However, Vice Minister Liu was not a cruel man. Even in such a situation, he merely had Lin Chengze beaten severely before expelling him from the Liu residence. As he was thrown out, Lin Chengze caught a distant glimpse of Liu Ning standing in a corner, watching him with wary eyes.
Lin Chengze felt as though something had slipped irrevocably away from him.
Rumors once again began circulating in the streets, this time in their final version. Lin Chengze’s act of saving a life was twisted into a calculated scheme—he had allegedly pushed the Liu family’s young lady into the water only to rescue her afterward, all in pursuit of the family’s gratitude. Given the earlier scandal, this new claim instantly set the capital abuzz with gossip. The name "Lin Chengze" was now thoroughly tarnished.
Grimacing in pain, Lin Chengze staggered down the street. He couldn’t comprehend what he had done wrong, but with matters having come to this, he could only cast a resentful glance back at the gates of the Liu estate, silently vowing to one day rise to prominence and humiliate the Liu family. No—what truly mattered was Fang Zhiyi! It was all his fault, coming up with such a ridiculous idea!
Vice Minister Liu even made a point of sending someone to inform Fang Zhiyi about the incident. In his eyes, Fang Zhiyi was a young man of remarkable promise—excellent in literature, calligraphy, and character—destined for greatness. Thus, he felt it necessary to keep Fang Zhiyi in the loop.
Fang Zhiyi’s reply was succinct: "He brought this upon himself."
His attitude earned Vice Minister Liu’s admiration. Lin Chengze, meanwhile, never imagined he would end up as a mere tool to strengthen the bond between Fang Zhiyi and the vice minister.
As Lin Chengze trudged onward, he spotted a thief in the act of pickpocketing.
The woman ahead, bent over inspecting goods at a stall, remained oblivious. Seizing the moment, Lin Chengze rushed forward, twisted the thief’s arm, and snatched back the stolen purse. But before he could speak, a hand clamped onto his shoulder, forcing him to release the thief, who promptly fled.
"Brazen theft in broad daylight!" came a familiar voice. Lin Chengze froze, but as he turned, a fist collided with his face, sending him howling in pain as he clutched his eye.
The commotion drew the attention of passersby, including the woman, who turned to see a shabbily dressed man crouched on the ground, holding her purse while covering his face.
"Tired of living? How dare you steal from me?" Xu Yan’er, known for her fiery temper, bellowed. At her call, several burly men rushed out from a nearby shop.
"Young Mistress, what’s the matter?"
Xu Yan’er pointed at Lin Chengze. "This thief stole my purse. Beat him half to death, then drag him to the magistrate!"
She then turned to the stranger who had intervened and nodded. "Thank you, young master. I am Xu Yan’er."
"No need for thanks. I am Fang Zhiyi."
Lin Chengze was pummeled mercilessly, denied even a chance to explain.
At the mention of Fang Zhiyi’s name, Xu Yan’er’s eyes lit up. She was well-informed—rumors of an impoverished scholar had recently spread among the elite, and she had never expected to meet him today.
Xu Yan’er insisted on repaying Fang Zhiyi’s kindness, leading them to a nearby tavern. Throughout the meal, Fang Zhiyi occasionally glanced at Lin Chengze, watching as he was hauled off to the magistrate’s office.
Xu Yan’er was effusive in her hospitality. Though her family was in trade, they lacked strong official connections, especially amid the chaotic political climate. She saw no harm in cultivating new ties—if she could bring Fang Zhiyi into her circle and nurture him until he entered officialdom, the payoff would be immense.
But to her frustration, Fang Zhiyi seemed interested only in the meal. He responded to her chatter with absentminded nods, thanked her perfunctorily once he was full, and then simply walked away, leaving her at a loss.
To make matters worse, the thief had escaped custody!
Battered and bruised, Lin Chengze hid in an alley, seething with rage. Fang Zhiyi again! Was that bastard doing this on purpose? But after some thought, he dismissed the idea—Fang Zhiyi wasn’t that clever. He was just an idiot!
Still, what was he to do now?
Expelled from the Liu estate, penniless, and stripped of his borrowed finery, he was back in his tattered old clothes—now further torn where Fang Zhiyi had grabbed him.
Lin Chengze felt like dying.
With no other options, he followed the same path Fang Zhiyi once had, taking up backbreaking labor as a porter in exchange for meager wages. His injuries slowed him down, earning him shoves, curses, and kicks from the foreman.
Dark thoughts festered in Lin Chengze’s heart. He resolved to claw his way to the top, no matter what.
Fang Zhiyi, meanwhile, lived far more comfortably. Having scraped together the funds for the imperial exams, he secured a recommendation from Censor Sha and breezed through the written tests. Rather than exerting himself, he simply recycled essays from past top scorers in his memory, consistently ranking first.
Amid the court’s turmoil, corruption in the examinations was rampant. Fortunately, Fang Zhiyi had the backing of reformist officials, allowing him to advance smoothly. His essay on statecraft stunned the court, and soon, high-ranking ministers flocked to congratulate him.
When he first stood in the imperial court, he was surprised to find Lin Chengze’s fate realigning—albeit with some reshuffling.
While hauling goods, Lin Chengze had crossed paths with General Zhenyuan’s concubine, and the two took an instant liking to each other—though the concubine wasn’t particularly discerning. Later, he encountered Xu Yan’er again. Since he had covered his face during their first meeting, she didn’t recognize him, but he remembered the Xu family’s young mistress well. For him, climbing the social ladder trumped all else.
Thus, Xu Yan’er hired him as a servant, pulling him out of destitution.
True to form, Lin Chengze poured on the flattery, earning Xu Yan’er’s growing favor. But this time, his status was different—he was her subordinate, forced to tread carefully. As he gazed at her, vengeful fantasies simmered in his mind.
Fang Zhiyi observed him quietly, taking no direct action. Xu Yan’er, after all, was no pushover.
Sure enough, Lin Chengze resumed his "resource accumulation"—dallying with General Zhenyuan’s concubine, seducing a merchant’s illegitimate daughter, and cozying up to various young ladies. His confidence swelled; success seemed within reach.
Yet he chafed under Xu Yan’er’s tight control, feeling like her personal plaything.
When he learned through her that Fang Zhiyi had been appointed to office by the emperor himself, he nearly bit through his teeth in fury. Xu Yan’er pressed him for details, and he eagerly embellished tales of Fang Zhiyi’s stupidity. Xu Yan’er nodded along—after all, she had met him once, and he had seemed dull, interested only in eating.
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!
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.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
