"Brother Long, have some porridge," Hu Yuying handed the bowl of porridge to Long Aotian.
"Thanks," Long Aotian took the bowl and chopsticks, his gaze inadvertently drifting toward Hu Yuying's chest.
Noticing Long Aotian's glance, Hu Yuying felt so nervous that her legs began to tremble.
Unsure of what to say, she could only turn around, her back facing Long Aotian.
Her reaction was unmistakable.
Long Aotian coughed awkwardly twice. He simply hadn’t expected Hu Yuying to be so... well-endowed.
To be honest, he was a 28-year-old man, far too old to be harboring any inappropriate thoughts about an 18-year-old girl.
If nothing else, Long Aotian had a strong moral compass. It was just curiosity, that's all.
Hu Yuying returned to the kitchen, pressing her palms against her cheeks. They felt hot and flushed, and she was certain her face was red, even without looking in a mirror.
Glancing down at her chest, she recalled the conversation she'd had with Long Aotian last Saturday.
She had asked him if men generally preferred women with good figures.
At the time, Long Aotian had replied that he appreciated all types, but based on his stunned expression just now, it seemed he leaned more toward those with better proportions.
"Turns out, not just women, but men can be hypocrites too," she thought.
Though she had never considered her figure to be particularly outstanding, the way Long Aotian had looked at her... Biting her lip, her cheeks flushed even deeper.
Thinking about it, Hu Yuying covered her face with her hands and stomped her feet lightly on the ground.
Her youthful awkwardness was on full display.
"This is so embarrassing," she muttered.
Suddenly, the bamboo curtain of the kitchen was pulled aside, and Long Aotian asked curiously, "What are you doing? Why aren’t you coming out to eat?"
The moment Long Aotian lifted the curtain, Hu Yuying quickly turned away, not wanting him to see her flustered expression.
"I... I was just thinking if I should cook a side dish. Just porridge might be a bit too plain."
"Ah, don’t bother. No need for extra dishes," Long Aotian said.
Hu Yuying peeked at him briefly before turning away again. "Okay, okay."
"Come out and eat, then."
"Mm-hmm."
Only after Long Aotian left the kitchen did Hu Yuying let out a sigh of relief, her shoulders slumping like a deflated balloon.
It seemed Long Aotian had already forgotten the earlier incident, returning to his usual self.
Hu Yuying took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down as well.
It wasn’t that she was overthinking things.
After all, Long Aotian was an adult, and his mindset wasn’t something someone her age could easily match.
If it had been someone younger, they’d probably be just as flustered as she was.
But Long Aotian had long since passed the age where such things would make him blush.
Soon, Hu Yuying regained her composure and brought the bowls out.
The morning air was fresh and slightly chilly.
Sitting on the steps of the courtyard, enjoying a bowl of lean meat porridge, felt just right.
After cleaning up the dishes, it was already 6:40.
The two of them headed out to school.
Along the way, Hu Yuying remained quiet, her school jacket zipped all the way up to her chin.
"You look really strange like that," Long Aotian remarked casually.
Hu Yuying knew what he meant. The zipper was pulled so high it nearly covered her chin, making her look odd while walking.
"I... I didn’t know you’d be coming over today, so I didn’t change after waking up," Hu Yuying explained softly.
She wasn’t trying to be provocative or flirtatious.
She didn’t mind being misunderstood by others, but she didn’t want Long Aotian to misunderstand her...
"It’s fine. I didn’t see anything," Long Aotian said nonchalantly.
Hu Yuying pursed her lips and glanced at him, muttering under her breath, "You’re lying. I saw your ears turn red."
Long Aotian stumbled slightly, almost tripping.
Though Hu Yuying had spoken quietly, Long Aotian’s hearing was sharp!
He looked back at the smooth ground and said awkwardly, "Who left pebbles on the road? No sense of public decency."
Then he cleared his throat and added, "What were you muttering just now? I’ll smack you if you keep it up!"
Lately, Hu Yuying had started to wonder if she’d truly changed.
Or maybe it was because Long Aotian had threatened to smack her so many times but never actually did it.
At first, she had been a little scared.
But now, she wasn’t afraid at all.
Still, for some reason, she found herself instinctively playing along, pretending to be scared.
Seeing Hu Yuying still acting afraid of him, Long Aotian’s big brother demeanor instantly returned.
"Pull your zipper back to normal."
Hu Yuying obediently adjusted her zipper to its usual position.
"That’s better. Now you look normal."
Hu Yuying didn’t respond, simply walking quietly beside Long Aotian.
But the more docile Hu Yuying was, the more it highlighted Long Aotian’s own discomfort.
Still, there was nothing he could do. This was just how adults were—drawn to beauty, even if only for a moment.
But when the other person was a girl ten years younger in mental age, it felt... wrong.
Yes, that was exactly how Long Aotian felt.
If it weren’t for the fact that his body had reverted to its 18-year-old state, he’d probably have been labeled a creep by now!
The worst part was, there was no way to address this properly.
Hu Yuying was only 18. If he spoke too lightly, it might come off as flippant.
If he spoke too seriously, he might scare her into developing a fear of men.
So, the only solution was to use threats to distract her and shift her focus.
He had initially planned to brush it off and move on.
But he hadn’t expected Hu Yuying to notice even his ears turning red.
If he didn’t act tough, he didn’t know how to face her.
Fortunately, the awkwardness didn’t last long.
By the time they reached school, Hu Yuying seemed to have forgotten the earlier incident.
She continued to help him with his studies as usual.
When the class bell rang, the math teacher walked in with a stack of test papers.
Hu Yuying was about to face her first exam since transferring schools.
She took it very seriously.
Seeing Hu Yuying so focused, Long Aotian also became more diligent.
He wanted to see if the knowledge he’d been absorbing over the past few days would translate well onto the test.
So, for the entire class, Long Aotian stayed focused.
When the bell rang, signaling the end of the test, Long Aotian let out a long sigh of relief.
He nudged Hu Yuying with his shoulder.
"What is it, Brother Long?" Hu Yuying tilted her head to look at him.
"Grab your notebook and go," Long Aotian said, gesturing with his eyes.
Hu Yuying glanced at the group of girls she’d been discussing problems with earlier.
After a moment’s hesitation, she picked up her notebook and walked over.
Watching Hu Yuying gradually integrate into the group, Long Aotian suddenly felt a strange sense of pride, as if he were watching his own daughter grow up...
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.
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
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.”
