At the villa entrance.
Shen Muxuan stood there foolishly, waiting alone, occasionally raising her head to glance around before lowering it again in disappointment, staring at her toes.
"Hey, what are you looking at? Let's go."
An Yi silently appeared behind Shen Muxuan and lightly flicked her head with his knuckles.
Shen Muxuan's eyes lit up with joy. "An Yi, you're finally back!"
"Let's go home," An Yi said with a light chuckle.
Shen Muxuan looked at him, hesitating before finally speaking softly. "An Yi..."
"What's up?" An Yi asked curiously.
Something felt off about this girl tonight!
"An Yi, Qin... Qin Yao is a good girl. You mustn't let her down!" Shen Muxuan said seriously, staring at him.
An Yi raised an eyebrow, staring at her in disbelief.
What on earth had happened while he was fighting the Dark Taoist?
Why were both Qin Yao and Shen Muxuan pushing each other toward him?
He hadn't even successfully pursued either of them yet!
What was with all this self-sacrifice?!
If only one of them would step up so he could complete his "romance expert" mission!
Shen Muxuan's expression dimmed. She knew she didn’t have much longer to live.
Compared to her, Qin Yao was a much better match for An Yi.
She was beautiful, came from a good family, and had a long life ahead of her.
Besides, Shen Muxuan already knew.
That time she did An Yi’s laundry, she’d found a small photo of Qin Yao tucked inside his wallet...
"You don’t have a fever..." An Yi pressed a hand to her smooth forehead and sighed. "What’s gotten into you?"
"I..."
Shen Muxuan mustered her courage, hesitated for a long moment, then suddenly deflated, stammering, "I'm hungry. I want a midnight snack."
"Again?! Didn’t you just eat? And at a free banquet, no less! You should’ve stuffed yourself then!"
An Yi scratched his messy hair in annoyance. "Barbecue or KFC?"
Shen Muxuan beamed. "Either!"
"Then barbecue it is. There’s a great place near the Law Enforcement Bureau—huge chunks of meat on red willow skewers, super cheap, and when they sprinkle on the cumin and chili flakes, the oil sizzles... the flavor is just—"
As An Yi enthusiastically described it, Shen Muxuan listened intently, wiping drool from the corner of her mouth with her sleeve.
The two drew closer to the Law Enforcement Bureau.
"Wait!"
Shen Muxuan’s expression suddenly changed, and she grabbed An Yi’s hand.
"What now?" An Yi asked, surprised.
This was the first time she’d ever initiated holding hands.
Shen Muxuan glanced toward the Law Enforcement Bureau, her face pale, forcing a weak smile. "An Yi... I want KFC instead."
An Yi groaned. "Seriously? We’re already here—the barbecue stall is right ahead! And now you change your mind?"
"I want a burger! Please?"
She grabbed his arm, shaking it pleadingly, her eyes wide and pitiful.
"With your appetite, burgers will bankrupt me!"
Seeing her pitiful expression, An Yi sighed and turned around. "Fine, fine. Burgers it is. My fortune of 4,896,342 yuan is going to vanish at this rate."
"You’re the best!"
Shen Muxuan smiled happily, clinging to his arm.
But when she glanced back at the Law Enforcement Bureau in the distance, her face paled again.
A monstrous evil aura was raging there!
She couldn’t let An Yi go near it. No matter what!
Biting her lip, she closed her eyes in guilt, refusing to look.
"I’m sorry... I can’t let An Yi get hurt again. I’m sorry... I’m so sorry..."
---
Law Enforcement Bureau
Yan Zhi gripped her silver whip, her phoenix-like eyes sweeping over the crowd of sinister cultivators before her. Her stunning face was icy with fury.
Her white Law Enforcement Bureau uniform was torn in places, a far cry from her usual imposing presence.
Now, she was surrounded—by over twenty grotesque-looking evil cultivators, all leering at her with twisted grins, their eyes roaming over her curvaceous figure.
"Tsk tsk, this girl’s body is something else! Just looking at her gets me all fired up!"
"No kidding! Men love a woman with curves like that. And that face—so delicate and pretty. Wonder how she’d taste?"
"Look at that tiny waist! And those long legs! The perfect hourglass figure—if I could have just one night with her, I’d trade immortality for it!"
Several of the evil cultivators licked their lips, their gazes filled with dark desire.
Behind Yan Zhi, more than a dozen law enforcers—including Liu Wei—lay unconscious, severely wounded.
The entire Jiangbei City Law Enforcement Bureau had no fighters beyond the Mingjin level, aside from Yan Zhi herself.
Faced with this ambush, they hadn’t stood a chance.
A handsome young man in Taoist robes, a crimson dot between his brows, stepped forward leisurely.
"Miss Yan, I’ve heard of your reputation. You’re strong, but there are over twenty of us. Are you really willing to fight to the death?"
Yan Zhi stared at him in shock. "You’re... the Thousand Taoist?"
It really was him!
A notorious figure who had wreaked havoc across the martial world for decades—a man so vile that the righteous sects had failed to eliminate him for fifty years!
But what stunned Yan Zhi wasn’t his identity—it was his appearance.
He was supposed to be over a hundred years old, with white hair and a wizened face.
So why did he look like a man in his twenties?!
That was impossible!
The Thousand Taoist smiled warmly. "I’m flattered Miss Yan recognizes me."
"You... you’re really the Thousand Taoist?"
Yan Zhi couldn’t believe it. This contradicted all records!
The Thousand Taoist chuckled. "This is the power of the immortals. We could’ve coexisted peacefully, but you insisted on hunting us down. Now, don’t blame me for being ruthless."
"You monsters, calling yourselves immortals! As long as you exist, this country will never know peace!"
Yan Zhi’s voice was sharp with hatred.
The Thousand Taoist smirked. "Since words won’t sway you, let’s settle this with action. My men are quite taken with you, Miss Yan."
"Heh heh! This girl’s a real looker. I’ve always had a thing for voluptuous women."
A bald, middle-aged man with a swollen forehead and a necklace of skulls licked his lips greedily.
"Too bad Yang Heng isn’t here—he loves collecting concubines!"
Next to him, a dwarf barely over three feet tall grinned lecherously.
"Word is, the Qin family’s young miss is a peerless beauty too. Yang Heng has high standards—this one’s all yours today."
The Thousand Taoist chuckled, raising his horsetail whisk. A surge of energy billowed his robes.
Yan Zhi tightened her grip on her whip, channeling her own energy.
This battle... would be brutal.
Three of the enemy were at the Anjin level, and the rest were all Mingjin cultivators, watching like vultures.
But then, the Thousand Taoist paused, his cold gaze shifting to a bespectacled youth crouched in a corner near the Law Enforcement Bureau, scribbling in a notebook.
"Spying on us, friend? You’ve been hiding long enough. Care to introduce yourself?"
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
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.
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?!
