Standing on the carriage, Ren Tianye swayed a little.
He thought he had misheard.
What the hell?
The Empress slaughtered seventy thousand soldiers of the Chifeng Army just because their commander, Lin Yi, opposed her marriage?
They stood in the way of her love, so the Chifeng Army had to be massacred?
What kind of bullshit reason is that!
No, he knew female-oriented romance novels could be absurd, but how could it be this absurd!
It was the mother of all absurdities!
And then there was this Zhan Shubai in front of him...
Willingly being the "other man"?!
Seriously, you're a grown man, and not only are you a side piece, but you're actually proud of it?
"I'll be damned, what kind of dogshit logic is this!"
Ren Tianye took a deep breath, taking quite a while to suppress the emotions welling up inside him.
The situation before him, though incredibly bizarre, might actually be a perfect opportunity for him.
He immediately continued to provoke him: "Hmph, you say there was no collusion, so there wasn't? Are you doubting Her Majesty's judgment?"
"Truly rebellious and treasonous!"
"Zhan Shubai, as the Imperial Envoy, I ask you now: will you bind your own hands, or do you want me to do it for you?"
Zhan Shubai didn't bind his hands, nor did he let Ren Tianye make a move. Instead, like a madman, he pointed at Ren Tianye and started cursing.
"I know, I know..."
"It's you!"
"It must be you!"
"You've bewitched Her Majesty! You took advantage of my absence to seduce her with sweet words, and now you want her to order my death!"
"Hmph!"
"Ren Tianye, I see right through you."
"You want to eliminate me as a rival to take my place in Her Majesty's heart."
"In your dreams!"
"Let me tell you, in Her Majesty's heart, I will always be her number three, and you, at best, can only be number four!"
"I will always be one step ahead of you!"
Rumble!
His words spread like thunder.
The soldiers following Ren Tianye were dumbfounded. In all their lives, this was probably the first time they had heard something so utterly ridiculous.
Strangely, the soldiers following Zhan Shubai, as well as those still on the city walls, remained completely solemn.
Their facial expressions didn't change in the slightest.
This kind of discipline could no longer be described simply as strict; it was more like they didn't dare to make a move under iron-fisted suppression.
This also extinguished the sudden thought that had popped into Ren Tianye's mind.
He had been wondering if he could take advantage of Zhan Shubai's emotional turmoil to deliver a fatal strike.
But after thinking it over, he gave up on the idea.
Setting aside the fact that Zhan Shubai was highly skilled in combat and the strike might not succeed, even if it did, Ren Tianye would likely be shot into a pincushion immediately after.
It seemed he could only continue kicking Zhan Shubai's sore spot.
With a sneer, his face was filled with disdain.
"One step ahead of me?"
"Zhan Shubai, do you really not know what Her Majesty thinks of you?"
"Heh!"
"Her Majesty personally wrote a letter to me, saying that you..."
Ren Tianye's tone was leisurely: "Are like a big tree hanging a chili pepper!"
Silence!
The area below the city wall suddenly fell dead silent, with only the crackling of the illuminating torches to be heard.
Zhan Shubai's eyes widened.
"No, wait, I remembered it wrong." Ren Tianye leisurely twisted the knife: "Not a big tree hanging a chili pepper."
"Rather, a big tree hanging a bean sprout!"
Zhan Shubai's face went deathly pale. He even forgot to yell at Ren Tianye, only muttering: "Her Majesty is pure and chaste, and she hasn't even been with me, how, how..."
"How could she evaluate, evaluate me like that?"
On the city wall, the soldiers stood like a forest of swords and spears.
A young soldier curiously asked in a low voice: "What does 'a big tree hanging a bean sprout' mean?"
"Quiet!" an old veteran scolded in a low voice. "Have you forgotten General Zhan's ruthless methods? You dare gossip about him behind his back?"
The young soldier jumped in fright and didn't dare say another word.
He just followed military discipline, remaining on high alert.
In the center of the field, Ren Tianye knew that his words had poked Zhan Shubai's deepest fear. Regardless of Zhan Shubai's actual physical condition, he was terrified of any negative evaluation from the Empress.
A classic pathetic simp persona!
He immediately magnified it.
