"You're going on a long trip? You just got back, why are you leaving again?"
Early the next morning, while making breakfast, Chen Yun was very puzzled to hear Chen Yi say he would be leaving for a few months.
Shen Qingshan was nearby, tidying his Demon Slaying Division Junior Banner Officer uniform, getting ready to report for duty.
"Fourth Brother is an adult now. He has his own matters to attend to. As his older sister, you shouldn't try to control everything he does."
Chen Yun argued her point.
"Even if he ran around the county town bare-bottomed, I wouldn't care. But he's going on a long journey for several months! Are any of the bandits and outlaws out there easy to deal with? And what about those demons? They eat people!"
Chen Yi smiled but said nothing.
Third Sister.
When bandits and outlaws see me, they have to give me money.
When the demon race sees me, they'll probably be worried they aren't calling me 'Daddy' fast enough.
Chen Yi only thought this to himself.
If he said it out loud, his Third Sister would probably think he had gone mad.
In the end, it was Chen Yi and Shen Qingshan two against Chen Yun's one, so Chen Yi won.
Shen Qingshan went into the house, rummaged around, and brought out two items.
"Fourth Brother, I have two mid-grade spirit weapons here, both passed down from the Shen family's ancestors.
Take this spear and use it; it's safer to have a weapon by your side.
Wear this heart-protecting mirror as well. It might save your life at a critical moment."
In Shen Qingshan's eyes, Chen Yi was still a young lad, and he didn't want to crush the desire for independence that came with this age.
But Shen Qingshan wouldn't just support him blindly; he took out the most precious spirit weapons he had inherited from his ancestors.
He figured that with these, Chen Yi would be safer on his journey.
Shen Qingshan thought Chen Yi was only at the Body Forging Realm. Little did he know that Chen Yi had already reached the Golden Body Realm.
Looking at the entire Baiyun County, he was an unattainably high existence!
Chen Yi didn't want to expose his cultivation just yet, so he thanked Shen Qingshan and accepted the two spirit weapons.
"Un... Uncle... where going?"
A childish voice came from behind.
Chen Yi turned around and picked up his niece, who was currently only two years old.
"Uncle is going out to play for a while and will be back very soon. Nannan needs to be a good girl at home and wait for Uncle to return."
"Want, sugar figure."
"Alright! I'll buy you one."
Chen Yun said in an exasperated tone,
"Just keep spoiling her. If you spoil her rotten, she won't be able to get married in the future."
Chen Yi thought of something and looked at his sister and brother-in-law.
"My niece still hasn't been given a proper name, right?"
The family had been calling her 'Nannan' all this time because Shen Jia still didn't have a formal name.
Chen Yun shot an annoyed glance at Shen Qingshan.
"It's all because of your brother-in-law. He's been picking and choosing for two years and still hasn't decided."
Shen Qingshan scratched his head in embarrassment.
He seemed to have a severe case of indecision.
Chen Yi thought of the end of his third simulation, where it was Shen Jia who saw him off on his final journey and even used a precious pill to extend his life for a short while.
"Why not call her Shen Jia? 'Jia' as in praise and reward. Third Sister, Brother-in-law, what do you think?"
Shen Qingshan looked thoughtful.
"'Jia' means praise and auspiciousness. It's a good name."
Chen Yun took Shen Jia from Chen Yi's arms.
"Look what you've done. You've given your brother-in-law another option. He'll be agonizing over this for at least another three months."
Leaving Shen Qingshan to his slow agonizing, Chen Yi set off.
Before leaving, Chen Yi made a trip to the Yuelai Inn.
When the proprietress saw Chen Yi, she enthusiastically welcomed him.
"Is the guest here to pick up that chubby brother of yours? This brother of yours..."
"Boss Mei, please feel free to speak your mind."
"He eats way too much. The silver you gave yesterday isn't quite enough..."
The proprietress's tone wasn't very forceful.
Because she could tell that Chen Yi was a martial artist.
When making demands of a martial artist, it was better to show weakness.
