Ye Fan spoke with confidence and composure, listing off a dozen points at once. As Su Xiu listened, her eyes shone brightly, and she nodded continuously like a little chick pecking at grain, her admiration for Ye Fan deepening even further.
Only then did Ye Fan pause. He let out a sigh and said, Your second uncle... if he had just used any single one of the points I mentioned, your Su Manor wouldn't be in the state it is today!
Your second uncle is the actual person in charge of the Su Manor. He has controlled the Su family's businesses in the Northern Frontier for so many years, yet his vision and scope remain so limited. He sticks to the old ways, unable to adapt. It truly is...
Heartbreaking!
Su Xiu immediately replied, Brother Ye Fan, thank goodness you are here now, otherwise I would truly be finished.
Mhm! Ye Fan nodded, his face blooming with confidence. He said, However, you should rest a little now. Soon, we will have to set off again.
Where to?
Naturally, to leave Yunji City.
Su Xiu was startled. Brother Ye Fan, can we really leave this Yunji City?
Of course! Ye Fan said proudly. Without boasting, with my unparalleled intellect, what place could possibly trap me?
Besides...
I have my master waiting to receive us.
With my master here, how could a mere Ren Tianye and a trifling Yunji City possibly trap me?
Seeing that Su Xiu still had a somewhat worried look on her face,
he continued to comfort her. Xiu'er, I once told you about our three-year agreement. Now that the three-year period is arriving, I, Ye Fan, am no longer the person I used to be.
You are my most beloved woman, so I will not hide anything from you.
My master is so powerful that even Ren Tianye would have to show him respect.
Moreover, over these three years, I have gone from being an obscure collateral descendant to the most trusted person in the family. The patriarch of the Ye family treats me like his own son, and the future of the Ye family will definitely be handed over to me!
Now, everyone in the family obeys my every word. I have already given them orders to...
Reaching the exciting part, the light in Ye Fan's eyes grew brighter: To have them hoard a massive amount of...
Warhorses!
Wealth!
Provisions!
Weapons!
If you give me another three years, I will definitely be able to command an army of three hundred thousand and besiege this Yunji City.
When that time comes...
A ruthless glint flashed in Ye Fan's eyes as he looked far off in the direction of the General's Manor. For what Ren Tianye has done today, I will make him regret it!
I will use an army of three hundred thousand to tell him...
That he, Ren Tianye, was wrong!
I want him to personally apologize to me, and to paste notices of his apology all over Yunji City... no, all over the streets and alleys of the entire Northern Frontier.
To make Ren Tianye admit...
That love between a man and a woman is entirely natural and justified, that there should be no class distinctions, and that there should be no oppression by the powerful!
As he spoke those last few words, Ye Fan's voice was like striking gold, pausing on every syllable, exuding a commanding aura.
Su Xiu listened with a face full of yearning.
If that day truly came, when all men and women in this world could freely pursue their love without any outside interference, what a beautiful world that would be.
Her heart filled with sweet joy, she said to Ye Fan, Brother Ye Fan, you haven't changed. Just like three years ago, you carry great aspirations and extraordinary ambitions.
Xiu'er truly admires you!
Since I am loved by you, how could I let you down? Ye Fan smiled, then paused and added, However, right now we must leave Yunji City as soon as possible.
We cannot delay.
Why is that? Su Xiu asked reflexively. By Ye Fan's side, she had almost lost the ability to think for herself.
Ye Fan looked at her dotingly.
He said, Xiu'er, as a chess player of this world, the greatest taboo is having one's thoughts guessed by others, let alone revealing them. Only in this way can one inspire awe and reverence.
However, you are different. You are the one I love deeply.
I am more than willing to reveal everything to you.
The joy on Su Xiu's face grew even richer as she listened to Ye Fan continue, Xiu'er, you are a woman and do not understand the minds of men. I cannot blame you for that.
But for your second uncle, at his age, to still not understand the hearts of men is truly unacceptable.
I fear that even now, he still thinks Ren Tianye's marriage alliance with the Su Manor is aimed at your family's power and wealth in the Northern Frontier.
