"What kind of sword technique has a starting bid of a hundred million?!"
An Yi secretly clicked his tongue, sensing something was off.
At that moment, inside a VIP booth.
The mysterious figure known as Commander Long curled his lips into a cold smile. "Dragon-Slaying Sword Technique? Hah, what arrogance! Let’s see just how it slays dragons!"
"120 million!"
As soon as the auctioneer’s hammer fell, another voice rang out.
It came from a burly, bearded man with a stocky and muscular build.
"150 million!"
Another martial artist, dressed similarly, shouted his bid.
"190 million!"
"200 million!"
"230 million!"
The price skyrocketed, reaching a staggering figure.
Chen Bing watched and shook his head slightly.
Only he knew—this was nothing but a trap.
In his ten thousand cycles of reincarnation, he had once obtained this very sword technique, the "Nine Dragon-Slaying Strikes."
But!
No one could decipher what was written in it!
Over countless cycles, he had consulted countless scholars, yet not a single one could recognize the script.
Now, the price for the Nine Dragon-Slaying Strikes continued to climb!
The elderly auctioneer was drenched in sweat, his face flushed red as if he might suffer a stroke at any moment from the excitement.
Yet, most of the crowd remained composed, watching silently.
An Yi pondered, "What’s the deal with this sword technique?"
Yan Zhi scrolled through her phone and said flatly, "Found it. The Xiangyun Auction House has unveiled an ancient martial sword technique. Legend says even a Ming Jin practitioner who masters it can challenge a Hua Jin master."
"Hua Jin?"
An Yi looked utterly confused.
"What’s that?"
Yan Zhi sighed, massaging her temples. "You don’t even know this? The hierarchy of martial artists!"
"I don’t. Isn’t An Jin the strongest?"
An Yi frowned slightly.
He had thought his strength alone was enough to dominate the entire nation!
Yan Zhi explained, "Theoretically, An Jin practitioners are at the pinnacle of the martial world in our country. But some ancient families and sects have old monsters who’ve reached the Hua Jin realm—they’re practically celestial beings who’ve withdrawn from worldly affairs. You’d rarely encounter them."
An Yi asked curiously, "Then what’s my level?"
"You’re currently at Ming Jin."
Yan Zhi hesitated, then decided against elaborating.
This guy’s surface strength might only be Ming Jin, but in reality, even most An Jin experts would struggle against him.
Or rather, his cultivation path wasn’t the traditional martial route at all.
Aside from An Yi, there was another anomaly—Lin Chen. Both of them possessed the terrifying ability to effortlessly kill An Jin masters. They couldn’t be judged by conventional standards!
An Yi stared at the Nine Dragon-Slaying Strikes displayed on the auction stage and muttered, "Heh, I’m curious now. What kind of sword art can supposedly let a Ming Jin practitioner slay immortals?"
The bids soared!
Martial artists who had waited all night finally joined the frenzy.
Starting at 100 million, the price had now tripled to 300 million!
Fewer voices called out bids now.
Countless eyes gleamed with predatory intent.
Hidden in the shadows, his hood pulled low, Zhang Fan grinned eerily.
"Whoever gets it doesn’t matter. I’ll just kill them and take it later."
Murder and plunder—what joyous fun.
"500 million!"
Boss Nie, silent until now, suddenly spoke.
The moment his voice rang out, the entire auction hall fell deathly silent.
"Any higher bids? Anyone?!"
The auctioneer screamed, trying to reignite the frenzy.
But eerily, the room remained still.
"500 million—going higher isn’t worth it."
"Who said you need money to get the technique?"
Clearly, many shared Zhang Fan’s thoughts!
"Boss, looks like we’ve stirred up a hornet’s nest," the mixed-blood beauty beside Boss Nie remarked with a smirk.
Boss Nie snorted. "Doesn’t matter. Let’s play along."
In a VIP booth, a one-eyed giant of a man rumbled, "Commander Long, should we—"
Commander Long’s voice, ethereal yet icy, cut him off. "No need. They clearly don’t plan to obtain it through proper means. I’ve seen this sword technique before—I couldn’t read a single word."
"Commander Long, even you—"
The one-eyed man was stunned.
He knew exactly how long Commander Long had existed in this world.
If even he couldn’t decipher it, there was only one possibility—this technique didn’t originate from this world.
"What interests me more is who spread the rumor that mastering this technique lets a Ming Jin practitioner kill a Hua Jin master."
Commander Long sipped his tea, sensing something amiss.
"The Hundred Ghosts Sect!" the one-eyed man growled. "It has to be their doing!"
"Gather all the intel on the Hundred Ghosts Sect’s Thousand Taoist and their siege on the Law Enforcement Bureau. I want to review it."
Commander Long stood, his voice calm yet foreboding. "The nation has been too quiet for too long. A storm is coming."
The one-eyed man watched his commander’s back with solemn reverence.
This man was the true guardian deity of the nation!
"500 million—going once! Twice! Sold to VIP 153!"
Seeing no further bids, the auctioneer reluctantly brought down the hammer.
"Boss, we’ll have to make a run for it once we get the manual. We’ve got numbers, but there are far more eyes on us now," the mixed-blood beauty whispered nervously.
Boss Nie nodded. "We’ll see. It’s just a sword manual."
After the auction ended, An Yi headed to the back to complete his transaction.
The moment he swiped his card, 5.4 million vanished from his 14-million fortune. The loss felt like having half his life drained away.
Only when he received the seeds of the Celestial Star Grass did he feel somewhat revived.
This was the golden ticket to his bourgeois dreams!
A qipao-clad attendant watched An Yi collect his seeds, her heart aching.
With his sharp brows, starry eyes, and tall, lean frame, he was the picture of a dashing young man—if only he weren’t… incapable.
"Sir, your sword," another qipao girl said sweetly, gesturing to the battered greatsword propped near the entrance with a practiced smile.
An Yi’s eyebrow twitched.
"Damn it! You just left my sword out here? It cost five million! What if some hobo walked off with it?"
Of course, he didn’t know that if he hadn’t bought it tonight, the Xiangyun Auction House would’ve sold it for scrap metal.
Honestly, no one would’ve taken it even for free!
An Yi grabbed the hilt and effortlessly hefted the massive blade with one hand, leaving the attendant gaping.
"Can’t perform, yet he’s freakishly strong…"
Yan Zhi mused, "Why waste five million on this scrap metal?"
An Yi grinned as he examined the blade. "You wouldn’t get it!"
He channeled his energy into the sword—
Suddenly, the blade became impossibly heavy!
"Shit!"
Unable to hold it, An Yi crashed to the ground, sword and all.
"Stop fooling around. Let’s head back to Jiangbei," Yan Zhi said, yawning. She’d spent the whole night bidding on nothing.
"Hold up. Something’s happening over there."
An Yi picked up the broken sword, his grin widening.
Not far from the auction house, a crowd had gathered around a marked location.
His [Tyrant] mission wasn’t complete yet!
And he’d been craving the system’s reward—[Storage Space]—all night!
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
] [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!"
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
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."
