The council meeting concluded, and numerous martial artists began leaving the venue.
An Yi pinched his chin, lost in thought.
"Don’t even think about provoking the Divine Hall. Their strength is far more terrifying than you imagine."
Master Yuanyi seemed to see right through An Yi’s mind. Smiling, he stood up, took his staff, and slowly walked away, leaving An Yi with a hunched figure.
A glimmer flashed in An Yi’s eyes before he let out a relaxed chuckle.
"Subduing Long Aoyun is indeed challenging, but that just makes it more interesting, doesn’t it?"
"You must be An Yi. Old Cheng raised a fine disciple."
A half-bald elder looked at An Yi with a smile.
Beside him, a spirited old man in a Tang suit remarked leisurely, "Old Cheng must be overjoyed. He hasn’t had many things go his way in this lifetime."
"Old Cheng?"
"Cheng Yuanfeng?!"
An Yi looked puzzled. Why was this suddenly about him?
"Besides, the one who became Cheng Yuanfeng’s disciple was that poker-faced guy!"
The other martial artists cast unfriendly glances at An Yi, though compared to earlier, their hostility was now better concealed.
"Not to mention An Yi and Lin Chen, ranked 19th and 25th on the Heavenly Ranking."
"Then there’s that unknown blind youth earlier, and the guy who stopped Cangshan Daoist like he was high on something. Both of them are firmly within the top 50 of the Heavenly Ranking!"
"As for Chen Bing, his true strength likely places him in the top 30!"
"And that kid with his arm in a sling? He’s also ranked in the 90s on the Heavenly Ranking."
"Six Heavenly Rank martial artists in one group. With that kind of power, they certainly have the right to swagger across the Great Xia."
Just then, a stunningly beautiful young Taoist nun came running over, lifting the hem of her robe.
"Xiao Xiao!"
Cangqiong Daoist stroked his beard with a smile.
"This girl, already grown up, yet still so clingy when she sees her master."
"An Yi!"
Xiao Xiao immediately threw her arms around An Yi, beaming. "Long time no see! I gave you my number—why haven’t you called me?"
The fragrant breeze and the warmth of her soft body were admittedly pleasant.
But An Yi wasn’t that kind of man.
This girl’s enthusiasm was a little too illogical—this was only their second meeting!
"Ahem, your master is right here."
An Yi put on a stern, righteous expression, as if completely above worldly desires.
Hearing this, Xiao Xiao quickly let go of him and stuck out her tongue at Cangqiong Daoist. "Sorry, Master, I forgot you were here."
Cangqiong Daoist:
"A daughter grown is a daughter lost!"
"You brat, even my disciple—" Cangqiong Daoist’s face darkened with murderous intent.
This disciple had been raised by him—practically his own daughter.
He’d given An Yi her number, confident Xiao Xiao would never take a liking to this guy. Yet here she was, throwing herself at him!
"Uh, about that tiger yang..." An Yi coughed awkwardly.
Cangqiong Daoist’s expression softened into a smile. "Ahem, if even my disciple speaks so highly of you, you must be a man of exceptional character."
Zhang Qianyu, who had followed behind, gaped in disbelief. "Uncle Master, he just hugged your disciple! And you’re not even going to do anything?!"
"Zhang Qianyu!"
An Yi grinned at the guy.
"Trying to screw me over? You’re dead."
"Let’s go."
Cangqiong Daoist said coldly.
Xiao Xiao left with the rest of the Dao Alliance, but before she went, she waved and secretly mimed a phone call to An Yi.
An Yi smiled, watching them leave.
"Boss, long time no see."
Xiao Yike walked over, scratching his head shyly.
Han Liang followed, bowing slightly. "Boss."
An Yi raised an eyebrow. Who was this guy again?
He looked familiar, but An Yi couldn’t recall his name.
"Me, it's Han Liang! Back at the Qin family villa, you even stepped on my head! The Third Elder was crippled by you and is still bedridden. Boss, do you remember me now?"
Han Liang noticed An Yi seemed to have forgotten him and quickly introduced himself, staring at him eagerly.
In the Blood Fiend Sect, he had always been at odds with his father.
His father was even planning to strip him of his heir position!
But who would’ve thought that the cheap boss he’d sworn allegiance to, An Yi, had turned the Asura Gate into the fifth most powerful faction in Great Xia!
Because of this, he had finally gained some respect these days.
All he had to do was puff out his chest and lie down in front of the Blood Fiend Sect’s gates, and everyone would know he was flaunting his connection to the Asura Gate.
An Yi rubbed his chin. "Hmm, I think I remember something like that."
Han Liang exhaled in relief.
"Can I join the Asura Gate too?"
Mo Jiu stepped forward, looking at An Yi solemnly.
Ding! [Shadow Axe] Mo Jiu requests to join the Asura Gate!
An Yi raised an eyebrow, studying the tall, lean Mo Jiu with a thoughtful expression.
They weren’t exactly close, were they?
But in terms of strength, this guy was no joke—after emerging from the secret realm, he had already reached the Void Realm, ranking 51st on the Heavenly Leaderboard!
"Since the Ten Thousand Demon Cave has become a vassal of the Hundred Ghosts Sect, you still dare to join the Asura Gate?"
Lin Chen, being pushed in a wheelchair by Xiao Ye, slowly approached as he spoke to Mo Jiu.
"Precisely because the Asura Gate opposes the Hundred Ghosts Sect, I choose to join."
Mo Jiu’s voice was gruff, his eyes burning with determination.
He wanted revenge.
"Interesting. Boss, how about an initiation test? Let him defeat me first."
Xiao Yike’s bloodlust surged as he grinned fiercely.
"You’ll die," An Yi said flatly.
Xiao Yike: "..."
"Fine, let him join. One more won’t hurt."
An Yi waved dismissively. "Just remember to call me ‘Boss’ from now on."
"Yes… Boss." Mo Jiu replied awkwardly.
Lin Chen’s brow furrowed briefly before relaxing, as if he had figured something out.
An Yi yawned and asked, "Where’s Chen Bing?"
"That guy’s elusive. Barely ever seen, yet somehow everywhere at once."
Lin Chen replied coolly, "Probably at the Tang family."
---
West Coast, a mysterious island.
The azure sky stretched above, dotted with a few drifting seagulls. A gentle breeze swept across the pristine golden sand before settling on the jagged reefs.
A blood-curdling scream suddenly pierced the air—
Then, silence.
In front of the grand, palace-like villa on the island, two black lions gnawed at the fresh corpses of fallen warriors, their emerald eyes gleaming with greed.
"Eat up, my children."
A handsome blond young man sipped red wine, his lips curling into a smile.
"Lord Shaliel, what refined taste you have."
The villa doors swung open as a middle-aged man strode in, speaking in English.
"Oh! My heavens, look who it is—Nie, my dear friend!"
Shaliel smiled, though a trace of wariness flickered beneath his charm.
Even a man as cruel as him couldn’t help but feel a chill in this one’s presence.
Boss Nie approached leisurely, smiling. "I’ve come to discuss a business collaboration with Lord Shaliel."
"Oh? And what’s in it for me?" Shaliel asked lazily.
He preferred to talk benefits first—otherwise, he had no interest.
Boss Nie chuckled. "The destruction of the Underworld. Would that be enough?"
Instantly, Shaliel’s expression turned grave.
] [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!"
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."
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.”
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
