"Oh, Bai Xiu is back."
Several women dressed in luxurious attire stepped forward, forcing polite smiles.
Truth be told, they still harbored resentment toward Bai Xiu.
"It's been so long—let your grandmother take a good look at you."
Old Madam studied Bai Xiu's appearance, her eyes suddenly reddening.
"Grandma, why are you crying?" Bai Xiu asked helplessly.
The other noblewomen quickly gathered around.
"What's wrong, Mom?"
"Mom, don’t cry! Today’s your birthday."
Old Madam pointed at Bai Xiu. "Look at him—his eyes are lifeless, and he keeps yawning. He wasn’t like this before!"
Bai Xiu’s lips twitched.
Ever since being bound to that damn "sleep-only" system, he could never return to the spirited young man he once was.
Old Madam tensed. "Tell me, child—are you on drugs?"
Bai Xiu: "..."
"Old Madam Bai, happy birthday!"
Just then, a flamboyantly dressed girl in red walked in from the entrance.
Old Madam’s face brightened. "Ah, the Jiang family’s little girl! My, my, you’ve grown even more beautiful."
"And Old Madam, you look stunning today too!"
Jiang Yingying handed over a gift box. "A pair of jade linglong bracelets—may you grow ever younger and more radiant."
Steward Liu hurriedly took the gift, glancing at Jiang Yingying with a hint of awkwardness.
"Haha, you’ve always had the sweetest tongue."
Old Madam took Jiang Yingying’s hand, then turned to Bai Xiu with a smile. "Bai Xiu, you two are both young—why don’t you chat for a while?"
"And this is…?"
Jiang Yingying frowned slightly at Bai Xiu’s tattered clothes.
Having just returned from the Demon Valley, Bai Xiu was still wearing the same outfit he’d entered the secret realm in—now torn and ragged.
Moreover, his clothes were never high-end to begin with. Combined with his dead-fish eyes, he looked like a complete loser in Jiang Yingying’s eyes.
"This is Bai Xiu. The two of you were betrothed before either of you were even born—twenty years ago!"
Old Madam watched the two youngsters with an amused smile.
"My fiancé?"
Jiang Yingying glanced at Bai Xiu, her lips curling into a mocking smirk.
"This loser? As if."
Bai Xiu discreetly sized her up.
Flat chest, no curves, and a face that was passable but looked suspiciously like a plastic surgery disaster—nose too high, chin too sharp, and her hips were spaced wide apart. Probably slept around a lot.
Marrying someone like that? He’d be drowning in green hats.
"Old Madam Bai, I think you should know—I’ve already called off the engagement," Jiang Yingying said with feigned regret.
Old Madam’s expression darkened. "W-what? How come I wasn’t told? Did Bai Xiu do something wrong?"
Jiang Yingying quickly waved her hands. "No, no! Bai Xiu is a great guy—handsome, talented. It’s just that… I’m not good enough for him."
Bai Xiu nodded. "Yeah, exactly like that."
Jiang Yingying: "..."
You worthless trash—I give you an inch, and you take a mile?
"But… the two of you haven’t even spent time together yet," Old Madam said helplessly.
Arranging this marriage had been her idea.
Bai Xiu’s parents had died young, and she had raised him herself.
Her eldest son’s family despised him.
If she passed away, Bai Xiu would undoubtedly be kicked out of the Bai household.
She had hoped that marrying into the Jiang family would at least ensure his future security.
But who would’ve thought? The Jiang family, once looked down upon by everyone, had grown powerful under the Bai family’s protection—and now they had the audacity to break the engagement.
Jiang Yingying lifted her chin arrogantly. "Old Madam, let me be blunt—I don’t like your grandson. Whether it’s family background, talent, or looks, he’s not even close to my level!"
Her words were merciless, tearing all pretense of politeness to shreds.
Old Madam’s face paled, her body trembling.
"Mom, Mom—calm down!"
One of the noblewomen rushed to support her.
Bai Xiu’s expression darkened as he also stepped forward to steady her.
Old Madam shook her head. "I’m fine… just help me back to my room."
As Old Madam was led away, Bai Xiu turned back, his gaze icy. "Did you really have to say all that in front of my grandmother?"
Jiang Yingying flinched under his murderous glare but quickly regained her composure. "I’m just stating facts. What right do you have to pursue me?"
"I never had any intention of pursuing you. Get out. If you stay here any longer, I won’t hold back."
Bai Xiu’s tone was chillingly calm.
"You—!"
Jiang Yingying’s face twisted in fury. "Little Long—beat him up!"
At her command, a bodyguard behind her charged forward, fists raised.
"Using a Dark Force martial artist as a bodyguard? The Jiang family’s really stepped up."
Bai Xiu’s dead-fish eyes remained indifferent.
To him now, a mere Dark Force practitioner was nothing but an ant.
Thud!
Before Little Long could reach him, he collapsed face-first onto the ground.
Jiang Yingying gasped, staring at An Yi, who now stood behind the unconscious bodyguard.
"A waiter knocked out Little Long… with a tray?!"
But he was a Dark Force expert!
"This is the Bai residence. You don’t get to cause trouble here."
An Yi twirled the tray lazily in his hand.
Bai Xiu raised an eyebrow, studying An Yi with curiosity.
Something’s off.
Why is this guy in my house?
Jiang Yingying snapped out of her shock, fuming. "You dare attack my people?! Is this how the Bai family treats guests? Fine! Go ahead—kill me too if you have the guts!"
An Yi’s brows lifted.
"Well, that’s a request I’ve never heard before."
Just then, Steward Liu hurried into the courtyard.
"Old Madam! Young Master Zheng Yuan of the Zheng family has arrived!"
The announcement sent a ripple of excitement through the Bai household.
The Zheng family was a rising powerhouse in the capital—a martial arts dynasty rumored to have a Grandmaster-level expert backing them.
And Zheng Yuan? He was the most promising heir, potentially the future head of the Zheng family. His presence here was already an unexpected honor.
A bespectacled young man with an average appearance walked into the garden, his demeanor polite yet aloof.
"Old Madam, happy birthday. May your fortune be as vast as the East Sea, and your life as enduring as the Southern Mountains."
"Ah, wonderful! Young Master Zheng is every bit as impressive as the rumors say." Old Madam smiled warmly.
Zheng Yuan smirked, his pride barely concealed.
For the Zheng family to even attend a minor clan like the Bai family’s celebration was already a massive favor.
"Brother Zheng Yuan!"
Jiang Yingying immediately rushed over, clinging to his arm in an exaggeratedly sweet voice.
Zheng Yuan blinked, recognizing her.
They’d slept together before.
Terrible experience. Dry as a stick, no curves—like hugging a wooden plank.
Jiang Yingying, however, preened with pride, rubbing her flat chest against his arm to flaunt their intimacy.
Old Madam’s expression soured further.
She had once seen Jiang Yingying as her future granddaughter-in-law.
Even after the broken engagement, this woman now had the gall to cling to another man right in front of the Bai family?
This was nothing short of a slap to their faces.
An Yi grinned. "Want me to handle it?"
Bai Xiu shook his head. "After the banquet."
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
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.
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?!
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!
