He asked, "Is it not an exaggeration?"
Zhang Shi quickly replied, "Great General, of course not."
"That year, the barbarians led an army of a hundred thousand south. Commander Lin kept the gates of Shanhe City tightly shut, refusing to ride out to meet them in battle in order to wear down the barbarians' patience, while simultaneously mobilizing reinforcements from all over the Northern Frontier."
"Xiang Gui was among them."
"But he had a fiery temper. Completely ignoring military orders, he charged into the barbarian camp all by himself."
"That year..."
Zhang Shi fell into his memories, his face full of shock. "This subordinate was watching right from the city walls. Many of the eight hundred soldiers behind us saw it too."
"This Xiang Gui wore heavy armor, and his horse was heavily armored as well, covered so densely that not even a breath of wind could pass through. Wielding his Drum-Beating Golden Hammers, he fearlessly slaughtered his way into the barbarian camp."
"Striking left and breaking through on the right, he turned the barbarian camp completely upside down!"
"That scene truly left us in absolute awe."
"We never imagined that a single general could be so fiercely valiant!"
"In that battle, it was precisely because of Xiang Gui's charge that Commander Lin was given the opportunity to crush the barbarians in one fell swoop, shattering their dream of marching south!"
"Although Xiang Gui was heavily injured after that battle—and would have lost his life had it not been for the protection of his heavy armor—that combat achievement still made the blood of the entire border army boil with excitement."
"They all respectfully called him the Hammer King of the Northern Frontier!"
"Even Commander Lin praised him endlessly and tried his utmost to recruit him into the Chifeng Army. He was constantly rejected, and later, for unknown reasons, Xiang Gui suddenly left the camp and disappeared."
Saying this, Zhang Shi looked toward Xiang Gui.
Although nearly twenty years had passed and the Xiang Gui before them was certainly past his prime, he was still not someone Zhang Shi could shake.
His eyes were filled with deep reverence and fear.
It also made Ren Tianye quite alarmed.
Charging in and out of a hundred-thousand-strong barbarian army seven times!
This was a pure, freaking humanoid weapon!
Even though he had the protection of heavy armor during his charge, this man still could not be underestimated.
Thus, Ren Tianye cupped his fists. "So it is General Xiang Gui. Please forgive my lack of respect."
"Hmph, as long as you know my name." Xiang Gui regained his face, his posture becoming even more arrogant. Without wasting words, he laid it out: "My disciple Ye Fan went to your Yunji City for a trip, and on his way back, you actually dared to hunt him down?"
"I think you're tired of living."
"Now, I will give you a path to survive."
"Roll off your horse immediately, swear that from now on you will loyally serve my disciple Ye Fan, and I can spare your dog life!"
"Otherwise..."
"Do not blame my hammers for showing no mercy!"
The expression on Ren Tianye's face was as calm as an ancient well.
From the moment this Xiang Gui charged out, he had guessed that Xiang Gui and Ye Fan likely had an extraordinary relationship, he just hadn't expected it to be a master-disciple relationship.
A master-disciple relationship?
A master-disciple relationship in a female-oriented romance novel?
He wondered if there was something special between the two of them?
After all, he had a deep impression of the special master-disciple relationships in female-oriented novels. It was just that the ones he had seen before were mostly male masters and female disciples. Now it was a male disciple and a male master, which seemed unlikely!
But that wasn't important.
What was important was...
Finding a way to kill him!
Observing Xiang Gui closely, he seemed to still possess his valor and strength and could not be underestimated. However, he wasn't wearing heavy armor, and the horse beneath him, though a warhorse, was relatively ordinary.
Then there was a chance!
"Hey, I'm talking to you! What are you dawdling for?"
"Can't you hear me?"
"Answer quickly, are you willing to pledge your allegiance to my disciple Ye Fan?"
"Or do you want to be hammered by me first, and then pledge your allegiance to my disciple Ye Fan?"
