The pawn shop was dimly lit.
Su Ji tossed the two corpses into the opening beneath the counter.
For a long while, there was no response.
Unlike the swift and decisive reaction when he had previously pawned magical artifacts.
Soon after, Su Jiu followed him inside.
Just as she was about to speak—
Thud.
The two cultivators' corpses were spat back out, completely untouched, landing heavily on the floor.
Clearly, the pawn shop didn’t recognize the value of these corpses.
Su Jiu stepped forward, offering a gentle consolation.
"Senior Brother, maybe we should just let it go. My jade—"
Su Ji ignored her entirely, his gaze fixed on the corpses as he muttered to himself.
At this point, forget about jade pendants.
Even if she offered him her delicate feet to play with, he wouldn’t spare a glance.
He was desperate.
"I refuse to believe this."
He bent down, grabbed one of the corpses again, and hurled it back inside.
A moment later.
Thud.
The corpse was spat out once more.
Su Ji’s temper flared, and he kept throwing it in.
"Take it! Why won’t you take it? Are you discriminating?"
"Aren’t these perfect materials for a Ten Thousand Souls Banner?"
"How are materials for magical artifacts worthless?"
The corpse was tossed in again, and this time, the pawn shop seemed to hesitate—the pause lasted a few breaths longer than before.
Su Ji’s heart leaped. There was hope.
Yet, in the end, the corpse was still rejected.
Undeterred, Su Ji shoved it back in, muttering insistently.
"Even if you don’t make a Ten Thousand Souls Banner, you can still use them for alchemy! Their essence-blood hasn’t even been drained—how are alchemy materials worthless?"
"And even if you don’t use them for alchemy—"
Before he could continue his reasoning—
Ding.
A crisp sound rang out.
A single golden Heavenly Dao Treasure Coin rolled out from the opening.
Su Jiu: "…"
Silently, she tucked the jade pendant she had just pulled out back into her robes.
Watching Su Ji’s face, which was now etched with an "I knew it" expression, a thought sprouted in Su Jiu’s mind.
At some point, I’ll need to properly guide this senior brother of mine.
Otherwise, if this trend continues, Su Ji will still end up falling into demonic cultivation.
What’s the point of me being his guardian then?
Su Ji had no time to dwell on Su Jiu’s complicated thoughts.
He immediately tossed the other corpse inside.
Ding.
Another Heavenly Dao Treasure Coin.
From there, the process became monotonous.
After making three trips and hauling in six corpses, Su Ji decided the back-and-forth was too inefficient.
He gathered all the remaining corpses in one place.
Using some ordinary robes stripped from the dead cultivators, he tied a few together as a base, then began piling the rest on top.
Soon, a small mountain of corpses stood before him.
Su Ji dragged the entire "mountain" to the pawn shop’s entrance.
One corpse in, one coin out.
Before long, he had collected forty-seven Heavenly Dao Treasure Coins.
Added to his original seven hundred and sixty, his total now stood at eight hundred and seven.
As for why six were missing—
Well, some of the cultivators had been too thorough, reducing their opponents to ashes, leaving nothing behind.
Satisfied, Su Ji returned to the stall with his coins.
He tossed eight hundred onto the counter.
An invisible barrier shattered instantly.
Su Ji finally obtained the radiant, multicolored [Fate-Shattering Stone].
Now, he was left with only seven coins.
But then came a crucial question.
Which Fate should he enhance?
Su Ji’s consciousness sank into his list of Fates.
His first instinct was to choose the mysterious black Fate—[Fate’s Gaze].
But hesitation quickly followed.
The Heavenly Dao had set up a layered illusion in the second trial, clearly targeting him.
He had only broken through thanks to [Fate’s Gaze] serving as an anchor.
If he used the [Fate-Shattering Stone] to enhance it, would it expose his trump card completely, inviting even fiercer persecution from the Heavenly Dao?
This was a risk he couldn’t ignore.
After a long internal struggle, Su Ji decided to take the gamble.
Fortune favors the bold.
If [Fate’s Gaze] could be so easily detected and destroyed by the Heavenly Dao, then it wasn’t worth much to begin with.
Focusing his will on the [Fate-Shattering Stone], he issued the command.
"Enhance [Fate’s Gaze]."
But the stone merely trembled faintly before falling still.
A cold message echoed in his mind.
[Please select a valid Fate as the enhancement target.]
Su Ji blinked, then frowned in thought.
So, [Fate’s Gaze] is even more unique than I imagined.
Since his first choice was off the table, he moved to his second-best option.
His attention shifted to the colorful Fate that had served him well so far.
"Enhance [Romantic Choices]."
