The first round concluded swiftly. Aside from Shen Xiaoxiao, whom Fang Zhiyi had excluded from participating, everyone else took their turn—only to be instantly defeated.
Fang Zhiyi called them over and scolded them one by one.
"Master, may I... take my leave now?" Ren Xuan asked cautiously.
Fang Zhiyi waved him off. "Go on, but remember—no, wait, come back in a month. Sparring, you know."
"A month later?" Ren Xuan tensed. "This sparring business is..." He truly didn’t want to relive the feeling of being under the constant scrutiny of a Nascent Soul expert.
Fang Zhiyi grinned. "I think your suggestion for regular sparring is excellent. From now on, come every month. If you don’t, I’ll come find you."
"But, Master—"
"Scram!" With that single word, the crushing pressure of a Nascent Soul cultivator surged forth. Ren Xuan coughed up blood, clutching his chest as he staggered back.
"Senior Brother!" Shen Wanwan cried out in alarm, rushing forward with the others.
"Quit dawdling. Do you have any idea how busy I am?" Fang Zhiyi’s cheerful expression darkened in an instant.
Not daring to argue, Shen Wanwan and her group slunk away in defeat.
Fang Zhiyi then had his disciples change into matching uniforms. After inspecting them, he nodded in satisfaction.
"Now, it’s time for your second lesson."
"Master, we haven’t even had the first one yet," Jiang Leng pointed out.
Fang Zhiyi shot him a look. "The first lesson was just now—learning how pathetically weak you are."
The disciples fell silent.
"Did you cultivate immortality just to be trampled on by others?"
"No," Jiang Leng shook his head.
"Louder!"
"NO!"
"Good." Fang Zhiyi nodded approvingly. "Understanding your own limitations is a crucial lesson."
Jiang Leng nearly wept. Master, you didn’t have to let us get beaten up just to prove that. We already knew how weak we were.
Another disciple, however, perked up. "Master, does that mean we can become powerful cultivators too?" At those words, all the disciples turned hopeful eyes toward Fang Zhiyi.
Fang Zhiyi paused, then shook his head. "With your talent? Not a chance. The second lesson is about how to make the most of your weakness."
He stood up. "I’ll demonstrate now. Follow me."
Baffled, the disciples trailed behind him. Fang Zhiyi glanced back at them—bruised and battered, though thankfully without internal injuries, despite their opponents holding back.
Meanwhile, the Sect Leader was listening to Shen Wanwan’s report. Upon hearing that his disciple had been injured by Master Qingxu, he immediately prepared to demand an explanation—only for Fang Zhiyi to arrive first, leading a group of disciples.
Before the Sect Leader could react, Fang Zhiyi pointed at his disciples. "Sect Leader! Look at them! My disciples were beaten black and blue in a friendly spar. You must uphold justice for us!"
The Sect Leader’s gaze swept over the group—all bruised except for one young girl. His frown deepened as he glanced at Shen Wanwan.
Fang Zhiyi didn’t give her a chance to speak, instead demanding compensation outright.
"Compensation?" The Sect Leader gaped. Though unfamiliar with the term, he grasped its meaning.
"Ah, Sect Leader, you know how poor Qingxu Peak is. We can’t even afford medicine for these injuries. It breaks my heart as their master." Fang Zhiyi put on a pitiful expression.
The Sect Leader turned to Ren Xuan, who looked indignant—he hadn’t struck hard, nor dared to! And yet, he was the one who’d suffered internal injuries!
"About my second disciple..." the Sect Leader finally remembered.
"Oh heavens! What are we to do? My poor disciples, injured beyond my ability to heal!" Fang Zhiyi wailed, his Nascent Soul-level spiritual energy flaring erratically with his theatrics. He slammed a fist on the table. "This master has failed you!"
The millennia-old ebony table shattered into dust.
The Sect Leader was no fool, nor did he have the patience for Fang Zhiyi’s antics. Who would’ve thought that restoring his foundation would turn Master Qingxu into such a troublemaker—now extorting compensation with sheer seniority and power!
As Fang Zhiyi eyed a nearby vase, the Sect Leader hastily relented.
Once the spirit stones were handed over, Fang Zhiyi straightened up, gave a perfunctory bow, and swaggered out with his disciples in tow.
After they left, Ren Xuan couldn’t hold back. "Master, why let him act so shamelessly?"
The Sect Leader’s face darkened. "What else could I do? His current cultivation..." He paused, eyeing Ren Xuan. "And you—a core disciple, stooping to spar with those worthless outer disciples?"
Ren Xuan wilted under the reprimand. The Sect Leader scoffed. "The compensation will be deducted from your monthly allowance!" With that, he stormed off.
Shen Wanwan bowed apologetically. "I’m sorry, Second Senior Brother."
Ren Xuan forced a smile. "It’s fine." But inwardly, he was bleeding—the Sect Leader had given Fang Zhiyi a hefty sum. How many months would it take to repay that?
Rumors spread across Xuantian Sect that Qingxu Peak had been unusually busy. Yet when curious onlookers spied on them, they saw nothing extraordinary—just basic Foundation Establishment training and lectures from Master Qingxu.
Nothing noteworthy.
If only they’d dared to get closer, they might’ve heard Fang Zhiyi’s actual teachings.
"Forget the rest. What’s a sword cultivator? They pack a punch, sometimes enough to challenge those above their level. So when facing one, protect your vitals."
"Pill refiners? Excellent targets. Why? Because they’re weak. Perfect for greenhorns like you to practice on. Got it?"
A month passed in relative peace. The chores originally assigned to Qingxu Peak’s disciples were redistributed among other outer disciples.
Others occasionally crossed paths with Fang Zhiyi’s followers, now clad in uniforms reportedly designed by Master Qingxu himself—embroidered with the character "Qing." Though stylish, their cultivation remained pitifully low.
Whispers spread: Not even a powerhouse like Master Qingxu could change the fate of these hopeless cases.
Some even considered switching to his tutelage, only to be told he no longer accepted disciples—regardless of talent.
Two months later, Qingxu Peak’s disciples remained unchanged in strength, but their eyes had taken on a wolfish glint.
"Pill refining? Fine. By the rules, half the materials go to me," Lin Zhiyang, the head disciple of the Pill Refining Peak, said dismissively.
The disciple before him nodded. "Understood. I’ll prepare them, then?"
Lin Zhiyang waved him off. Once alone, he smirked. Pill refining is the life—no grueling cultivation, just concocting pills to ascend. And fools keep delivering materials to my doorstep.
Another disciple took the seat across from him.
"Pill refining? Wait six months. Can’t wait? Then scram."
But this one just smiled. "Senior Brother Lin, I’m not here for pills. I’m here to spar."
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
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."
] [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!"
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