Ridiculous, truly ridiculous!
Although the Su Manor has some wealth, worldly possessions are but trivial matters. What is there to scheme for?
What Ren Tianye is truly after...
Is you!
Su Xiu's eyes widened. Me?
That's right! Ye Fan said with burning conviction. You possess beauty capable of toppling nations. To call you the number one beauty in the Northern Frontier is not an exaggeration in the slightest.
How many men in this Northern Frontier swoon over you?
How many men would willingly give up everything for you?
How could Ren Tianye be any exception?
It's just that this person is far too insincere and resorts to despicable methods. Doesn't he know that if he doesn't treat others with sincerity, he can never win a true heart in return?
Su Xiu thought about it seriously and felt it made perfect sense.
The secret plotting between Ren Tianye and her second uncle ultimately centered around her. Furthermore, when she resisted, Ren Tianye had flown into a rage out of humiliation and hung her on the city wall, all to force her into submission using heavy-handed tactics!
He truly was a vile man!
Ye Fan continued, Now that you have been rescued by me, Ren Tianye knows he is no match for me, but how could he be willing to let this go?
He will definitely surround your Su Manor first to demand your whereabouts from your second uncle.
Secondly, he will certainly impose martial law across the entire city, laying an inescapable net to search for us.
After that, he will inevitably intensify the search efforts, absolutely unwilling to let you leave him just like that.
Finally, the moment he gets even the slightest news of us, he will surely go all out and personally lead his army to pursue us without the slightest hesitation.
Pausing, Ye Fan concluded, Therefore, we must leave first!
...
Inside the General's Manor.
Ren Tianye was reading several reply letters.
They were replies from some former generals of the Northern Frontier. After being ordered to disband by the Female Emperor, they had nowhere to go. Most had either become bandits or sought their own ways to survive.
But none of their prospects were particularly good.
Naturally, Ren Tianye would not let such an opportunity slip by.
He had already begun communicating with these men through scouts and envoys, inviting them to come to Yunji City.
After all, he now controlled Yunji City, a place easy to defend and hard to attack. Furthermore, having received the support of many wealthy merchants recently, he possessed abundant funds and fully stocked granaries. He was perfectly positioned to attract these men and bolster his own strength.
However, while things looked simple on the surface, the actual execution was quite complex. Relying merely on a few letters and some lofty, heroic words would not be enough to make these easily frightened soldiers swear their allegiance.
Everything had to be grounded in reality and actionable in order to be realized. Otherwise, if mere fantasies were enough to steamroll everything, he would be holding an omnipotent protagonist's script, conquering the world simply by showing off.
Just as he was pondering how to entice them with benefits and awe them with his might, the Guerrilla General Sun Xiang stumbled in, his face etched with exhaustion.
Great General, your subordinate is incompetent. I have yet to find that thief.
Heh! Ren Tianye raised his head and scoffed coldly. I really didn't expect that a shrewd man like Su Hong would be burdened by familial ties and plot such a scheme.
What, is his entire Su Manor truly not worth a single Su Xiu?
"Great General, I am also quite puzzled," Sun Xiang said. "Su Hong seems quite far-sighted and shouldn't be so foolish. But within Yunji City, other than his Su Manor, who else could possess such capability?"
"To rescue Su Xiu right from under our noses?"
"He is digging his own grave!"
"If that is the case, I will no longer spare him." Ren Tianye had little patience to waste words with Su Hong. If the man had a death wish, then so be it. "Go and invite Su Hong to the military camp, and see to it that he is well taken care of."
"Su Hong won't be able to hide the truth."
"Yes, Great General!" Sun Xiang accepted the order, a ferocious look twisting his face. "I have also been wanting to properly question Su Hong for a while now. He certainly has some nerve, managing to find someone like Ye Fan."
"Just what kind of price did he pay?!"
Just as Sun Xiang was about to leave, Ren Tianye suddenly stood up. "Wait a moment."
"What did you just say?"
"Ye Fan?"
"That scoundrel's name is Ye Fan?"
...
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.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
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.”
