The sound of heavy slapping ended their conversation. They watched as Lin Yanqing, her face dark with anger, walked out of the broken-down temple.
"What's her problem now?"
"Shh, keep your voice down."
They were afraid of Lin Yanqing. Initially, they had looked down on her because she was a woman, but they had gradually been intimidated by her domineering and ruthless demeanor.
Fang Zhiyi learned the news of Lin Yanqing's disappearance and then looked at Liu Acai's smug, sneering face. "You..."
Liu Acai waved his hand. "Just a little trick, a little trick! No need to praise me!"
This guy is really quite wicked, Fang Zhiyi thought, shaking his head helplessly. He could only hope that if Liu Acai ever went to hell, he wouldn't be assigned to dig the nineteenth level.
Nian'an was greatly favored by the Emperor. Also, because rebellions were erupting everywhere, with several rebel forces fighting back and forth against the imperial suppression armies, the Emperor was deeply worried.
He didn't really care about the rebellions themselves, but he knew that if left unchecked, his throne would become unstable.
However, the money had all been spent on his own pleasures. The army's pay had not been fully distributed, and because of this, those rebel armies had been able to gradually grow stronger.
Hearing the Emperor's sigh, Nian'an knew his opportunity had come.
"Your Majesty, this humble official has a plan that could relieve the immediate crisis."
The Emperor looked at him in surprise.
"That Fang Zhiyi possesses considerable wealth."
Who would have thought that upon hearing this, the Emperor's expression gradually turned serious. He looked at Nian'an and remained silent for a long time.
Just as Nian'an was growing uneasy...
"Ah," the Emperor sighed. "What you say, how could I not know? It's just... now, too many people in this court have ties to him. Even I..."
Nian'an's heart sank, but he gritted his teeth. "I have a plan that can both remove this local tyrant and ensure Your Majesty's interests are not harmed. Moreover, it will provide even more funds for suppressing the rebellions afterward!"
"Oh?" The Emperor became interested. He had also heard that the lottery business was growing larger and larger, and there was something called the Slumber Moon Pavilion. Yet, the funds entering his private treasury hadn't increased much; in fact, they had even decreased somewhat. He also felt some dissatisfaction toward this legendary Fang Zhiyi, but he couldn't find a suitable pretext to move against him. As the Emperor, he couldn't just kill anyone he disliked. He still needed to maintain some semblance of propriety, not to mention that almost all the civil and military officials had some connection with this man.
It was a very unpleasant feeling.
"Your Majesty, summon him to the capital, saying you wish to reward him. Once he enters the palace, apprehend him immediately!"
The Emperor was puzzled. "Why?"
"I have a way to force him to produce that anti-counterfeiting coating. Then, Your Majesty can issue the lottery tickets in the name of the Imperial Family. Though I am untalented, I am familiar with many of Fang Zhiyi's methods. I will share Your Majesty's burdens..." Nian'an's voice gradually lowered, becoming so fragmented that the eunuch not far away looked confused.
The Emperor suddenly understood. "Good, good, good! I indeed did not misjudge you! My dear minister! You, you are truly clever!"
Nian'an bowed deeply, a smile hanging at the corner of his mouth.
Fang Zhiyi, your good days are over. Now I have the Emperor's backing. And you?
Meanwhile, Fang Zhiyi had finally lain down on a soft, large bed and let out a comfortable sigh.
"Look at you, lazing about like a salted fish," Little Hei circled continuously. "That godson of yours is about to make trouble for you."
Fang Zhiyi smiled. "That guy really holds a grudge. Little Hei, do you know what sound a fox makes?"
Little Hei shook his head. "I never really paid attention."
"The Chu shall rise, Chen Sheng be king."
Little Hei looked utterly confused. "Really?"
The next day, not long after the imperial edict summoning Fang Zhiyi was sent out, the entire entourage escorting the eunuch came running back.
The Emperor was bewildered. "What happened?"
Nian'an was also puzzled. Looking at these people, they seemed as if they had been robbed.
Before they could speak, urgent reports began pouring in from outside: "Your Majesty! Urgent military report! Rebellions have broken out in the four southern provinces! The rebels killed the gate guards and opened the city gates for the rebel army!"
"Your Majesty, the rebel army north of the Huai River has begun marching toward the capital!"
"Your Majesty..."
The eunuch holding the imperial edict, his legs giving way, also knelt down. "Your Majesty, the place you sent me to... has also fallen into the hands of the bandit army. We ran right into their scouts!"
"Ah?" The Emperor plopped down onto his stool.
Nian'an was shocked. Just when he was about to get his revenge, why... But then he thought, if Fang Zhiyi fell into the hands of the rebel army, wouldn't that also mean his death? Thinking this, he felt somewhat relieved. Such a vile villain would surely be the rebel army's primary target.
News from the front lines quickly spread back. Some armies, lacking pay, had defected or mutinied. The rebel armies merged into one force, advancing with unstoppable momentum. In just over a month, the rebel army was at the city gates.
Nian'an supported the Emperor, whose legs were weak, as they went up the city wall to survey the situation, but his mind was calculating his next move.
The rebel army below was well-trained and well-equipped. If he didn't know their identity, Nian'an would have thought they were coming to protect the Emperor. These rebels looked quite wealthy. Then he saw a somewhat familiar face among them but couldn't remember where he had seen it.
That night, after attending to the Emperor, Nian'an had just lain down when he suddenly sat up. That's it! The commanding general was the son of a hunter from the western suburbs! Back when his father was injured by a wild beast, Fang Zhiyi had hypocritically sent him food and drink!
Instantly, a terrifying conjecture formed in his mind.
Fang Zhiyi had curried favor with corrupt officials, using businesses like the lottery and the Slumber Moon Pavilion to amass wealth on a large scale, but in reality, he was secretly providing supplies and weapons to these rebel armies... Corrupting court officials on one hand, while strengthening the rebel forces on the other?
Right! The Slumber Moon Pavilion? Those branch stores! After all, Nian'an was the male lead; he understood. These so-called branch stores were merely a front. Besides amassing wealth, their biggest function was to collect intelligence!
The people frequenting the Slumber Moon Pavilion were all "high society," so naturally, a lot of information circulated there daily. This could explain why the resistance in various provinces was always so easily broken.
"Impossible..." Moments later, Nian'an shook his head again. How could Fang Zhiyi have foreseen such things? He was overthinking it.
He smiled self-deprecatingly. Indeed, smart people like him were prone to overthinking.
But what should be done now? Perhaps tomorrow he should advise the Emperor to move the capital? Avoid the enemy's sharp edge for now. As long as they waited for the imperial princes stationed in various regions to arrive, they could turn the situation around.
However, that very night, the gates of the imperial city were opened from the inside.
The sounds of killing and shouting woke Nian'an. He fell out of bed and heard his own mansion gate being pounded violently.
That night, Nian'an hid in a latrine, barely avoiding three waves of searches. Then he disguised himself as a beggar and slipped out of the city. He heard from the fleeing refugees that the Emperor had been hanged by the rebels inside the palace.
Nian'an sighed with emotion.
"Did you hear? The one who opened the city gates and surrendered was the Grand General."
"Ah? Impossible."
"That treacherous official!"
Nian'an kept his head down. He needed to escape quickly.
But he never expected that while passing through the second checkpoint at the city gate, a man walked straight toward him, then grabbed him and looked him up and down.
Nian'an wanted to break free, but when he saw the man's face, he froze.
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
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."
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, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
