First of all, Cui Hao was no fool, and secondly, he certainly wasn’t itching for a beating.
His master’s words carried a heavy note of warning.
Cui Hao’s gaze shifted once more.
At this moment, Qinghe’s eyes narrowed slightly, her lips curling into a smirk that seemed to say—"Kid, you’ve got some nerve!"
Cui Hao clenched one fist and slammed it into his other open palm with a loud smack.
Then, putting on an expression of sudden realization, he began pacing as he spoke:
"Ah! My memory’s been failing me lately. I must’ve gotten it wrong. What I heard was that the dragon was so mighty, it crushed its enemies in no time—even skinned one alive!"
"I mean, what was that guy thinking? Utterly clueless!"
Cui Hao sighed dramatically as he sidled behind his master, then reached out to clutch the other sleeve of Chu Xingchen’s robe—just like Chen Baiqing had done.
The message was unmistakable: Master, protect me!
Chu Xingchen played along, raising a hand in a protective gesture.
Qinghe’s expression didn’t change, but her voice rose in challenge: "Are you sure it was a human who got skinned?"
"Absolutely!" Cui Hao nodded vigorously. "That was a dragon we’re talking about! A legendary, invincible divine beast!"
A hint of mockery flashed across Qinghe’s face as she turned to Chu Xingchen.
"If I recall correctly, you were the only human who took action that day. Care to share how it felt to be skinned by me?"
Cui Hao suddenly felt the sleeve in his grip turn ice-cold.
Damn it!
This dragon was downright devious! She’d set him up!
He glanced at his master, ready to explain himself, but Chu Xingchen didn’t seem bothered at all. Instead, he pressed a reassuring hand on Cui Hao’s arm.
With a chuckle, Chu Xingchen said, "Just hearsay, nothing personal. Spare my disciple, will you? Look how scared he is."
Cui Hao’s eyes instantly welled up with gratitude—A master’s word is worth more than heaven itself!
Chu Xingchen met his gaze and gave him a look that said, Relax, I’ve got your back.
Touched, Cui Hao nodded fervently.
"Tch…" Qinghe turned away, resting a hand on the stone chair.
This guy might be cunning, but he genuinely cared for his disciples.
Whether it was Li Yingling or Li Xingtian, Qinghe had spent time alone with each of them.
And without exception, she could tell they all held deep, sincere respect for their master.
Her gaze then landed on Lin Luoyu.
Her interest was simple—this woman seemed to be the only one in the sect who was so normal it was almost abnormal.
Lin Luoyu, of course, knew that Qinghe—with her deer-like antlers and undetectable cultivation—was a formidable figure, at least by her standards.
But she never expected the seemingly adorable Qinghe to be a dragon in human form.
Meeting Qinghe’s eyes, Lin Luoyu showed no sign of nervousness, merely nodding lightly in acknowledgment.
Chu Xingchen patted Cui Hao beside him and introduced him to Xie Lingyu:
"This is my fifth disciple, Cui Hao. A promising talent. Call him ‘Uncle-Master.’"
Cui Hao clasped his hands. "Greetings, Uncle-Master."
Then, pointing at Lin Luoyu, Chu Xingchen added,
"Fourth disciple, Lin Luoyu. Exceptionally gifted."
Lin Luoyu stood and bowed. "Greetings, Uncle-Master."
"Xie Lingyu of the Tianyan Sect."
Xie Lingyu considered giving them some pills refined by her own master as gifts but hesitated—these were Chu Xingchen’s disciples, after all.
They might have a natural aversion to pills…
So instead, she took out two protective artifacts and handed one to each.
"Nothing too precious, just a token of goodwill," she said.
Lin Luoyu and Cui Hao glanced at Chu Xingchen, waiting for his subtle nod before accepting the gifts.
In unison, they replied, "Thank you, Uncle-Master."
Chen Baiqing released Chu Xingchen’s sleeve and picked up the teapot, starting to brew tea.
Chu Xingchen’s gaze swept the room.
