Boom!
It felt as if a clap of thunder had exploded right above his head.
For a moment, Wu Xingzhou felt as though he were in a dream.
Only, it was not a sweet dream, but a nightmare from which he could hardly awaken!
He couldn't believe it, yet he had no choice but to.
The Qin Shuyao standing before him spoke with such absolute resolve, without a single trace of hesitation in her eyes. Based on his comprehensive understanding of her over the past year, he knew what she said was true.
"So, I was just a damn practice tool for Qin Shuyao?"
"I know..." Qin Shuyao's voice sounded again. This time, her tone was much softer, her attitude gentler. "I know that after leaving me, you will be very upset. You will be heartbroken."
"After all, you can't bear to part with me!"
"But..."
"There is no other way. Ah Ping has returned."
"And I made a solemn vow!"
"For my sake, I believe you can understand, right?"
Still trapped in immense shock, Wu Xingzhou didn't know what to say for a moment and froze.
However, this reaction seemed to give Qin Shuyao the wrong idea.
Qin Shuyao was clearly getting emotional and subconsciously began to ramble.
"Xingzhou, speaking of which, I have to thank you."
"During our year of marriage, using you for practice has allowed me to become a better version of myself."
"It gave me the confidence to be accepted by Ah Ping."
"You completed your task very well."
"I believe you must be happy for me too, right?"
"After all, it was with your help that I became the radiant woman I am today!"
Wu Xingzhou finally snapped out of it.
He shouted sternly, "Shut up, Qin Shuyao! I never imagined this was your plan when you married me. I must have been blind to marry a woman like you!"
Wu Xingzhou's heart was filled with pure rage.
He only felt that this relationship, which he had once cherished so deeply, had just been fed to the dogs.
In truth, Wu Xingzhou had always known about the Ah Ping that Qin Shuyao mentioned. He was her unattainable first love, a handsome man from an extraordinary family. Even in Yunjing, he was considered a powerful aristocrat.
Qin Shuyao's family background was quite a bit weaker in comparison.
Therefore, Qin Shuyao had always loved that man named Jiang Ping from afar.
Wu Xingzhou had never cared about this before.
After all, he had been with other women before Qin Shuyao. For someone from a prominent family like hers to have some romantic history before marriage was something he could accept.
But...
He truly had no idea that a situation like this could exist!
If he had known earlier, he would never have married this woman, no matter what.
At this moment, Qin Shuyao was somewhat stunned.
Wu Xingzhou was actually yelling at her?
It should be known that Wu Xingzhou had always spoken to her softly and gently. Unless facing a major crisis, he never even raised his voice at her.
And now he was yelling?
"Is it because he knows we have to separate, so he's getting desperate?"
Thinking of this, Qin Shuyao couldn't help but sigh.
She had long known that Wu Xingzhou was hopelessly in love with her, and she had always worried that he would pester her after she brought up the divorce.
Now, it seemed her fears were coming true.
Sure enough, in the next moment, Wu Xingzhou kicked the chest containing a thousand taels of gold right in front of her. Then he said coldly, "I don't want your thousand taels of gold..."
"Xingzhou..." Qin Shuyao comforted him with a pained expression. "Since things have come to this, why must you act like this? To help me and Ah Ping, to help me find my happiness... aren't you happy for me?"
"You..."
Before she could finish, Wu Xingzhou impatiently interrupted her.
He continued coldly, "I don't want the thousand taels of gold because I don't care about it. But... the position of Pingling Garrison Commander is mine. You cannot take it away!"
Wu Xingzhou had secured the position of Pingling Garrison Commander through Qin Shuyao's connections. He had already poured countless hours of blood and sweat into it, and moreover, he had the confidence and ability to defend Pingling.
Right now, he had fortified Pingling to be as solid as a rock.
It had almost become an obsession of his.
So, a divorce was fine, and he could give up the thousand taels of gold, but he had to keep Pingling in his hands!
"No!"
Unexpectedly, Qin Shuyao decisively refused, saying, "Ah Ping and I are going to live together in Pingling from now on. I must give Pingling to him."
"Xingzhou, pick anything else besides this."
"I can give you whatever you want."
Wu Xingzhou said coldly, "I only want Pingling!"
Qin Shuyao's temper flared up instantly, her spoiled young lady persona returning. She said coldly and resolutely, "Wu Xingzhou, don't push it!"
"The Pingling Garrison belongs to Ah Ping."
"Don't force me to kick you out onto the streets!"
After scolding him, Qin Shuyao turned and left.
On her way out, she deliberately slammed the door shut with a loud bang to vent her dissatisfaction, then rode off on her horse. In the middle of that very night, Wu Xingzhou received a report from his personal guards.
An official order from his superiors had arrived at the military camp.
The order was written clearly.
It dismissed Wu Xingzhou from his position as the Pingling Garrison Commander!
Holding that order, a deep sorrow welled up within Wu Xingzhou!
Tears uncontrollably fell from his eyes.
Pingling was his life's work!
Ever since the political turmoil began in the capital, he had anticipated that the imperial court might one day send a large army to Yunjing. So, he had started making preparations back then.
He had invested all of Pingling's limited resources into its defense. Now, he could confidently guarantee that Pingling was an impenetrable fortress!
He could absolutely protect the people of this region!
But now...
All his hard work had become a fleeting illusion.
It made Wu Xingzhou feel extremely resentful.
But what could his resentment do?
Could he snatch it back?
How would that be any different from treason?
Would Yunjing still tolerate him?
Wu Xingzhou walked out of the room. The cold wind blew against him, making his mind clearer than before. He looked toward the north and suddenly felt that, at this moment, he only had one path left to choose.
"Lord Duke, I am coming to join you."
"I hope you will accept this humble servant!"
...
Wang Ming was left dumbfounded after hearing Wu Xingzhou clearly recount this past event.
Practicing on Wu Xingzhou nine hundred and ninety-nine times within a year.
Even with Wang Ming's vast experience, he was completely bewildered at this moment.
This... he really had never seen anything like this before!
However, looking at it from this angle, Wu Xingzhou didn't exactly lose out.
It was just that...
Wang Ming had a question in his mind.
He asked directly, "Wu Xingzhou, according to what you said, that Qin Shuyao didn't have you in her heart at all. Being with you was just settling, just using you for practice. Then how did you..."
"...how did you manage to keep her happy?"
The military deputy had just told Wang Ming earlier that Wu Xingzhou always prioritized important matters, which made Qin Shuyao very unhappy, even leading her to propose a divorce.
Under such circumstances, for Wu Xingzhou to still be able to coax Qin Shuyao, one had to admit that this Wu Xingzhou had some tricks up his sleeve.
But what exactly were these tricks?
Wang Ming was very curious.
Wu Xingzhou was quite frank and hid nothing.
He said, "The reason I could keep her happy was..."
"I'm good in bed!"
...
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'!"
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...
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.
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!
