Shen Zhian’s favorable impression of Zhang Shi had reached its peak.
Naturally, she took the suggestion Zhang Shi had given her very seriously. Almost as soon as Zhang Shi left, she hurried off to find Zhou Buzhang, intending to persuade him to come out of retirement and return to the military camp.
When she arrived at the study, just as expected, Zhou Buzhang was slumped in his chair. His eyes were empty and lifeless, and his entire person radiated the gloomy, lifeless air of an old man who had given up on everything.
This time, however, Zhou Buzhang was not lost in storybooks. He simply sat there, motionless, as though he had exhausted every ounce of strength and every means he possessed to face the world.
“Buzhang!”
Shen Zhian spoke gently. “I have some wonderful news to tell you.”
Zhou Buzhang did not move at all.
“Buzhang!”
“Buzhang!”
“Buzhang!”
Shen Zhian called his name three times in a row, but Zhou Buzhang still did not react. At last, her temper flared.
“Zhou Buzhang, are your ears stuffed with donkey hair?”
“You can’t hear me when I’m talking to you?”
After a long while, Zhou Buzhang finally replied listlessly, “I heard you. What is it?”
“Wonderful news!”
“Heh.” Zhou Buzhang gave a quiet snort. “What new project do you have this time?”
“Are you going to make a fortune again?”
“Are you going to improve the family’s life again?”
Zhou Buzhang was clearly well acquainted with Shen Zhian’s methods. After all, over the years, Shen Zhian had used exactly this approach to drain away his money bit by bit.
Of course, he was to blame for being so useless himself!
He believed that once he had married a wife, he ought to dote on her. In addition, his mother-in-law had constantly pleaded with him, saying that Shen Zhian’s talents must not be wasted. Thus, he had always indulged her, always believing that family came before everything else.
So every time, he agreed.
But this time, Zhou Buzhang said, “Forget it, Shen Zhian. You know perfectly well what our family situation is like. We’ve already sold the ancestral home of the Zhou family.”
“There really is no money left!”
“We’re so poor we can barely keep food on the table.”
“No matter how good the project is, no matter how extraordinary your judgment may be, I…”
“I truly can’t support you anymore!”
Shen Zhian realized that Zhou Buzhang had misunderstood her and quickly moved closer to him.
“Buzhang, you’ve misunderstood me this time. I’m still asking you to invest, but I don’t want your money!”
“Not a single coin!”
Zhou Buzhang instantly sat up straight and stared at Shen Zhian as though she were some strange creature. But then… he gave a self-mocking laugh.
“Then don’t say anything.”
“If you don’t even want my money, the request you’re about to make will probably be asking me to jump into a river.”
“I’d rather struggle along and stay alive.”
Shen Zhian flew into a rage.
“Zhou! Bu! Zhang!”
“Is that really how you see me?”
“Fine. Since that’s the case, I won’t beat around the bush. I’ll tell you directly.”
“General Zhang Shi came by just now.”
“General Zhang Shi brought some good news. There is currently a severe shortage of naval commanders in the military camps along the Yangtze defense line, so General Zhang Shi needs someone to take charge of the overall situation!”
“General Zhang Shi believes you’re up to the task.”
“He wants to ask you to come out of retirement.”
“I’ve already agreed on your behalf.”
“Hurry up and pack. General Zhang Shi has given us only three days to consider it, but we need to make a good impression before him. Ideally, we should head to the naval camp today.”
“You must leave by this afternoon at the latest!”
Shen Zhian spoke as though she were issuing an order. Zhou Buzhang, however, shot to his feet, his face filled with disbelief—disbelief directed entirely at Shen Zhian.
He stared at her as though she were a complete stranger.
After a long while, Zhou Buzhang finally forced the words out through clenched teeth.
“Shen Zhian, have you forgotten how I left the naval camp in the first place?”
“I had a falling-out with Grand Admiral Zhou Mengyan!”
“To this day, I regard him as a treacherous scoundrel!”
“And he regards me as nothing but a reckless brute!”
“He and I are sworn enemies. We cannot coexist!”
“And now you want me to go back to the naval camp?”
“To become Zhou Mengyan’s subordinate?”
“Shen Zhian, are you deliberately stabbing a knife into my heart?”
“Besides, how many years has it been since I last set foot in a military camp? In my current condition, how could I possibly endure the hardships there?”
“You…”
“Are you trying to get me killed?”
This was one of the rare occasions over the years when Zhou Buzhang had truly erupted in anger. But in Shen Zhian’s eyes, it was hardly worth taking seriously.
“Zhou Buzhang, the one recruiting you is General Zhang Shi. What does Zhou Mengyan have to do with it?”
Before Shen Zhian had even finished speaking, Zhou Buzhang shouted, “What do you mean, what does he have to do with it? They’re both in the military! How can I avoid seeing him there?”
“Besides…”
“General Zhang Shi is under Zhou Mengyan’s command, and I would be under General Zhang Shi’s command. Wouldn’t that still make me Zhou Mengyan’s subordinate?”
“You know that perfectly well, don’t you?”
“Why should I go back and suffer that humiliation?”
Zhou Buzhang would never agree to such a request. Shen Zhian actually knew that very well, but she did not care. All she knew was that Zhou Buzhang’s pride could not be exchanged for enough benefits.
If he set aside his pride, however, he could gain benefits substantial enough to solve their problems.
So she softened her tone and coaxed him gently.
“Buzhang, we don’t have any other choice.”
“You know what our family’s situation is like!”
“If you don’t go out and earn money, we really will have to live on the northwest wind. Besides… what about the money you owe your friends and former comrades? Don’t you intend to repay them?”
“You have to pay them back!”
“Otherwise, what will people think of you in the future?”
“They’ll point fingers at you and condemn you!”
“I won’t allow anyone to disgrace you.”
“But…”
Shen Zhian continued, “Things will be different once you follow General Zhang Shi. For one thing, General Zhang Shi specifically emphasized this.”
“As long as you agree, he’ll give you one hundred thousand taels of silver up front!”
“That alone will solve our immediate crisis!”
…
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?”
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
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."
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
