Wu Xingzhou was taken aback for a moment. He had never expected that his master, whom he had met deep in the remote mountains, would have some connection to Zhou Xiong’s teacher. But that no longer mattered.
Facing Zhou Xiong’s accusations, Wu Xingzhou responded with a faint smile. “General Zhou, you’ve got that wrong.”
“In the beginning, did I not serve Yunjing with utter loyalty? But what kind of foul place has Yunjing become?”
“It’s infested with love-crazed demons everywhere!”
“Turning a perfectly good land into one where the people live in fear, where the common folk suffer and struggle to survive.”
“What loyalty is there worth offering to such a place?”
“Look at the Duke, on the other hand. He upholds righteousness, observes proper conduct, shows kindness to the commoners, and treats his soldiers with grace. He encourages proper relationships between husband and wife, yet cracks down hard on blind romantic obsession. He clears the air of this world, restoring a bright and open order.”
“A man like the Duke is a wise ruler.”
“He alone is worthy of loyalty!”
“Loyalty unto death!”
Pausing for a beat, Wu Xingzhou added, “General Zhou, your lifelong learning is extraordinary, and you haven’t committed any great wrongs. Why not join me in serving the Duke, and together we can forge a clear and upright world for all under heaven? Wouldn’t that be a joy?”
Wu Xingzhou’s words struck Zhou Xiong straight in the heart. Zhou Xiong knew well that what Wu Xingzhou said was true, but he had grown up in Yunjing, and the notion of loyalty to Yunjing was ingrained deep in his bones. He could not surrender just because of a few words from Wu Xingzhou.
Far from surrendering, it only enraged him further.
He brandished his spear and shouted, “You silver-tongued trickster! Take this!”
This was typical of Zhou Xiong—words failing, he resorted to action. In his nature, why talk when you could fight?
In an instant, his spear shot forth like a dragon, its power surging forward.
Wu Xingzhou showed no fear.
HIs foundation was already solid, and ever since the Duke had knocked three times on his forehead, he had taken every opportunity to pass on much of his wisdom. Wu Xingzhou’s skills with the halberd had grown even more refined.
He charged forward to meet the attack.
Clang!
Spear and halberd collided, sparks flying.
Both men silently acknowledged the other’s formidable arm strength as their horses crossed paths. In that brief gap, one tried a backward thrust, the other a rearward swipe.
Neither showed any mercy.
But it was clear that neither had fully mastered these killing blows, as both were blocked by the other.
Their positions now reversed, they faced each other head-on again.
This time, Wu Xingzhou struck first.
He had the advantage with his halberd—its reach was longer. More accurately, the technique with the halberd he’d learned from the Duke gave him the edge.
For the Duke had told him: as long as you grip the halberd’s shaft, you maximize your damage.
Thus, the halberd swung into action.
Zhou Xiong was forced into a defensive stance.
Soon, the two were locked in combat again.
They were evenly matched in skill—a perfect meeting of equals. Zhou Xiong’s spear work was divine, each thrust pressing hard, while Wu Xingzhou’s halberd techniques were astonishing, every move airtight.
Their horses circled, stirrups rattling, weapons clashing, sparks flying everywhere. They fought until the sky grew dim and the sun lost its light, clouds of dust rolling high to block out the heavens.
The soldiers on both sides were dazzled by the sight, their shouts of encouragement deafening.
After more than fifty rounds of combat, they were still evenly matched. It was impossible to tell who would win. Neither could overcome the other.
It was only when Wu Xingzhou jumped out of the fray and shouted, “Hold!” that they stopped.
“What, are you scared?”
“Scared? Not a chance!” Wu Xingzhou panted slightly, feeling a deep exhilaration from head to toe. Fighting a warrior like this brought him joy. More than that, he took pleasure in knowing that while he couldn’t defeat this opponent purely with martial skill, the man would ultimately have to kneel and beg for mercy.
He stopped showing off and shouted, "I, Wu Xingzhou, aside from the duke's martial skills, have never feared anyone."
"Stopping now is only because I want to give you a great gift."
"You? With such good intentions?"
Zhou Xiong was full of disbelief.
"Of course. Ever since I followed the duke, my heart has changed for the better—so much so that I've been called 'Timely Rain.'"
Wu Xingzhou gestured with ease and calm, waving his hand, "Men, bring forth the great gift I've prepared for General Zhou Xiong."
"Let General Zhou Xiong's smile stretch wide!"
The soldiers obeyed and promptly went to the back of the formation. Before long, a bound woman was brought to the front.
The woman looked rather disheveled, with a grimy cloth stuffed in her mouth, yet her fair, strikingly beautiful face was impossible to forget.
It was none other than Wanqing—captured from Source City and brought all the way here.
Zhou Xiong's body trembled violently.
"W-Wanqing?"
"You... you..."
"Weren't you dead?"
Zhou Xiong felt as though a bolt of thunder had exploded above his head, almost causing him to fall from his horse.
Just moments ago, he had been grieving Wanqing's death in his manor at Bukou City, but now... Wanqing stood right before him?
Risen from the dead?
"No, no!" Zhou Xiong didn't believe in such absurd nonsense as resurrection; instinctively, he sensed something was wrong.
"A body double. I know—it's a body double!"
"Hmph, Wu Xingzhou, you've really gone to great lengths, finding someone who looks exactly like Wanqing and trying to fool me."
"Let me tell you, I, Zhou Xiong, won't be deceived."
Wu Xingzhou sighed. This man wouldn't believe until he hit the wall. He immediately had someone remove the cloth from Wanqing's mouth.
Wanqing at once began to shout.
"Husband, husband, it's me, Wanqing!"
"I am Wanqing!"
"I truly am Wanqing—I'm not a double!"
"Quick, save me, save me!"
Her shrill cries rolled into Zhou Xiong's ears, and his burly frame shook again.
That voice—it was Wanqing's.
He looked closely, and the woman before him matched every detail of his wife in his memory: her smile, her demeanor, her movements; even the anxious look in her eyes was exactly the same.
So it wasn't a double.
After all, no matter how similar a body double was, it remained just a double.
Even with the prevalence of body doubles in the capital, it was rare to find one so perfectly identical.
"So, you... you really are Wanqing?"
"Of course!" Wu Xingzhou answered in her place. He was about to detail Wanqing's loving sweetness and scheming plans with Hu Shaoyou in Source City, to firmly crown Zhou Xiong with green horns.
But he stopped himself at the last moment.
Bukou City was more important.
The malicious fun could wait.
So Wu Xingzhou said, "This lady was rescued by people in Source City but has always been thinking of you. Well..."
"Zhou Xiong, will you dismount and surrender now?"
"Or should I take this Wanqing and reward the army with her?"
Wanqing's face turned pale, and she cried out desperately, "Husband, save me, save me! I don't want to be given to the army."
Zhou Xiong was now completely certain.
It was Wanqing!
His Wanqing was not dead!
Tears of excitement welled up in his eyes. Then, raising his right hand high, he shouted, "All troops, hear my command!"
"Yes!"
"Nock your arrows and shoot! Kill Wan Qing!"
"Our town of Pukou cannot be burdened by a single woman!"
Wu Xingzhou: "???"
Wan Qing: "???"
...
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
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...
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.
