On the way to the stone pillar with the three companions, Zhong Yi turned on his live stream.
For the past few days, he had been deeply engrossed in studying the villagers. Due to his extremely cruel and twisted methods, he had kept the stream offline.
Now, the moment he reopened it, countless cultivators flocked to watch.
[Finally, Senior Brother Zhong is streaming again!]
[So, how many more villagers have you tormented this time?]
[Ever since Zhong Yi started researching redstone, he’s been acting more and more like a demonic cultivator…]
[I actually enjoy watching him experiment on the villagers—it’s a pursuit of knowledge.]
[Curiosity is good, as long as you don’t lose your humanity.]
[What’s this stone pillar? Why is it built so high?]
……
"Old Zhong, stop keeping us in suspense… How much longer do we have to climb? Can this pillar really generate experience orbs?"
Zhou Yue had been climbing the ladder for a while and was growing impatient.
"Remember the dungeon challenge from a few days ago? I told you the mobs spawn within a 128-block radius."
Zhong Yi climbed onto the final wooden rung and grinned.
"This height from the ground? Exactly 128 blocks."
"You mean… preventing mobs from spawning?"
Zhou Yue caught on quickly, immediately looking up at the sky.
They stood on a small platform now.
Above it loomed an enormous diamond-shaped structure.
"So, you’re making monsters spawn up there? But how do you plan to clear out a whole crowd of mobs?"
Zhou Yue pointed at the diamond platform in realization.
"Simple—make them fall… and get critically injured from the drop."
With that, Zhong Yi pulled a nearby lever.
The torches flickered with a red glow as a beam of crimson energy surged upward.
"Once I pull this lever, the redstone signal transmits to the top, where a dispenser in the enclosed space receives it…"
"Upon activation, the dispenser releases a water bucket. The water spreads infinitely in the space, pushing the mobs into the channel…"
"After they’re funneled in, they’ll plummet and take massive fall damage—just like this."
No sooner had Zhong Yi finished speaking than mobs began raining down into the narrow passage before him.
At the bottom, a one-block gap revealed only their feet.
"Now that they’re all weakened, I just need to make my move, and the experience is mine."
Zhong Yi drew his diamond sword and swung horizontally. A chorus of death cries echoed as waves of mobs perished.
Large experience orbs burst forth, flying straight into Zhong Yi’s body.
The live chat exploded.
[Holy crap, you can farm XP like this?!]
[This feels like studying scriptures for a century and finally achieving enlightenment…]
[Damn, he actually cracked redstone mechanics.]
[This leveling efficiency is insane.]
[Honestly, you’d probably max out just by grinding mobs in the time it took to build this.]
……
After a few cycles, Zhong Yi’s cultivation level skyrocketed, reaching the peak of Qi Refining Ninth Layer in mere moments.
"So? Told you this wasn’t some shady shortcut," Zhong Yi boasted, straightening his posture.
"If you’re so brilliant, why not help me figure out how to swap my spiritual root?" Zhou Yue suggested.
After breaking through to Foundation Establishment, his spiritual root had upgraded from fifth-grade to fourth-grade—but it remained an Earth root.
The passive effect changed from doubling dirt drops to doubling stone drops.
In short, it was utterly useless.
He just wanted a combat-oriented one.
"Spiritual roots? Heh, as it happens, I’ve already been researching that."
Zhong Yi’s lips curled into an eerie smile.
"Among villagers, there’s a chance of encountering those born with spiritual roots. If ordinary villagers breed with them, there’s a fifty percent chance their offspring will inherit a root."
"The attribute and grade are randomized… With enough time, we could cultivate a villager with a supreme-grade root."
"All we need is to figure out how to exploit the rules and extract the root from them—"
Before he could finish, Zhou Yue and the other two lunged forward in horror, clamping their hands over his mouth.
"Stop! Stop!"
"Senior Brother Zhong, we’re live! The Tianxuan Sect is watching!!"
"At this rate, the Lingxiao Sect will be labeled a demonic faction by tomorrow!!"
……
……
Lingxiao Sect, Forbidden Grounds.
Ding Mingcang, clad in black robes, arrived alone at the entrance.
"Elder Ding Mingcang of Linxian Peak seeks an audience with the Sect Master on urgent matters!"
He knelt on one knee, presenting a violet token.
The orange crystal at its center flickered several times before a distant, ethereal voice echoed from the depths:
"Elder Ding, why disturb my seclusion?"
The speaker was the current Sect Master of the Lingxiao Sect, who had been in closed-door cultivation for nearly a decade, striving to break through to the next realm.
Ding Mingcang bowed his head respectfully.
"Esteemed Sect Master…"
"Recently, a vile influence has spread within our sect—a bewitching illusion that ensnares disciples, distracting them from cultivation…"
"The Enforcement Hall sought to rectify this, but Elders Zhao Wendao of Leigong Peak and Nangong Yuan of Lihuo Peak repeatedly obstructed us, indulging in the illusion alongside the disciples. Despite my efforts, I cannot defy the will of two elders alone."
"If this continues, our sect’s prosperity will surely decline!"
"I humbly request the Sect Master’s decree, that I may purge this scourge and restore order!"
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
] [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!"
ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!
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!
