The back mountain, the woods.
"Click!"
"Nice, this one is pretty good!" A boy held up the camera in his hand to review the photos, nodding from time to time with a relaxed brow, looking very satisfied.
Today was a sketching and photography activity organized by the school. The locations were decided by drawing lots. It was randomized across the entire Dragon Country, but their class ended up drawing the school's back mountain.
Their luck wasn't just ordinary bad. But in a sense, it could be considered hitting the jackpot.
A couple of girls stood under a tree striking pretty poses, while the boys were responsible for snapping photos. There were also people drawing; everyone was busy.
Although their luck was bad and they were confined to the school, the campus scenery was not inferior to tourist attractions at all. This was the benefit of having money. The ecology was quite good, preserving biodiversity to a certain extent.
For example, the snake that bit Dongfang Zhixia earlier was also a member of this biodiversity...
Now, this boy who had separated from the group was also a member of today's activity. It was just that he had no interest in photographing girls. With such good equipment, he naturally wanted to photograph birds!
He reviewed the bird perched on the branch, zooming in again and again, his eyes revealing pleasure and satisfaction.
Hmm... as expected of him, but it felt like something was missing?
As expected, candid shots are the way to go!
Step, step, step... The boy holding the camera headed towards the other side of the back mountain.
A few minutes later, the boy successfully appeared behind the hospital.
"Eh, how did I end up here? Whatever, it's the same..." The boy glanced at the hospital, withdrew his gaze, and began to search for his candid target in the trees. He quickly locked onto a bright green bird.
Then... he started climbing the tree.
"Click, click, click!"
The boy grabbed the bright green bird from the tree with his hand, held his camera, and just snapped away. A candid shot, naturally, meant grabbing it and taking a picture!
The resulting photos were top-notch!
After taking the photos, he admired his work. Once satisfied, he finally released the bird in his hand. The bird flew away chirping, but kept circling above the boy's head, cursing incessantly. It was probably displaying some colorful vocabulary.
The boy got down from the tree, patted the leaves off his body, and started looking for his next target.
"This spot is not bad!"
The boy quickly found a good location. There was a cuckoo in the tree. This time, he didn't do a candid shot, but changed to a timer. After setting up the camera, the boy lowered his footsteps, ran under the tree, and gave a thumbs up.
"Click, click, click, click..."
The camera on the timer shot at a terrifying speed of hundreds of frames per second. In just a few short seconds, thousands of photos appeared. The boy also constantly changed poses during those few seconds.
Timer ended!
The boy couldn't wait to run back and check his photos. He nodded in great satisfaction: "Hmm, as expected of me, it's just... hmm?"
The boy suddenly noticed a small black dot in the background behind him?
Is it dirty?
The boy sighed, took out a special lens cloth to wipe it, and prepared to find another place to shoot. It was a bit unlucky that the lens had gotten dirty at some unknown time, wasting this great opportunity.
After inspecting it, the boy suddenly realized that the small black dot that had just appeared behind him didn't seem to be dirt. It seemed... to be a person?
A person?
How is that possible?
The boy frowned and zoomed in on the photo again and again. This was where the advantage of a high-value, ultra-high-speed camera became apparent. Even when magnified dozens or hundreds of times, it was still incredibly clear!
As he kept zooming in, the boy finally saw clearly what the "dirt" behind him actually was. It was a person, a... person jumping off a building!
"Holy crap!"
The boy shuddered in fright, almost dropping the camera in his hand to the ground. He didn't care about the photos anymore and hurriedly rushed towards the location shown in the photo. This was a human life!
The boy ran panting to the spot where someone was "jumping off the building" in the photo, but found no one. Let alone a corpse, he didn't even see a ghost.
"How is that possible?" The boy gasped, seemingly thinking of some bad urban legend.
He had read many ghost stories and such, like how the dead in hospitals would repeat what they did when they were alive, like jumping off buildings, hanging themselves...
The more the boy thought about it, the more scared he became. A lot of cold sweat had already appeared on his forehead: "No offense intended, Amitabha, Amen..."
He chanted a messy mix of prayers, and after he was done, he bolted away.
The back mountain.
"Why are we still missing one?" The teacher frowned and recounted, but the numbers still didn't match up. One person was missing.
"Help!!!"
Not far away, a dusty and somewhat dirty boy came stumbling and crawling down from the back mountain. Tears and snot were flying everywhere. His legs were spinning like wheels, pedaling furiously, terrified of running too slow.
The group of people who had already gathered looked at him with strange expressions.
"What's wrong?" The teacher's expression was a bit strange, but he kept patting the boy's back to comfort him and calm his emotions.
"There's..." The boy seemed to think of something and hurriedly stopped himself.
According to the plot development of horror movies, if he spoke nonsense now, wouldn't a vengeful spirit come claiming his life later?
He couldn't speak carelessly, otherwise...
Gulp.
The boy swallowed hard, gave the teacher a tight hug, and took the opportunity to wipe his snot and tears clean: "I'm fine, I just thought I saw a snake just now."
Teacher: "..."
If you're fine, you're fine, why are you wiping yourself on me?
The teacher was slightly silent. Some girls in the group had already started discussing, saying that snakes were very dangerous, and a few of them huddled together.
"Alright, today's sketching activity ends here. Let's go back first. Next time, I will talk to the school about the safety issues of the back mountain. Class monitor, organize everyone..."
After a few words, the line was organized, and the group left. Only the boy who had been holding the camera at the beginning looked back every two steps, glancing towards the hospital from time to time, as if he was afraid of something.
The activity ended, and the group returned to the classroom.
