Chen Chang'an scrutinized the little turtle for a moment before picking it up from the ground.
Holding the small creature in his hand, Chen Chang'an smirked and asked, "Yi Tuo, don’t tell me you know Chen Tian too?"
"No way!"
"I’ve been stuck in the Crimson Moon Secret Realm all this time. How would I know Chen Tian?"
"Absolutely not." Yi Tuo hastily replied.
After Yi Tuo’s denial, Chen Chang'an burst into laughter, his piercing gaze fixed on the turtle, making Yi Tuo sweat under the pressure—literally, as a drop of sweat rolled down its head.
"If I recall correctly, I never told you who Chen Tian is."
"Yet when I mentioned his name just now, you didn’t even blink in confusion."
"Not to mention, while you claimed not to know him, you nodded subconsciously."
"Still trying to hide it?" Chen Chang'an sneered.
"Cough, you got me."
"Well, yeah, I do know him. I do."
Damn it!
Chen Chang'an had suspected something was off about Yi Tuo from the start, though he hadn’t dwelled on it. When they first met, Chen Tian was just a name to him—someone connected to Chen Wanqing.
He never imagined Yi Tuo would have ties to Chen Tian. But after the turtle coincidentally appeared near him twice, Chen Chang'an couldn’t ignore the possibility.
"Spill it. Why are you following me?"
"What mission did Chen Tian give you?" Chen Chang'an frowned.
"No idea. He just told me to wait for you and stick around. That’s it."
"That’s all?"
"Yep, that’s all."
"Oh, and he asked me to pass on a message."
"He said, ‘Don’t even think about ditching me, kid. You’ll regret it later.’"
Damn it!
Chen Chang'an had been about to toss Yi Tuo aside and leave the Xuantian Domain with Da Huang. But once again, Chen Tian had predicted his thoughts.
"Am I that important to you?"
"Who knows? I’ve been bored in the Crimson Moon Secret Realm anyway. Might as well tag along and broaden my horizons."
"Lately, I’ve been feeling more and more like a living being."
"Take me with you. I won’t be a burden."
"If Chen Tian sent me to follow you, maybe you’ll actually need me someday," Yi Tuo said with a grin.
What use could Yi Tuo possibly be? As a projectile to hurl at enemies? Or to bludgeon them with its shell?
"Big bro, I say we keep it around for now."
"Just go with the flow. Weren’t you planning to take it easy and follow Chen Tian’s script anyway?"
"Having everything laid out for you sounds pretty comfortable, doesn’t it?" Da Huang chimed in, grinning.
"Yeah, that’s a fair point."
"Fine, it can come along."
"You carry it."
With that, Chen Chang'an unceremoniously dumped Yi Tuo onto Da Huang’s back.
"What the—? Why me?"
"Big bro, I don’t wanna be ridden by a turtle!"
"Then ride it instead."
"No way. I’m not riding a turtle."
"Could you two consider my feelings for once?"
"Nope!"
When Chen Chang'an found Lu Xiaoyun, the latter gave Da Huang a puzzled once-over.
"Uh… what’s with the look? Quite… unique."
"A turtle carrying a dog?"
On the way there, after a fierce struggle, Da Huang had emerged victorious, forcing Yi Tuo to enlarge itself and serve as his mount.
"My new underling. Don’t mind us," Da Huang said proudly.
"Er… very creative. Bold choice. Nice."
Lu Xiaoyun concluded that Chen Chang'an was insane—and the dog following him was no better.
"Ready to leave?"
"I’ll take you to the teleportation array."
"What’s with the attitude? You sound way too eager to get rid of us."
Hearing Chen Chang'an’s remark, Lu Xiaoyun forced a strained smile. "No, no, you misunderstand, Brother Chen."
"If you weren’t in a hurry, I’d love for you to stay longer."
"Alright then. Since you insist, I’ll stick around a bit more."
Huh?
Damn it!
Was this guy seriously taking his polite gesture at face value? Couldn’t he tell it was just empty courtesy?
Lu Xiaoyun had lived comfortably in the Apex City for countless years, but ever since Chen Chang'an showed up, he felt like his life savings were being drained dry.
"I’ve got nothing left for you to loot," Lu Xiaoyun said, on the verge of tears.
"Aren’t you too old to be whining like this?"
"Relax, just messing with you. Let’s go."
"Yes, yes, let’s go now."
Lu Xiaoyun couldn’t wait another second. Dealing with Chen Chang'an was pure torture. As soon as Chen Chang'an stepped into the teleportation array, Lu Xiaoyun exhaled in relief.
But the sly grin Chen Chang'an flashed before leaving sent a chill down his spine.
"Why did he smile so deviously?"
"Oh no!"
A bad feeling struck Lu Xiaoyun. He rushed to the Apex Pavilion—only to nearly explode in rage at the sight before him.
"Chen Chang'an!"
"You bastard!"
"You took everything?!"
The Apex Pavilion’s stockpile of ingredients, accumulated over hundreds of thousands of years, had been completely cleaned out. Not a single scrap remained.
"What now?"
"How am I supposed to run my business?"
"That jerk took it all!"
While Lu Xiaoyun fumed, Chen Chang'an had already arrived in the Flowing Clouds Domain via the teleportation array—though not directly at its Apex City.
Given the Apex City of Xuantian Domain’s status, it lacked the privilege of a direct link to the Flowing Clouds Domain’s Apex City.
Lu Xiaoyun had only set up this teleportation array to ensure Chen Chang'an’s departure.
"Big bro, what are you eating?"
"That looks kinda familiar."
Da Huang frowned as he watched Chen Chang'an enjoying his meal alone.
"Stuff from the Apex Pavilion."
"Lu Xiaoyun’s a cheapskate. He had plenty but refused to share."
"So I took it all before leaving."
"You want some?"
"Nah, Yi Tuo doesn’t eat this stuff. Here, Da Huang, have some."
As Da Huang wolfed down the food, Yi Tuo could only watch enviously. It longed to taste real food, but Chen Chang'an ignored it entirely.
In Chen Chang'an’s eyes, Yi Tuo was just a nuisance Chen Tian had foisted upon him. Letting it tag along was mercy enough—feeding it was out of the question.
"Big bro, where exactly are we?"
"This place looks pretty desolate."
Between bites, Da Huang glanced around. The teleportation had indeed dumped them in the middle of nowhere.
Chen Chang'an had noticed their surroundings the moment they arrived. He stayed put because he knew—every step he took was part of Chen Tian’s grand design.
"Eat up while you can. Work will be coming soon."
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.”
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!"
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.
