Outside the north gate of the capital, there were no ministers to welcome him, no high-ranking officials showing up to give him an imperial decree, and no spying from Lu Qing, the actual commander of the imperial guards. It was as quiet as an ordinary morning.
This made Ren Tianye begin to doubt himself.
It was as if he wasn't here to purge the emperor's corrupt advisors, but rather on a sightseeing tour of the imperial palace.
Until...
A procession approached from a distance.
The noise gradually grew louder!
Looking closely, he realized it was a funeral procession carrying a coffin. Everyone wore mourning garments of coarse hemp, their faces filled with sorrow that was hard to tell if it was genuine or fake.
"Is this..."
"A funeral procession?"
Ren Tianye was momentarily stunned.
He was about to lead a massive army into the city. For someone to hold a funeral at this exact moment—did they simply lack brains, or was there some other conspiracy at play?
Ren Tianye leaned toward the latter, though he couldn't immediately guess what it was.
"They couldn't possibly have weapons hidden in the coffin, planning to break out and take my life when I'm off guard, right?!"
As he pondered this, the procession drew closer and soon arrived at the north gate of the capital. The face of the person leading the mourning became clear to Ren Tianye.
It was none other than an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time!
"So it's the Young Duke. Oh, we meet again!"
Ren Tianye sat on his horse, offering a fake smile, looking very polite on the surface.
"Ren Tianye..."
The Young Duke, Lu Jun, called out. However, while he would grit his teeth and exude his usual domineering aura when saying these three words behind Ren Tianye's back—looking as if he had the whole world in his grasp—his voice instantly shrank the moment he faced Ren Tianye in person.
It didn't sound like a show of strength; it sounded more like acting cute!
This made the Young Duke, Lu Jun, very displeased. He quickly tried to adjust his mindset and immediately shouted again, "Ren Tianye, this young master gives you the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to roll off your horse and kneel in kowtow to my father!"
Ren Tianye was speechless.
He turned his head to look at Wang Ming.
Wang Ming looked equally bewildered and instinctively glanced at his own palm.
Seriously, was his slap that easy to forget? He remembered back in Yunji City, he had beaten this Young Duke until he cried for his parents, making him spill everything he knew.
How did the Young Duke revert to his domineering nature in the blink of an eye?
Wang Ming could only say awkwardly, "Great General, this Young Duke... he's just like this. He can't change his ways."
Ren Tianye nodded in understanding.
He didn't blame Wang Ming. Wang Ming quickly shouted, "Lu Jun, what are you waiting for? Get out of the way!"
"Are you waiting for the iron hooves of our great army?"
The Young Duke, Lu Jun, gradually steadied his nerves and recovered his domineering nature. He shuddered slightly, then said coldly, "Ren Tianye, hmph, I advise you to open your dog eyes and take a good look."
"Who is it standing before you!"
"Who is it inside this coffin!"
"You want me to get out of the way?"
"Hmph, aren't you afraid of the wagging tongues of the people of this world?"
These words made Ren Tianye pause slightly.
He instinctively looked at the coffin. The coffin was covered with a bright yellow Dharani sutra blanket, and the honor guards on both sides held the street placards of the estate of the Duke of Fuguo.
Ren Tianye instantly realized.
It was the coffin of the estate of the Duke of Fuguo.
He had already found out over the past two days that the Duke of Fuguo had passed away, and all of the Duke of Fuguo's power had fallen into Lu Qing's hands.
But...
Bringing out the estate of the Duke of Fuguo right now, what did that mean?
Before Ren Tianye could guess further, Lu Jun said directly, "Ren Tianye, when my father was alive, you knelt to him, kowtowed to him, and acknowledged him as your master."
"Although my father only held the title of your master for two days, a master for a day is a father for a lifetime!"
"Now, before my father's spirit, aren't you going to obediently kneel and kowtow?!"
Hearing this, Ren Tianye was completely confused.
Because he really couldn't remember ever having such a master.
It should be known that after he transmigrated into this body and arrived directly at the northern frontier, the original owner of the body had already died of depression. Guided by some sort of rule, he inherited a portion of the original owner's memories.
But those memories were hazy and fragmented.
He truly didn't remember having a master!
However...
Even if he did have such a master, it shouldn't be a big deal, right?
After all, listening to the Young Duke, Lu Jun, it was only for two or three days. What kind of master was that?
Ren Tianye thought this way, but the Young Duke, Lu Jun, did not. Several people immediately jumped out from behind the Young Duke, Lu Jun.
"The Rites of Yu states that a master and disciple are like father and son! Since the late Duke was your master, he is your father! When a father dies, the children should kneel and keep vigil. Yet you are still on your horse and haven't rolled down? What, do you want to be convicted of the crime of rebellion?"
"When a father dies, if a son does not rush to the funeral and kneel in worship, it is unfilial. If you do not quickly roll down to kneel, weep bitterly, acknowledge the Young Duke as your elder brother, and submit to the Young Duke's disposal today, then you are refusing to recognize the late Duke as your father. You are an unfilial person, and the whole world will condemn you!"
"Once the status is set, it cannot be changed for life. The late Duke was your master, therefore he is your father. The Young Duke is your elder brother, and the Duke's estate is your home. Do you dare to disobey? We will announce this to the world and let you bear the infamous name of being unfilial and unbrotherly!"
...
The few people who jumped out were clearly extraordinary at first glance. They looked like either civil officials or great scholars. Their words sounded quite weighty.
This greatly improved the complexion of the Young Duke, Lu Jun.
He directly issued an ultimatum to Ren Tianye.
"Ren Tianye, roll off your horse immediately, kneel before my father's coffin for seven days and seven nights, and then acknowledge me as your elder brother. Otherwise, I will surely ruin your reputation!"
Pausing, the Young Duke said coldly, "Listen clearly, this is a notification, not a negotiation!"
Ren Tianye finally understood.
So this was the trap the Young Duke, Lu Jun, had set for him!
However, it wasn't a deadly banquet, nor were there axemen ambushing him from behind. Instead, he had invited some great scholars and civil officials, pulling out the etiquette rule of a master for a day is a father for a lifetime to constrain him?!
Interesting!
He smiled and said, "Since a master for a day is a father for a lifetime, then it's not impossible for this general to acknowledge it!"
The Young Duke, Lu Jun, was instantly overjoyed. He knew it would definitely work.
He immediately shouted, "Then why haven't you rolled down to pay your respects?"
"No rush!" Ren Tianye smiled. "This general still has some questions. Since you, Young Duke, keep saying that this general is a member of your Duke of Fuguo's estate and must recognize your father as my father..."
"Then, now that your father is dead, he must have left behind quite a lot of inheritance, right?"
"How much of it should be distributed to this general?"
The Young Duke, Lu Jun: "???"
The crowd behind him: "???"
"What, you haven't figured it out yet?" Ren Tianye said leisurely. "That doesn't matter. Since this general is going to call your father Dad, then the matter of the inheritance must absolutely not be handled carelessly."
"This general will definitely make sure to take the full share that belongs to this general."
Pausing, Ren Tianye ordered, "Wang Ming!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"Invite the Young Duke into the tent for a chat. This general wants to have a good talk with him about the inheritance left by the Duke of Fuguo."
"I heard that when the Duke of Fuguo was alive, he held military and political power, so his inheritance must be quite substantial. This general is truly lucky. Before even entering the capital, someone is willing to deliver his inheritance!"
"Then it would be impolite to refuse!"
...
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."
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.”
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!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
