“Huh?”
Lu Chaosheng was utterly stunned.
Lord Duke exchanged letters with Generals Zhao and Qian of the Yangtze Defense Line?
What was Lord Duke planning to do…
Lu Chaosheng’s body trembled. Suddenly, he felt as if he had been abandoned.
He and the two naval commanders on the Yangtze Defense Line, Zhao and Qian, essentially did the same kind of work. Their positions overlapped to a considerable degree. Yet he had always been confident that even by relying on his own strength alone, he could keep both Zhao and Qian firmly under control.
Because of that, he had always been full of confidence.
But only now did he learn that Lord Duke was actually corresponding with Zhao and Qian!
And he had told him about it openly.
What did that mean?
Lu Chaosheng thought of a possibility that sent a chill through him.
“Could Ning Wanqin’s arrival have worsened Lord Duke’s impression of me? Is he preparing to replace me? Or perhaps… is he going to abandon me completely?”
Lu Chaosheng stood where he was, his head splitting with pain. His body continued to tremble faintly, and his face had gone pale. While waiting for Ren Tianye to bring the letters, he remained distracted and uneasy.
It was just…
Wasn’t this taking a little too long?
It had already been half a shichen just to retrieve a few letters. Why hadn’t Ren Tianye returned yet?
Lu Chaosheng calculated the time and could only continue waiting.
Another shichen passed.
Then another.
The anxious tension in Lu Chaosheng’s heart was gradually diluted by the passage of time, but the confusion on his face only grew stronger.
“It’s been almost three shichen. Why hasn’t Lord Duke brought the letters yet?”
“Even if he were writing them from scratch, he should be finished by now, shouldn’t he?”
“Hmm?”
“Hmm?”
“Hmm?”
“Writing them from scratch?”
Lu Chaosheng’s eyes suddenly lit up.
“Damn it, don’t tell me…”
Just as he stood there in bewilderment, Ren Tianye finally returned. He handed Lu Chaosheng two letters, looking rather drenched in sweat, and said, “General Lu, take a look. How authentic do they seem?”
How authentic?
The answer in Lu Chaosheng’s heart became even more certain.
He hurriedly opened the first letter. Four large characters immediately leaped into view.
“Dear Zhao!”
Lu Chaosheng: “…”
All right. That handwriting was unmistakably Lord Duke’s style!
He continued reading. The letter was filled with praise for General Zhao and generous promises. It also briefly reminisced about the correspondence the two of them had exchanged in the past.
Furthermore, it instructed General Zhao to lie low on the Yangtze Defense Line and wait for Lord Duke to break through it. Once that happened, General Zhao would be credited with a major achievement.
At the end of the letter was a list of promises written out by Lord Duke. The most outrageous part was…
An imperial jade seal had been stamped on it!
That made the letter far more weighty.
The imperial jade seal represented the attitude of the Great Yu Dynasty!
Lu Chaosheng took a deep breath, glanced at Ren Tianye, and quickly opened the second letter.
As expected, the same four large characters leaped into view.
“Dear Qian!”
Lu Chaosheng: “…”
He skimmed through the second letter. Its contents were almost identical to the one addressed to General Zhao.
Only then did he close it and reply, “Lord Duke, the letters are very well written. It’s just that… your recollections of the past you shared with Generals Zhao and Qian are somewhat rough.”
“If you added a few more details about what actually happened, the letters would be much more convincing!”
Ren Tianye immediately slapped his forehead. “Damn, what a mistake. I should have had you watching from the side while I wrote them.”
With that, Ren Tianye pulled Lu Chaosheng over. Under Lu Chaosheng’s guidance, the two of them wrote another pair of letters.
Since they already had the drafts from before, they finished this time very quickly. Lu Chaosheng’s emotions, which had already been rather unsettled, began to surge even more.
And then…
Lu Chaosheng watched as Ren Tianye picked up the imperial jade seal from beside him and slammed it down with a resounding thump.
