He exchanged a glance with Liu Acai and nodded.
Liu Acai reached for the short knife at his waist. Even though he had started paying more attention to his appearance lately, the habit of carrying a blade hadn't changed. Then he kicked Chen Huaimin's prosthetic leg. Seeing that Chen Huaimin didn't even flinch, he couldn't help but pout. The boss was really playing favorites, only teaching Chen Huaimin martial arts.
He still remembered when he had asked to learn. Fang Zhiyi had just said, "Sure. Chop your leg off first, then come ask me."
Liu Acai had given up the idea then and there.
County Magistrate Hu stormed into the western suburbs, but his steps gradually slowed.
This place was the western suburbs?
Impossible. It should be filthy and stinking here!
The soldiers accompanying him shared his astonishment. They too rarely saw such clean streets, appearing quiet and pleasant... except for the group of fierce-looking men walking straight towards them.
"Halt! Who are you people?" County Magistrate Hu mustered his courage and shouted.
Fang Zhiyi smiled. "You come here without knowing who you're looking for?"
"This county magistrate is under orders to arrest the ringleader Fang Zhiyi!" he bellowed. A timid voice came from behind him.
"Your Honor, that is Fang Zhiyi."
At this moment, Nian'an's face was full of disbelief, followed by wildly sprouting jealousy. When he left, this place wasn't like this! It should be dirty and smelly!
Moreover, he had heard that his adoptive father had started a new business and was now making a lot of money. His heart was first filled with regret, then suspicion, then conviction—the conviction that Fang Zhiyi was an evil man. Finally, seeing with his own eyes that all the people he once knew so well were dressed better than him, jealousy and resentment began to spread uncontrollably.
"Truly an ungrateful wretch," Liu Acai sneered upon recognizing the young man.
"Fang Zhiyi! Your adopted son accuses you of colluding with others to seize official grain, oppressing the people, tyrannizing the township, extorting money, and treating human life as worthless! Be sensible and surrender quietly!" County Magistrate Hu rattled off Fang Zhiyi's crimes in one breath.
Fang Zhiyi was somewhat impressed by his lung capacity. Maintaining that volume for such a long list was no easy feat.
Feeling the gazes of confusion, disdain, contempt, and hatred from the opposite side, Nian'an felt his face grow hot. But he quickly told himself, "What I'm doing is right! They all deserve it!" He didn't believe Fang Zhiyi could escape. He straightened his back slightly. Today was the starting point of his comeback!
Once Fang Zhiyi was brought to justice, he could be with Lin Yanqing. First this, then that, and then he could turn his life around... maybe he could even get a share of Fang Zhiyi's property...
A soldier standing near him took a step to the side, thinking this kid must have something wrong with his head; he was practically drooling.
Seeing that Fang Zhiyi and his men remained unmoved, County Magistrate Hu knew further talk was useless. "Seize Fang Zhiyi! The rest of you, disperse! This is none of your concern! Anyone obstructing official business risks losing their heads!"
As a constable's rod came crashing down towards his head, Fang Zhiyi didn't even bat an eyelid.
The next moment, a flash of cold light swept by. The rod was cleanly split in two! Simultaneously, a soldier on the right who had drawn his sword found Liu Acai's short knife pressed against his neck.
Liu Acai's eyes widened. "You damn cripple, you kept this from me?"
Chen Huaimin was now standing on one leg, his other leg revealed to be a gleaming, sharp blade!
"The boss said, once drawn, the blade must taste blood," Chen Huaimin said with a sly smile.
At the same time, the others behind them began to step forward.
"In the end, we still didn't make it in time..." Fang Zhiyi sighed. Oh well, it just meant a little more trouble.
Just as the two sides were about to clash, shouts of "Stop!" came from the distance, followed by a squad of armored soldiers charging over. The murderous aura of these soldiers made both sides freeze. It had to be understood, armored soldiers were different from ordinary constables; their combat prowess wasn't even on the same level.
Fang Zhiyi, however, smiled. "Stand down, everyone. Work's over."
Liu Acai looked at his boss, puzzled.
After stopping the conflict, several horses galloped up, and a man dismounted.
"This kid looks familiar," Liu Acai muttered, confused.
Chen Huaimin grinned. "Huang Weixing!"
Huang Weixing first flashed a toothy grin at Fang Zhiyi, then quickly put on a stern face.
"Where is Hu Wanghui?"
County Magistrate Hu, who had shrunk into the crowd, poked his head out upon hearing his name. "Here. And you are?"
Huang Weixing was about to speak when he caught Fang Zhiyi's look. He straightened his back. "You are not worthy to ask."
County Magistrate Hu was stunned. How dare this young upstart be so arrogant? But glancing at the armored soldiers, he could only force a smile. In these times, whoever had the bigger fists was the boss.
He asked cautiously, "This humble official is carrying out official duties. May I ask..." Suddenly, County Magistrate Hu realized something. "Could it be that you, sir, have been sent by the Prefect to assist me in suppressing the bandits?"
Fang Zhiyi was taken aback. In the blink of an eye, he was a bandit again?
Huang Weixing took a deep breath. "Get lost!"
County Magistrate Hu first stared in shock, then his face turned livid. To be cursed at by a young punk in front of his subordinates—how could he maintain authority after this? In this little territory of his, he had never suffered a loss! He glanced at the armored soldiers and his tone darkened. "This... superior envoy, we both serve the court. But I, Hu, am still the local magistrate here. How dare you insult me like this?" He had already subconsciously assumed Huang Weixing was an official.
Huang Weixing looked at him with a hint of pity. "Don't talk nonsense. I'm not an official."
County Magistrate Hu was confused. "Not an official? Then you..." He looked around and suddenly understood. "Bandits? How audacious!" Even as he said this, he shrank further into the crowd. "Fang Zhiyi! You actually collude with bandits! You're finished!"
At that moment, the sound of hoofbeats came from outside as several more riders arrived.
County Magistrate Hu looked up and was overjoyed. "Prefect! Here! Over here!"
The newcomer was indeed County Magistrate Hu's superior. Before his horse even came to a full stop, he dismounted and rushed straight towards the magistrate. County Magistrate Hu's heart settled; with his superior here, reinforcements must be close behind!
But as he was thinking this, the Prefect, without any warning, slapped him hard across the face. County Magistrate Hu spun a full circle on the spot, seeing double.
"I... Your Excellency, why..." County Magistrate Hu was both angry and wronged. The Prefect didn't let him finish. He grabbed him by the collar and dragged him aside, where the two whispered for a while.
Then the Prefect, smiling, invited Huang Weixing over, seemingly introducing him to County Magistrate Hu.
A reversal occurred that left everyone dumbfounded, especially Fang Zhiyi's close associates, who all looked at him with probing expressions. They all knew Huang Weixing had spent some time with Fang Zhiyi, but they didn't know what he had learned. The atmosphere on the scene relaxed.
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
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.
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."
