At the other end of the grand hall, the fierce battle between the white-robed woman and Su Jiu had, at some point, come to a tacit halt.
Both women turned their gazes, calmly observing the conclusion of the nearby fight.
"A mere fifth-level Qi Refining cultivator, that Wang San was a fool. His death was inevitable," the white-robed woman remarked dismissively.
"Both at the same Qi Refining level, but Senior Brother’s methods were underhanded. It’s no surprise Wang San couldn’t match him," Su Jiu responded, her tone devoid of emotion.
No sooner had the words left her mouth than the two clashed again.
In an instant, sword light and demonic energy collided once more.
The white-robed woman moved with effortless grace, her sleeves fluttering like drifting snow.
Even as a soul, disadvantaged by her inability to wield artifacts, she could still form a sword with her fingers and slash casually—
Yet that single stroke unleashed a razor-sharp sword qi, effortlessly tearing through the protective demonic energy around Su Jiu.
Su Jiu was forced into retreat.
The spells she conjured shattered like brittle glass before the white-robed woman’s techniques, often disintegrating the moment they took form.
In barely fifty exchanges, a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of Su Jiu’s lips, her breathing growing erratic.
Su Ji: ???
What the hell?
His brows furrowed in confusion.
This was nothing like the scene he had foreseen.
In [Foreseeing Fate], Su Jiu had fought this woman to a standstill—back when she was only at the eighth level of Foundation Establishment.
Now, at the peak of Foundation Establishment, how was she being overwhelmed?
Had all those medicinal brews gone to waste?
Did she have no respect for his efforts?
Su Ji’s thoughts raced, and soon he grasped the crux of the matter.
Su Jiu’s cultivation had advanced, and her spiritual energy had indeed grown denser by several folds.
But battle was never just a contest of raw power.
Her techniques, her divine abilities, her combat experience—none had improved in the slightest.
She was merely executing the same moves as before, just with greater force behind them.
If it were a contest of sheer power, she might have held her own.
But in a battle of skill? The gains were negligible.
The outcome became increasingly clear.
Cornered, a flash of resolve ignited in Su Jiu’s eyes.
Behind her, a colossal phantom suddenly materialized—
A majestic snow-white fox, divine and awe-inspiring, though it bore only a single tail.
That massive tail, like a towering jade pillar, swept toward the white-robed woman with a howl that split the air.
For the first time, the white-robed woman’s expression shifted.
No longer the leisurely confidence of a cat toying with its prey.
"Burning your origin essence to forcibly awaken a bloodline ability?" she scoffed, disdain lacing her voice.
"You are impressive, I’ll grant you that."
"But do you know why all beneath the Nascent Soul realm are considered ants?"
"If I were to unleash a soul attack, how would you defend?"
The moment she finished speaking—
An indescribable, invisible force of terror enveloped Su Jiu.
The colossal celestial fox phantom let out a mournful cry upon contact, trembling violently as if on the verge of collapse.
Su Jiu herself stiffened as if struck by lightning, her face draining of all color.
Su Ji: ???
He glanced at the option still hovering above the white-robed woman’s head.
[Option 1: So many tricks, huh? 1111111 (Reward: Li Yao fails to seize a body. You are dragged back to the Love-Longing Sect by Su Jiu after having your limbs broken, forced to hand over medicinal brews daily.)]
Seriously?
Who’s the traitor here?
What’s this? A sudden power-up from going berserk?
Su Ji sighed.
Fine. He’d have to step in.
If this white-robed woman really intended to use a soul attack and turned Su Jiu into an idiot, then playing with an idiot would be…
Tch.
Who else would serve as his walking encyclopedia of cultivation?
Just camaraderie among sect siblings, that’s all.
Besides, Su Ji was genuinely curious—just how potent was this permanent option?
With a thought, he activated it.
[Permanent Option: Hahaha! Finally, someone worthy of being sacrificed to my blade! (Current kill count: 0)]
In that instant—
An indescribable, primal aura erupted from Su Ji’s body, exploding outward like a storm!
Both the white-robed woman mid-incantation and the struggling Su Jiu froze in place.
"Junior Sister, step back," Su Ji said calmly.
"Don’t worry. I’ll handle this."
Su Jiu, suppressing the turmoil in her meridians, stared at him in shock.
