Time passed slowly.
That night.
Tai Xuan Demon Sect.
At the entrance of the Scripture Pavilion, two disciples on guard duty stood idly by.
One of them, a tall and lanky disciple, glanced around to make sure no one was nearby before swiftly pulling out his phone and expertly opening a short video app.
[Baby’s tummy is rumbling~]
[Tummy baby’s rumbling~]
The catchy music blared out.
The other, slightly shorter disciple couldn’t help but lean in. "Browsing Douyin, huh?"
He looked around again and whispered, "Aren’t you afraid the elders will catch you? We’re guarding the Scripture Pavilion, after all."
The tall disciple waved a hand dismissively, his eyes still glued to the screen as he swayed slightly to the infectious beat. "Relax, it’s the middle of the night. The elders are already asleep—they won’t bother with us."
"Besides, guarding this place is so boring you’d be lucky to even see a bird’s feather. What’s the harm in watching a few videos?"
"And let’s be real," he added with a smirk, "this is the Demon Sect’s sacred ground. Who’d dare cause trouble here?"
The shorter disciple still seemed uneasy, his eyes darting around as he muttered, "I guess so, but this is still a restricted area. If something goes wrong, we’ll be in deep trouble."
Despite his words, his gaze kept drifting back to the screen.
The tall disciple chuckled and slung an arm around his companion’s shoulder, pulling him closer to the phone. "Stop overthinking it. Check this out—people these days come up with the wildest stuff. Way more fun than standing around here all day."
"I heard there are even vehicles that don’t need spiritual energy to move—they can go crazy fast!"
"Ugh, only the elders’ personal disciples get to leave the sect. I’d kill to go out and try those things myself!"
The shorter disciple finally gave in. "Yeah, right. I’ve seen the comments under videos from other sects."
"They say there’s some guy named Su out there—terrifying."
"Apparently, he’s some kind of ‘Shark King’ in Jiang City. If you piss him off, he’ll toss you into a blood pool full of sharks."
The tall disciple paled slightly at that. "Quit scaring yourself. We’re still the Demon Sect, even if we’ve ‘reformed’..."
"Whatever, just watch with me."
The shorter disciple nodded and soon burst into laughter. "Damn, modern people really know how to have fun. These dance moves are even crazier than when we’re drunk!"
"Heh, I’ve actually picked up a few moves myself."
"Like what?"
"That ‘something shake’ thing."
"Here, let me show you."
[The curved blade slashes through red roses!]
[...]
In the shadows.
"Shark King?! Tossing people into shark-infested blood pools?!"
"I’m so mad! What kind of nonsense is this?!"
Su Muwan trembled with rage, gritting her teeth as she tried to lunge forward. "Qin Luo, let me go! I’m going to throw them into the river to feed the sharks!!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."
Qin Luo grabbed her wrist and sighed. "Calm down, Miss. Remember why we’re here."
"But—but I’m furious!! These two little haters!"
"Miss..."
Before he could finish—
"Hey, isn’t that the internet-famous influencer guy?"
"Qin Luo, right? His comment section is full of obsessed fans."
"Bet he’s a total player."
"A player?"
"New term I learned online. Means a guy who seems nice on the surface but is actually rotten inside."
"Loves playing with women’s feelings."
Buzz buzz buzz!!
Qin Luo’s friendly demeanor shattered as he nearly charged out. "I’ll kill them. Right now. I’ll chop them into pieces."
"Calm down, Qin Luo!"
Su Muwan quickly pulled him back. "Remember why we’re here!"
A moment later.
Shrouded in shadows, Qin Luo and Su Muwan slipped effortlessly into the Scripture Pavilion.
"So why did we have to come to the Tai Xuan Demon Sect again?"
Su Muwan glanced around. Dim spiritual flames flickered in the wall-mounted lanterns, casting eerie, shifting light across the vast space.
Towering bookshelves stood like a forest of wood, densely packed with martial arts manuals, ancient scrolls, and yellowed parchment volumes—some pristine, others crumbling with age.
Qin Luo explained, "Because the techniques here are the most ruthless, the most demonic."
"Perfect for disguising Miss’s true abilities."
"But, Miss..."
He casually picked up a manual and handed it to Su Muwan, smirking. "Mastering all these techniques won’t be easy."
"??"
Su Muwan rolled her eyes, skimmed the manual, then scoffed. "Does a mere Qin Luo still not understand the weight of the name ‘Su Muwan’?"
She tossed the manual aside. Just as Qin Luo thought she was about to start practicing—
"Need some space to train, Miss?"
Su Muwan gave him a strange look. "Space to train?"
"Qin Luo..."
Her lips curled into a smug grin. "Are you... underestimating me?"
As she spoke, tendrils of black energy seeped from her feet, spreading like ink in water, staining the surrounding space.
The energy coiled up her body, condensing into a dark orb at her fingertips.
With a flick of her wrist, she launched the orb forward.
Whoosh—!
The orb split into multiple black vines, each studded with thorns, lashing through the air before smashing the manual to pieces with a deafening crack.
Dusting off her hands, Su Muwan shot Qin Luo a disdainful look. "What a garbage technique. Weak and boring."
She crossed her arms and tilted her chin up. "Hurry up and find me something actually challenging, Qin Luo."
"Let me show you what real..."
"Martial talent looks like!"
??
Qin Luo stood frozen, staring at the shredded manual, then at Su Muwan, who’d mastered the technique in seconds.
His eye twitched.
Damn.
She’s not even pretending anymore, huh?
How is anyone else supposed to compete with this?!
Qin Luo couldn’t even begin to imagine how someone as overpowered as Su Muwan could ever lose in the future.
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
iving with nine beautiful women. [Ding! Welcome back to the Joyous Sect, Host…] Lin Yu: ??? I’m clearly in a shared rental, but you’re saying I’m in the Joyous Sect? Watering plants is now [Tending to Spiritual Flora]? Cooking becomes [Researching Elixirs]? Making the bed turns into [Setting Up Formations]? A gentle and innocent auntie, twin classmates, a mysterious hacker girl on leave, a severely socially anxious artist, an elementary school Chinese teacher, a community hospital nurse, a pet shop owner, an antique clock restorer… This system… is kinda interesting.
at random stations. Passengers can choose to disembark and explore, or stay on board and wait for departure. This world holds endless treasures, but also unknown dangers. The goal is to explore stations, gather resources, upgrade the train, and survive. Unlike others who received food in their newcomer gift packages, Qi Xiao got a module card that activated a special ability—Station Forecast. Every time the train starts moving, it updates detailed information about the next station, warning of dangers and revealing potential treasures. While others must cautiously explore, Qi Xiao can rapidly develop his strength by relying on the station forecasts. [Next Station: Sunshine Gym, a large fitness center with no dangers.] [Next Station: Cai Family Village, contains zombie chickens, danger level: 2. One level-1 treasure chest located in the village chief's house at the center.] [Next Station: Three Mountains Station, contains one large supermarket, no dangers.]
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