Actually, Chen Yi used to wonder about this too.
For someone like Da Chun, who was intellectually disabled and occasionally bullied by naughty kids in the village, he had almost no ability to take care of himself. He relied entirely on the villagers' charity for food.
So how did he grow up so fair and chubby?
After the third simulation, when he discovered that Da Chun was suspected to be the artifact spirit of the Nine Provinces Cauldron.
This question seemed to have an answer.
He was inherently extraordinary, so naturally, he was different from the rest.
It wasn't strange for him to have a huge appetite.
"Take this."
Chen Yi handed the proprietress a large silver ingot.
Thanks to the friendly sponsorship of the Black Stone Gang.
Seeing the silver ingot that was half the size of a palm, the proprietress beamed with joy.
She had never met such an easy-going martial artist before.
Chen Yi went to the guest room and woke up the soundly sleeping Da Chun. He told him to stay at the inn and not run around. Someone would provide him with three meals a day and help him wash up, so he could just relax and enjoy the easy life.
For Da Chun, having enough to eat and drink was all he needed to be satisfied. He had no other desires and wouldn't feel bored.
As for who would take care of him, it would naturally be the staff at the inn.
Chen Yi had given more than enough money, and the proprietress was good-natured at heart, so there shouldn't be any problems with Da Chun staying at the Yuelai Inn.
Next, Chen Yi left the Yuelai Inn and went to the market.
On this trip to find the Myriad Soul Banner, he couldn't just run there himself; he had to buy a horse.
"Demonic aura?"
In the horse market, Chen Yi noticed an almost imperceptible demonic aura.
He followed the demonic aura to a stable.
Seeing Chen Yi approach, the horse dealer came up to pitch his wares.
"Young hero, are you looking to buy a horse? Come and take a look. These are all top-grade horses, carefully selected premium red-maned steeds from the ranches of the Northern Steppes. Don't worry, they're all fully tamed and very easy to ride!"
Chen Yi didn't pay much attention to the horse dealer's bragging.
How far was the Northern Steppes from Baiyun County?
At a mortal's pace, even if they could be transported here, the horses would be dying of old age by the time they arrived. Who would do business like that?
Chen Yi's gaze locked onto a black-haired horse emitting a faint demonic aura.
At first glance, this black horse looked like a horse. Upon closer inspection, it still looked like a horse.
It didn't look like a member of the demon race, who were humanoid creatures with bestial features.
The black horse's demonic aura was intermittent and extremely weak.
The way it emitted its demonic aura was also different from other demons.
It was tied to the stable, waiting to be sold, and was keeping its head down to eat fodder. It seemed to only have the intelligence of a regular horse.
"Could it be that some demon had a twisted romance with a horse?"
Since this journey would require traveling day and night, Chen Yi figured that buying a horse with a demonic bloodline might be a bit more durable.
"Boss, how much for this horse?"
"The young hero wants this one? I can give you a discount!"
"Why?"
"This horse eats and shits like crazy! If I don't sell it soon, it's going to eat away all my profits!"
It wasn't surprising. Just like Da Chun, it looked like a horse on the surface, but there was more to it than met the eye.
Chen Yi bought a fine steed in the eastern market, a saddle in the western market, dry rations in the southern market, and a long whip in the northern market.
After getting everything fully equipped, he swung onto the horse, cracked his whip, and rode out of the city.
Chen Yi's destination was Wu'an Commandery in Qianzhou, located in the eastern part of Qingzhou. Qianzhou was exactly where he had fought his final battle in the third simulation.
The Myriad Soul Banner was currently there.
At this moment, the Myriad Soul Banner was probably tricking its umpteenth master into willingly sacrificing their origin soul to nourish its weak artifact spirit.
This was how the Myriad Soul Banner operated—bewitching weak-willed martial artists one after another, turning them into its own nourishment to repair itself.
So, it truly was a sinister artifact!
He couldn't let it continue to wreak havoc on the world; it had to be handed over to yours truly for proper safekeeping!
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
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.