Li Yingling was scrutinizing their surroundings, likely checking whether her junior siblings had wreaked havoc in the sect during her absence.
Li Xingtian sat relaxed in his chair, his usual stoic face softened by the faintest smile.
If Zhang Yuanshan—who once laughed himself to tears with Li Xingtian on the Central Continent—were still around,
seeing this expression, he’d probably think the world was ending.
Each wore a different expression, but one thing was clear—they were all at ease.
Chu Xingchen couldn’t help but smile too.
This was good. Really good.
Once the tea was ready, Chen Baiqing portioned it out and sent the cups floating with a flick of spiritual energy.
Cui Hao’s eyes lit up as he eagerly accepted his.
A connoisseur himself, he knew his third senior sister’s tea-making skills bordered on divine.
But ever since their master left, she hadn’t brewed a single cup.
He took a small sip and immediately felt his body and mind unwind.
Qinghe wasn’t particularly fond of tea, but she liked fitting in.
Seeing everyone else drink, she grabbed her cup and downed it in one gulp as usual.
But this time, after swallowing, she smacked her lips twice.
Tilting her head thoughtfully, she extended her cup again:
"Another."
Xie Lingyu gave her a puzzled look, though wanting a second cup wasn’t that odd.
She took a sip herself and finally understood what Chu Xingchen meant back in Chizhou when he said "Not as good as Chen Baiqing’s."
This tea…
was unbelievably delicious.
"Hmm…" Qinghe finished her second cup, blinked, and held out her cup once more:
"Another!"
Chen Baiqing obliged, this time adding a side of candied fruit.
Even knowing Qinghe was a dragon—her age far beyond human reckoning—
seeing her youthful appearance, Chen Baiqing couldn’t help but share her snacks.
After all, Qinghe seemed to genuinely enjoy her tea.
Accepting both, Qinghe asked curiously,
"What’s this pairing?"
Chen Baiqing answered earnestly, "Good things don’t need a reason to go together."
Qinghe found this unexpectedly profound. Who knew this little girl, despite her youth, could drop such wisdom?
Clearly a kindred spirit—just a tad too young.
I’ll have to ask her for slacking tips later.
Chu Xingchen clapped his hands. "Since we’re all here, let’s clean up. I’ll cook today."
Li Yingling brightened. "What does everyone want? I’ll go buy ingredients!"
Their master’s cooking was the polar opposite of his pill-refining—one was to die for, the other was literally to die from.
Li Xingtian was the first to respond this time: "I’d like spare ribs, Master."
Chen Baiqing raised her hand. "I’ll tend the fire."
Under Chu Xingchen’s urging, Lin Luoyu and Cui Hao casually picked a couple of dishes too.
Xie Lingyu opted for a soup.
When Qinghe met Chu Xingchen’s questioning look, she eyed him skeptically:
"You actually know how to cook?"
"Just try not to eat your chopsticks later."
"Keep bragging!"
An hour later.
Everyone was mostly eating in silence, their chopsticks dancing swiftly across the large stone table.
Lin Luoyu didn’t hold back either, helping herself generously to the dishes.
Cui Hao kept his head down, focused entirely on his meal without a word of idle chatter.
Li Yingling wore a blissful expression as she ate, occasionally picking up food for Chen Baiqing beside her.
Li Xingtian was the calmest of them all, eating with the most refined demeanor.
Qinghe’s cheeks were puffed up as she chewed, her chopsticks already reaching for the sweet and sour ribs on the table.
Xie Lingyu, at least, maintained some decorum. Watching Qinghe—mouth full, bowl still piled high, yet still stretching her chopsticks for more—she tapped the back of Qinghe’s hand with the blunt end of her own chopsticks.
"Mind your manners."
Qinghe shot Xie Lingyu a wounded look, mumbling through her food,
"Can’t even let Qinghe eat when she’s hungry..."
Chu Xingchen raised an eyebrow and teased, "Little Qinghe, how about it?"
"Qinghe will show you how to eat chopsticks later!"
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.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
