, An Niu was finally able to eat his fill.
The demon meat was somewhat sour and tough to chew, yet it filled the emptiness in his stomach, allowing An Niu to feel the weight of fullness for the first time.
Especially during the winter demon tides.
Those were among the few days An Niu could eat his fill.
An Niu liked this, wanting such a life to continue, until that raging fire burned down Qingniu Town, where he grew up, destroying his "home."
"An Niu, let's go."
Elder Brother Xu called from ahead, extending his hand towards An Niu.
"Where to?"
An Niu, carrying his aged mother, looked bewildered.
"To eat, to live."
An Niu was very simple-minded; he didn't understand what it meant to "live," but he knew "eating" very well.
So.
An Niu, carrying his elderly mother, followed Elder Brother Xu's lead along with the other townspeople of Qingniu Town.
...
They formed the Survival Army, counterattacked the Great Qian Dynasty, occupied several counties, and expanded into multiple states and prefectures.
An Niu saw the real world.
He saw bare bones and rivers of blood.
The first time he stood on the battlefield, he was as helpless as a child, relying entirely on Xu Xi to lead him through.
"I'm sorry, Elder Brother Xu... I've caused you trouble..."
Time really flew by.
So fast that An Niu didn't think deeply about it.
It was just year after year of eating, and time passed by quickly.
An Niu was very simple-minded, but he knew that as long as he kept up with Elder Brother Xu's pace, he could do his part.
That was the "secret" his mother taught him day and night.
Year 909 of the Qianli Era.
An Niu was 29 years old.
An Niu's mother passed away.
She didn't die of hunger, nor was she killed or died of illness.
Instead, she passed away peacefully in her sleep, never to wake again.
"Mother..." On that day, the daylight was particularly gloomy, with overcast clouds covering the sky, yet not a drop of rain fell.
An Niu's tall figure appeared particularly small in the gloomy weather.
He knelt dazedly in front of his mother's grave.
Too clumsy to speak.
He didn't know what to say, nor could he say anything, only staring blankly at the tombstone, then heavily kowtowing.
Once, twice, three times.
His forehead bled, mixing with his glistening tears.
...
Year 910 of the Qianli Era.
Xu Xi began to act. He led the entire Survival Army, heading beyond the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, attempting to forge a true path to survival.
An Niu went along.
He remained clumsy, his simple mind unchanged by his mother's passing.
Yet, as he watched Xu Xi's increasingly weary figure,
An Niu had an idea.
Or rather, an impulse.
"Mother is gone, I can't, I can't let Elder Brother Xu..."
Ah Niu did something foolish, but he was a fool to begin with, and fools doing foolish things is only natural.
He decisively broke away from the survival army's ranks.
Running in the opposite direction.
The mountain trees on either side flew past his peripheral vision, his rapid breaths driving his legs forward, Ah Niu ran towards the largest demon, even though his body trembled with instinctive fear, he kept moving forward.
He was so happy.
Happy to the point where he could barely see anything.
Turning into darkness, turning into blood, turning into his mother's call.
"Ah Niu, come home for dinner."
Earth, Yanshan City, Ah Niu snapped back to reality at his mother's call.
"Coming, Mom!"
He turned his head and answered loudly.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
invincible power, Gu Changge transmigrates into a fantasy world, bound to a sign-in system that grants him cultivation rewards and various peerless treasures daily. While others struggle desperately to break through their cultivation realms, he has long since reached the pinnacle of the Great Dao, becoming a reclusive Emperor whose true strength even he himself cannot fathom. Originally planning to lie low and retire peacefully on Purple Bamboo Peak, the system suddenly issues a new task — take on disciples. With no other choice, Gu Changge casually picks up a few disciples: The eldest disciple, born with a War God Constitution, is thrown a copy of "War God Stratagems" by him, and ends up conquering the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, becoming a peerless War God who sweeps across the cosmos. The second disciple, possessing a Chaos Sword Body, can break all techniques with a single sword, his swordsmanship unmatched throughout history. He points his sword at the heavens: "My master said, the sword and the man stand together. If the sword perishes... my master will give me another one." The third disciple, a reborn Empress who returns to her throne, her elegance and grace overshadowing all beings. And without anyone noticing, his own sect, the Qingxuan Sect, has become the number one sect on the continent. Looking at these unbelievably formidable disciples, Gu Changge, holding the "Primordial Purple Qi" he just signed in for, falls into deep thought: — Wasn't this supposed to be a peaceful retirement? How did I become the ultimate master?!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
