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?"
...
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
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.”
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."
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?”
