"Boss, still delivering them to that old Taoist?"
"No shit. He's willing to pay, and we've got no use for these two little brats anyway."
"But that old lunatic is no joke... last time Liu got chopped to pieces by him..."
"What's a couple of deaths matter? Making money is what counts! Otherwise, do you dare take them into town to sell? I call this turning trash into treasure! Keep your eyes peeled and don't screw around!" The leader's tone was icy.
The guy who asked the question glanced back at Xu Xiaoya, a hint of pity in his eyes. "Speaking of which, I wonder what happened to that family of three we sent over last time."
"Mind your own damn business!" the leader snapped. "Let me warn you—that old bastard has some tricks. Stay sharp, or you'll lose your life for nothing. Damn it, if I could beat him, I'd have killed him long ago..."
With that final remark, the others fell silent.
"Gousheng... the people they're talking about sound really mean. Where are they taking us?" Xu Xiaoya whispered, her voice trembling with tears.
Fang Zhiyi shook his head. "No idea. But it seems like things are getting interesting."
"You two, move it! Stop whispering!" The man in front yanked the rope, jerking Fang Zhiyi forward. Fang shot him a cold glare, and the man couldn't help but break out in goosebumps.
"What are you looking at?!"
Fang Zhiyi ignored him and kept walking, a sudden realization hitting him. He turned to glance at the quietly crying Xu Xiaoya. Could this be the power of being a villain? Getting ambushed by bandits just walking down the road—what were the odds?
"Fifth! What's going on?" the leader called back.
Fifth glanced at Fang Zhiyi before replying, "Nothing. Just telling them to pick up the pace."
The night roads were already hard to traverse, let alone mountain paths. This crew was obviously no good. They led the bound Fang Zhiyi and Xu Xiaoya for most of the night, finally stopping at a rundown Taoist temple.
Seeing the temple, Fang Zhiyi felt a twinge of nostalgia. He kind of missed temples, actually. But this one looked eerie and sinister, practically reeking of malevolent energy.
The bandit leader walked up and knocked on the door. Soon, the door creaked open, and a withered old face peered out. Even Fang Zhiyi was startled—the old man had huge bags under his eyes, like a toad spirit reincarnated.
He watched as the leader pointed at him and Xu Xiaoya, muttering something. The old Taoist's gaze swept over them. After a moment, he tossed out a pouch that landed with the clink of gold and silver.
The leader's face lit up with glee. Bowing as he picked up the pouch, he ordered his men to bring the two over.
Fang Zhiyi was shoved forward again. He didn't mind, but behind him, he heard Xu Xiaoya's soft cry.
He whipped around, and in a flash, a shadow swooped past him like a large bird. The old Taoist, who had been standing inside the doorway, had appeared right in front of Xu Xiaoya. A scream tore through the air, startling even a few birds into flight.
Fifth was rolling on the ground, clutching his spurting arm. His screams left Xu Xiaoya frozen in shock.
Everyone else was stunned too. Fifth was a known lecher, and he'd just used the chance to untie Xu Xiaoya to grope her—now the old Taoist had chopped off his hand.
Some of the bandits instinctively drew their rusty blades, but the leader shouted them down.
The old Taoist stared darkly at the leader, who swallowed hard. "Sorry, old immortal. We're leaving right now, right now! What are you standing around for? Help this useless piece of trash up! Let's go!"
He crept past the old Taoist, clutching the pouch of gold. The old man watched them disappear into the mountain path, then turned to look at Fang Zhiyi and Xu Xiaoya, a glint of satisfaction in his eyes.
"Follow me inside."
Fang Zhiyi didn't hesitate. He gave Xu Xiaoya a nod and stepped forward.
Given the move the old Taoist had just pulled, Fang knew he couldn't take him on yet.
The temple was just as shabby inside, as if no one lived there. The old Taoist led them to a low, cramped room. "You'll stay here. Tomorrow, your master will initiate you into the Way!"
Xu Xiaoya was still shaken by what had happened outside. Fang Zhiyi nodded and replied, "Yes, Master!"
The old Taoist looked at him, approval gleaming in his eyes.
After he left, Xu Xiaoya sat on the edge of the bed, still trembling. Only when Fang Zhiyi took her hand did she gradually calm down.
"Gousheng! He, he, he just..."
"I saw it."
"Is he going to kill us?"
"I don't know."
"What does he mean by 'master'?"
Fang Zhiyi looked at the girl and sighed. "He's crazy. He probably thinks he bought us with money, so we're his disciples now."
"But I don't want to be his disciple," Xu Xiaoya said, on the verge of tears.
Fang Zhiyi comforted her, "Don't worry. Let's see how things play out first. Seeking immortality, right? This counts as seeking immortality."
The night was quiet. Xu Xiaoya had spent the past few days sleeping in the wild, and after two more shocks today, she fell asleep on the bed quickly. But Fang Zhiyi frowned.
This world was far more dangerous than he'd imagined.
Corrupt officials, parents selling their own daughters, widows trafficking young boys and girls for a living, monsters disguised as immortals—and now this crazy Taoist popping out of nowhere.
The worst part was that his past experience was useless here. This world had no spiritual energy, and all the cultivation techniques he'd memorized were worthless.
"What good are you, really?" Fang Zhiyi muttered, looking at Xiaoxiaohei.
Xiaoxiaohei just stared back at him.
After a long moment, Xiaoxiaohei finally seemed to connect, its eyes glowing. "Transmigrator detected!"
Fang Zhiyi had just lain down in his clothes, but he shot upright.
"Don't talk. You're sharper than your dad..."
He didn't finish.
"Transmigrator deceased." Xiaoxiaohei's eyes went dim.
Fang Zhiyi was stunned. A transmigrator arrived and got killed right away? What kind of monster world was this?
Did Little Hei really think this world would make him safer? Where had things gone wrong?
Meanwhile, in a twisted space, Little Hei was rubbing its belly. "I hope Fang Zhiyi doesn't screw around... If he just keeps his head down, he should be fine. After all, in that world, the more flashy a transmigrator is, the faster they die." Suddenly, it picked up a signal from its duplicate and darted toward a passage.
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!
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
