Qin Hao raised an eyebrow slightly.
"A secret? What secret?"
Zhao Pojun spread his arms wide and said to Qin Hao,
"Hit me. If you hit me, I'll tell you."
Qin Hao couldn't help but smile wryly. In all his life, he had never heard such a pathetic request.
He reached into his storage pouch, fumbled around for a moment, and then took out a pill.
This was a Barrier-Breaking Pill, specially used to break seals placed on cultivators.
"The reason you have this urge is because someone set a seal inside your body. Here, take this pill."
Zhao Pojun instinctively caught the pill and looked up at Qin Hao, his face swollen like a pig's head as he asked with confusion,
"What kind of pill is this? Maybe you should just hit me instead. That feels safer to me."
Qin Hao rolled his eyes, then kicked Zhao Pojun away.
"This is a pill that can awaken your physique. Eat it now! If you ask me to hit you again, I might just kill you."
Hearing this, Zhao Pojun shrank his neck and quickly tossed the pill into his mouth.
The moment the pill entered his mouth, Zhao Pojun's expression changed. His body began to tremble violently.
Dark golden patterns appeared on his skin, as if something was charging out from deep within his body.
A muffled roar escaped his throat, like he was trying to hold it in but couldn't.
Qin Hao simply stood by and watched quietly.
After about fifteen minutes, an overwhelming bloodline power surged forth from Zhao Pojun, like a dam breaking, sweeping through the area.
That power carried a primal, fiery aura of battle instinct.
Zhao Pojun slowly straightened up. The bruises on his face were fading visibly. His swollen eyes shrank, and the cuts at the corners of his mouth healed.
Soon, he recovered from his pig-head state to the clean, handsome appearance he had when they first met.
He looked down at his hands, clenched his fists, and felt the unprecedented, truly his own power surging through his meridian channels.
"So... this is what it feels like to be able to cultivate?"
Qin Hao looked at him and said,
"So? Now that the seal in your body is broken, you don't need me to beat you up anymore, right?"
Hearing this, Zhao Pojun lowered his head, looking a little embarrassed.
He twisted his legs together awkwardly and said shyly,
"Well... if you want to hit me, I wouldn't say no."
At these words, Qin Hao felt his vision go dark, and his body swayed slightly.
He twitched the corner of his mouth and muttered to himself,
"Damn it... What kind of job did I take on?!"
Qin Hao shook his head vigorously and looked at Zhao Pojun.
"Alright! Now can you tell me? What's this secret you have?"
Zhao Pojun rubbed his hands together, stepped closer to Qin Hao, and whispered,
"What if I told you... I'm actually a woman? Would you believe me?"
"Bam!"
Qin Hao didn't bother with words, he punched Zhao Pojun square in the nose, sending him flying backward.
"THAT'S my answer!"
Qin Hao trusted his double-pupils. He had suspected earlier that the system wouldn't give him such a bizarre mission. So he had checked with his double-pupils and confirmed that the person in front of him was a man.
Zhao Pojun wiped the blood from his nose, gritted his teeth, and looked at Qin Hao with a hint of longing.
"That's it... just like that~"
"Sigh—!!!"
Qin Hao sucked in a cold breath, wasting no more words as he immediately drew a longsword and pressed it against Zhao Pojun's throat.
"Got any last words?"
The blade touched Zhao Pojun's skin, icy and razor-sharp.
Seated on the ground, Zhao Pojun stared at Qin Hao's sinister expression and knew for certain that this man would actually kill him.
With that thought, Zhao Pojun wasted no time in invoking his background:
"You can't kill me. I'm the Crown Prince of the Great Zhao Immortal Dynasty. My father is a Celestial Lord-level powerhouse. If you kill me, you won't survive either."
Hearing this, Qin Hao let out a cold laugh.
The blade cut into Zhao Pojun's skin, and blood trickled down the edge:
"Huh. Kill you, and I won't survive either? Want to give it a try?"
Zhao Pojun's smile finally faded a bit.
He raised a hand and gently pushed the blade aside, his tone shifting to a more serious one:
"Come on, bro. I was just joking with you."
"I'm a guy. I was only messing around."
Qin Hao pressed the sword deeper. The icy blade was only a hair's breadth from slicing through Zhao Pojun's blood vessels.
"I don't find this funny at all!"
The smile froze on Zhao Pojun's face. He forced out an awkward grin and explained:
"Bro, actually, I didn't place that order for myself. I've been troubled lately by my elder sister's marriage."
"As luck would have it, that jade pendant for renting a Dao companion just happened to land at my feet."
"I didn't hesitate to place the order. Truth is, I ordered it for my elder sister."
Hearing this, Qin Hao sheathed his sword.
"You're really a good brother to your sister. If it's that complicated, why didn't you just explain the request from the start?"
Seeing Qin Hao finally put away the blade, Zhao Pojun let out a long sigh of relief.
He reached up and touched the shallow cut on his neck, muttering with lingering fear:
"You really are ruthless..."
Qin Hao looked down at him from above.
"If you talk nonsense one more time, my next sword won't just break the skin."
At that, Zhao Pojun quickly scrambled to his feet, dusted off his robe, and plastered a smile on his face as he sidled up to Qin Hao.
"Bro, don't be mad. Let me tell you the real deal now." Zhao Pojun's tone carried a certainty that said, "You're definitely going to be interested."
"My elder sister, Zhao Jinglan, is drop-dead gorgeous. You'll see for yourself when you meet her. The entire Great Zhao Immortal Dynasty can't find a woman better-looking than her."
"And not only is she beautiful, but her cultivation talent is also extraordinary—a Mahayana-stage cultivator. Way better than a waste like me, who only got where I am by popping pills."
Qin Hao turned his head to look at Zhao Pojun, puzzled.
"Your sister is beautiful, has a gentle personality, and her talent in cultivation is top-notch."
"By all logic, a woman like that shouldn't lack suitors. Why would you need to find her a rental Dao companion?"
"Is there something else you're not telling me?"
Hearing this, Zhao Pojun scratched his head and gave an awkward chuckle:
"Heh heh, bro, you really see right through me!"
"It's precisely because my sister is beautiful, kind, and talented that someone has set their sights on her!"
The Holy Son of the Blood Fiend Holy Land has set his sights on my imperial sister and wants her to be his concubine. My worthless father, in a pathetic attempt to curry favor with the Blood Fiend Holy Land, agreed to this marriage without a moment’s hesitation!
I simply cannot bear to see my sister marry a scumbag like the Holy Son of the Blood Fiend Holy Land. So, grasping at straws, I came to 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!
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.
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
