Li Shiyin's current speed was already very fast. It only took her a little over three hours to fly back from Danyang City to Dao Sword Sect.
She was still in Danyang City in the morning, and by the afternoon she had arrived at Dan Peak.
She passed through the protective mountain formation of Dao Sword Sect with her identity token, and when she looked up, she saw five tall mountains in front of her - Master Peak, Qi Peak, Sword Peak, Dan Peak, and another mountain whose purpose she did not know. Above these five mountain peaks, there was a sword giving off black and white sword lights, suspended in midair.
That was Lu Junxing's Mountain and River Sword, which had now become a permanent fixture of Dao Sword Sect. The disciples of Dao Sword Sect were already used to it, and the sword cultivators also took it as just another place to temper their sword qi.
"Lu Junxing!" Li Shiyin looked at the sword and could not help but admire it.
She had already climbed Sword Mountain and walked along Sword River, comprehending Lu Junxing's sword qi. Her own sword qi had greatly improved. But she was still far from being Lu Junxing's match.
More importantly, other than Lu Junxing, no one else dared to openly display their sword qi for others to study... not even Li Shiyin herself.
But this was Lu Junxing.
After admiring the Mountain and River Sword, Li Shiyin went straight to Dan Peak. She instinctively wanted to pass through the protective mountain formation of Dan Peak with her sword-shaped token, but at that moment, she suddenly remembered something...
It was about why her master did not take the initiative with her.
In her analysis, one reason was probably because she did not look at all girly.
Realizing this point, Li Shiyin hurriedly put away her token and landed on the ground. She could not rudely drop down from the air, that would be too unladylike. She should walk back in a gentle, graceful manner befitting a young lady.
In front of the mist formed by the protective mountain formation, Li Shiyin tidied herself up to look less unkempt.
Then she took out her token, opened up a passageway through the mist. Instead of rushing in eagerly like she used to, she imitated her sister-in-law's gait - head bowed demurely, rocking gently in lotus steps, taking tiny steps as she entered Dan Peak.
In the past, this passageway could barely capture her shadow as she sped through. But today, it took her nearly two whole minutes to traverse the long passageway.
She swayed with each dainty step, and exited the passageway onto the meadow of Dan Peak. Looking ahead...
In Li Shiyin’s imagination, the best scenario would be her master happening to be sitting under the old ginkgo tree reading, and he would coincidentally see her transformation, because her master was now the Chief Apothecary Elder and was very busy every day, so he might not necessarily be around.
The next best scenario would be her master not being present. She would take this as practice and do it again for him to see when he was around next time.
But she absolutely did not expect that not only would her master be present... No, not only was her master around, everyone else was around too!
Dan Peak was extremely lively today!!!
Of course Dan Peak's own people were there, but apart from them, Lu Junxing, Dong Zhongyuan, Liu Baiyun, Tian Wenjin, Yan Yi, Zhou Fu and others were also present.
At that moment, she saw over a dozen pairs of wide open eyes staring at her from the big group of people over there. They were so shocked they couldn't speak, their eyeballs trembling.
...The Female Sword Immortal of Dan Peak, was like this? There must be something wrong with the way the formation was activated!
For a time, Li Shiyin was also stunned.
The originally lively and bustling Dan Peak fell dead silent.
After a long while, it was still her kind master who timely stepped forward towards her, smiling and asking, "Shiyin, you're back?"
"Ah!"
So embarrassing!
Li Shiyin let out a loud cry, her face flushed crimson. She gave a start and rushed straight into Qin Ran's arms, burying herself completely inside, not wanting to speak or see anyone ever again...
She had lost all face.
There was one thing that needed pointing out - Dan Peak's protective mountain formation actually only obstructed the line of sight looking in from the outside, and did not block the view looking out from the inside. That meant those inside could see clearly outwards.
Li Shiyin had already been spotted by those inside Dan Peak from the moment she first flew over.
These people had originally been busy preparing food and items for the Lantern Festival, making tangyuan balls, cooking lotus seed soup, preparing fine wine and the like, when they inadvertently caught sight of Li Shiyin's performance.
They watched as Li Shiyin stopped in front of the protective mountain formation, contemplated carefully, landed upright, tidied her clothes, opened the passageway, and tottered in daintily like a young girl.
They had watched it from start to finish...
On this point, Li Shiyin figured it out herself before too long.
When she finally collected herself somewhat and sat eating the tangyuan balls her master made for her on the swing, she happened to glance up and saw the blue sky and white clouds...
"Master..." Looking at Qin Ran, she was tearful with grievance as she pouted, "I don't want to live anymore."
Her master handed her a bowl of lotus root pork rib soup, smiling, "Have this then!"
"Master, are you laughing at me too?" She asked aggrievedly, but still accepted the pork rib soup.
Qin Ran absolutely could not admit to that.
He took the tangyuan from Li Shiyin and said solemnly, "How could that be? My dear Shiyin is lovable and innocent, how could I bear to laugh at her?"
Li Shiyin looked at Qin Ran's serious expression, half believing, and after drinking a mouthful of the tasty soup, she was fully convinced.
Qin Ran also brought over a bowl of tangyuan to eat. He walked to Li Shiyin's side and curiously asked, "What made you think to walk like that?"
As soon as he asked, Li Shiyin was reminded again of the earlier scene. She gave a cold snort, glanced at Qin Ran, and said, "It's all because of you!"
However clever Qin Ran was, he could not figure out the connection. Bewildered, he said, "What does it have to do with me?"
"It's your fault!" Li Shiyin was too embarrassed to clearly explain the reasons behind it, only saying so.
Qin Ran looked at Li Shiyin, not wanting to argue further. He figured Li Shiyin must have picked up some strange ideas at home.
"Is everyone at home well?" He asked Li Shiyin.
"Yes, all very good," Li Shiyin nodded. "Li Shiwen got married, and they all have babies now."
"So soon?" Qin Ran was a little surprised. Li Shiwen's physique really was quite something. "Then you'll be little auntie now?"
"Mm-hmm..." said Li Shiyin. "I also gave the baby a sword qi seed, so he'll also be a sword cultivator in future, already at the Foundation Establishment realm when he's born."
"Not bad too." Qin Ran nodded. "If he intends to cultivate, he can come to Dan Peak in future too."
"Let's ask Li Shiwen about it later..." said Li Shiyin.
As she spoke, she thought again of the strange happenings at home, and her brows knitted together. "Actually some things feel odd too."
"How so?" Qin Ran asked.
Li Shiyin shook her head. "I can't say exactly, but it doesn't feel like a good thing."
Qin Ran reached out and ruffled her hair, smiling. "Scaring yourself for nothing. It's the festive new year, say some auspicious things..."

rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!

] [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!"

d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!

young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."