Fang Huatian's lips trembled as he struggled to speak.
Fang Zhiyi smiled. "The crime I've committed warrants the execution of my entire clan, Father. Surely you don’t intend to report me?"
It took Fang Huatian a long moment to recover. "The regional governors won’t stand idly by. You... you’ve acted too rashly..."
Fang Zhiyi waved his hand dismissively. "They must stand idly by. Before coming to the capital, I arranged for my men to take control of the five prefectures surrounding Qingping." He adjusted his collar. "And I owe that to you. Qingping County’s forces are now formidable, and the officials there fear your name. Even without my presence, they’d throw open their gates to welcome my men."
Fang Huatian stared at his son in alarm.
"Having a well-connected father is truly convenient—saves so much trouble," Fang Zhiyi mused, glancing at the sky. "Come now, Grand Chancellor. It’s time for court."
The emperor had been assassinated, and given his notorious promiscuity, he left behind numerous heirs. Under Fang Huatian’s guidance, one was chosen to inherit the throne.
Fang Huatian was uneasy, but as Fang Zhiyi had predicted, not only did the regional governors remain passive, even the border armies stayed silent. Only then did Fang Huatian realize how much his son had accomplished under his banner. He had to admit—this son surpassed him in both skill and ruthlessness.
After the new era name was decreed, Fang Huatian pleaded old age and prepared to resign as Grand Chancellor.
The ministers fervently protested, only for Fang Huatian to immediately nominate his son as successor.
Naturally, objections arose. Fang Zhiyi had achievements, yes, but how could he leap straight to Grand Chancellor? With the young emperor on the throne, everyone knew the power the position held.
Some promptly brought up Fang Zhiyi’s failure to protect the late emperor, stirring undercurrents in the court.
But they didn’t realize that for Fang Zhiyi, political maneuvering was child’s play.
He opted for the simplest solution: anyone who opposed him would be found dead in their home by morning.
Every official in that court, civil or military, had skeletons in their closets. Execute first, investigate later—no wrongful convictions.
Within a mere month, the capital fell under Fang Zhiyi’s control. His trusted men from Qingping County gradually filled key positions, and the courtiers learned the hard way: oppose him, and you’d meet a swift end.
Thus, dissent faded, and Fang Zhiyi assumed the role of Grand Chancellor.
Policies rolled out one after another. First, regional officials were sent to Qingping to "study." Then came the systematic replacement of local administrators—not through remote dismissals, but by summoning them to the capital under the pretext of meeting the new emperor, only to detain and interrogate them.
As corrupt elements were purged, Shen Xun drafted proclamations extolling the virtues of the nine-year-old emperor, spreading his reputation among the people.
Qingping’s former garrison was disbanded and merged into the border armies. Leveraging Fang Huatian’s connections, Fang Zhiyi’s men soon took command, implementing his military reforms.
To address banditry, Fang Zhiyi adopted a straightforward approach: offer amnesty. Most bandits turned to crime due to injustice or poverty—redress their grievances, provide land and funds, and only execute the irredeemable.
The Great Qi Dynasty was revitalized, its new policies propelling society forward.
Fang Zhiyi had no interest in being a power-hungry regent. At age twelve, the young emperor was handed full control of governance—a move that left those whispering about usurpation utterly baffled.
"Honestly, who’d want to be emperor? Ugh. Late to bed, early to rise."
"Careful with your words, Grand Chancellor Fang," Xuan Yuan chided. He’d become Fang Zhiyi’s shadow, per the latter’s request. The man was too capable to let roam free, yet Fang Zhiyi couldn’t bring himself to kill him.
"Enough chatter. Any leads?"
Xuan Yuan sighed. "None. Song Yunfan has truly vanished."
Little Hei chuckled. "Heaven’s Way fears you. It’s hiding both Songs now."
Fang Zhiyi cursed, but the following year, a candidate named Song Rentou topped the national exams in science and entered court.
History repeated itself. Summoned to the imperial harem for "consultations," the clever young emperor—eager to delegate like his chancellor—unwittingly set the stage for Song Rentou to fall for a late emperor’s widow.
This was unacceptable. Over time, the emperor realized: I hired you to work, not to become my stepfather!
Influenced by Fang Zhiyi’s methods, he ordered Song Rentou’s execution—only for the man to escape against all odds.
Song Rentou fled the capital, vowing to reunite with his love by raising a rebel army. Yet after scouring Great Qi, he found no bandit strongholds left to join.
Former mountain hideouts had become tourist attractions, frequented by poets and scholars.
Ex-bandits, their grievances resolved or livelihoods secured, had no interest in risking their necks.
Song Rentou’s hopes crumbled.
He turned homeward, where his father and sworn brother—wealthy merchants—could fund a mercenary force. But before arriving, he learned soldiers had surrounded his family’s estate.
With the "Song plot" advancing, Heaven’s Way abandoned Song Yunfan. Fang Zhiyi, guided by Xuan Yuan’s divinations, captured both under the pretext of "eradicating remnants of the Panlong Bandits."
The law sentenced them to death. Song Yunfan, guilty of colluding with bandits, murder, and rebellion, was handed to an incorruptible judge handpicked by Fang Zhiyi. Among the prisoners was Sun Biao, a long-detained general who’d endured daily beatings. Upon hearing his execution was finally set, he wept with relief.
Song Yunfan met his end outside the capital, enduring three days of lingchi (slow slicing) before dying—prompting Fang Zhiyi to abolish the punishment afterward. Song Yunfan entered history as Great Qi’s last lingchi victim, his crimes immortalized in records.
Song Rentou, upon hearing the news, fled north beyond the border. Though denied rebellion, Heaven’s Way granted him other adventures—yet he never returned to Great Qi.
One day, Xuan Yuan vanished, leaving Fang Zhiyi a single note:
Your path ahead is fraught, Master Fang. This humble Daoist can aid no further, but prays you hold fast to your original intent. Only thus may you find your destiny.
"That old Taoist priest..." Fang Zhiyi clicked his tongue. "What do you think he knows?"
Little Hei replied, "In a world like this, someone like him shouldn’t even exist—he’s already beyond the constraints of the Heavenly Dao. It’s no surprise if he’s figured something out. Come on, let me show you something fun."
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."
] [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!"
