The sweltering summer night.
The Yelaixiang Bathhouse was as cold as an ice cavern.
Ding Renfeng shivered, his teeth chattering as he stammered, "Sister Yi, he agreed. Maybe we should turn down the cold?"
"Yeah, Sister Yi, he agreed," Yao Ji chimed in.
From his position, he could clearly see Brother Bao’s bald head now coated in a layer of ice.
It was obvious.
None of them wanted to suffer frostbite in this scorching 38-degree heat.
Achoo!
A sneeze from outside plunged the entire hall into silence.
"Everyone’s here—who the hell just sneezed?"
"Who was that?"
Shen Muxuan’s gaze turned icy, and the air temperature dropped another degree.
"Seems like someone’s outside the window!"
"Shit!"
A voice rang out.
Then, jagged shards of ice surged forth, taking the shape of flying feathers and shattering the window.
Crack!
A pair of black-framed glasses was pierced clean through by the icy projectiles, snapping in half.
"Damn, no matter how many times I see this, it’s terrifying!"
The man stared in horror at his broken glasses. A second slower, and they would’ve taken his eye out.
He was hiding in the same spot An Yi had used earlier.
"Whatever. I’ll observe from farther away next time. Need to figure out how to keep my glasses intact."
Muttering to himself, he tucked away his densely scribbled notebook and silently melted into the night.
Shen Muxuan’s eyes were frosty.
That bespectacled guy—she’d seen him several times before.
Always lurking at a distance, scribbling in that notebook.
"Take me to the dungeon. Unless you want to be skewered like a candied hawthorn!"
Shen Muxuan’s voice was glacial as she glared at Ah Hao.
The ice spikes melted, freeing Ah Hao’s limbs.
"Alright, I’ll take you there right away."
Ah Hao wore a troubled expression, but the corners of his lips curled imperceptibly.
You’re dead if you mess with the Gourd Immortal, girl.
Ah Hao smirked inwardly. This girl was strange, sure, but no match for the Gourd Immortal.
Once in his clutches, she’d be nothing but a withered flower.
And with that black-haired girl already sent down…
Tsk. Two rare beauties. Maybe we’ll even get a taste.
"Wait—where’s my elevator card?!" Ah Hao frantically patted his pockets, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
Shen Muxuan stared him down, frost gathering in her palm.
Ah Hao’s hair stood on end. He dug through his pockets like a madman, but the card was nowhere to be found.
He had no doubt—if he didn’t find a way down soon, this deceptively harmless girl would kill him.
"Listen, miss, I’ll be straight with you. There’s a fat bastard in the dungeon who calls himself the Gourd Immortal. He’s obsessed with figuring out how to eat people—and he’s a pervert. Plenty of disobedient girls have been… ruined by him."
Ah Hao spoke with feigned concern, his back drenched in sweat.
Shen Muxuan’s voice was steel. "Take me down. If anything happens to An Yi, I’ll bury all of you with him."
"No need. I’m already out."
A clear voice cut through the tension.
Crash!
The elevator doors were pried open with a combat knife, then kicked apart.
The figure stepping out was none other than An Yi.
He was starting to regret his earlier bravado—using the knife to sever the elevator’s wiring had seemed cool at the time.
Now, climbing back up had been a pain.
And there were still bloodthirsty minions waiting below, stranded without the elevator.
Hearing An Yi’s voice, Shen Muxuan’s icy eyes softened.
Tears welled up as she pouted. "I—I thought you died down there! Why did you take so long?"
"Sorry about that," An Yi replied gently.
Ah Hao gaped in disbelief.
No way.
This sweet, innocent girl couldn’t possibly be the same one who’d threatened to turn him into a human kebab.
"You—" Shen Muxuan started, then hesitated.
"I’m sorry."
An Yi sighed, his expression darkening as he shook his head. He opened his palm, revealing a pendant necklace.
