"Oh no, Miss!" Uncle Fu reacted, his face filled with urgency.
"There are still remaining demonic beasts on this cruise ship, and Qin Yao is nowhere to be found."
"I—I'm here."
Qin Yao's voice came through as she supported Yan Zhi's unconscious body, struggling to walk out. "I found Officer Yan unconscious and brought her out."
An Yi quickly stepped forward, taking Yan Zhi into his arms, his brows furrowed. "Poisoned? What happened?"
Qin Yao shook her head in confusion. "I don’t know. She was already unconscious when I found her."
After checking Yan Zhi’s pulse, An Yi’s expression darkened.
"The poison is potent! Lucky she ran into me—there aren’t many in this world who could treat this."
"What happened to Lin Chen?"
Seeing Lin Chen unconscious, Qin Yao tensed up and pressed for answers.
An Yi reassured her, "No danger. Just some injuries. He’ll wake up soon."
Qin Yao let out a slight sigh of relief before adding urgently, "We need to leave now! The ship’s keel is cracked—it’s going to sink."
"Sink?"
Only then did An Yi notice the rising water level.
"No wonder the ship’s course felt erratic—there’s no one at the helm."
"Where are we?" Katies asked nervously.
Qin Yao pulled out a peculiar device from her waist and checked it. "We’re close to the imperial capital’s harbor, but the shore is still a fair distance away."
An Yi patted Hongtian’s head. "Big Hong, it’s up to you!"
"No way, not a chance! You can hang me, but I won’t do it!" Hongtian immediately protested.
Was it kidding? Why should it, a ferocious beast, act as a mount for these mere snacks?
Besides, with so many people and the shore so far, it’d be exhausted!
"One fourth-tier spirit core!" An Yi took out a spirit core—the one from the hippo demon.
Hongtian’s eyes gleamed with greed, but it still refused. "Not even for a spirit core. Swimming in seawater for a whole day? Too tiring."
"Damn it!" An Yi’s veins bulged on his forehead.
This lazy mutt! One fourth-tier core clearly wasn’t enough motivation.
"Fine, I’ll add this!" Reluctantly, An Yi pulled out Chi Xiao’s spirit core.
Hongtian wavered.
But it wanted to push for more—it knew An Yi had other stashes!
Just then, a silver flash streaked through the air.
A silver dragon, straight out of ancient mythology, appeared out of nowhere and snatched the spirit cores right from An Yi’s hand!
An Yi was stunned.
Everyone who witnessed this was equally dumbfounded.
A silver dragon—something only seen in legends—had just materialized on the deck.
Who wouldn’t be shocked?
"Is… is that a dragon?" Qin Yao covered her lips, her eyes sparkling with awe.
Katies nodded. "A dragon. Just like the ones in the books!"
Having studied Chinese mythology, she was familiar with the legendary creature.
Uncle Fu wiped his glasses, astonished. "In my seventy years, this is the first time I’ve seen one."
Hongtian was the first to recover, roaring in fury.
"Damn it, those were MY spirit cores! You scaly thief, spit them out! Spit them out!"
The silver dragon yawned, utterly ignoring Hongtian’s outburst.
"Fine! Let this overgrown lizard carry you all! I’m out!" Hongtian huffed, turning away.
The silver dragon glanced at An Yi and raised its head slightly.
An Yi seemed to understand. "You’re offering us a ride?"
The dragon gave a bored nod, another yawn escaping its maw.
"Perfect! Everyone, climb on and hold tight!"
An Yi grinned, securing the unconscious Lin Chen, Yan Zhi, the cat-eared girl, and Fang Jueming (who was too exhausted to move) onto the dragon’s back.
Then, he helped Qin Yao and Katies up.
Katies sat carefully, releasing An Yi’s hand with a blush. "You… didn’t have to carry me."
An Yi replied seriously, "Safety first."
Uncle Fu looked at An Yi expectantly.
An Yi: "..."
The silver dragon ascended, spiraling toward the imperial capital.
A black dog transformed into a majestic wolf, chasing after them through the air.
"Dragon sis! Wait for me! Wait for me!"
"Holy crap, did you hear? A silver dragon appeared at the imperial capital’s harbor!"
"Don’t listen to that nonsense. These shameless media outlets will say anything for clicks."
In a newspaper office in the imperial capital…
A scruffy middle-aged man sipped his tea, mustering the energy to type out the day’s article.
This wasn’t just any newspaper.
Their audience? Martial artists!
Few would guess that this unassuming office was the headquarters of the Martial Artists’ Alliance app.
Chang Qing’s fingers hovered over the keyboard, unsure how to phrase yesterday’s bombshell news.
The revelations were staggering.
Chi Xiao, one of the Four Demon Lords of the Hundred Ghosts Sect, had been slain by the Night Emperor—An Yi, leader of the Asura Sect.
Gabriel, an SSS-ranked assassin from the Paradise Organization and one of its twelve leaders, had been killed by Lin Chen, the Asura Sect’s "Wolf Fang."
The editorial team had been floored.
Chang Qing took a deep breath.
Chi Xiao and Gabriel were world-class powerhouses.
Who could’ve imagined the Asura Sect taking both down simultaneously?
"The winds are changing," Chang Qing muttered, shaking his head.
The martial world of Great Xia had been stagnant for too long.
He’d watched the Asura Sect grow from an obscure faction into a force capable of reshaping the landscape.
"Hey, has the boss finalized the Heavenly Rankings yet?" another editor asked.
This was huge—they needed the latest updates.
Chang Qing opened the file—and his pupils shrank.
"An Yi: Rank 19 on the Heavenly Rankings."
"Lin Chen: Rank 25."
Both men were stunned.
So high! And on the Heavenly Rankings, no less!
Meanwhile, in a modest apartment on the outskirts of the imperial capital…
"Yun, I’ll wash the dishes. You handle the cleaning, okay?"
A stunningly beautiful girl hugged Long Aoyun from behind, her voice tender.
"Okay," Long Aoyun replied flatly.
The girl pinched his cheeks, smiling blissfully. "I still can’t believe we’re married. It feels like a dream."
"Mhm."
Long Aoyun gave a slight nod.
"Mhm? Mhm your big head! Here, take the broom!"
The sound of water dripped from the kitchen as Long Aoyun began sweeping the living room.
Knock, knock, knock!
The girl peeked out nervously. "Aoyun… could it be my stepmother—?"
"Don’t worry. I’ll handle it."
Long Aoyun’s voice softened, but his eyes turned icy the moment he looked up.
He opened the door.
A thin, black-clad man stood outside.
The man froze upon seeing Long Aoyun.
This apron-wearing homemaker… was the mighty War God of Great Xia? The master of the Pantheon?
Recovering, the man bowed. "My Lord—"
"Not here."
Long Aoyun removed his apron and set it aside.
"Zi Kui, you’re here about An Yi’s group slaying Chi Xiao and Gabriel, correct?" Long Aoyun mused.
He’d been keeping tabs on the Asura Sect. Their rise was nothing short of meteoric—breaking into the Heavenly Rankings’ top thirty in just a year.
Zi Kui, however, shook his head excitedly, whispering, "My Lord, it’s something else. A dragon has appeared—a silver dragon at sea!"
"A… silver dragon?!"
Long Aoyun’s eyes sharpened, burning with intensity.
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)
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."
. 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!"
] [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!"