Lu Chaosheng: “…”
Was he really that extravagant?
“All right!” Ren Tianye placed the two letters into their envelopes and said, “General Lu, you’ve personally inspected them and confirmed that there are no problems. Take them back with you.”
“Remember, when you return, enjoy the moon and go exploring with Miss Ning Wanqin. Don’t let this wonderful time go to waste.”
“…Yes!”
Lu Chaosheng bowed and accepted the order.
When he raised his head again, Ren Tianye had already left. Looking at the imperial jade seal sitting openly on the desk, Lu Chaosheng suddenly understood the meaning of a certain phrase.
“What does it mean to be the Chosen One?”
“This is what it means!”
At that moment, Lu Chaosheng’s heart surged with passion and excitement, as if his emotions were about to burst out of his chest. His reverence for Ren Tianye reached an entirely new height.
“With Lord Duke on our side, what could possibly stop us from taking the tiny Yangtze Defense Line?”
He tucked the two letters into his robes and turned to leave. The moment he stepped outside, he ran into General Zhang Shi, who had come looking for Lord Duke.
Lu Chaosheng cupped his hands. “General Zhang Shi.”
“Chaosheng, you’re here too?” General Zhang Shi was quite familiar with Lu Chaosheng and greeted him before asking, “Where’s Lord Duke?”
“He was here just now. He should have gone to sleep.”
“Oh, then I’ll speak with him tomorrow.” General Zhang Shi’s matter was not urgent, so there was no need to disturb Ren Tianye’s rest. He looked at Lu Chaosheng and asked, “What are you doing here? Did Lord Duke assign you a task?”
“Chaosheng, remember: when one man prospers, his friends must not be forgotten!”
“If you’ve been given a task, I can help you with it.”
Lu Chaosheng thought of what Ren Tianye had said. His face reddened slightly as he replied, “Well, General Zhang Shi, there’s no need. I can handle this task myself.”
“You see…” Zhang Shi grew anxious inwardly, though he still wore a smile. “What do you mean by that? Are you saying you don’t consider me a brother? What task could I possibly be unable to help with?”
“Whenever I had something to do before, I always brought you along. You can’t turn around and forget all the help I gave you.”
The difficulty on Lu Chaosheng’s face deepened. “General Zhang Shi, this… really doesn’t require your help.”
“Ah, so we’re not brothers anymore.”
“No, no, General Zhang Shi…” Completely helpless, Lu Chaosheng finally explained the matter to him, including Ren Tianye’s intentions. “This is something I can handle myself.”
General Zhang Shi first looked astonished, then broke into a knowing smile. The smile made Lu Chaosheng feel extremely uncomfortable before Zhang Shi finally said, “You should have said so earlier, brother. If I’d known it was this sort of thing, I wouldn’t have tried to take it from you.”
“But…”
As he spoke, Zhang Shi leaned closer and said, “Recently, I’ve often been seeking guidance from Lord Su Jin. I even had Lord Su Jin take me to meet all sorts of strange and extraordinary beings from the Demon Suppression Bureau. And guess what?”
“Heh. I discovered something.”
“I was originally planning to keep it for myself, but since it has happened to come to you, I’ll give it to you.”
Lu Chaosheng grew curious. “General Zhang Shi, what is it?”
Zhang Shi took a small white porcelain bottle from his robes. After opening it, he poured something into his palm.
A small blue pill appeared in his hand.
“Here. It’s yours!”
“General Zhang Shi, what is this?”
“Heh heh!”
Lu Chaosheng understood instantly, and his face flushed crimson.
Zhang Shi reached out and patted him on the shoulder before striding away. Lu Chaosheng’s mood…
For some inexplicable reason, he became incredibly excited. The feeling was even more impulsive than the surge of hot blood he experienced before a battle he was certain to win.
He swallowed unconsciously.
Then, taking three steps in the time it would normally take to take two, Lu Chaosheng hurried to his horse and galloped back like a whirlwind!
…
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
