Time slowly moved forward.
A month later.
In the night sky, the stars twinkled, appearing brighter than ever before.
Wang City.
Long Family.
In the courtyard.
Two figures sat facing each other on stone benches, with a chessboard placed between them.
"Cough cough cough..."
The man hadn't groomed himself in a long time, his beard unkempt, and his expression weak. Yet, his eyes still radiated a rebellious spirit.
This man was none other than... the head of the Long Family!
Long Aotian!
Due to issues in his early years of cultivation, he had fallen ill and had never left the Long Family since.
He coughed as he looked at the old man sitting across from him, raising his head and smiling, "Teacher, did you feel it too?"
"The old Heavenly Master was right..."
"The Era of Spiritual Decline... is over."
The old man had a head full of white hair, but his eyes gleamed with the wisdom that only time could bring.
He gave a slight nod.
Then he looked at Long Aotian and shook his head in disappointment, "Aotian, if you had been born twenty years later, no one in this new era could suppress you."
Long Aotian shook his head, his rebellious spirit undiminished. Even though his hidden illness had deprived him of any chance of a breakthrough, he still grinned, "Twenty years? Unnecessary. Just five years, give me five years."
He clenched his fist, filled with resentment, "I could have lasted until the Spiritual Revival Era and crossed the threshold of Returning to Simplicity!"
The known realms were only [Initial Insight, Entering the Hall, Mastery, Peak, Returning to Simplicity]
And the known Peak Stage masters numbered only seven.
But!
No one knew.
In fact, Long Aotian had broken through to the Returning to Simplicity realm during the Era of Spiritual Decline!
He could be considered unprecedented and unmatched!
However...
Even though he had reached the realm of Returning to Simplicity, Long Aotian still felt that this was not the pinnacle of martial arts. So, he attempted to break through to a new realm.
But... perhaps even heaven was jealous of his talent.
This caused his breakthrough to fail, and he even plummeted back to the Peak Stage.
What a pity.
Truly a pity. If he had broken through in this Spiritual Revival Era, he, Long Aotian, would have succeeded! He would have been able to touch the new realm for sure!
The old man was none other than the old Dragon King of the Dragon King Palace.
He looked at Long Aotian, who was filled with regret.
In his youth, Long Aotian had suppressed an entire generation.
That era belonged to Long Aotian.
But...
Now...
Long Aotian's fame remained, but as generations change, there are new stars.
The old Dragon King smiled and shook his head, "Aotian, you can't resist aging. You and I are old now."
"When it comes to talent... there are likely already two people who have surpassed you."
Two?
Long Aotian furrowed his brows. In the moonlight, one could see that his pupils were golden.
He looked at the old Dragon King and asked, "Who are they?"
"The first one, you should know."
"It's the one who defeated our new Dragon King last time... Su Muwan."
As the old Dragon King spoke, he dropped a chess piece and stood up. He raised his head, looking at the rolling clouds in the sky, and sighed, "Young and promising, truly young and promising."
"From Su Muwan, I see the realm you once aspired to."
"!!!"
At these words, Long Aotian abruptly stood up. He clenched his fists and stared in disbelief at the old Dragon King, shouting, "What nonsense!"
"In the Era of Spiritual Decline! No one can surpass Returning to Simplicity!"
"But she did."
The old Dragon King, as if having witnessed that realm himself, withdrew his gaze and looked seriously at the shocked Long Aotian.
Slowly, he said, "The realm above Returning to Simplicity is..."
"Field Realm."
Field Realm!!
"A month ago, the freezing of Wang City during the National Martial Arts Tournament was Su Muwan's field."
"She proved that one can reach the Field Realm even in the Era of Spiritual Decline."
The more Long Aotian listened, the more astonished he became.
The more he listened, the more resentful he felt.
In this world... could there actually be someone with more talent than him?
He trusted his teacher's words.
A man who could create the Dragon King Palace in such an era possessed too many secrets.
Long Aotian took a deep breath and then asked, "And the other one?"
"The other one, it's unclear whether they have surpassed Returning to Simplicity."
The old Dragon King shook his head.
This gave Long Aotian a bit of comfort.
"But..."
The old Dragon King smiled, "The purity of their Dragon Divine Art is higher than both yours and mine."
"You should have felt it, the... terror from our Dragon Divine Art's source."
With those words, Long Aotian's expression stiffened.
He raised his hand, looking at his trembling palm, and finally, he could only let out a sigh, "I felt it over a month ago."
"I thought it was you."
The old Dragon King smiled, "I thought it was you too."
"......"
Long Aotian remained silent. He raised his head, looking at the moonlight, and let out another long sigh, "The first half of my life was full of glory."
"The second half... I can only wait for death in the Long Family."
"Could it be that I owe too many debts..."
