The Shen Clan Elder was even more excited than Shen Du himself.
After all, Shen Du managed the Shen family’s affairs, but when it came to the ancestors—leading the rites and sacrifices—that responsibility fell to the elder. He had to answer to the ancestors and ensure the continuation of the family bloodline.
The Shen family had always had few descendants. By the time it came down to Shen Du, he was the only male heir left.
In his earlier years, when Shen Du was still reckless, it wasn’t such a problem—as long as he hadn’t ruined his health. But ever since Su Lanxiang came along, everything had gone wrong.
Su Lanxiang couldn’t bear children, yet she clung to Shen Du in the name of love, forbidding him from so much as glancing at another woman. If he did, she would resort to musk, poison—whatever it took.
If things continued this way, the Shen family line would end.
And now—there was a child out there, lost and then found again.
It was truly a gift from heaven.
“This time, I’ll go myself.”
“We’ll see if the child is real. If so, we pledge ourselves to the Lord Duke at once.”
“I think the Lord Duke is a good choice.”
“At the very least, he won’t tolerate those lovesick fools. Without them, the Shen family’s descendants will flourish, and our clan will endure forever.”
That last remark was clearly meant for Shen Du.
Having said that, he didn’t bother to glance at Shen Du’s already sour expression. He promptly stepped out, summoned a few of the clan’s elders, and the whole group filed out of the water stronghold, heading straight for Zhang Shi’s military camp.
When they arrived, Zhang Shi welcomed them warmly.
He led the Shen Clan Elder and the others to see the two-year-old child.
One look was all it took for the elder and the clan members to be certain.
“This is our Shen family’s blood!”
“No doubt about it. That sense of kinship—I haven’t felt it in so long.”
“It’s him. This child is one of us, a Shen clansman.”
…
Their absolute certainty caught Zhang Shi off guard.
He had been thinking he’d need to call Yu Zhen over to bear witness, but all it took was one glance, and they were already convinced.
“General Zhang Shi, don’t be puzzled,” the elder said, noticing Zhang Shi’s confusion. He smiled. “We Shens do have some distinguishing traits.”
“Not to mention that this child’s face is the spitting image of Shen Du when he was little—just look at the mark on his arm.”
“Every Shen has one.”
“It only differs in size, depth, and placement.”
“With those two signs, we can say with full confidence that this is our Shen bloodline.”
He paused, then said with deep gratitude, “General Zhang Shi, I won’t waste words on thanks.”
“In short—the Linjiang Shazui Water Stronghold, under our Shen family’s control, is ready to open its gates wide and welcome General Zhang Shi and the Lord Duke in person.”
“From now on, Linjiang Shazui Water Stronghold is no longer under Yun City’s domain. It belongs to you, General Zhang Shi, and to the Lord Duke.”
Zhang Shi was overjoyed.
What a thrill!
First, Fanshan Fortress had fallen into his hands without a single sword being drawn.
Now, this water stronghold, too, had been taken bloodlessly.
And it wasn’t just bloodless—it had been swift, faster than his basic Blitz tactics could ever manage.
“At this rate, Yun City will fall any day now!”
Zhang Shi immediately offered to host a banquet, but the elder and his men politely declined. “We appreciate your generous intent, General, but there’s no time to waste.”
“We’ll head back now to persuade our people and reorganize the naval forces. In at most three days, we’ll hand over the entire Linjiang Shazui Water Stronghold.”
“We ask for your patience, General Zhang Shi.”
Three days was something Zhang Shi could easily afford.
And with that time, the Shen family could win over the whole stronghold, sparing Zhang Shi any future management headaches.
He agreed readily.
The elder and the others took their leave.
Before they went, they thought about taking the child with them.
But one moment of reflection told them it was impossible.
Though an alliance had been struck with Zhang Shi, it was still fragile as paper—no real bonds of interest, no solid trust.
Zhang Shi would never agree.
So they let the matter go.
They hurried back to Linjiang Shazui Water Stronghold, gathered the clan, and began discussing the plan.
The matter was kept strictly among the Shen clan, as there were outsiders on the stronghold—specifically, the deputy captain of the surveillance squad sent by Zhou Xiong.
But the deputy captain was no slouch.
Even with the Shen clan moving cautiously, he still caught wind of something from the tiny clues. After a bit of deduction, he was absolutely certain.
“Excellent, excellent…”
“So the Shen family is finally planning to pledge themselves to Ren Tianye, huh?”
“And you…”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“We could have talked it over together, couldn’t we?”
The deputy captain’s heart was racing with excitement.
Zhou Xiong was stubbornly determined to hold Pukou City. With his prestige and years of control over his men, there was little a subordinate could do.
All they could do was sigh, going hungry every day as they gazed north, hoping for the king’s army to arrive.
When at last he got assigned to monitor the water stronghold, the Shen clan’s inaction had left him utterly frustrated.
He’d been this close to finding the elder and yelling at him.
“Look at Fanshan Fortress—they surrendered, clean and simple, and look at the good life they have now.”
“Is this stronghold going to follow Pukou City’s fate? Waiting to be besieged, cut off, starving and ragged?”
But at last, talk about waiting…
The Shen family finally got it.
“Getting it is the best thing!”
“When you surrender, I’ll just have to go along—forced to surrender, that is—no, captured!”
“That way, Zhou Xiong won’t dare touch my family, and I can start living well.”
“And then help General Zhang Shi with a few ideas to take Pukou City—that’s some credit for me too!”
The deputy captain’s imagination ran wild, a smile spreading that he couldn’t hide.
“Good times—here they come!”
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!
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?!
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
