Origin Ridge.
The Withered Grass Plains.
Patrol squads were typically composed of seven small demons.
Given their low cultivation levels—roughly equivalent to the fifth or sixth layer of Qi Refinement—most of these demons bore little resemblance to humans.
The mouse demon, for instance, shared only one similarity with humans: it now walked on two legs.
Leading the squad was a weasel demon.
With a pointed snout, a face covered in yellow fur, and narrowed eyes, it couldn’t help but grumble:
"What’s the point of patrolling this damn plain? No one’s launching a surprise attack here. If we run into a Golden Core expert, we’ll be wiped out before we can even make a sound. What’s there to check?"
The moment the captain spoke, the squad quickly erupted into chatter, each member voicing their thoughts.
A small, hunched-over lizard demon, carrying a worn-out broadsword, rasped in a hoarse voice:
"If they don’t send us to die, how else can they flaunt their authority as demon kings?"
The mouse demon sighed. "Before the Demon Nation, our lives weren’t our own. Now that it exists, they still aren’t. Did I come here for nothing? I even had a mouse bride waiting for me back home..."
A sturdy little wild ox demon, sporting a pair of horns, chimed in with a naive tone:
"Don’t say that. If the Demon Nation really stands firm, we won’t have to hide and flee from humans anymore."
As soon as these words left its mouth, four of the seven demons burst into laughter.
The smallest lizard demon slapped the boar demon beside it, guffawing:
"Hey, pig, you buying that?"
The boar demon’s tusks wobbled as it snorted with laughter:
"Like hell I do!"
The ox demon didn’t argue back. It just cast a sidelong glance at the others.
They were all just putting up a tough front.
If they truly didn’t believe, why would they have traveled thousands of miles to this godforsaken wasteland?
Did the sand here taste better or something?
The weasel demon observed its squad.
Complaining together was good—it subtly strengthened morale and camaraderie.
Only when the conversation took a truly negative turn would the weasel step in to steer it back.
It hadn’t joined in the laughter earlier, because deep down, it agreed with the ox demon.
If possible, it never wanted to hide and run again...
It had already lost one wife and three children.
The weasel demon’s claw absently traced the hilt of its battered longsword.
Truth was, they all knew.
Even if the Demon Nation succeeded, frontline grunts like them would probably never live to see it.
If a full-scale war broke out, the aftershocks of a Golden Core battle alone could crush them like ants.
But still...
It wanted to fight for a sliver of hope—no, to fight for their own pride.
Even if its existence was insignificant, it still wanted to contribute.
Maybe, at the core of it all, it was just hatred...
As the squad’s bickering filled the air, the weasel demon’s heart gradually calmed, and a faint smile tugged at its lips.
But soon, that smile vanished, replaced by grim tension.
The wind carried the scent of humans.
The weasel demon’s nose twitched, and its gaze snapped toward a patch of withered grass nearby.
It raised a hand, cutting off the squad’s chatter, and hissed in a low voice: "Tighten up!"
The mouse demon stiffened, its beady eyes darting to where the weasel was looking.
Its claw flew to the crossbow strapped to its back.
On patrol, it always kept a bolt loaded—no time to fumble with reloading in a fight.
At the Qi Refinement stage, demons couldn’t wield spells. Their only weapons were brute strength and whatever gear they could scavenge.
Crossbows were popular among low-level demons.
Not because they could actually kill cultivators—for that, you’d need ritual-enhanced weapons or spellcraft.
Those were far too precious.
If even patrol grunts had access to such things, the Demon Nation would’ve been established long ago.
No, the crossbow’s real purpose was to gauge whether they should fight or flee.
The mouse demon whispered: "Shoot?"
The weasel demon’s eyes narrowed. "Volley!"
The creak of drawn bowstrings followed as two other demons armed with crossbows took aim.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—
Bolts streaked toward the yellowed grass.
As expected, two figures burst from the thicket—a man and a woman, both wielding blades.
With practiced ease, they deflected the incoming bolts, their swords weaving a protective dance infused with faint spiritual energy.
The weasel demon scrutinized them, relief flooding its chest once it confirmed neither was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
What kind of reckless Qi Refinement fools would ambush them here?
Did they think so little of demons?
It barked orders:
"Ox! Pig! Lizard! Triangle formation—go!"
"On it!" The boar demon’s stubby legs churned as it unsheathed its cleaver and charged.
The ox and lizard demons followed close behind.
The weasel demon didn’t rush in. Instead, its eyes swept the surroundings, nostrils flaring as it scented the air.
Cui Hao’s cultivation: Qi Refinement, fifth layer.
Lin Luoyu’s cultivation: Qi Refinement, ninth layer.
Cui Hao sighed as the snarling demons barreled toward them.
"Told you. Who’d set an ambush here?"
Lin Luoyu raised her sword, her gaze icy.
"Kill first. Talk later."
Cui Hao tightened his grip on his blade. "Fourth Senior Sister, you take the pig and ox. I’ll handle the short lizard."
"Agreed." The moment Lin Luoyu spoke, her figure blurred forward, closing the distance in an instant.
She met the boar demon head-on.
The boar demon roared, muscles bulging as it swung its cleaver in a brutal arc.
In close combat, demons held the advantage—at least, against ordinary Qi Refinement cultivators.
But Lin Luoyu was anything but ordinary.
A wisp of righteous qi could level mountains and rivers.
A glimmer of white spiritual energy flickered along her blade, and the boar demon’s eyes widened—her sword, once clearly visible, now left only afterimages.
"Fall back!"
The ox demon’s desperate shout reached the boar’s ears too late.
A cold sting flashed across its neck.
Then, the world spun.
Its last sight was the ox demon’s grief-stricken face, eyes burning with fury.
Heh...
So this was it.
The boar demon’s final thought faded into darkness.
The weasel demon’s heart lurched as it witnessed Lin Luoyu’s skill. Regret and sorrow surged.
"Trouble! Big trouble!" it howled.
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
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."
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.