Another prompt followed.
[Enhancement failed. Target Fate has already reached its highest tier and cannot be improved further.]
If this doesn’t work, and that doesn’t work…
This isn’t a multiple-choice question—it’s a fill-in-the-blank!
Finally, Su Ji’s consciousness settled on the only remaining viable option.
The red Fate that had truly revealed its potential after binding with Su Jiu.
[Jade-Like Beauty, Dragon-Like Spear].
The other Fate, [Spear Techniques Are Still Techniques], wasn’t even worth considering.
Its tier was too low, and it would benefit indirectly from the spear-enhancing effects anyway.
"Enhance [Jade-Like Beauty, Dragon-Like Spear]."
The [Fate-Shattering Stone] in Su Ji’s palm erupted with dazzling radiance, its prismatic glow surging into his brow.
An indescribable, profound enlightenment exploded in his mind.
Su Jiu stood quietly nearby, observing Su Ji’s actions.
Her fox-like eyes appeared calm, but her thoughts were anything but.
This is strange.
Su Ji’s hesitation earlier had lasted far too long.
The [Fate-Shattering Stone] had a straightforward effect—it elevated one Fate by a single tier.
Based on her understanding of Su Ji, he should only have possessed one initial purple-tier Fate and the red-tier Fate he gained after binding with her.
Logically, he should have immediately chosen to enhance the higher-tier red Fate without a second thought.
Yet he had deliberated for so long.
Unless…
He had another Fate—one that was at least orange-tier, possibly even red.
As Su Jiu’s mind raced, Su Ji’s aura suddenly shifted.
Ignoring her probing gaze, Su Ji eagerly checked his updated Fate.
The original red-tier Fate had transformed entirely.
[Fate: Jade-Like Beauty, Spear Shatters the Dao]
[Fate Tier: Prismatic]
[Effect 1: Requires manual binding to a female target. The higher the target’s "Jade" attribute, the greater the "Spear" attribute bonus you receive. Additionally, there is a chance to comprehend the target’s "Divine Abilities."]
[Effect 2: Allows for dual binding. Your cultivation progress and Dao insights will also nourish the bound target, who may receive breakthroughs for their most critical bottlenecks (must be manually triggered, limited to once every seven days).]
[Effect 3: When the bound target is nearby, all spear-based attacks gain "Spellbreak" and "Illusionbreak" properties.]
[Current Bound Target: Su Jiu]
[Current Jade Attribute: 99]
[Current Spear Attribute Bonus: 9999%]
The corner of Su Ji’s lips curled upward—so wide that not even a schoolgirl’s skirt could flatten it.
This is the power of a Prismatic-tier Fate?
[Romantic Choices] had always been a bit roundabout, lacking direct impact.
But this one?
Brutally straightforward.
Not only did it amplify his combat power, but it also bound his interests with the target on a deeper level.
Su Ji could directly reap the benefits.
As for whether the target could gain anything, that depended entirely on Su Ji's mood.
If Su Ji wasn’t afraid of death, all he had to do was spread the word.
Countless "Jade Maidens" in Great Xia would clamor to bind themselves to his "Great Spear,"
eager to experience the thrill of breaking through their bottlenecks.
Now, it was perfect.
The "Root Protector" couldn’t even run away if they wanted to.
Su Jiu watched the barely concealed glee on Su Ji’s face, growing even more certain of her suspicions.
She cleared her throat and spoke in a calm tone, "Senior Brother, it’s time for us to leave the secret realm."
Su Ji only had seven treasure coins left, while even the cheapest stall required ten.
He couldn’t afford a thing.
The secret realm’s time limit was also about to end.
"Don’t rush," he said.
"I haven’t finished spending my money yet."
"You can’t afford anything," Su Jiu pointed out.
"I can, I can," Su Ji insisted.
Then, Su Jiu watched as Su Ji weighed the dull, lightless black stone in his hand before heading straight for the pawnshop.
Su Jiu: ???
She didn’t even want to witness the process.
Her whole being—no, her entire fox spirit—felt a little dazed.
By the time she snapped out of it,
Su Ji had already returned.
He lined up ten Heavenly Treasure coins on a stall’s counter.
[Flowing Fire Art]—acquired!
It was a shame it wasn’t written in Han characters like in the illusion,
but… fate had brought them together.
Take it!
Take it!
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
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!"
ither go to a cultivation world where a single sword strike can defeat ten thousand enemies. Or they travel back to historical dynasties to alter history and wield imperial power. At the very least, they'd go back a few decades to get rich using their future knowledge and build a harem. Who the hell would transmigrate here!
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
