After the Pavilion Master's attack missed, his expression instantly turned grave.
This guy... is indeed far stronger than I imagined. His Destiny Rank must be above mine—probably on par with the seniors from the Earth Pavilion.
"Your strength is truly formidable... I am thoroughly convinced," the Pavilion Master conceded, backing down now that he knew he couldn't win.
But Loan Hero paid him no mind. Though invincible during debt collection, this was merely a passive skill!
In the next second, he vanished from the spot, taking Ye Qing with him.
Watching the two disappear, the entire Destiny Association descended into chaos.
For the newcomers who had just joined, the shock was overwhelming.
Someone had barged into their headquarters, snatched a person right under their noses—it was like getting slapped in the face, yet they could only smile helplessly, powerless to retaliate.
Their once awe-inspiring impression of the Destiny Association plummeted to rock bottom.
They’d thought they’d joined some badass organization, only to realize it was a paper tiger?
Once seeds of doubt were sown, they sprouted rapidly. Those who joined the Destiny Association were all proud individuals.
If there wasn’t something to gain, why would they even work here?
"Alright, everyone, stop staring. You’ve all seen that man’s power. If you encounter him in the future, do not provoke him," the young Pavilion Master warned.
"Memorize his face. And if he ever offers you a loan... refuse. Otherwise, not even the gods can save you."
He paused, then turned his gaze to Deputy Pavilion Master Xu Rong.
"I’ll be away for a while. Gates are awakening worldwide—Ye Qing is proof of that. He came from beyond one. Soon, the number of Destined Ones on Blue Star will explode. Keep an eye out."
"Xu Rong, you’ll act as interim head of headquarters. Here—these are prehistoric genetic data. Absorb them. They’ll boost your strength."
With that, he tossed Xu Rong a crimson vial, its contents as unsettling as blood.
But Xu Rong’s face lit up with excitement. To others, this might be useless, but for someone with Super God Genes, it was priceless!
It could grant him truly overpowered abilities.
"Thank you, Pavilion Master!"
After a few more instructions, the young man vanished on the spot.
"Pavilion Master...?" Xu Rong called out tentatively.
Once certain the Pavilion Master was gone, his lips curled into a smirk.
With the Pavilion Master away, he was now in charge!
"Did you all hear? The golden age is coming. More Destined Ones will emerge—hurry up and grow stronger!"
"Headquarters’ exchange mall is now open. Spend your points wisely..."
...
Chen Hao followed the other Destined Ones to the so-called "Headquarters Mall" in a daze.
The Destiny Association was essentially a massive commune, pooling the golden fingers of all Chosen Ones. Headquarters helped protagonists with system malls earn points, sourced goods from their systems, and centralized them in a shared marketplace.
"Gulp—"
Chen Hao swallowed hard. Headquarters had awarded him an extra 3,000 points this month—a reward for being a system holder.
Plus, his 40% cut from the "Scumbag Value" earnings... he was rolling in it!
He counted on his fingers: 3,000 points at the mall equaled 30,000 Scumbag Value. Over the past half-month, he’d squeezed nearly 100,000 Scumbag Value from Ye Qing and other members.
40% of 100,000 was 40,000—meaning he’d made 70,000 Scumbag Value in just two weeks!
Thinking of Ye Qing, Chen Hao sighed.
"Ah... Brother Ye Qing was a decent man. Pity he crossed the wrong person."
...
Meanwhile, Ye Qing was panicking.
"Stay back... I’m warning you!"
Bound tightly in millennium-cold iron shackles, his cultivation was sealed, leaving him helpless.
Before him stood a gleaming, bald-headed man—Brother Qiang.
Earlier, the suited man had brought him here, exchanged a few words with this brute, and left.
"Heheh, heard you’re a Grandmaster-level martial artist?" Brother Qiang grinned like a blooming chrysanthemum, advancing slowly.
"Get away from me—!" Ye Qing’s backside clenched. He tried to summon his power, but the restraints rendered him powerless.
Clap clap clap! Brother Qiang signaled with a few sharp claps.
Three figures emerged from the shadows: Dugu Linyu, the show-off prince Ye Liangchen, and stock market whiz Qin Tian. Together with Brother Qiang, they formed the "Brokeback Mountain F4"—now welcoming Ye Qing as their fifth member.
"What do you want? I have 18 masters! If you kill me, they’ll hunt you down!" Ye Qing seethed with frustration. These four were weaklings—the strongest only a mid-level Grandmaster. Normally, he could crush them with a slap.
But shackled by the millennium iron, he couldn’t even use 1% of his power.
Brother Qiang chuckled, rubbing his shiny scalp.
"Kill you? I’d never. I’ll take good care of you..."
"NOOO—!!!"
A blood-curdling scream echoed as the door to the dark room slammed shut.
......
"So... Ye Qing got taken?"
Jiang Che—the ultimate lurker—watched everything unfold from the shadows.
As a master of stealth, patience was his creed.
This "Loan Hero" intrigued him. Using the "Book of Calculations," he attempted a quick divination.
"Huh? No trace at all? This guy’s got some serious backing."
Jiang Che smirked. He wasn’t worried—the world had plenty of odd talents, and Loan Hero was just mildly interesting.
With his current wealth, even Loan Hero would leave in tears.
What truly piqued his interest was the Destiny Association.
Thanks to Chen Hao, his human surveillance camera, Jiang Che now understood the Association inside out.
And quietly, he’d siphoned nearly a million points from them—all thanks to Chen Hao’s unwitting efforts.
"That idiot Pavilion Master said gates worldwide are opening? A flood of Chosen Ones is coming?"
"Is this the start of a spiritual revival?" Jiang Che mused aloud.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
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!
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?!
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
