Ding Renfeng stared at the girl in ancient attire, his face filled with astonishment: "Sister-in-law Yi?"
He wasn’t mistaken—the girl standing before him, radiating an overwhelming aura, was none other than Shen Muxuan, who had always been by An Yi’s side like a mascot.
Shen Muxuan’s gaze was icy.
Originally, An Yi had told her to stay home and forbade her from getting involved in this matter.
Shen Muxuan had also believed that An Yi’s strength would be enough to handle it smoothly.
But just moments ago, she suddenly sensed that An Yi’s aura had weakened drastically.
He was injured!
And seriously, at that!
"Where is An Yi?"
Shen Muxuan coldly scanned the crowd in the hall, her voice frosty.
"An Yi?"
Mama Liu turned pale with fright, stammering, "Wh-who is An Yi?"
Shen Muxuan didn’t respond. With a flick of her slender hand, a blade of energy shot forth, slicing off Mama Liu’s hair and exposing her scalp before slamming into the wall with a resounding crash.
A deep gash appeared on the ornately decorated wall, bricks shattered, and debris scattered.
"Ahh!"
Mama Liu collapsed in terror. When she came to her senses and touched her bare scalp, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot.
The black-clad men, witnessing the terrifying power of this stunning yet fearsome girl, trembled in fear.
Ah Hao was a genuine Mingjin martial artist—second only to Ah Biao in rank!
Yet, this woman had incapacitated him in a single strike.
Just how terrifying was her strength?
Perhaps only the Gourd Immortal could deal with her!
Crack!
A layer of ice spread across the floor. Nearby, the black-clad men stiffened, their faces covered in frost.
In an instant, before they could react, their bodies froze solid, their blood flow slowing to a crawl, leaving them powerless to move.
Seeing this, Ding Renfeng and the others gasped in shock.
If the earlier strike that sent Ah Hao flying could still be explained as martial energy—something some ancient martial artists could achieve—then how could they explain the frost spreading across the ground?
This had completely transcended the concept of martial arts!
Even a Mingjin martial artist, let alone the more advanced Anjin practitioners, couldn’t produce freezing effects like this!
The entire bathhouse hall turned as cold as winter, and everyone felt their bodies stiffen.
A mage?
Witchcraft?
Or perhaps a legendary sorcerer from Xia Country?
"Where is An Yi?"
Shen Muxuan’s piercing gaze locked onto Ding Renfeng.
She knew that An Yi had sought him out specifically to investigate Zhou Jun’s whereabouts.
Now that Ding Renfeng and his gang had stormed the Yelaixiang Bathhouse, it was undoubtedly An Yi’s doing.
Without hesitation, Ding Renfeng answered, "Brother Yi told us to cause a distraction while he went to the dungeon to rescue someone."
The hiding place in Yelaixiang was far more concealed than An Yi had anticipated. After scouting the area, he still couldn’t locate it.
So, he had Ding Renfeng and the others stir up trouble, smash the place, and lure Ah Hao out. Only then did An Yi discover the dungeon entrance and slip inside unnoticed.
For infiltration, fewer people meant fewer complications.
Besides, apart from Ding Renfeng, who had some skill, the rest of the gang were practically useless. An Yi figured it’d be smoother to act alone.
As for An Yi’s current situation, even Ding Renfeng was clueless.
Shen Muxuan’s expression darkened.
An Yi must have already run into trouble!
What An Yi didn’t know was that on the night they first met, Shen Muxuan had implanted a sensing talisman between his brows while trying to help him recover his memories.
Now, she could clearly sense it—An Yi’s already dwindling lifespan had suddenly plummeted, dropping faster than a crashing stock!
"Damn, this girl is ruthless!"
Ah Hao wiped blood from his lips, muttering under his breath.
Before he could even stand, sharp icicles suddenly pierced through his limbs.
Blood dripped steadily onto the ground.
"Wh-what do you want?!"
Ah Hao shivered uncontrollably, his nose running as he gritted his teeth.
Being frozen had one upside—his limbs were so numb he couldn’t even feel the pain of the wounds.
"Take me to the dungeon."
Shen Muxuan’s voice was glacial, her chilling aura surging relentlessly.
Ding Renfeng and Yao Ji were practically in tears from the cold.
"Damn it! She’s attacking indiscriminately!"
"Honestly, I should’ve died long ago. It’s only because that old freak kept me alive with some drugs that I’ve lasted this long."
Zhou Jun spoke calmly.
Long ago, his skull and heart had been pierced by the Gourd Immortal’s frenzied vines.
Later, the Gourd Immortal used some method to keep him in this half-dead state, sustaining him just enough to continue draining his blood.
Even so, he could feel his body deteriorating day by day. It wouldn’t be long before he died in this pitch-black dungeon.
"Hold on. I’ll get you out."
An Yi’s voice was grave.
He knew full well that Zhou Jun’s body was beyond saving, riddled with fatal injuries.
He hadn’t even imagined that Zhou Jun could survive after having his heart and skull pierced.
Zhou Jun weakly grasped An Yi’s sleeve, smiling faintly. "You’re An Yi, right? My mom mentioned you."
An Yi’s expression darkened as he looked at Zhou Jun’s fading breath.
He could tell—Zhou Jun didn’t have much time left.
Zhou Jun’s hand loosened, revealing a necklace. When An Yi opened it, he found a photograph inside.
The photograph was old, slightly yellowed with age.
It showed a boy and a young woman standing together.
The boy was hugging the woman’s waist, making a silly face, while she smiled brightly, her hand resting gently on his head.
It wasn’t hard to recognize—the woman in the photo was Aunt Zhou in her younger days, and the boy was Zhou Jun.
"This is the only photo I have with my mom," Zhou Jun murmured.
His voice carried an indescribable tone—somewhere between loneliness and regret.
"My dad was a hardworking street vendor—greedy, timid, and utterly henpecked. His days revolved around hauling fruit and getting scolded by my mom.
But who would’ve thought that such a meek man would be beaten to death by a gang of thugs over some trivial matter?
Those bastards had power and influence. After paying a pittance in compensation, they walked free. The day Dad died, Mom’s hair turned white overnight.
People must’ve been shocked when I, the ‘good kid’ everyone knew, suddenly turned into a delinquent.
Heh. Even I never imagined that the straight-A student who used to win scholarships would one day become a criminal.
Mom couldn’t control me anymore. The stress wore her down until she looked decades older.
After I dropped out at sixteen, I hardly ever saw her."
Zhou Jun’s voice trembled slightly, his hollow eyes reddening.
An Yi remained silent, listening intently.
"Eventually, after drifting around, I finally ran into the bastard who killed my dad.
Just like how he beat my father to death years ago, I took a club and smashed him over and over—until he was nothing but a bloody pulp.
That day, I thought I’d find peace. But instead, I couldn’t face the harsh reality.
I fled like a coward, my soul barely clinging to my body, living like a ghost. Then, that old monster caught me and threw me into a dungeon. Tortured me for two whole years. Heh… guess it’s karma, huh?"
Zhou Jun chuckled weakly, his voice fading, his gaze dimming.
"Oh, and… don’t take me back. If Mom sees me like this—all broken—she’ll scold me again."
With that, his hand fell limply to the side.
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)
] [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!"
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!
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."
