Su Yuehe ignored his complaint. At An Changqing’s signal, she projected a virtual screen onto Chen Guan’s desk, and a dense task list immediately spread out before them.
Chen Guan shifted his gaze from the barrage of comments to the screen. With just one glance, he sensed something was off.
Su Yuehe’s fingers flew across the screen, scrolling rapidly. As the list rolled on, her expression darkened bit by bit.
“What’s wrong?” An Changqing asked.
“It’s worse than I thought.”
Su Yuehe stopped her operation and looked up at the others, her brow furrowed.
“The Supernatural Association has cleared out all the D-rank and E-rank tasks meant for freshmen to practice on.”
She pointed to the task filter bar at the very top of the screen.
“Right now, the lowest-level tasks available in the system start at C-rank.”
Long Ao leaned in to take a look and let out a snort.
“Starting at C-rank is supposed to be bad?”
He jabbed a finger at one of the task briefs, his tone dripping with disdain. “Clearing out the mutated rats in the west district sewers—this kind of task is at most annoying for someone with a cleanliness obsession.”
“Don’t underestimate it.”
Su Yuehe shot back with a serious expression. “The old C-rank tasks and the current C-rank tasks have completely different evaluation standards.”
“Dean Situ made it very clear earlier. The academy’s curriculum has undergone a full overhaul. That means the criteria for rating task difficulty and danger levels must have been adjusted upward as well.”
An Changqing took over, analyzing further. “Yuehe is right.”
“If C-rank tasks have become the new baseline, then their actual difficulty is likely already close to the lower limit of the old B-rank tasks.”
“Which means all the first-year students in the entire school will be fighting tooth and nail over what looks like the easiest C-rank tasks.”
An Changqing’s gaze swept across Chen Guan and Long Ao.
“There’s no need for us to scrap over those leftovers.”
Long Ao’s eyes lit up; he instantly caught the implication behind An Changqing’s words.
“You mean...”
“We’ll take on a B-rank task directly.”
An Changqing stated his decision.
“Since bloodshed is inevitable, let’s find an opponent worth going all out against and fire our first shot.”
There was something else An Changqing left unsaid.
Namely, since their squad could be considered the strongest among their grade level, there was no reason for them to take on C-rank tasks. They could leave the easier ones for others.
An Changqing figured that even a B-rank task would be challenging but manageable for them—nothing they couldn’t handle.
No... He glanced at his teammates beside him. Maybe not even challenging.
Long Ao cracked his knuckles, brimming with excitement. “I agree. Now this is interesting.”
He felt he’d been slacking off and craved a real fight!
He turned to Chen Guan, who had remained silent.
“Chen Guan, what do you say?”
Chen Guan simply nodded. “I have no objections.”
To him, the difference between C-rank and B-rank was minimal.
Besides, for protagonists like them, did ranks really matter?
He had a feeling this would escalate into A-rank, maybe even S-rank.
Protagonists, you know how it is. If nothing unexpected happens, something unexpected is bound to happen.
Su Yuehe refocused her attention on the screen, her fingers gliding over the B-rank tasks as she murmured to herself.
“Eliminate the B-rank demon beast known as the Three-Headed Hound, holed up in an abandoned factory on the city outskirts... No, the firepower up front is too intense.”
"Escorting important supplies to the northern front line is too far, with too many variables."
She quickly filtered through the options, her finger finally stopping on a less troublesome mission.
"This one... maybe worth a try."
In the center of the screen, a mission briefing was enlarged.
"B-rank Investigation and Capture Mission."
An Changqing read out the mission title: "Target: a minor cult leader codenamed Preacher."
"Where's the location?" Long Ao pressed.
"Right here in the old district of North City."
Su Yuehe’s expression turned odd: "The mission briefing says the target is extremely cunning and highly skilled at verbal psychological manipulation."
She paused, then added a crucial piece of information.
"Three junior operative teams from the Supernatural Association have already gone missing while tracking him."
"Hiding in a brightly lit city. Now that’s interesting."
Long Ao stroked his chin, his fighting spirit high. "Let’s smoke him out and make him our opening victory."
An Changqing nodded as well: "Investigation-type missions test our overall abilities more than simply hunting monsters."
"Let me see the detailed files."
Chen Guan, who had been silent until now, finally spoke. He felt this mission had all the red flags.
He still needed to check the situation—maybe the bullet comments would spoil something for him.
Su Yuehe gave him a slightly surprised look but nevertheless brought up the attached files for the mission.
A stack of blurry photos from the crime scene and survey reports popped up.
Chen Guan’s eyes swept over the documents, finally settling on a corner of one photo.
It was a wall stained with blood, and in the gap between the bricks, a barely noticeable mark had been carved with a sharp tool.
It was a pattern made of irregular geometric lines, looking at first glance like a random scratch.
But the moment he saw that mark, a image flashed through Chen Guan’s mind.
It was from his training in the northern border—the ancient boundary marker.
This mark...
A chill ran up his spine, and goosebumps spread across his skin.
Damn. We really hit the jackpot.
The Lord of Nothingness...
He thought he had escaped that being’s sight, but the appearance of this mark was a silent warning in itself.
The Lord of Nothingness was still chasing him!
...
When night had completely swallowed the last trace of light on the horizon, four figures appeared silently at the entrance to the old district of North City.
This was a corner forgotten by the modern metropolis—the towering buildings cast enormous shadows over the entire area, so deep even the moonlight seemed reluctant to fall.
"The urban planning here stopped fifty years ago. Many of the sewer pipes are in a state of semi-abandonment."
An Changqing lowered his voice, warily scanning the dilapidated low-rise buildings around them: "Stay alert. There’s no surveillance coverage here. It’s a natural lawless zone."
Chen Guan still carried the huge coffin on his back, silently following at the rear of the group, his eyes darting through the dark, deep alleyways.
[Holy crap, the atmosphere is lit, way scarier than that offline haunted house I went to last time.]
[Don’t be scared, bro. Just wrap yourself in a blanket.]
[What if I’m still scared even in a blanket?]
[Then scrunch up in the middle of the bed, and whatever you do, don’t let your feet hang off the edge.]
Chen Guan glanced at the barrage of comments—all just chatter like this. It seemed the bullet comments were useless again.
“Yuehe, I’ll trouble you to investigate.”
An Changqing stopped walking and spoke to Su Yuehe, who was beside him.
“Alright.”
Su Yuehe nodded. Closing her eyes, her gentle spiritual power silently spread outward like rippling water.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
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.