Shen Muxuan’s eyes dimmed. She forced a weak smile. "You did your best. Don’t blame yourself."
Then, as if all her strength had drained away, she collapsed.
"Muxuan!"
An Yi caught her in a panic. After checking her pulse, he exhaled in relief.
"She’s just exhausted."
What he didn’t notice were the faint crimson lines beginning to surface on Shen Muxuan’s arm.
Nie Qinglan, who’d just crawled out of the elevator, blinked in confusion before suddenly grasping something.
"Ugh… so dizzy."
Thud.
She flopped to the ground dramatically.
One second.
Two.
Three.
When An Yi didn’t react, she quietly scrambled back up.
Ah Hao’s face paled at the sight of An Yi and Nie Qinglan emerging from the dungeon.
No one knew the horrors lurking below better than him—he’d been stationed there for two years.
Forget the Gourd Immortal, their so-called trump card.
Lie Tao alone was a nightmare—a genuine martial artist with terrifying staff skills.
Ah Hao himself couldn’t last ten rounds against him.
And the other black-clad enforcers? All elite fighters, handpicked for their brutality.
Yet here was An Yi, walking out unscathed—with the girl he’d just sent down.
What did that mean?
"Th-the Gourd Immortal… Lie Tao…?" Ah Hao stammered.
"Oh, they’re playing mahjong downstairs. Said they needed a fourth." An Yi deadpanned.
"Bullshit!"
Ah Hao’s blood ran cold. If this kid had taken down the Gourd Immortal and Lie Tao, he stood no chance.
Without hesitation, Ah Hao clutched his ice-pierced thigh and bolted for the exit.
An Yi’s gaze hardened.
Anyone else could run—but not him.
The surveillance footage showed Ah Hao was the one who’d taken Aunt Zhou.
And he was likely the same bastard who’d nearly beaten her to death.
Ah Hao barely made it past the doorway before a triangular bayonet rammed through his throat.
The attacker? Ding Renfeng.
"You… you—"
Ah Hao gurgled, blood frothing at his lips as the blade jutted from his neck.
Staring into Ding Renfeng’s eyes, a realization dawned on him in his final moments.
"Didn’t expect you to be the one who killed Junzi. Told you I’d gut you someday."
Ding Renfeng yanked the blade free, and Ah Hao crumpled into a pool of blood.
Trembling, Ding Renfeng couldn’t steady his hands.
After years in the underworld, Zhou Jun had been one of his few true brothers.
Without An Yi’s intel, he’d never have gotten his revenge.
This was a debt he could never repay.
"Brother Yi, I—"
Ding Renfeng’s voice cracked as he watched An Yi’s retreating figure.
Cradling the unconscious Shen Muxuan, An Yi paused mid-step.
"Don't call me Yi-ge anymore. From now on, call me Boss! I like that title."
In an instant, his blood surged with excitement.
This—this meant recognition!
Ding Renfeng understood the implication, his gaze turning solemn as he replied in a slightly trembling voice, "Yes, Boss!"
Nie Qinglan curled her lips into a smile, skipping after him playfully. "Hey, Boss An, Mr. An—need a secretary? I can put on black stockings in three seconds flat!"
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!
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?!
or! A blessing for those who struggle with love, a guidebook for dating novices. Quickly match with your dream goddess! Complete walkthroughs earn rewards, and perfect walkthroughs unlock limited achievements!】 Shen Yi, an ordinary office worker, accidentally downloads a mini-game called Dating Simulator. The mini-game is simple: randomly search for dating targets, simulate dates, and receive rewards upon successful confession. Rewards include but are not limited to money, attributes, and skills. The higher the evaluation, the better the rewards, with perfect ratings unlocking mysterious achievements. Shen Yi plans to use this mysterious mini-game to continuously pursue targets and improve himself, making his life better and better. ...... However, after several successful walkthroughs, Shen Yi suddenly notices something strange - the targets he previously simulated dating seem to be searching for him in real life?
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.
