Deep within an unnamed mountain range somewhere in the Eastern Region, Mo Tianxiao's face was deathly pale. His legs trembled uncontrollably, and his entire body was stripped of every ounce of strength. If Zi Ling'er had not been supporting him by his side, he likely would have already collapsed softly to the ground.
Pushing the Holy Sword to its absolute limits to execute a True-grade sword art had squeezed him entirely dry. If he hadn't prepared a good number of escape talismans on his person, he might have already been captured and handed over to the emperor of the Great Yan Dynasty for a bounty.
At this moment, Mo Tianxiao felt weaker than he had ever felt in his life. It was like a mortal starving for seven consecutive days; he didn't even have the energy to twitch.
"This distance should be safe enough. Let me rest for a moment."
As Mo Tianxiao voiced his weakness, a ripple of emotion finally appeared in Zi Ling'er's blank, stunned gaze.
"Okay."
Slowly helping Mo Tianxiao over to a massive tree to lean against its trunk, Zi Ling'er kept her eyes fixed intently on him. Her gaze flickered with a thousand unspoken words, yet she didn't know how to begin.
She still hadn't completely recovered her wits from what had just transpired.
All she knew was that the senior had suddenly erupted with power, annihilating the three Zi family members who had come to capture her with a single strike of his sword, destroying both their bodies and souls. Then, she had been dragged along by the senior until they appeared in this deep mountain forest.
Everything had happened far too suddenly. The abrupt reversal of their situation was something she couldn't process for a time.
Weren't they supposed to be pushed into a desperate corner?
Countless questions kept bubbling up in her heart.
Just what was this senior's true identity? To reach the peak of the Profound Comprehension realm at such a young age, such a genius had never appeared in the thousands of years of the Zi family's history. Let alone an existence capable of defying the natural order to slay late-stage Void Refinement cultivators while only in the Profound Comprehension realm.
How could such a person possibly be a rogue cultivator?
Just how tremendous of a fortuitous encounter would one need to achieve such accomplishments today?
She had many confusions in her heart, but one thing was very clear to her right now: this senior might truly be able to change her fate.
Seeing Zi Ling'er hesitating to speak, her gaze conflicted as her brows furrowed and relaxed in turns, Mo Tianxiao felt a bit like laughing.
"Alright, once I catch my breath, I'll slowly answer your questions."
Killing enemies across nearly an entire major cultivation realm, if it weren't for the might of the Holy Sword, it truly wouldn't have been an easy kill.
Even if he had utilized the Demon Emperor Armor, he at most would have had the confidence to tangle with them; he wouldn't necessarily have been able to beat them to death.
After all, even Emperor-grade cultivation techniques struggled to bridge such a massive gap in cultivation base.
But a Holy Weapon was different. A Holy Weapon contained genuine Holy Might. Even if he couldn't bring out even a tenth of the Holy Sword's true power, just a tiny trace of Holy-realm strength was enough to allow him to fight above his level.
Of course, the drawback was also glaringly obvious. Currently, he was sucked completely dry after at most a single move. It could only be described as a small horse pulling a massive cart, the consumption was genuinely terrifying!
Regardless, he felt great. A measly little family, having a bit of strength and looking down on everyone else.
They actually wanted to capture him to atone for some young master of the Huangfu family? Did they think he, the crown prince of the Demon Province, didn't care about his own face?
So what if they were a top-tier noble family? Could they really cover the sky with one hand?
He didn't believe it.
Swallowing a handful of spiritual energy recovery pills and resting for half an hour, Mo Tianxiao finally felt a bit better.
Having killed three of their people, he would definitely be targeted by the Zi family.
"Zi Ling'er, tell me the exact details of the Zi family's strength."
Zi Ling'er fixed her eyes on Mo Tianxiao, her pupils filled with worry. "Senior, the Zi family definitely won't let us off easily. This time it was the Ninth Elder; next time, they will likely send someone even stronger."
