As the City Lord's voice faded, the crisp chiming of jade pendants rang out from behind the main dais.
A dozen dancers clad in colorful raiment, silver anklets adorning their feet, glided forth with lotus-light steps, filing out one by one.
Their figures were lithe and graceful, their long sleeves trailing elegantly. Every smile, every glance, exuded a perfect, captivating charm.
Melodious music filled the air.
The dancers twirled across the expansive stage, their colorful skirts blooming like flowers.
The commoners below erupted in cheers, the atmosphere reaching a fever pitch.
When did they ever get the chance to witness such a spectacle in their daily lives?
And the best part was, it was completely free!
On the secondary platform, the gentry and wealthy merchants held their teacups, watching with smiles. Occasionally, they whispered to their companions, critiquing the dancers' movements.
The City Lord of Anyang sat in the seat of honor, one hand gently stroking the warm jade at his waist, the other holding his tea. He wore a gentle smile, quietly enjoying the scene of peace and prosperity before him.
Everything seemed so harmonious, so wonderful.
As the music ended, the dancers bowed gracefully and retreated amidst thunderous applause.
The City Lord of Anyang slowly rose from his seat and walked to the front of the stage once more.
The cheers from the square grew even louder than before.
"Everyone, silence."
The City Lord raised his hand. As the crowd quieted, the smile on his face faded slightly, replaced by a look of complex melancholy.
"I am already fifty years old this year."
His voice was calm, as if chatting with an old friend.
"A mortal's life is so fleeting."
"I will not see another fifty years."
"And I am... unwilling to accept that."
The commoners below looked at each other in confusion, unsure why the City Lord had suddenly brought up such a topic.
"As you can all see, under my governance, Anyang City has flourished, and its people live and work in peace."
"On this matter, I can ask my conscience and feel no shame."
The crowd immediately voiced their agreement.
"The City Lord speaks the truth!"
"Without the City Lord, Anyang City would not be what it is today!"
The City Lord waved his hand, signaling for silence.
"To be honest with you all..."
His tone shifted, his voice growing heavy.
"In recent years, there have been some unsettling rumors regarding Anyang City."
"Today, I wish to clarify them."
"They are not rumors..."
"They are true."
"Ghostly spirits and monsters do indeed haunt Anyang City at night..."
"That is why I forbade any discussion of these matters... I feared it would lead to panic and make life unbearable for the people."
These words caused an uproar throughout the square!
The smiles on the faces of the previously joyous crowd froze instantly, replaced by sheer terror.
"That is why... over the past year, I have lived in seclusion, rarely appearing before you."
"It was not because I was neglecting my duties, but rather..."
He took a deep breath, a look of compassion for the suffering of the world appearing on his face.
"I once sought help from the Immortal Elders of the three nearby sects, but they..."
"Sigh... let us not speak of such vexing past events."
"The only one who answered me was myself."
"How could those high and mighty Immortals care about the lives and deaths of us mortals?"
These words instantly united the crowd in shared indignation.
"Exactly! Those Immortals accept our offerings on normal days, but when it matters, we can't count on a single one of them!"
"Only the City Lord truly cares about us common folk!"
The City Lord of Anyang looked at the agitated crowd, a gleam of imperceptible satisfaction flashing in his eyes.
"Therefore, I have decided to seek the supreme path of Immortality myself!"
"I will personally exterminate these demons and monsters, and restore peace and clarity to my Anyang City!"
His voice suddenly rose to a crescendo.
"As the saying goes, 'When one person achieves the Dao, their chickens and dogs ascend to Heaven!'"
"If I become an Immortal... all of you here in Anyang shall share in the blessings! You shall live long lives, free from all disease!"
These words were like a massive boulder crashing into a calm lake, stirring up a thousand giant waves.
Longevity! Immunity to all diseases!
What tempting words these were!
The breathing of every commoner below quickened; the fear in their eyes was replaced by a fanatical yearning.
The City Lord of Anyang took in their reactions, the smile on his face growing increasingly eerie.
"However... the path to Immortality is not easily trodden."
"I wonder if the elders and folks present..."
His voice took on a bewitching, magical quality.
"Would be willing to offer a meager contribution... to aid in my ascension?"
The moment his words fell, the clear sky suddenly darkened.
The midday sun was completely blotted out by a mass of dark clouds that appeared from nowhere.
The entire city of Anyang was instantly plunged into gloom.
The fanaticism on the faces of the commoners turned to shock and confusion.
They looked up at the sky, unable to comprehend what was happening.
Just then.
A streak of azure light tore through the murky sky.
This was the moment Su Ji had been waiting for.
He was speeding towards them at an unimaginable velocity.
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.”
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
