Upon hearing these words, Xue Shaohua didn’t react with the expected happiness. Instead, he tilted his head back, allowing a single tear to slowly roll down from the corner of his eye.
Seeing this, Ye Liangchen’s heartstrings were tugged once again. He knew he was in the wrong, and watching Xue Shaohua cry didn’t sit well with him either.
Though Ye Liangchen now carried the soul of a 28-year-old, in all those years, he had never been with a man and had no idea how to comfort one.
If it were a girl, his natural elegance, confidence, and handsome looks—coupled with his willingness to take responsibility and offer compensation—would have usually stopped the tears.
But he’d already said all that to Xue Shaohua, and yet the man was still crying. Ye Liangchen was truly at a loss.
Suddenly, Xue Shaohua stood up.
Ye Liangchen hurriedly rose as well.
Xue Shaohua turned abruptly, his eyes slightly red, lips bitten lightly, and spoke in a voice laced with grievance: "Why are you following me?"
"I... I’m worried you might do something rash." That was Ye Liangchen’s honest thought.
Perhaps it was the sincerity in Ye Liangchen’s expression and tone, but Xue Shaohua studied him for a moment. Despite the lingering resentment, he closed his eyes, wrestled with his emotions, and finally said, "I’m going to shower."
Ye Liangchen glanced at the marks on Xue Shaohua’s body. "Go ahead. I’ll wait outside. Call me if you need anything."
Xue Shaohua didn’t respond, only shut his eyes in humiliation before lowering his gaze and stepping into the bathroom.
Not long after, a pained hiss came from inside.
Ye Liangchen’s heart clenched, and he barged in without hesitation—only to find Xue Shaohua hunched over the toilet, tending to his wounds.
The moment Xue Shaohua noticed Ye Liangchen’s intrusion, he instinctively shielded himself. "What are you doing in here? Get out!"
Ye Liangchen’s gaze softened as he took in Xue Shaohua’s guarded posture. "Let me help you."
Sensing Ye Liangchen’s gentleness, Xue Shaohua sniffled, his voice softening as well. "This was my first time... You can’t treat me badly from now on."
"Mm." Ye Liangchen nodded solemnly, locking eyes with him. "Can I... Can I...?"
Xue Shaohua’s heart fluttered. Under Ye Liangchen’s tender gaze, he averted his eyes, hesitated for a second, then gave a quiet, "Mm."
......
Afterward, Ye Liangchen lay on the bed, taking a slow drag from his cigarette as he glanced down at Xue Shaohua nestled in his arms, a satisfied smile playing on his lips.
"Shouldn’t you put some ointment on that bruise?" Xue Shaohua lightly traced the discolored mark on Ye Liangchen’s cheek.
"A real man doesn’t fuss over these things." Ye Liangchen smirked, his tone light.
But inwardly, he was seething—Long Aotian would pay for this.
"Once our plan succeeds, we’ll make him kneel and beg for forgiveness!" Xue Shaohua spat bitterly. If Long Aotian hadn’t attacked Ye Liangchen yesterday,
Ye Liangchen wouldn’t have rushed to concoct [Tomorrow’s Reckoning], and Xue Shaohua wouldn’t have ended up in this state. Once they pinned the assault charge on Long Aotian, they’d make sure he suffered!
Just as Xue Shaohua was about to vent his grievances,
he noticed Ye Liangchen lost in thought, cigarette between his fingers, eyes half-lidded.
"What’s on your mind?" Xue Shaohua asked.
The question snapped Ye Liangchen back to reality.
Mentioning Long Aotian had sparked a wicked idea.
Long Aotian had humiliated him time and again—there was no way he’d let it slide.
A slow grin spread across Ye Liangchen’s face. He had a plan.
Long Aotian mocked him for being weak? Fine. He’d make sure Long Aotian experienced firsthand just how weak he wasn’t.
Long Aotian thought he was untouchable? Arrogant? Loved stealing women from him? Then he’d know what it felt like to be treated like one!
Breaking him psychologically, step by step—now that was more entertaining than forcing him to eat a hundred fried dough sticks.
The thought made Ye Liangchen chuckle—this time, genuinely.
He’d found the perfect way to destroy Long Aotian.
"I swore I’d repay Long Aotian’s humiliation a hundredfold."
"That day won’t be long now."
Xue Shaohua perked up. "You’ve figured out how to deal with him?"
Ye Liangchen grinned, brushing a finger against Xue Shaohua’s nose. "Of course."
He then laid out his plan to disgrace Long Aotian.
Xue Shaohua’s eyes lit up. "Genius. Ye Liangchen, you’re an absolute genius!"
"After we’re done with him, we’ll film it. That’ll hurt him worse than death."
As he spoke, Xue Shaohua glanced at Ye Liangchen, a thought crossing his mind—something he hadn’t even experienced yet.
Noticing the look, Ye Liangchen raised a brow. "What?"
"You."
With that, Xue Shaohua pounced.
"Hey—! You sneaky—!"
......
"Ugh—"
"What’s wrong, Lao Ao?" The sudden noise startled the others.
Long Aotian couldn’t explain it. "Just... a sudden chill down my spine."
Huang Fei and the other two burst out laughing. "Lao Ao, you really need to hit the gym. Look at you—just a breeze, and you’re already shivering?"
"Shut it. I’ve got energy to spare. And if you hadn’t gone behind my back, I wouldn’t even be here!"
At that, Huang Fei and the others lowered their heads sheepishly.
Without Long Aotian’s consent, they’d signed him up for the swimming club.
Club members were required to participate in the sports festival.
Huang Fei had gotten the tip from Shen Mengjie, so they’d dragged Long Aotian here, hoping he could at least learn the basics—since he couldn’t swim.
Inside the swimming pool area,
after changing, they stepped onto the deck.
"We come here almost every week. We tried inviting you before, but you’re always MIA on weekends—"
Mid-sentence, a splash erupted at the pool’s edge.
A slender figure emerged from the water.
Brushing droplets from her face, she removed her goggles, propped herself up on the edge, and grinned at the startled group. "Look at you, jumping at nothing."
Her gaze landed on Long Aotian. "Rare sight. What brings you here?"
Huang Fei quickly explained the situation to Shen Mengjie.
"Oh?" Shen Mengjie listened, then hoisted herself onto the pool’s edge with effortless grace. Rising to her feet, her swimsuit clung to her curves, her toned figure on full display.
She smirked at Long Aotian. "You could’ve just asked me."
Before Long Aotian could respond, Huang Fei cut in, "Really? You’d help?"
"Sure." She sighed dramatically. "But is this how you ask for favors?"
"Dinner’s on us."
Shen Mengjie’s eyes sparkled with amusement as she turned to Long Aotian. "Someone once promised to treat me to pig’s trotters for ‘nutrition.’ Hmm, how long has it been? I wonder when this mysterious ‘someday’ will finally come..."
Long Aotian knew this was a hint aimed at him, so he extended two fingers and said, "I'll cover two meals..."
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.”
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
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."
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
