The Zhao family residence.
The family head, Zhao Wuji, a middle-aged man whose temples were already stained with the frost of time, paced anxiously back and forth in the secret chamber.
Exhausting the entire clan's strength to make a massive gamble on an illusory future.
This decision was his to make.
If it succeeded, the Zhao family would soar into the heavens, shedding their lowly status as the head overseers of mining slaves.
If it failed, the Zhao family would be completely erased from the Canghuang Realm.
The men he sent out were like pebbles tossed into the ocean, not even making a splash.
Those high and mighty True Immortals all had eyes on the top of their heads; why would they ever pay attention to the "request" of a third-rate minor family?
Just as Zhao Wuji was on the verge of despair, a piece of news was delivered to his desk through the most secretive of channels.
Tingfeng Pavilion.
This name made Zhao Wuji's heart suddenly clench.
As the largest intelligence organization in the Canghuang Realm, and with a True Immortal standing guard over it, Tingfeng Pavilion's power was unfathomable.
And the content of the news made his breathing catch.
The Pavilion Master of Tingfeng was suspected of having cash flow problems and was currently selling off properties.
He looked at the list of True Immortals in his hand; almost every name had an X drawn next to it.
Finally, he sighed.
In the end, his family's scale was just too small.
It wasn't a matter of him choosing who would be the 'witness', but rather seeing who was willing to be this 'witness'.
A flash of mad gambling spirit crossed his eyes.
Wealth and honor are sought amidst danger!
He did not make a sound, but instead mobilized a hidden piece the family had cultivated for a century and never once used.
This hidden piece lurked on the periphery of Tingfeng Pavilion; their status was not high, but they could come into contact with some people in the core circle.
He needed to test the waters.
Carefully, he submitted a calling card, not to the Pavilion Master, but to the green-clad maid who never left the Pavilion Master's side.
...
"Pavilion Master."
The green-clad maid walked into the study, holding a delicate calling card.
The Pavilion Master of Tingfeng did not even bat an eyelid, still frowning and sighing at a pile of account books.
"The Zhao family wishes to invite you for a chat. They say they have... a mutually beneficial business proposition to discuss with you."
The maid's voice carried a hint of uncertainty.
Hearing this, the Pavilion Master of Tingfeng finally lifted his head from the account books.
He took the calling card, glanced at it, and then let out a laugh of utmost contempt.
"The Zhao family?"
He casually tossed the calling card onto the table, as if it were something filthy.
"I'm very busy. I don't have time."
"Refuse them."
Two words, crisp and clean, revealing a lofty arrogance.
The maid was stunned for a moment, but still bowed and accepted the order.
"Yes."
...
When Tingfeng Pavilion's reply reached the Zhao family.
Zhao Wuji did not get angry; instead... he smiled.
His refined eyes erupted with an unprecedented brilliance.
"Hahaha!"
The butler beside him was full of confusion.
"Family Head, this Pavilion Master of Tingfeng is giving us no face at all. We..."
"You don't understand."
Zhao Wuji waved his hand, the smile on his face growing even thicker.
"If he had politely accepted the calling card, that would be abnormal."
A truly high and mighty True Immortal would never pay attention to the request of an ant.
"Prepare the carriage!"
Zhao Wuji flicked his sleeves. His refined temperament vanished, replaced by a desperate, point-of-no-return resolve.
"I will bring the family's foundational wealth and pay a visit in person!"
...
The headquarters of Tingfeng Pavilion was located on an immortal mountain suspended above a sea of clouds.
When the flying ship Zhao Wuji rode arrived before the mountain gate, he was still deeply shocked by the sight before him.
He forcefully suppressed the turmoil in his heart, presented his calling card, and announced his identity.
This time, he was not directly refused.
A green-clad disciple led him into a reception room located in a side hall.
"The Pavilion Master is currently meeting a guest. Family Head Zhao, please wait here for a moment."
After the disciple finished speaking, he turned and left, leaving behind only a pot of warm, clear tea.
Zhao Wuji looked at the pot of tea, then at this reception room with its simple, even crude furnishings. The last trace of doubt in his heart completely vanished into thin air.
It seemed Tingfeng Pavilion really was penniless.
Even their hospitality was this perfunctory.
He calmed his mind, sat cross-legged, and began to wait.
This wait.
Lasted for three days.
For three days, no one else came to this reception room.
He hadn't touched a drop of that pot of tea, which had long since gone cold.
Was this a display of dominance?
Or was that Pavilion Master of Tingfeng testing his patience, wearing down his spirit?
He could not leave.
Once he left, all his previous efforts would be wasted.
Just as he was about to lose his composure.
Creak—
The door to the reception room was finally pushed open from the outside.
It was that same green-clad maid.
She bowed slightly to Zhao Wuji.
"Family Head Zhao, the Pavilion Master invites you in."
Zhao Wuji let out a long breath of stale air and stood up.
He straightened his robes and followed behind the maid, passing through layers of corridors.
Finally, they stopped before a quaint and elegant study.
The maid pushed open the door and bowed to the inside.
"Pavilion Master, Family Head Zhao has arrived."
After speaking, she stepped aside, gesturing for Zhao Wuji to enter.
Zhao Wuji stepped inside.
Inside the study, sandalwood incense curled upward.
A handsome man wearing a moon-white robe, who looked even a few years younger than him, was sitting leisurely in a wide armchair, holding a scroll and reading it with great relish.
On the desk in front of him sat a plate of freshly cut immortal fruits, overflowing with spiritual energy.
Where was the slightest appearance of someone overwhelmed with anxiety?
Zhao Wuji's heart skipped a beat.
Was the intelligence fake?
The Pavilion Master of Tingfeng put down the scroll and looked up. His bright eyes, carrying a hint of playful amusement, looked him up and down.
"Family Head Zhao?"
His voice was flat, yet it carried a piercing power that seemed to see through everything.
Zhao Wuji hurriedly bowed in greeting.
"Zhao Wuji pays his respects to the Pavilion Master."
The Pavilion Master of Tingfeng did not tell him to rise, nor did he invite him to sit.
He merely used his slender fingers to lightly tap the tabletop. The rhythmic sound it made was like a heavy hammer, smashing ruthlessly against Zhao Wuji's heart.
After a long time.
The Pavilion Master of Tingfeng's somewhat lazy voice slowly rang out.
"Now, you may speak."
He picked up an immortal fruit as crimson as blood, brought it to his lips, and took a light bite, its juices overflowing.
"Exactly what kind of 'minor matter' is worth your Zhao family risking everything, and worth you lingering here, refusing to leave?"
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】
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!"
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!
