Back in the office, Shangguan Qianqian's already icy expression grew even colder.
She held the documents in her hands, flipping through them repeatedly, yet not a single word seemed to register.
Knock, knock, knock!
A knocking sound came from the door.
Shangguan Qianqian didn’t respond.
Ahem, Qianqian, it’s me, An Yi! The voice outside called.
"Not seeing anyone!" Shangguan Qianqian opened the file and replied coldly.
Then, the door creaked open quietly as An Yi slipped inside and closed it behind him.
In the face of his max-level lockpicking skills, even spatial barriers could be breached—what was a mere door to him?
An Yi cleared his throat. "So, about earlier—"
"Why explain to me?" Shangguan Qianqian said frostily.
An Yi quickly replied, "No, don’t be angry."
"I’m not!"
Her beautiful eyes glared at him coldly.
An Yi coughed lightly. "Qianqian, calm down first—"
Shangguan Qianqian took a step forward, executed a perfect split, and with a thud, pinned An Yi against the wall. She grabbed his face and said icily, "I said I’m not angry, so stop being annoying!"
Then, she froze, suddenly realizing something.
Was she… jealous?
This feeling was so unfamiliar. She had never imagined she’d actually fall for a man one day.
An Yi, feeling the pressure from her long leg, hurriedly said, "Okay, okay, I believe you! Now put your leg down!"
"You’re such a playboy. Who’d be jealous over you?" Shangguan Qianqian snorted.
In her past life, this An guy had not one, but two women.
And according to rumors, even the underground queen Nie Qinglan had some ambiguous relationship with him.
Back then, Shangguan Qianqian had dismissed it as baseless gossip. But now? There was definitely something fishy going on.
"You wanted to see me?"
Shangguan Qianqian poured herself a cup of coffee, feigning indifference.
Though this guy was a scoundrel, at least he had the decency to come see her first.
An Yi said seriously, "I came to ask you about someone—Ow! Damn it, my shoe!"
"Sorry, spilled the coffee. Please continue."
Shangguan Qianqian set the cup down calmly.
An Yi wiped the coffee off his shoe, his expression turning grave. "Qianqian, in your past life, did you know anything about Shen Muxuan?"
"Muxuan…"
At the mention of the name, Shangguan Qianqian’s lips parted slightly before she shook her head. "In my past life, I knew nothing about her. I didn’t even know someone named Shen Muxuan existed."
She wasn’t lying.
An Yi, the leader of the Asura Sect and the top-ranked expert on the Heavenly Rankings, had his background and early life thoroughly investigated by intelligence agencies.
The Joyous Sect had also studied An Yi extensively.
But in Shangguan Qianqian’s memories, there had been no girl named Shen Muxuan by his side in the past.
It was as if she had appeared out of nowhere, without any warning.
"You don’t know?"
An Yi’s pupils constricted.
Shangguan Qianqian shook her head slowly. "In my past life, you two probably never met. Maybe it’s the butterfly effect?"
She understood that the timeline of this world had already diverged.
In her past life, by now, An Yi would have been locked in a life-and-death struggle with the Blood Fiend Sect over the tragedy of the An family.
But in this life, he hadn’t killed Elder Han Xi and had instead entered the Hongtian Secret Realm.
The trajectory of fate had quietly shifted.
An Yi nodded slightly.
There had been no trace of Shen Muxuan in his past life.
The only explanation was that, in the world before Shangguan Qianqian’s rebirth, they had never crossed paths.
But for some reason, An Yi felt an inexplicable unease.
"What’s wrong with Muxuan?"
Shangguan Qianqian noticed his troubled expression and asked softly.
An Yi sighed. "She has a strange illness. She’s gone back to her hometown."
"What kind of illness?" Shangguan Qianqian pressed.
"Celestial Yin Meridian," An Yi said grimly.
Shangguan Qianqian frowned. "Celestial Yin Meridian… It’s said to be an ice-type constitution. On the year she turns twenty, the icy spiritual energy in her body will backlash and—"
She didn’t finish.
She knew Shen Muxuan was already eighteen.
That meant she had less than two years left.
An Yi’s gaze hardened. "Do you know any way to cure it?"
Shangguan Qianqian hesitated. "Only the Immortal Gate’s minor realm might have a solution."
The Immortal Gate’s minor realm—a world isolated from theirs.
But for a martial artist to enter it? That was nothing short of a pipe dream.
"You know about the Immortal Gate’s minor realm?" An Yi asked in surprise.
Shangguan Qianqian nodded. "It’s a secret in the martial world, but not unheard of. In the coming years, it’ll interact more frequently with our world. If it’s Celestial Yin Meridian, only the richer spiritual energy of the minor realm can help."
"I see…"
An Yi exhaled slowly. He’d been too anxious.
Muxuan had told him she’d be back in three months—maybe Mu Qingyi had taken her back for treatment, not wanting him to worry.
That dumb dog had been sealed away for five thousand years.
Old, but clueless.
Hadn’t even tasted domesticated beef or mutton—what did it know?
Three months wasn’t long. He could wait.
Shangguan Qianqian flipped through her files before slamming them onto the desk. "Why are you still here?"
An Yi’s gaze lingered on her, making her skin prickle.
"Uh, well—"
An Yi coughed awkwardly.
Shangguan Qianqian saw right through him. "I’m on my period."
An Yi: "…"
With his LV4 medical skills, he could tell she wasn’t lying.
Seriously?
She did a split while on her period?!
"Then you shouldn’t drink coffee. Your body’s weaker now, and the caffeine can make cramps worse."
An Yi poured the coffee from her cup into the water bucket by the dispenser.
Then, he took out some herbs from his storage space, ground and mixed them, before steeping them in hot water in a mug.
"Here, drink this."
He handed her the cup, then packed the remaining herbs into a small bag. "Brew about five grams a day. Drink it when you feel uncomfortable."
Shangguan Qianqian took a sip, warmth spreading through her body, instantly soothing her.
Huh. This blockhead can be considerate sometimes.
"Why did you join the audition?"
She cradled the cup, watching him.
An Yi shrugged. "If I said I got dragged into it by accident, would you believe me?"
Shangguan Qianqian stared at him like he was an idiot.
Clearly, she didn’t.
"That song of yours, Sunny Day, went viral. Your videos are everywhere online now." She showed him her phone.
An Yi: "…"
He took the phone and glanced at it.
The headline read: "Youth 404" Audition Dumpster Fire Reveals a Hidden Gem!
Handsome, great voice, and original songs—he’d blown up overnight!
The most popular video had over a million likes.
Countless others were already using Sunny Day’s intro and chorus as background music.
An Yi raised an eyebrow.
Just then, the system’s voice chimed in.
Ding! Congratulations, Host! The prestige of the [Asura Sect] leader has reached 1000! Member limit increased to 1000!
Ding! Reward obtained: [Mist Formation]!
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
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.
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
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."