Pausing, his tone became leisurely, "To tell you the truth, my disciple Ye Fan has taken a liking to you. Of those my disciple has taken a liking to, no one has ever been able to escape the palm of my hand."
"However, this can be considered a stroke of good fortune for you."
"My disciple Ye Fan has the appearance of the sun and the heavens, astonishing talent, and his calculations never miss. In this time when the world is about to fall into chaos, he will definitely achieve great things in the future."
"Being able to follow him is a blessing earned over three lifetimes."
"You should be secretly laughing in your sleep at night!"
Xiang Gui babbled on for a long time, but seeing Ren Tianye remain motionless, his gaze calm as if he were calculating something, he suddenly frowned.
However, this time he didn't reprimand him, but instead said, "Ren Tianye, I specifically had someone ask around about you."
"I know that you are quite brave in battles against the barbarians, that you wield a Heaven-Piercing Halberd with masterful perfection, and that you possess peerless physical strength."
"You actually have a bit of my demeanor from back in the day!"
"I am also someone who cherishes and loves talent."
"If you come over and pledge your allegiance right now, and then gain my disciple Ye Fan's approval, I will consider teaching you my treasured Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique holding nothing back!"
"What do you think?"
Ren Tianye smiled. "This junior is endlessly grateful for the old general's trust. However, this matter is of great importance and requires this junior to think on it a bit more. Please give me a little time, old general."
Having dealt with him like this, he quietly asked Zhang Shi, "In your judgment, looking at the three hundred men Xiang Gui brought behind him, is it possible that they have all been taught by Xiang Gui and each possesses half of his skills?"
Zhang Shi immediately shook his head. "Great General, that's impossible. General Xiang Gui and you are both exceptionally gifted. How could others easily learn that?"
"Furthermore..."
Zhang Shi's gaze narrowed. "Among those three hundred men, quite a few are former border soldiers. I recognize the one holding the iron shovel; he belongs to the border army ranks."
"I estimate that after the matriarchy ordered the disbandment of the border army, they had nowhere to go and somehow came to rely on Xiang Gui. However, Xiang Gui has extremely high prestige in the army, so it's not unusual for them to seek refuge with him!"
Ren Tianye felt relieved.
Good, good, good. As long as not everyone is the kind of fierce general who can charge in and out of an army seven times, it's fine.
He now had a good grasp of the situation in his heart.
Ye Fan had the aura of a protagonist. This Xiang Gui was just fierce, and probably didn't have the aura of a protagonist.
"Hey, have you thought it through yet?"
"Dawdling over such a small matter, are you going to make me keep waiting for you?"
Xiang Gui was clearly getting impatient. "Stop dawdling. I have crossed more bridges than you have walked roads. If you don't listen to an elder's words, you will suffer the consequences right before your eyes."
"Hurry up, dismount, drop your weapon, and come pledge your allegiance. Otherwise, I'll just have to let you eat a hammer first to extinguish your arrogance."
Feeling completely reassured in his heart, Ren Tianye revealed a smile and said, "General Xiang, this general has made up his mind."
"Trash like Ye Fan isn't even qualified to be a foot soldier for this general, yet he delusionally hopes this general will pledge allegiance to him? It's more like he's giving this general a good laugh!"
"You'd better take someone with a diseased brain like him back to your own home and worship him as a treasure!"
Xiang Gui instantly flew into a rage. "Ren Tianye, you dare insult my disciple? Good, good, good! Even if my disciple has taken a liking to you today, I will still kill you!"
He immediately waved his large hand. "Boys, retreat a hundred paces and clear the battlefield!"
"Today, if I let Ren Tianye last ten rounds under my hands, you can consider me useless."
The three hundred men behind Xiang Gui immediately accepted the order and complied.
Ren Tianye also swung the Heaven-Piercing Halberd in his hands. Waiting until Xiang Gui walked into the center of the field, he coldly commanded: "All three armies, hear my command!"
"Nock your arrows!"
"Fire!"
...
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
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."
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
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.”