This feeling…
Yes!
She remembered now!
That time in her courtyard, when she had tried to refuse answering his questions—
That bone-chilling sensation, as if death itself were staring into her soul!
So it hadn’t been an illusion!
This… this was the true might of the "Great Xia Imperial Bloodline"?
To unleash such terrifying power while still at Qi Refining?
No wonder he dared to venture alone into this dragon’s den. No wonder he showed no fear even before a Nascent Soul remnant soul.
Slaying a Nascent Soul at Qi Refining?
Perhaps, in his eyes, it truly was no different from butchering chickens and dogs!
Understanding this, Su Jiu ceased her resistance. The celestial fox phantom behind her dissipated silently.
"Cough… Then be careful," she managed, wiping blood from her lips but still forcing out the warning.
"Call for me if you need help."
With that, she retreated dozens of yards, leaving the battlefield entirely to Su Ji.
As Su Jiu withdrew, the aura around Su Ji continued to climb.
Within the grand hall, spiritual energy churned violently, forming a visible vortex centered on him.
Even the scattered debris and dust on the ground began to swirl around his feet, drawn by the gathering force.
The white-robed woman was genuinely baffled now.
You call this Qi Refining, fifth level?
What kind of unheard-of secret art was this?
But as a former Nascent Soul cultivator, her mental fortitude far surpassed ordinary practitioners.
After the initial shock, she recalled the words Blue Ice Grass had once said to Wang San:
"He’s only at Qi Refining fifth level. No matter how strong, there are limits."
Ah…
Now she understood.
"Another bluff?" she mused aloud, her composure returning, tinged with mockery.
"Trying to scare me off like you did with Wang San?"
"Do you really think the same trick would work a second time?"
She had to admit, Su Ji was clever—but he underestimated her.
Why else would he stand there, gathering momentum instead of attacking?
Just like before, against Wang San!
This was nothing more than psychological warfare, an attempt to intimidate her into making a mistake.
Having seen through the ruse, the white-robed woman felt reassured.
"I’ll stand right here. Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance to strike," she taunted.
Su Ji’s expression turned odd.
"You sure about that?"
Seeing his hesitation, her smirk deepened.
"Absolutely."
"What’s wrong? Losing your nerve?"
Su Ji muttered under his breath, "Never seen someone so eager for this…"
No more words.
The spiraling vortex of spiritual energy before him compressed at a terrifying speed, condensing into—
A three-foot-long sword.
The blade had no physical form, woven entirely from pure spiritual energy, yet its edge radiated a lethality that chilled the soul.
Spear cultivator? Spell cultivator?
Never did I imagine I could moonlight as a sword cultivator.
Su Ji slowly extended his hand, gripping the spiritual energy sword hovering mid-air.
A surge of power—so immense it bordered on uncontrollable—flooded his palm, coursing through every vein and sinew.
This sensation…
This absolute, overwhelming force capable of crushing everything in its path…
It was intoxicating.
Su Ji lifted his gaze, fixing it on the white-robed woman standing not far away.
"With your meager life of three feet, I shall consecrate my peerless path of the sword!"
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
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?
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]
ial death, also known as "shè sǐ" in Chinese, generally refers to... well, never mind, it's not important. My name is Ye Cheng, and I'm about to experience social death firsthand. ... 【Host, your mission is to confess your love to the young lady of the Dongfang family, the current student council president, in a way that will be unforgettable for everyone at the freshman ceremony!】 【Host, assist the girl with a sprained ankle in front of you to reach the infirmary, and fulfill the wicked thoughts in your heart!】 【Host, act on your desires and punish the arrogant young lady before you mercilessly!】 【Host, follow your instincts—abandon shameful surrender, begging, or groveling, and ruthlessly criticize the domineering, ill-mannered young lady in front of you!】 【Host...】 Ye Cheng: "Here, here, you take this host role—I quit!" Wait, why is the girl with a sprained ankle the daughter of a mafia boss? And what kind of punishment method is this for the arrogant young lady? Also, who the heck said anything about wicked thoughts in my heart? Come out here, let’s settle this one-on-one!!! ... The haughty student council president, the scheming mafia princess, the fragile yandere young lady, the airheaded maid-in-waiting, the mixed-blood loli/...