"The Zi family's strength barely counts as third-tier within the entire Immortal City. The Patriarch, Zi Tianyang, is a peak Tribulation Transcendence expert. Excluding the dead Ninth Elder, the remaining eight elders of the Zi family are all at least at the peak of the Void Refinement realm.
Although the Zi family doesn't have any Holy-realm experts, it would still be too easy for them to capture us.
Senior, the one the Zi family is looking for is me. You have already helped me enough. I cannot drag you down any further. Once you have recovered, please leave the Eastern Region.
Otherwise, even if the Zi family can't find you, the Huangfu family won't let you off either."
Zi Ling'er felt incredibly anxious in her heart at this moment.
For every second delayed, the senior was in more danger.
That guy Huangfu Yunteng could not tolerate a single grain of sand in his eyes. Once he learned of the senior's existence, he would definitely try every possible means to track him down and torture him.
"No Holy-realm cultivators?"
Mo Tianxiao ignored Zi Ling'er's worries. His gaze darkened slightly as he began to ponder in his heart.
A family without even a single Holy-realm expert actually dared to be so arrogant.
"Senior, are you even listening to me?"
Zi Ling'er's eyes were full of resentment, her soft pink lips pouting slightly.
Mo Tianxiao looked at her, blinked lightly, and said, "Zi Ling'er, I will help you resolve your matters. I will figure out a way to rescue your parents. In the future, you follow me. How about it?"
In the massive Zi family, only Zi Ling'er possessed absolute peerless talent, a genius capable of stepping into the Holy realm in the future. Yet, the Zi family wanted to give her away. How incredibly short-sighted.
Of course, the Zi family didn't have his Eye of Insight. They likely hadn't discovered Zi Ling'er's true talent, treating her merely as an ordinary genius, or perhaps she just hadn't yet displayed a talent that would leave the Zi family in awe.
Red Destiny was already excellent. In the past five years, he had only encountered one person with it: Zi Ling'er.
Most cultivators possessed Blue Destiny or lower. A small fraction had Purple Destiny, just like the Ninth Elder of the Zi family from earlier, who had Purple Destiny. He guessed the other elders of the Zi family were roughly the same.
Red Destiny was already exceedingly rare, not to mention Golden Destiny.
It was just that because he had always been in a top-tier faction like the Netherworld Demon Sect, the people he interacted with were the most awesome figures in this world. They casually had Red Destiny or Golden Destiny, so he naturally assumed the outside world was the same.
In reality, it was just like the system had told him in the beginning: the Children of Destiny in this world numbered in the tens of thousands. It seemed like a lot, but when factoring in that any random region had billions of people, this ratio could be considered abysmally low.
Zi Ling'er's eyes widened into perfect circles. She stared unblinking at Mo Tianxiao, grabbing his sleeves with both hands, and said in a serious tone:
"Senior, I don't know what your true identity is, nor do I know how capable you are. The Zi family might not be much, but trying to rescue my parents from the hands of the Huangfu family is harder than ascending to the heavens. Please, you absolutely must not do anything foolish."
"Don't worry about that. You just need to answer whether you agree or not."
Mo Tianxiao waved his hand casually, his expression showing no concern whatsoever for the Huangfu family.
"Alright! Senior, I agree!"
Zi Ling'er steeled her heart. Her delicate gaze instantly turned fierce, bursting with a sharp glint. "Senior, I will follow you! As long as you can rescue my parents, let alone following you, my entire being will belong to you!"
She was going to die either way. Since the senior was willing to help her, what did she have to hesitate about!
If luck was on her side, they would rescue her parents and she would fly far away with the senior. If luck was bad, the worst that could happen was she would accompany the senior in death within the Immortal City.
"Good, you said it yourself."
Mo Tianxiao felt a little leap of joy in his heart. He had gained another capable general.
A Red Destiny tier, along with a special aptitude. This was already the same setup as the Buddhist Son of the Great Thunderclap Temple.
"Then next, let us carefully plan how we are going to meet this Young Master Huangfu."
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.
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
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."
