At the top of a skyscraper in Yunzhou City.
A handsome young man in Taoist robes stood at the edge, gazing down below.
From this vantage point, he could clearly see the destroyed Hejia Huan building and the dense crowd of people swarming beneath.
"The order has been given—An Yi must be captured alive!"
A young man wearing an eyepatch spoke indifferently.
Thousand Taoist frowned slightly. "The decree of an immortal?"
"Correct."
The blind-seeming youth gripped his blood-stained sickle and murmured, "Gourd Immortal's death was suspicious. Based on the strength An Yi has shown so far, it's unlikely he could have killed Gourd Immortal. The higher-ups are very interested in him."
"Hah! Gourd Immortal—just an old fool who coasted on seniority. He didn’t deserve the title!" Thousand Taoist sneered arrogantly.
"In the world of martial artists, strength alone commands respect!"
"Age has never been a reason for reverence."
"Three hundred years of cultivation, only to be killed by a twenty-year-old brat. What a joke."
"What are the odds of capturing An Yi?" the blind youth asked.
The eerie crimson glow of his sickle pulsed ominously.
Thousand Taoist glanced down at An Yi with disdain. "One hundred percent."
"Don’t be overconfident. Finish this quickly. I heard Immortal Lu might show up too."
"Hmph. We don’t need him."
"Witches of the Hehuan Sect! Hand over An Yi!"
"Surrender An Yi!"
The martial artists, lured by the five-billion bounty, roared in unison.
Most of them were just low-level thugs.
But even a minnow dreams of leaping over the dragon gate!
What if they got lucky and landed the killing blow?
The Yellow-Robed Beauty frowned.
"What nonsense is this? We don’t even have An Yi. What are these fools trying to pull?"
"Everyone, please calm down—"
Before she could finish, a gorilla-like young man at the front cut her off with a bellow:
"Charge! Don’t fall for the Hehuan Sect’s tricks—the five billion is right there!"
"Attack!"
A short youth took the lead, striking a Hehuan Sect woman in the chest with his "Iron Palm Floating on Milk," sending her flying.
With the crowd riled up, over a hundred martial artists surged forward in an instant.
Yunzhou City was merely an outpost for the Hehuan Sect, with barely a hundred actual martial artists among them.
Dealing with An Yi’s group was already stretching their limits.
Now, facing this sudden onslaught, they stood no chance.
"Hand over An Yi, and we’ll spare your lives!"
"Destroy the Hehuan Sect! Uphold justice!"
"Justice my ass! With Hejia Huan gone, where else can we find such high-quality women to vent our frustrations?!"
Realizing the chaos caused by the five-billion frenzy, the Hehuan Sect women finally sensed something amiss.
Since when did they have An Yi?!
"An Yi isn’t with us!" the Yellow-Robed Beauty pleaded, but the bounty-drunk mob wouldn’t listen.
After all, their intel confirmed An Yi had been taken into Hejia Huan.
That’s why they’d gathered in the woods, waiting for their chance.
And with Qin Shan and Liu Dachao stirring the pot, they’d convinced themselves An Yi was in the Hehuan Sect’s clutches.
Watching her disciples struggle against the attacking martial artists, the Yellow-Robed Beauty’s face twisted in fury.
"Master, should we take this chance to wipe out these demonic cultivators?" Fang Jueming asked eagerly.
"This is the perfect opportunity to rid Yunzhou City of this long-standing scourge!"
An Yi shot him a look.
"Hopeless. Absolutely hopeless. Spending time with that poker-faced guy has ruined you."
"Let’s slip away in the chaos. My car’s over there," Lin Chen said, stowing his Splintered Cloud Cane.
"No escaping now, Brother Chen! Should we fight?" Long growled, scanning the surrounding martial artists.
With the Hehuan Sect under siege, their own encirclement made escape impossible.
"Shit, Lin Chen’s here too!"
"It’s the Night Emperor, Lin Chen. This complicates things."
Some of the martial artists muttered nervously upon spotting An Yi’s group.
Lin Chen raised an eyebrow.
His reputation had grown that much?
"Night Emperor"?
Sounded a bit edgy for his taste.
"Damn it, is that sleazebag Lin Chen also after An Yi’s head?"
"What do we do? This guy’s infamous for cheap shots—remember how he one-shotted the Surging Wave Palm Sect Leader with a sneak attack?"
"Let’s team up and take him out first! He’s a disgrace to martial artists!"
"Agreed!"
Lin Chen: "..."
Seeing so many familiar faces, An Yi felt a pang of guilt.
With the real target present, he couldn’t keep using the alias "Lin Chen."
Most of these martial artists were rogue cultivators—no sect, no discipline.
Weak, but always lurking for scraps.
Wherever there was chaos, they’d show up.
Many had been at the Nine Swords of Dragon-Slaying manual skirmish.
An Yi’s dazzling performance back then had made him memorable, and his "Lin Chen" alias had spread like wildfire.
Of course, none of them knew "Lin Chen" was just a pseudonym.
Lin Chen shot An Yi a dark glare.
His instincts told him this bastard was behind it all.
"Wait—then who the hell is An Yi?"
"Where is he?"
Someone finally voiced the critical question.
Seeing Hejia Huan demolished and the Hehuan Sect surrounding this group, they’d assumed An Yi was here.
But the silver-haired, red-eyed guy didn’t match the description.
The black-clad stoic and the bandaged kid? No. The two hulking bald men? Impossible.
The only one who vaguely resembled An Yi was that scoundrel Lin Chen.
Lin Chen coolly twirled his cane. "An Yi’s still with the Hehuan Sect. We were searching for him when they ambushed us."
An Yi discreetly gave him a thumbs-up.
This guy looked so serious, yet he was full of schemes.
Shangguan Qianqian’s delicate brows furrowed as she pieced together the situation.
"Damn these women! They’d rather die than give up the bounty!"
Instantly, the mob’s fury redirected at the battered Hehuan Sect.
The Yellow-Robed Beauty paled. "That guy is An Yi! What’s wrong with you people?!"
But in the frenzy for the five billion, no one listened.
A hundred martial artists clashed in chaos far more brutal than expected.
In moments, the Hehuan Sect was overwhelmed again.
"Enough!"
A thunderous voice boomed like a temple bell, shaking everyone to their core.
A monk in moon-white robes—his beauty almost demonic—strode forward.
The sound of Buddhist chant filled the air.
Long and Hu tensed.
"Someone from Lantuo Temple!"
"Demonic Monk Yu Tian!"
Lin Chen’s eyes narrowed, murder flickering in his gaze.
The appearance of Demonic Monk Yu Tian silenced the battlefield.
Even the boldest trembled.
What was this infamous fiend doing here?
"How amusing. So many martial artists… imagine the corpses!"
A ragged old man clutching a bamboo stick cackled.
"Corpse-driving Old Ghost!"
A wave of primal fear swept through the crowd like an icy wind.
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!
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.
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
