As she spoke, she noticed the injuries on Chen's Father's face and the scar on Chen's Mother's head.
"Oh dear, that's terrible. Did he hit you? Did you make him pay compensation?" Her words feigned sympathy, but inwardly she was overjoyed. Originally, everyone was equally poor, but your Chen Nian's family was the poorest. Who could have guessed that suddenly a wealthy man would come along to provide for your family? Who could stand to see that?
Out of consideration for being neighbors, Chen Nian's parents couldn't say much. They just managed a few perfunctory replies to send her on her way. But judging by her eager demeanor, she was probably off to spread the news again.
Chen Nian gritted her teeth, her heart filled with hatred for Fang Mingyu. It was all because of him! Her entire future was ruined!
Sure enough, the very next day, her parents suggested she shouldn't attend high school.
"If you want to study, go find another fool like that! If you can find one, that's your skill!" Chen's Father slammed the table, his anger flaring up at the mention. Not only had they failed to get any money from this trip, but they'd also been beaten several times, and the little money they had managed to get was almost all spent.
Tears welled up in Chen Nian's eyes. Her grades were truly excellent. Even her teachers had said she would definitely get into university someday!
It's just that getting into university doesn't specifically screen for moral character.
However, she couldn't win against her parents in the end. So, life gradually returned to how it was before she met Fang Mingyu. In recent years, because of Fang Mingyu, her parents had treated her much better, even calling her "Nian Nian." Although they still favored her younger brother, it was a significant improvement over before. Now, she was back to working odd jobs. Her father had gambled away his job to someone else and was idle all day, her mother didn't work either, meaning the whole family was relying on her to support them.
If it were the old Chen Nian, she would have gritted her teeth and endured it. But now, after receiving an education, having seen the prosperity of the big city, and having stayed in luxury hotels, she was unwilling to accept this fate.
But she had no choice, because she was still just a child.
Back in Fang Zhiyi's hometown, Fang Zhiyi had made a special trip there because Second Brother Fang had secretly gone to Fang Mingyu's house again, only to be told the property had been sold.
"Ah, it's all because of that Chen family," Fang Zhiyi sighed heavily. "They demanded Mingyu pay compensation. Where would he get the money? He had no choice but to sell the house, and then he lost his job too."
Hearing this, Second Brother Fang looked somewhat embarrassed. The relatives with him exchanged glances.
After a hushed discussion among themselves, they actually managed to scrape together some money for Fang Zhiyi.
"Elder Brother, take this money. Give it to Mingyu. Tell him we elders have caused him trouble and we're sorry."
Fang Zhiyi raised an eyebrow. Little Hei beside him puffed out his chest, looking like "See, I told you so."
Fang Zhiyi didn't refuse. He took the money, frowning. "It's too little, though."
They looked at each other. Finally, Second Brother Fang, Fang Xiaoyan, and others went home to fetch more.
"Tell Mingyu to buy the house back! We may not have any great skills, but we do have the ability to earn some spare change."
Fang Zhiyi's gaze swept over them. He nodded and said meaningfully, "Alright, I'll accept this money. Remember, it's not accepted for nothing."
The Fang family relatives didn't take his words to heart. They just sighed for a while after Fang Zhiyi left, then complained a bit more—complaining about other relatives, complaining about Fang Zhiyi, complaining about Fang Mingyu.
Because she was underage, Chen Nian had to work secretly. Because of this, her wages were much lower than others'. But she still dreamed of saving money to leave this place. She had had enough of her family's true colors: a father who only knew how to drink, a mother who would hit and scold her at the drop of a hat, and a younger brother who tormented her.
She noticed something: their neighbor, Auntie Fatty's family, had suddenly come into money.
She saw Auntie Fatty in town, treating her two children to a feast at a fried chicken shop, wearing brand new clothes herself.
Chen Nian was puzzled. Why did they have money?
Once or twice, Chen Nian just watched. But as it happened more often—Auntie Fatty's family even bought a new motorcycle—Chen Nian couldn't sit still anymore. For the first time, she secretly followed Auntie Fatty, tailing her for a whole day but discovering nothing.
Until the day Auntie Fatty went to the post office to collect a money order.
Chen Nian pretended to bump into Auntie Fatty accidentally. When Auntie Fatty saw it was her, a flicker of unease crossed her face. Although she left quickly, Chen Nian had already seen the amount on the money order and the sender's surname.
"Fang."
Chen Nian returned home in a daze. Chen's Mother told her to hand over today's wages, but Chen Nian didn't hear. Her mind was completely occupied by that money order.
Chen's Mother grabbed her hair and threw her to the ground.
The pain made Chen Nian sit up.
"We've been tricked!" she cried out.
Chen's Mother was stunned. Chen's Father, drinking on the doorstep, was also stunned.
Chen Nian recounted what she saw that day. Her parents thought it over. Recently, their next-door neighbors had indeed become much more extravagant. They hadn't thought much of it—after all, people were always lifting themselves out of poverty—they were just too lazy to make the effort themselves. It was easier to pin their hopes on their son and daughter.
"That Auntie Fatty, she egged us on to go find Brother Mingyu, and she badmouthed him in front of us. Actually, she was just jealous!" Chen Nian wasn't stupid; she began to analyze.
"The result is we fell out with Brother Mingyu, and she secretly contacted him. Now Brother Mingyu is supporting their family!"
Chen's Mother shook her head. "Impossible. Fang Mingyu is finished. You saw it yourself."
Chen's Father also nodded. "That kid has nothing left. He's worse off than me!"
Chen Nian kept shaking her head. "No, no, he must have been testing us! He was pretending on purpose! I saw it today. The money order in Auntie Fatty's hand had the surname 'Fang' on it!"
Chen's parents looked at each other, half-believing, half-doubting.
Chen Nian's younger brother thumped his chest. "That's simple! I'll go steal it tonight and have a look!"
Strangely, no one stopped him. Chen Nian's mind was filled with regret, wishing she had pretended for a few more days, while her parents thought it was perfectly natural for their younger son to do this.
So that night, Chen Nian's brother went next door. But following a commotion and screams, he was dragged by Auntie Fatty to the Chen family's doorstep.
"Chen family! Come out and see your son! Stealing right into my house! Are you raising thieves?" Her voice was loud, disturbing several nearby villagers who had already gone to bed, bringing them out to watch.
The Chen family's faces turned pale with shame and anger. But seeing his limping son, Chen's Father couldn't help but step forward to fight. Auntie Fatty simply pinned him down, kicked the already unsteady man to the ground, then sat on him, raised her large hand, and began slapping him in wide arcs. Chen's Mother tried to intervene but was blocked by Auntie Fatty's two sons.
If the neighbors hadn't helped, Chen's Father might have been beaten senseless.
And from that night on, the two families became sworn enemies.
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."
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!
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."
