Just then, Wu Xiaobao came eavesdropping again. Hearing Fang Yu crying, he immediately scampered happily back to the living room to report: "Mom! Uncle is scolding Fang Yu! Fang Yu is crying really loudly!" A triumphant smile instantly spread across Fang Jingtong's face. She thought to herself: In a little while, that girl definitely won't be able to stay. Then, this apartment, this home, will all be mine!
"Starting today, you do what you're supposed to do. No, do whatever you want to do. I've got your back," Fang Zhiyi declared.
Fang Yu stopped crying: "But, Aunt, and the others... and the little brothers..."
"Them? They're just teaching props."
"?" Fang Yu didn't quite understand.
"In this world, there are as many bad people as good people. Clearly, your aunt and her family are the bad ones. Very bad," Fang Zhiyi looked at her. "I took them in only because of family ties, but when necessary, they're worth nothing."
Fang Yu pursed her lips.
Fang Zhiyi gave her a few more instructions. Fang Yu checked the time: "Dad, I need to go cook."
"Cook nothing. With your skills, is the stuff you make even edible?" Fang Zhiyi said.
Fang Yu thought to herself, you never said it was bad before.
"Today, I'm taking you out to eat! No, from now on, I'll take you out to eat."
"But what about them..."
"They have hands and feet, they won't starve to death, will they?"
Fang Jingtong and the others watched as Fang Zhiyi dragged that wretched girl out, somewhat confused: "Brother, it's almost dinner time, where are you going?"
Fang Zhiyi didn't turn his head: "I need to properly educate this girl!"
"Oh, why bother, Xiao Yu is still young..." Fang Jingtong feigned a few words of persuasion, but her face was full of schadenfreude.
The two walked to a nearby home-style restaurant. As soon as Fang Zhiyi sat down, he started ordering: "Sweet and sour pork ribs, squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, tomato beef brisket, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and a pot of corn and rib soup." All dishes Fang Yu had only seen on TV before, never daring to hope for.
Fang Yu stared wide-eyed at the table laden with food, her chopsticks clutched tightly, swallowing several times. She remembered when ribs were cooked at home before, her aunt would always pick the meatiest pieces for Da Bao and Xiao Bao, leaving only a few bones for her; she never got a turn with fish either, her aunt said "girls easily get fish bones stuck in their throats."
"Dad... it's too much, we can't finish all this with just the two of us..." Fang Yu said softly.
"We'll take the leftovers home! Look how skinny you are, a gust of wind could blow you over. You need to eat more!" Fang Zhiyi said, placing a large piece of sweet and sour rib into her bowl. "Eat up, it won't taste as good when it's cold."
Fang Yu looked at the rib in her bowl, hesitated for a long time, then timidly asked: "Dad... can I eat this?"
This sentence was like a needle, sharply piercing Fang Zhiyi's heart. He had seen great storms, but at this moment, his nose stung—his own flesh and blood, actually needing to cautiously ask for permission to eat a bite of food? He forcefully suppressed the ache in his heart, added a piece of fish to her bowl, his tone becoming incredibly gentle: "Eat, of course you can eat. From now on, Dad will bring you here every day. Order whatever you want."
His own daughter actually had to ask so cautiously just to eat something?
"Eat, here, Dad got this for you." Fang Zhiyi immediately started eating, watching as Fang Yu took small bites, savoring what were almost ordinary dishes. Fang Zhiyi's gaze darkened.
None of them are innocent.
After the meal, instead of going home, Fang Zhiyi took Fang Yu towards the pedestrian street. Fang Yu grew more and more panicked inside. She had heard from former classmates that some poor families would sell their daughters to others as brides for a bride price. Was Dad suddenly being so nice to her because he wanted to sell her?
Clothing shops lined the pedestrian street one after another. Fang Zhiyi, familiar with the place, walked into a women's clothing store, picked up a pink dress, and held it against Fang Yu: "This one's nice, suits you well. Go try it on."
Fang Yu glimpsed the price tag: "299," and waved her hands in fright: "Dad, it's too expensive, I don't want it! I have clothes to wear!"
"What's expensive about it? My daughter deserves to wear pretty clothes!" Without another word, Fang Zhiyi shoved the dress into her hands and pushed her into the fitting room. When Fang Yu came out wearing the dress, even the shop assistant's eyes lit up: "Miss, you look really beautiful in this! Your father is so good to you. My dad would never buy me such expensive clothes."
Fang Yu smiled awkwardly, touched the fabric of the dress, feeling both touched and panicked. She had never worn such beautiful clothes before, but the thought of possibly "being sold" made the dress feel like a shackle.
Fang Zhiyi, however, didn't notice her unease. He picked out several more tops and pants, and with a wave of his hand said: "Wrap them all up!" After paying, carrying the bags, he led Fang Yu into the next store.
After a few shops, Fang Zhiyi was also feeling worn out. How do girls maintain the joy of shopping? Isn't it exhausting?
He put the purchased items on the ground for Fang Yu to watch, then turned and walked into a real estate agency. When he came out, an agent was bowing and scraping to him.
Fang Zhiyi motioned for her to keep walking. Fang Yu hesitated, but under his urging, she could only follow.
After many twists and turns, they entered an unfamiliar residential complex, then took the elevator until the agent opened a door.
A large floor-to-ceiling window, a living room with a light-colored sofa and coffee table, a bedroom with a soft big bed, and a large wardrobe. This was exactly the kind of small apartment she had seen on roadside advertisements before. She had secretly fantasized about how wonderful it would be to have such a little nest of her own, not having to endure her aunt's scowls or listen to her cousins' taunts.
"Go in and take a look. Do you like it?" Fang Zhiyi gave her shoulder a little push.
Fang Yu hesitantly walked in, her fingertips lightly touching the sofa—it was soft. The agent said with a smile: "Miss, this apartment has great natural light, convenient transportation, very suitable for young people."
Fang Yu nodded subconsciously, then quickly shook her head: "It's beautiful, but I'm just looking..."
"Just looking? If you like it, we'll buy it!" Fang Zhiyi said, sitting on the sofa to discuss the contract with the agent. "Can the price be lower? I'll pay in full."
The agent quickly nodded: "For a full payment, we can communicate with the owner for another twenty thousand off."
Fang Yu was completely panicked now. She rushed over and grabbed Fang Zhiyi's arm: "Dad! I don't want it! I really don't! Please don't buy it!" She was now convinced her father was buying this apartment to "package" her for a better selling price.
But Fang Zhiyi paid her no mind. Signing the contract, swiping the card—it was done in one go. After the agent left with the contract, only the father and daughter remained in the apartment. The atmosphere instantly turned silent.
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
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."
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.
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.”
