Gu Xian'er had never imagined that a cultivator like her could ever experience the life of an ordinary person.
But upon reflection, had it not been for following Chen Chang'an, she would likely never have stepped foot inside a gambling den in her lifetime.
She would never have known the thrill of winning a bet, nor the adrenaline of being chased by the den's enforcers, fleeing in disarray.
"Young Master, is this your way of amusing yourself in the mortal world, experiencing different lives?"
"I truly never expected Young Master to have already reached such a profound state of enlightenment." Gu Xian'er gazed at Chen Chang'an with admiration.
Seeing her adoration, Da Huang curled his lips in disdain. To spin idleness into something so lofty—this Gu Xian'er was certainly no ordinary person either.
Talented!
Both of them were downright talented!
"The world is full of suffering. If I do not descend into hell, who will?"
"Young Master possesses great wisdom. Xian'er is ashamed of her ignorance."
"No matter. In time, when you reach a certain level of cultivation, you will understand."
"Yes, Young Master. Xian'er will strive diligently."
"Good. I have high hopes for you."
Da Huang watched with undisguised contempt. Could they at least pretend to have some shame?
"Can we go already?"
"I'm asking—can the two of you finally move?" Da Huang snapped impatiently.
"Xian'er, remember—do not be like Da Huang, restless and impatient. Such a temperament will never achieve greatness."
"Yes, Young Master. Xian'er will take it to heart."
"Damn it, I can't take this anymore. Just kill me already, you two."
"Alas, some pupils are beyond teaching."
Chen Chang'an sighed helplessly, his gaze toward Da Huang filled with disappointment and pity.
That look stirred something in Da Huang—an urge to swallow Chen Chang'an whole once more. But this time, he’d make sure to digest the bastard properly, not spit him back out!
"Why here? Why not a brothel?"
"I don’t care—I want to go to a brothel!"
Chen Chang'an chose a tavern instead, much to Da Huang's displeasure. Yet both Chen Chang'an and Gu Xian'er ignored him completely, letting him roll on the ground in protest without so much as a glance.
"Da Huang, brothels are places of fleeting pleasure. Do not linger in such distractions."
"Bah! I’ll linger all I want! Without a fair maiden by my side, food loses all flavor—utterly tasteless!"
Chen Chang'an chuckled and shook his head. He knew full well that Da Huang’s obsession with brothels wasn’t purely for indulgence—it was mostly out of sheer boredom.
If he had something worthwhile to do, Da Huang would never clamor for brothels.
"Hmm?"
"How interesting. I never expected to run into an old acquaintance here."
Suddenly, Chen Chang'an sensed a familiar presence—one that even Da Huang picked up on.
Da Huang’s eyes lit up with excitement. "Isn’t that… Fang Yunxi?"
"What’s he doing here?"
"Not sure, but we’ll find out soon enough."
At the same time, Fang Yunxi also detected a familiar aura. Unsure, he approached the private room where Chen Chang'an was seated.
"This humble one is Fang Yunxi. Might I ask—"
"Come in."
"Ah! It really is you!"
Hearing Chen Chang'an's voice, Fang Yunxi brightened and eagerly pushed the door open.
"It’s been a long time, Brother Fang. I trust you’ve been well?" Chen Chang'an greeted with a faint smile.
"Hahaha! Who would’ve thought I’d run into you here, Brother Chen!"
"Brother Chen, after all these years, you remain as distinguished as ever."
Fang Yunxi made himself at home, taking a seat without ceremony. Truth be told, it had been over two thousand years since they last met.
"The Fang Clan’s territory is quite far from here, isn’t it? What brings you to this place?" Chen Chang'an asked curiously.
"An invitation. Besides, after centuries of secluded cultivation, it was time for a change of scenery."
"Had I not come, who knows when I’d have seen you again?"
"Meeting you alone makes this trip worthwhile!"
"By the way, Brother Chen, what brings you here? Were you invited as well?" Fang Yunxi inquired with a smile.
Chen Chang'an shook his head. "I’m merely wandering the world. My arrival here was purely coincidental."
"Whoever managed to invite you must be no ordinary figure, then?"
Fang Yunxi nodded. "Indeed. It was the Supreme Elder of the Qingyun Sect who extended the invitation. A favor like that couldn’t be refused."
"Do you know of the Qingyun Sect?"
Qingyun Sect?
Chen Chang'an searched his memories. The name sounded vaguely familiar, though it must have been from a long time ago.
After a moment of contemplation, it finally came back to him.
"You don’t mean the sect founded by Lu Qingyun all those years ago, do you?"
"Exactly. The Qingyun Sect’s founding patriarch was none other than Lu Qingyun."
Suddenly, Da Huang snickered mischievously, leaving Fang Yunxi puzzled.
"Brother Da Huang, why the laughter?" Fang Yunxi asked, confused.
"Ask him," Da Huang replied with a sly grin.
"Hmm? Brother Chen, does this… have something to do with the Qingyun Sect?"
Something to do with it?
Oh, it had everything to do with it.
The Qingyun Sect was established five thousand years ago, and the sole reason Lu Qingyun founded it was because of Chen Chang'an.
"Lu Qingyun back then—"
"Ugh, if you won’t say it, I will. That kid Lu Qingyun pestered Chen Chang'an relentlessly, begging to become his servant. Chen Chang'an got so fed up that he gave him a task."
"He told him to establish a sect and build it into a supreme powerhouse. Only then would he consider taking him on as a servant."
"The kid swore on the spot—he’d return, found the Qingyun Sect, and not bother Chen Chang'an again until he met the requirements."
"And that’s how the Qingyun Sect came to be."
By the time Da Huang finished, Fang Yunxi was utterly dumbfounded.
What kind of absurdity was this?
The founding patriarch of the Qingyun Sect had once begged to become Chen Chang'an’s servant?
That was Lu Qingyun—a legendary powerhouse at the peak of the Immortal Realm Ninth Layer, just one step away from the Emperor Realm!
"Brother Chen, just… what kind of being are you?"
"You knew Lu Qingyun over five thousand years ago?" Fang Yunxi stared at Chen Chang'an in shock.
"Me? I’ve just lived a long time. Naturally, I’ve met quite a few people."
"But that doesn’t change anything between us. We’re still friends," Chen Chang'an said with a smile.
Friends?
The man whom Lu Qingyun had groveled before was calling him a friend?
Fang Yunxi suddenly felt his entire existence elevated. His very spirit seemed to shine brighter.
Damn—this was Lu Qingyun they were talking about! A figure of immense renown!
Though Fang Yunxi himself was no slouch—having risen to the status of an elder in the Fang Clan—the Fang Clan paled in comparison to the Qingyun Sect.
Not only did the Qingyun Sect boast Lu Qingyun, a half-step Emperor Realm expert, but the number of Immortal Realm cultivators within its ranks far surpassed the Fang Clan’s.
Although the Qingyun Sect has yet to become a top-tier force—given the absence of a Great Emperor-level powerhouse to anchor it—no one would dare underestimate its standing.
"By that logic, could I consider Lu Qingyun and myself friends?" Fang Yunxi remarked with a hint of excitement.
"Well... you could always try asking him when you see him."
"Whether Lu Qingyun agrees or not is one thing, but I doubt the rest of the Qingyun Sect would be on board."
Da Huang shot Fang Yunxi a disdainful look—this guy really had a knack for wishful thinking.
Hearing Da Huang's remark, Fang Yunxi chuckled awkwardly. He knew the odds were slim; it was just idle daydreaming on his part.
"By the way, why did the Qingyun Sect invite you? What’s the occasion?"
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.”
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."
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.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
