In the royal chambers of the Great Zhou Kingdom, Chen Chang'an and Da Huang squatted before a tea table, staring motionlessly at the object placed atop it.
"Tell me, is this the thing?" Da Huang asked after a long silence.
"I don’t think so. Definitely not," Chen Chang'an replied firmly.
"But it kinda looks like it… just a bit… blacker," Da Huang muttered, shaking his head in disagreement.
"I feel like killing someone," Chen Chang'an growled, his entire body radiating thick resentment.
"Who?"
"Everyone."
"That’s excessive. You could start by digging up the grave of that descendant from your Chen family, then chop up the current ruler of the Great Zhou Kingdom."
"If that’s not enough, you could always wipe out his entire bloodline."
"No need to kill everyone else—they’re innocent," Da Huang remarked with a hint of schadenfreude.
"Shut up."
"Not my fault. I didn’t do this," Da Huang snapped back.
"What a sin!"
"What a goddamn sin!"
Chen Chang'an was on the verge of tears. Out of all the possibilities he had imagined, the worst one had come true.
The good news? The Embryonic Pearl had been found.
The bad news? Chen Chang'an regretted finding it.
The Embryonic Pearl had indeed been in the hands of the royal family—specifically, the current ruler of the Great Zhou Kingdom.
But instead of studying it or gifting it away, the bastard had been fondling it daily like some plaything?
The damn thing was practically polished to a greasy, blackened sheen from all that handling! The sight alone made Chen Chang'an nauseous—how the hell was he supposed to fuse with this disgusting thing?
"You really don’t want it?"
"This is crucial for you. Besides, it’s not like you have to eat it. What’s the big deal?" Da Huang said dismissively.
In his eyes, since it wasn’t meant to be ingested, what did a little filth matter?
"Do you even know what ‘disgusting’ means?"
"Hmm… no."
"Of course not. You’re the kind of creature that eats literal crap."
"Chen Chang'an, don’t slander me! When have I ever eaten crap?"
"When you devour people, do you check if they’ve emptied their bowels first?"
"Uh…"
"Still claiming you’ve never eaten crap?"
"Well… that does make sense. So I have eaten crap!"
Da Huang fell into deep thought, as if trying to recall the exact flavor of said crap.
"Hmm… digestion was too quick. Can’t remember the taste," he mused, even licking his lips absentmindedly.
"Ugh!"
"You’re absolutely revolting!"
Chen Chang'an couldn’t take it anymore. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to ignore Da Huang’s nonsense, and turned his attention back to the Embryonic Pearl on the table.
"Damn it. Fine."
From the moment he laid eyes on the pearl, his body had reacted intensely, urging him to fuse with it immediately.
If not for its revolting state, he would’ve done so long ago.
As soon as he picked it up, the pearl responded, transforming into a streak of greasy black light. But this time, instead of entering his forehead, it merged directly into his chest—right where his heart was.
"Ah… Feels good. I can absorb spiritual energy again."
"Seems I’ll need to find the remaining seven Embryonic Pearls to continue cultivating," Chen Chang'an said with a smile.
"Alright, let’s move. If we delay any longer, that kid Chen Yunxuan won’t last," Da Huang urged.
They’d been so preoccupied with the pearl that they’d missed the grand spectacle unfolding outside.
Boom!
Uncle Liu struck Chen Yunxuan with another palm strike, sending him reeling. But for the first time, a flicker of emotion crossed his previously indifferent expression.
This kid truly had no fear of death. Knowing he was outmatched, why did he keep charging forward?
"You’re impressive—both in talent and strength, far surpassing your peers."
"But why do this?"
"Why keep fighting when you know you can’t win?" Uncle Liu voiced his confusion.
Wiping blood from his lips, Chen Yunxuan suddenly grinned.
"So what if I can’t win?"
"Running isn’t an option. Surrendering even less so."
"You’re stronger, yes. But that doesn’t mean I’ll give up."