The old Dragon King shook his head, "There's no need for such thoughts. You can ask the Divine Physician to treat your injuries."
"The Divine Physician..."
Long Aotian's mouth twitched. He remembered the information his subordinate had passed to him earlier, "You mean that lackey Qin Luo by Su Muwan's side?"
"Correct."
"Hmph, no one can cure my illness, not even the Divine Physician."
"......"
As he spoke, Long Aotian added, "Come to think of it, there's a descendant I expelled from the Long Family years ago in Jiang City. I think he's called... Long Dingtian."
"I'll go see him and see if I can get a chance to meet the Divine Physician."
The old Dragon King looked at Long Aotian with a strange expression, "Have you prepared yourself for a beating?"
Long Dingtian was stunned. He seemed to recall something and sighed, "It was my fault; I'll go to explain."
But getting beaten...
Surely Long Dingtian wouldn't beat his own father, would he?
....
.....
Heaven and earth showed signs of change; prana surged.
The speed at which it grew was on the verge of surpassing the prana levels of the past ten thousand years.
Some martial artists suddenly had a breakthrough that night.
Some ordinary people suddenly became martial artists.
No one knew.
In fact... from that night onward...
Prana was no longer just prana.
It had become..... Spiritual Energy!!
At Tianmei Mountain.
A white-clothed figure hovered in mid-air, inhaling and exhaling.
After repeating this a hundred times.
Boom!
The white-clothed figure opened her eyes, full of joy: "I've broken through to Returning to Simplicity!"
She quickly flew toward the side, shouting as she went,
"Master! Master!"
"I've broken through to Returning to Simplicity!"
As her voice fell, an old man appeared amidst the clouds.
He snorted coldly, "Hmph! One breakthrough to Returning to Simplicity has made you so excited? Then how will you deal with the formidable talents of the future?"
"Hehe."
Liu Yun scratched her head, smiling, "I'm just happy, that's all!"
The old man shook his head, "The Spiritual Revival Era has arrived."
"More powerful figures will emerge."
"Daughter, as my direct disciple, your first opponent will be Shen Wu Mie, the eldest disciple of the Dayan Divine Sect's sect master from ten thousand years ago."
Liu Yun was taken aback, "So sudden? Why? Did you calculate this, Master?"
"No."
The old man coughed lightly, "Ten thousand years ago, I bet with the Dayan Divine Sect's sect master over whose disciple was stronger, so don't embarrass me."
"You'll likely meet during a contest for opportunities."
Liu Yun: "....."
She rolled her eyes and shook her head, then seemed to remember something.
She curiously asked, "By the way, Master, do you still remember that Su Muwan?"
"Su Muwan?"
The old man frowned, "Who's that insignificant character?"
"Uh...."
Liu Yun had originally wanted to mention the one who once said during a livestream, "Before martial arts, there was heaven; before heaven, Su Miss was there."
But seeing that her master had already forgotten, she decided not to bring it up.
Anyway...
Liu Yun pouted. In the new era, there was no place for them.
....
....
At the same time.
Inside a small rental house.
A young man with a bruised face suddenly bolted upright, his eyes bloodshot.
He roared,
"Lingshen!!!"
"Why did you betray me!!!!"
The sound abruptly stopped.
The young man gasped for breath, his resentful eyes beginning to look around confusedly.
"This is... where?"
The young man muttered, the resentment in his eyes gradually fading.
An unfamiliar environment.
An unfamiliar place...
Could it be...
The young man's gaze froze: "I've been reborn? And in someone else's body?"
...
...
Jiangcheng.
Thud!
Inside a trash bin.
A figure fell down.
"Ouch..."
"This place is..."
A man dressed in attire that clashed heavily with the surroundings looked around, his eyes filled with anxiety.
But soon.
When he saw the streams of vehicles racing outside.
He exclaimed excitedly: "I'm back!!!"
"After cultivating in the Xuantian Realm for ten thousand years!!! I'm finally back!!!"
"Ouch... why has my cultivation level dropped so much?"
"Well... with my talent, it won't take long to regain it."
"Oh, right, I should grab a passerby and ask where this place is."
...
...
Madu, inside Madu Hospital.
"... "
A woman slowly opened her eyes from the hospital bed.
Her gaze was cold, quickly scanning her surroundings.
Then, she murmured excitedly: "I... I'm back?"
"Ah!!!"
A nurse passing by the door screamed, "The comatose patient in bed 19 has woken up!!!"
The woman: "....."
...
...
At the Su Family residence.
Inside the villa, Su Muwan's bedroom.
Su Muwan, clad in a blue shark-themed pajama set, happily snoozed on the soft, large bed.
She kicked off her blanket, muttering in her sleep.
"Hehehe...."
"Qin Luo... I can't anymore....”
"You... don't go getting into trouble, okay...."
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."
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