Using all his strength, he shouted in a voice loud enough to ensure everyone heard: "You're a big tree hanging a bean sprout, and you still expect Her Majesty to like you?"
"What woman in this world would like a guy who's a big tree hanging a bean sprout?"
"What, you're a bean sprout yourself, and you won't allow others to dislike you for it?"
After emphasizing it three times in a row, Ren Tianye saw that Zhan Shubai's face was completely drained of color before adding: "Bean sprout, if you know what's good for you, kill yourself right here and now."
"As the Imperial Envoy, I can discuss this with Her Majesty. We'll announce to the public that you died of exhaustion from managing the military affairs of Yunji City, and we'll even issue you a fallen soldier's pension."
"Otherwise, hmph..."
"Not only will I execute you on Her Majesty's orders, but I will also broadcast the fact that you're a bean sprout to the entire country, letting everyone know that Her Majesty doesn't like a bean sprout like you."
Zhan Shubai's body swayed violently.
Ren Tianye's constant repetition of the word 'bean sprout' almost made him cough up blood.
"I am not a bean sprout!"
"Absolutely not!"
"I am Her Majesty's most trusted person. I've been diligent and conscientious with everything she's entrusted to me, she, she will believe me..."
Zhan Shubai suddenly roared: "I am going to see Her Majesty! I will tell her in person that I am not a bean sprout..."
Before his shout had even faded, Zhan Shubai viciously cracked his whip, landing a heavy blow on his horse's rump. The warhorse beneath him let out a shrill neigh and bolted forward.
In the blink of an eye, he was over ten meters away.
Looking up again, he was already rushing down the winding main road, quickly disappearing beyond the reach of the firelight.
The neighing of the strong horse rapidly faded until it could no longer be heard.
The defenders below and on the walls of Yunji City were dumbfounded.
Their defending general just left like that?
From the sound of it, he was going to the capital to see Her Majesty just to tell her he wasn't a bean sprout?
Then who was going to manage Yunji City?
Ren Tianye was also taken aback.
His mental state was a bit too fragile!
What, did simping for the Empress deprive his brain of oxygen?
Just faking an imperial decree from the Empress made him lose his composure and run off to beg for forgiveness?
Damn it, if he knew it was this easy, why did he even bother scheming!
Taking a breath, he shouted loudly: "Her Majesty ordered Zhan Shubai to defend Yunji City, yet he dared to disregard the imperial command and abandon the city! Truly... an unforgivable crime!"
"However, Yunji City is situated in a strategic location, guarding the borders of the Great Yu and blocking the path of the barbarians. It cannot be without a master for even a single day."
"Today, as the Imperial Envoy, I shall take over Zhan Shubai's duties and defend Yunji City..."
"Open the city gates!"
The soldiers of Yunji City couldn't immediately process this sudden turn of events, and all looked somewhat at a loss.
Ren Tianye shouted coldly again: "Why haven't you opened the gates yet? Are you still expecting Zhan Shubai to return? Or do you want a taste of my broadsword?"
With Yunji City now leaderless and Ren Tianye bearing the title of Imperial Envoy, his commanding shout carried an imposing aura, and the crowd dared not delay any longer.
The city gates swung wide open, inviting Ren Tianye inside.
Ren Tianye headed straight for the General's Manor of Yunji City. After first securing the military tallies and official seals, he breathed a massive sigh of relief.
This Yunji City was now in his hands!
It was just that...
Getting his hands on it was way too easy, wasn't it?!
In his imagination, he was supposed to have his eight hundred men charge out while tricking the gates open, engaging in a fierce bloodbath with the soldiers of Yunji City. It would have been a river of blood.
But now...
He had taken Yunji City without shedding a single drop of blood?
Ren Tianye felt as if he were in a dream.
After a long moment, he couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm starting to think that having a few more lovesick fools in this Great Yu Empire might not be such a bad thing after all!"
He paused, then called out, "Wang Ming."
"At your command."
"Go inform General Sun Xiang. Tell them to... bring the men into the city. This Yunji City is already ours."
"Yes, General!"
"Oh, and one more thing. Tell Sun Xiang to send a few men to finish off Zhan Shubai while his mind is still in turmoil."
"...Yes, General!"
...
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!
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
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.
