Qin Hao's head started aching again. He couldn't help but mutter in his heart, why didn't this alternate world have books like "If You Can't Manage a Team, You'll Just Have to Work Yourself to Death"?
If there were, he could observe and learn a bit, saving him from having to bury his head in hard work every time something happened.
Qin Hao shook his head, then revealed a smile, "My dear wives, it's my fault for neglecting you recently. For the next month, I will take the time to properly accompany you."
Hearing this, the expressions of the women finally softened considerably.
Qin Hao said nothing, simply pulling them along as they silently returned to the house.
One month later.
Qin Hao walked out of the house. His collar was wide open, revealing a small section of his collarbone where several bite marks were clearly visible.
Qin Hao took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, his gaze somewhat hollow as he looked up at the sky.
"Alas, wine and women have actually made me so haggard. Starting today, I'm quitting drinking!"
After sighing, Qin Hao prepared to leave the Qin family to head to the Heavenly Moon Sect to find Chen Qingning. After finishing Chen Qingning's task, he still had to go to the Myriad Demon Kingdom to find Ji Ruxue and bring both of them home together.
Just thinking about that scene made Qin Hao's hairs stand on end. "It's going to be another fierce battle!"
During this period of dual cultivation, Qin Hao had Jiang Xinyao contact Jiang Changsheng, while he himself contacted Ao Yu. A month ago, the Jiang family patriarch, Jiang Changsheng, and the Northern Wasteland Dragon Tribe's patriarch, Ao Bing, had followed the Qin family's ancestors to the foreign realm to look for Qin Wuya.
"I wonder how things are going on my old man's side. I hope everything goes smoothly."
Just as Qin Hao was feeling a bit worried about Qin Wuya's situation, Lao Liu found him.
"Lord Emperor Son, I have some good news and some bad news."
Qin Hao rolled his eyes at Lao Liu and snorted coldly, "What good news and bad news? Are you trying to keep me in suspense?"
Lao Liu chuckled lightly and then said,
"The good news is that the ancestors have successfully found the Patriarch and met up with him. They are now on their way back."
"The bad news is that the people of the foreign realm intercepted the Patriarch and the ancestors, and they have sealed the passage between the two worlds. They can't come back."
"What? They can't come back? If the passage is sealed, just open it again! Can't we open the passage from our side too? Go contact the other factions and have them help open it!"
Hearing this, Lao Liu gave a bitter smile. "That's exactly where the problem lies. The Jiang family and the Myriad Demon Kingdom are willing to help, but the other Ancient Factions are unwilling to lend a hand. The foreign realm's strength is greater than ours, not weaker. Facing the joint blockade of the foreign realm's numerous Immortal Emperors, the combined power of the Jiang family and the Myriad Demon Kingdom is simply not enough to tear it open."
Hearing this, Qin Hao's brows twisted into a knot. Hadn't the factions of the Three Realms and Nine Heavens agreed to stand united against external threats? Why were these people dropping the ball at a time like this?
"Do the higher-ups in the clan have any solutions right now?"
Lao Liu shook his head. "Everyone at the Immortal King level and above has gone to the foreign realm. Only Immortal Lord level cultivators remain in the clan, and they don't have any good solutions either. They are just running around everywhere, trying to persuade the major factions to lend a hand."
At this point, Lao Liu looked at Qin Hao and said, "Lord Emperor Son, everything depends on you now."
"Depends on me? I'd love to help, but I truly don't have the ability."
Qin Hao now lamented that there wasn't enough time. His cultivation time had been far too short. Although he enjoyed a high status backed by the Ancient Qin family, his actual strength was still somewhat lacking when placed within the Three Realms and Nine Heavens.
Lao Liu smiled. "Lord Emperor Son, sometimes strength isn't the only way to solve a problem. If you can figure out a way to get your hands on the Emperor Daughters of those Ancient Factions and have them do the persuading, wouldn't it be simple?"
"The message sent back from the ancestors also told us not to worry. Even though they can't return, the foreign realm won't be able to take them down anytime soon. The situation in the foreign realm is the same as ours; the Great Dao is flawed. However, they are slightly better off than us. We are missing two-thirds, while they are only missing one-third."
"The Patriarch has grasped the complete Great Dao and also possesses a supreme Dao artifact. Leading over a hundred ancestors, he can hold out for three to five years. You need to think of a way during this period..."
Hearing the plan Lao Liu proposed, Qin Hao gave a helpless smile. Good heavens, they were asking him to save the clan through a roundabout approach of seduction.
"I can only say I'll do my best." Qin Hao shrugged. He couldn't control who the system's orders were sent to either. If he could, he would just directly target those Emperor Daughters with orders next.
[You can, damn host. I have this function. It doesn't cost much—five pecks of destiny. For just five pecks of destiny, I can unlock the targeted order assignment function for you.]
Before Qin Hao could finish speaking, the Damn System's notification rang out in his mind, offering to unlock the targeted order assignment function for five pecks of destiny.
"Damn System, aren't you taking advantage of my misfortune a bit? Even at a generous estimate, I only have nine pecks of destiny right now. You want to take five pecks all at once? With only four pecks left, I'm afraid more bad things will start happening to me."
Qin Hao pursed his lips, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Can I pay in installments?"
[No problem, but there will be interest.]
"How much interest?"
[Five liters of interest. The repayment date will be after each of your orders is completed. I'll collect five liters each time, to be paid off in eleven installments. That's fair enough, right?]
Qin Hao nodded; this was acceptable. "Alright, deal."
After concluding the transaction with the system, Qin Hao said to Lao Liu, "Lao Liu, I still have tasks to complete. If there are any developments with the ancestors, contact me immediately."
Lao Liu nodded. "Rest assured, Lord Emperor Son."
Qin Hao didn't say much more. He directly activated his jade pendant to travel to the Heavenly Moon Sect. The current situation made him extremely anxious, and he was eager to complete his tasks.
"If only Ruyan were here. A Ninth-Life Immortal Emperor who slaughtered her way through the foreign realm alone. If she were here, she could definitely bring my old man and the others back. What a pity she's sleeping in the Immortal Ancient Battlefield."
Qin Hao arrived at the Heavenly Moon Sect, but his arrival did not cause a commotion. It wasn't that no one recognized him, but rather that those who did dared not make a sound. When the mountain-guarding disciples saw Qin Hao, their eyes first went wide, and then they hurriedly lowered their heads to bow, not even daring to breathe loudly.
Qin Hao gave them a slight nod of acknowledgment and walked straight toward the main peak without saying a word. His pace was much faster than usual; the news Lao Liu had brought back weighed on his chest like a heavy stone.
In the courtyard of the main peak, Chen Qingning, who had just finished her cultivation, was spacing out. In her hand, she tightly clutched a jade pendant—the very same one she had picked up to place her order back then.
"He's been gone for a month now. Could it be that he's not coming back?"
Chen Qingning revealed an expression uglier than crying as she gave a self-deprecating smile.
"It makes sense. Who is he? He's the Emperor Son of the Qin family, while I'm merely the Holy Maiden of a sect in the Middle Three Heavens. To him, someone like me can only be considered a passing traveler."
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."
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
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.”
