Several underlings turned their heads in unison to see Brother Dao walking in with Lin Ran and Luo Yao.
"Master Lin, President Luo, Brother Dao," the subordinates greeted in perfect sync, their order of address flawlessly precise.
Lin Ran nodded, then lowered his gaze to the disheveled figure of Lin Tianba sprawled on the floor.
Lin Tianba strained to lift his head, his eyes brimming with tears.
"Don’t recognize your own father now? Can’t even greet me properly?"
Lin Tianba’s lips trembled, his overwhelming emotions rendering him speechless—only choked sobs of regret escaped.
Filthy scraps of food clung to his face, mixing with his tears as they dripped down.
At this moment, Lin Ran was his only light.
Abu entered and handed Lin Ran and Luo Yao gas masks. Only after putting them on did they block out the room’s nauseating stench.
Masked, Lin Ran slowly crouched down, narrowing his eyes as he studied Lin Tianba.
Six months ago, this man had been the proud CEO of a listed company. Now, he was reduced to a state more pitiful than a beggar.
Bruises and wounds covered his body, his clothes stained with blood. Without the mask, the stench of decay and filth would have been unbearable.
Lin Tianba struggled to raise his head further, desperate to see his son clearly—to imprint the face he’d wronged in his dreams.
Since being locked away here for days, he’d had no conversation, no food.
The eerie silence was terrifying, but it also forced introspection.
As he reflected on the past, he finally saw Liu Yuemei for the venomous woman she was, his hatred for her reaching its peak.
And when he thought of how Lin Ran had suffered all these years, he realized just how gravely he’d erred.
Only when a man loses everything does he truly see his own heart.
He was a father—yet he’d become a demon aiding tyranny.
"Lin Tianba," Lin Ran’s voice cut in, devoid of emotion, "do you regret any of it?"
Regret?
He’d regretted it long ago. He regretted never treating Lin Ran better.
He regretted marrying Liu Yuemei.
He regretted being blind in heart and mind.
So, with great effort, he nodded, finally forcing out words.
"I regret it so much, son. We’re father and son. I’m begging you—"
Lin Tianba pressed his lips together, then uttered the inevitable line.
"I’m begging you to kneel, kowtow, and apologize to your father. Do that, and I’ll forgive you."
Lin Ran stood up and glanced back at Luo Yao, who smiled sweetly and wrapped her arms around him.
"You win, A’Ran. For the next month, you can be on top."
That’s right—they’d made a bet before entering. They’d wagered on whether Lin Tianba’s opening words would be this classic line.
And Lin Ran had guessed correctly.
So, in the end, Lin Tianba was just a prop in Luo Yao and Lin Ran’s little game.
"Tianba, you know what I admire most about you?"
Lin Tianba blinked in confusion. He couldn’t understand why, even at death’s door, this unfilial son still refused to bow and apologize.
Would he really wait until his father’s death to kowtow at his grave?
But regretful lamentations would be meaningless by then. Too late for remorse.
"Son, if you treat me like this… you’ll regret it one day. I don’t want you to live in regret like I do—it’s agony. Listen to me. Kowtow and apologize."
Lin Ran’s lips twitched in exasperation. Slowly, he pointed a finger downward, aiming it at Lin Tianba’s heart.
"What I admire most is your heart. You never forget your roots. And that delusional confidence of yours—so strong you’ve fooled even yourself. Today, I crown you Emperor Tianba. May you stay true to yourself for the rest of your days."
"Pfft—!"
Lin Ran’s words successfully made Luo Yao burst into laughter. The others kept their heads down, unsure what she found so funny.
But then again, they couldn’t fathom how a father like Lin Tianba even existed.
To neglect his own outstanding son in favor of a bastard who wasn’t even his own flesh and blood.
Lin Ran wrapped an arm around Luo Yao’s slender waist, finding his wife utterly adorable when she laughed.
"What’s so funny? Share it with your husband."
Luo Yao leaned into him. "Fools are laughable by nature, but those who refuse to repent after wrongdoing are beyond redemption."
Lin Ran nodded in agreement, glancing at Lin Tianba on the floor. "He’s like a toad swallowing a fishhook—his own damn fault. Yet he still acts like the world owes him."
Faced with Lin Ran’s merciless mockery, Lin Tianba’s heart plunged into an abyss of despair. The world around him turned into pure terror.
"You… you really won’t kowtow and apologize? You’d really throw away a father’s love?"
"See? Emperor Tianba’s confidence knows no bounds," Lin Ran remarked, gesturing at him.
"Too bad I couldn’t care less about your so-called ‘fatherly love.’ It disgusts me."
Boom.
Lin Tianba’s spirit finally shattered. The light in his eyes dimmed to gray.
No—he couldn’t give up yet.
He hadn’t won Lin Ran back.
He hadn’t taken revenge on Liu Yuemei.
He hadn’t… lost all hope.
He couldn’t surrender. He had to make Lin Ran call him "Dad" again, force Liu Yuemei to her knees in repentance, and strip Lin Jian of any real paternal love.
"Son, I’m still your father. You—"
Lin Ran’s expression turned icy, his tone dripping with disdain.
"Remember what I told you in Chapter Seven? Don’t call yourself my father, or I’ll slap the shit out of you."
Originally, Lin Ran had planned to teach Lin Tianba a lesson himself, but the man’s current state was too revolting to touch.
Abu, as if reading his mind, volunteered.
"Master Lin, this is my specialty. Let me handle it."
Punishing Lin Tianba? Abu was more than happy to oblige.
Lin Ran patted his shoulder. "Lucky you—getting to have all the fun. Go ahead."
As Abu approached step by step, Lin Tianba recalled some very unpleasant memories.
"Stay back! Son, Dad was wrong! Make him stop!"
Lin Ran’s mocking tone was unrestrained. "Daddy’s not sticking around. Starting today, you’re disowned. We’re done."
"Enjoy the rest of your life. Barring miracles, we won’t meet again." With that, Lin Ran turned to leave.
Lin Tianba panicked. "No! Dad Lin, don’t go! Take me with you—!"
Abu crouched and slowly reached out.
Lin Tianba’s face twisted in horror as he screamed.
"STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME—!"
Lin Tianba: "STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME."
Outside the cell, Lin Ran gave Brother Dao his orders. "Unless fate intervenes, I never want to see him again. But don’t let him die. Dump him in a busy district to beg. If he refuses, beat him until he complies."
Brother Dao nodded. "Understood."
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
y came from. The chests contained supplies, currency, class-change scrolls, skills, talents… and even godhood! The laws of the world were completely rewritten. This became a world where everyone gambled with their fate! Some people, despite having nothing, opened a divine artifact and rose to the top, eventually ruling the world. Others went bankrupt, opened nothing but worthless junk, and leaped from skyscrapers in despair. Lin Ye arrived in this world from another reality, utterly bewildered. “What is going on? Why is everyone a gambling addict?!” “Opening chests? No way. I refuse to gamble. I’ll start with myself!” Until— On his first chest, he obtained a Mythic Talent: Void Incarnation! He could become completely intangible, pass through all things, and reduce everything to nothingness! … On his fiftieth chest, he obtained a Mythic Weapon: Blade of Karma! With a single slash, karma shattered, twisting the universe and overturning the myriad phenomena of creation! … On his ninety-ninth chest, he obtained a Mythic Divine Treasure: Primordial Purple Energy! It could split open the heavens and earth, create all things, and evolve countless worlds with a single thought! Lin Ye: “Now that I think about it… shouldn’t someone have told me that every chest is guaranteed to contain something Mythic?!”
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."
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.
