The full moon hung in the sky, its silver light draping over the world like a delicate veil.
In a valley below, four to five hundred people waited.
"Bai Xiu, time to wake up. It's time," Xiao Yike said, shaking Bai Xiu awake.
Bai Xiu yawned, rubbing his eyes. "Is it time already?"
Kim Jung-ho, known as "Crippled Wolf," grinned. "Bai Xiu, tonight's the full moon!"
Hearing this, Bai Xiu nodded faintly.
Who would have thought he'd slept for two whole weeks?
Then, he pulled out a black pendant and turned to the crowd behind him, his voice solemn. "The Immortal Gate’s pocket dimension is fraught with danger. If anyone wants to back out, now’s your last chance."
These four to five hundred people were no weaklings.
But in the Immortal Gate’s pocket dimension, they might not stand a chance.
Kim Jung-ho smirked. "Bai Xiu, just go ahead. After half a month, anyone who had second thoughts has already left. The brothers who remain all want to see what the Immortal Gate is like."
Their goal was clear—An Yi’s safety!
"Fine."
Bai Xiu raised the black pendant in his hand.
Where An Yi had once disappeared, a swirling black vortex appeared.
The crowd gasped in shock.
"Can we really enter this?"
The black pendant in Bai Xiu’s hand emitted an eerie glow.
"Stay close. Our top priority is bringing the sect leader back."
Xiao Yike hesitated. "But the Grand Elder, Elder Qianji, and the Vice Sect Leader seem to be coming too. Should we wait for them?"
"If we wait for them, we’ll have to delay another month. Let’s go in first."
Bai Xiu waved his hand dismissively.
A black radiance enveloped everyone like a protective shield.
"No wonder even the System wanted to steal this thing. It’s incredible."
Bai Xiu glanced at the pendant, a faint smile curling his lips as he stepped forward into the vortex.
Under the moonlight at Qingyuan Pavilion, a horned horse charged forward!
"Halt! Who goes there?"
Two women clad in black tight-fitting outfits, their faces veiled, shouted as they blocked the horse’s path.
"Whoa!"
An Yi pulled on the reins.
The horse refused to stop until An Yi delivered a sharp knock to its head, forcing it to halt.
Clang!
Two swords were drawn, their cold glint flashing in the night.
"Both of you are at the early-stage Void Realm?"
An Yi’s gaze lingered on their graceful figures before he frowned slightly.
"Who are you? Why are you trespassing into Qingyuan Pavilion?" one of the women demanded, her tone wary.
"Protector Yang, it’s... it’s me!"
From behind An Yi, Mu Qingyi dismounted, her expression slightly embarrassed.
"Sect Leader???"
The two women exchanged bewildered glances.
"But the Sect Leader got married!"
It had only been a few days. Why was she back already?
And in the dead of night, with a man no less.
"Sect Leader, this... this..."
Protector Yang was at a loss for words.
The sheer amount of information was too much to process.
Mu Qingyi sighed. "I... I’m not getting married anymore."
"Sect Leader, did the Tianxuan Sect bully us?"
The other woman, Protector Liu, clenched her teeth in anger.
Mu Qingyi quickly shook her head. "It has nothing to do with Tianxuan Sect. Let’s discuss this inside."
"And who is this?"
Protector Liu glared coldly at An Yi.
For some reason, she had a feeling this guy was trouble.
"He’s..."
Mu Qingyi wasn’t sure how to introduce him, so she forced a smile. "Never mind him. Let’s go inside first. Why are the two of you guarding the mountain gate?"
Originally, Mu Qingyi had planned to dismount once they reached Qingyuan Pavilion.
But now, she’d been caught red-handed by the two Protectors.
"The Demonic Sect has been restless lately. We’re stationed here for the safety of our disciples," Protector Liu explained.
Mu Qingyi sensed something amiss and frowned. "What’s going on?"
"Sect Leader, I suspect we’re being watched."
Protector Yang’s expression darkened.
It wasn’t just the Demonic Sect—other factions had also been spotted lurking around Qingyuan Pavilion.
This was far from a good sign.
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
But they hadn’t yet figured out what these people were after.
"Sect Leader, can we still request reinforcements from Tianxuan Sect...?"
Protector Yang’s voice was hesitant.
Given that Mu Qingyi hadn’t married into Tianxuan Sect, it was likely her engagement to their Young Sect Leader had fallen through.
But with trouble brewing...
Mu Qingyi replied calmly, "With him here, we’ll be fine."
"Him?"
Protectors Yang and Liu both turned to An Yi.
This guy looked far too young—how strong could he possibly be?
Qingyuan Pavilion was adorned with red silk lanterns, the festive atmosphere lingering under the starry sky.
Inside a pavilion, a window creaked open.
Shen Muxuan reached out with delicate hands, catching one of the lanterns as she let out a long sigh.
Her master had already married.
Though many days had passed, she still hadn’t adjusted.
The entire Qingyuan Pavilion felt quieter, colder.
Now, she was the only one left.
Shen Muxuan’s fingers fumbled as she pulled out a phone.
After hesitating for a long time, she reluctantly pressed the power button.
There was no way to charge it in the Immortal Gate.
Once the battery died, it would be nothing more than a brick.
Relying on memory, she opened the messaging app.
There were only two contacts—Aunt Zhou and An Yi.
Ahem, Muxuan, I’m broke again. Can you cover the utilities this month? I swear I’ll pay next time.
I can smell Aunt Zhou’s cooking from the second floor. Wanna go mooch off her again?
Quick, Muxuan, get ready! I scored free tickets to the amusement park! Just one, but you’ve never been, right? Hurry up!
Haven’t done laundry in days. Muxuan, can you borrow Aunt Zhou’s washer? She won’t lend it to me. Oh, and skip dinner—I got your favorite braised beef.
Shen Muxuan scrolled through the messages, listening to the familiar voice. A sweet smile tugged at her lips.
But soon, tears welled up, spilling down her chin.
She hastily wiped them away and turned off the phone, unwilling to waste even a drop of battery.
Her sightless eyes gazed at the night sky before she sighed again.
"Muxuan!"
A familiar voice called out.
"An Yi!"
Shen Muxuan jolted upright, her head turning toward the door. Her voice trembled. "An Yi... is that really you?"
She hadn’t misheard—it was his voice!
It was really him!
Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
She had missed him, desperately so.
A choked sob came from behind her.
"Muxuan... what happened to your eyes?"
An Yi’s voice shook as he stepped closer.
Seeing the emptiness in her gaze, an indescribable sorrow clenched his chest.
But Shen Muxuan only smiled and hugged him tightly.
"I missed you!"
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?!
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."
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
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!