"As long as I’m alive, I’ll keep fighting!"
"Until my last breath!"
His words stirred admiration among the onlookers. This was how a true cultivator should be—unyielding, relentless. Without such determination, how could one ever carve their own path?
"What a shame."
Even Uncle Liu felt a pang of pity. A genius like this shouldn’t perish here.
But his young master’s orders left no room for mercy.
"I hope you won’t regret this decision."
Without another word, Uncle Liu struck again—this time with full force, intending to end the battle for good.
Yet, as the attack closed in, Chen Yunxuan suddenly shut his eyes.
The crowd was baffled. Wasn’t he just vowing to fight to the death? Why give up now?
Was this resignation?
Uncle Liu frowned, equally puzzled.
Then—
A terrifying surge of energy erupted from Chen Yunxuan’s body, forcing Uncle Liu to abandon his attack and hastily defend.
Boom!
"How?!"
"What did Chen Yunxuan just do?!"
"By the heavens, is he defying fate again? That man’s in the Divine Ability Realm!"
"Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable!"
Under everyone’s stunned gazes, the shockwave from Chen Yunxuan’s body had repelled Uncle Liu himself!
This shattered all their preconceptions about Chen Yunxuan’s limits—some even began questioning their own understanding of cultivation.
Was this still the Transcendent Realm?!
"Epiphany!"
"The kid entered an epiphany?!"
"Not only does he break through mid-battle, but he can also achieve enlightenment on the spot?"
"He…"
An epiphany—something countless cultivators dreamed of, yet so few attained. It required unparalleled insight and serendipity.
Who the hell just happened to have one in the middle of combat?
Just how monstrous was this kid’s comprehension?
The reason Uncle Liu had been forced back was the overwhelming energy released during the initial stage of epiphany.
But this power was fleeting. In this state, Chen Yunxuan was as vulnerable as a lamb awaiting slaughter.
"Such a waste. An epiphany is rare beyond measure."
"But in these circumstances… it’s no different from suicide." Uncle Liu sighed, a trace of envy in his voice. In all his years, he had never experienced such enlightenment.
"Young Master, observing an epiphany firsthand could greatly benefit your cultivation."
"Perhaps…"
Uncle Liu's intention was clear. Under these circumstances, if Cheng Yushu took the time to reflect deeply, it might benefit his cultivation path. There was also a reluctance to take advantage of someone in a vulnerable state.
Upon hearing Uncle Liu's words, however, Cheng Yushu frowned, hesitating only briefly before deciding to act swiftly—better to cut the Gordian knot than let the situation drag on.
"Uncle Liu, this Chen Yunxuan is far too monstrous. We can't give him any opportunity!"
"Kill him!" Cheng Yushu said grimly.
His words eased the tension for many present. They had feared Cheng Yushu might agree to wait, only for Chen Yunxuan to achieve enlightenment and stage a desperate counterattack.
"I... understand."
Uncle Liu nodded helplessly, his gaze toward Chen Yunxuan filled with complexity.
"What a terrible waste."
"How many years must pass before the Northern Domain produces another prodigy like this? And yet, today, he will die by my hand."
"You don’t have the right to kill him."
A sudden voice stunned the crowd. The next moment, Chen Chang'an appeared before Chen Yunxuan, with Da Huang at his side, blocking Uncle Liu’s strike.
"Who... who is this?"
"Another member of the Chen family?"
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
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?!
tions: attribute allocation, analysis, proficiency, and simulation. Specializing in mechanical alchemy, from crafting sorcerous battle armor to handcrafting mechanical maidens, his mechanical legion conquers endless realms... Relying on his wits, he begins with a student-teacher romance, wins over a female director, enslaves a female assassin and a underworld queen, becoming the husband of a Grand Duchess... He enslaves the Goddess of Magic from the divine realm, developing his power simultaneously in both the Wizard World and the Realm of Gods...
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