Upon returning to the classroom, they found the hallway packed with people. It was exceptionally lively, almost identical to the scene when the eldest miss chased someone upstairs to demand a person last time.
"What's going on? Why did everyone run to our floor?"
"What are they looking at up ahead?"
"That's not right. Isn't it class time now? Why are there still so many people outside?"
"Make way, let me see what's going on."
"Holy crap, why is it these two immortals again? Quickly, let me out!"
The boy who had just looked "very brave" shuddered in fright when he saw the two people in the center of the vortex. He didn't care about watching the fun anymore and desperately squirmed outward, wishing he could jump up and rush out.
Outside the crowd, a boy stood on his tiptoes, held up his camera, and snapped a picture of the inside.
This way, he could figure out exactly what was happening inside. Let's take a look...
"Holy crap!" The boy shuddered in fright and hurriedly deleted the photo he had just taken, terrified that the people around him might see it.
The person in the photo was none other than Dongfang Zhixia, who had come looking for someone. And the person she was looking for was none other than the Rabbit Spirit who had "broken out of prison" from the villa, running away without even saying a word...
Wait, didn't he leave a letter?
It would have been better if he hadn't left it. Dongfang Zhixia wouldn't have overthought it and would have just treated it as "business as usual." It wasn't the first or second time Ye Cheng had sneaked away like this. If he ran, he ran; she would just catch him and bring him back later.
But the problem was that Ye Cheng had left behind a "perfect college entrance exam essay template." One read and she could tell it was a "true revelation of his feelings," leaving a bitter taste in Dongfang Zhixia's mouth.
She sent Ye Cheng messages, but he didn't reply. His phone was turned off when she called, and she had no idea what he was up to.
The more this happened, the more anxious Dongfang Zhixia became. She felt very uncomfortable, an indescribable sense that something was wrong.
To prevent unnecessary misunderstandings and troubles from deepening, Dongfang Zhixia, possessing incredible execution skills, left the villa straight away and came to the classroom to find him.
In Dongfang Zhixia's eyes, since Ye Cheng had run away, the only place he could return to was Shen Qinghan's side. That led to the current scene: Dongfang Zhixia coming to the classroom where Ye Cheng and Shen Qinghan were to find him.
The two girls had already "clashed" once before. Now that they were at it again, the peanut gallery immediately rushed to the battlefield, wanting to see exactly how Ye Cheng would die this time!
That's right, this is it, this is it, this is exactly what I want to see!
As a result... the Male Protagonist who was supposed to die a miserable death was nowhere to be found. A large crowd of onlookers looked disappointed, and many even bitterly denounced Ye Cheng's "irresponsible" behavior.
Bastard, if you're going to be a scumbag, then just obediently go to hell! Refund our tickets, we want to see rivers of blood!!!
Dongfang Zhixia had been standing at the door for almost half an hour, but Shen Qinghan showed no intention of going out. Let alone going out, she didn't even bother to acknowledge her.
It was as if they had returned to the scene of their first meeting as children, where she was "left on read."
If it were in the past, Dongfang Zhixia would have just thrown her hands up and left. If she ignores me, fine, does she think I care that much?
She wouldn't have bothered either. But that was before. Before, Dongfang Zhixia needed nothing from Shen Qinghan. Now it was different. Now, Dongfang Zhixia wanted to find out Ye Cheng's whereabouts from Shen Qinghan, and she was very anxious.
When you need something from someone, you naturally have to lower your posture. So... she stood there for half an hour.
Neither of them spoke. Arrogance met coldness, and the result was a thirty-minute stand-off.
Finally.
A change occurred. Shen Qinghan, sitting in the back row of the classroom, stood up. She had finished reading her book and could now conveniently acknowledge the untrustworthy, despicable, and shameless woman at the door.
Shen Qinghan's foot had healed. When she came over today, the bandages had already been removed, and she no longer needed aids like crutches. After getting up, she walked straight toward Dongfang Zhixia at the door.
The crowd began to boil with excitement. At the same time, everyone started to back away subconsciously. A battle between powerhouses was not something "small fries" like them could interfere with.
"Speak. You've been standing here like an idiot for so long; what do you want with me? Although I have no obligation to tell you, seeing how pitiful you are, I can make an exception."
Shen Qinghan looked at Dongfang Zhixia calmly. Her cold voice echoed in the classroom and the corridor, delivering the most "scummy" words with the calmest attitude.
The attack power was extremely high!
The surrounding onlookers were already seething with excitement!
Yes, yes, this is it, this is exactly what they wanted to see!!!
Where is the male lead?
Where's the scumbag? Hurry up and bring him out to die! Damn it, I want to see rivers of blood!!!
Dongfang Zhixia narrowed her eyes. "I advise you to watch your tone."
Not losing her temper was already giving the young lady a lot of face. If anyone else had spoken to her like that, she would have slapped them long ago.
Shen Qinghan spoke with a calm face, "Have you regressed to the point where you can't even understand human speech?"
Everyone: "..."
Hiss...
The crowd took a step back in unison, once again expanding the battlefield for the two "deities" by a circle. Getting caught in the crossfire of such mighty figures' battle by even a slight misstep would mean eternal damnation... How terrifying!
Meanwhile, in the crowd, because he couldn't squeeze his way to the front, a boy took advantage of the dense gathering to squat on the ground and look through the "jumping off a building" photos he had just accidentally taken.
Emboldened by the large number of people, he continuously zoomed in on the picture until he could clearly see the person's face...
This person... why does he look somewhat familiar?
The boy holding the camera suddenly widened his eyes. He remembered; he had seen him somewhere before!

to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”

Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"

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."

nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.