Zhong Yi was, without a doubt, a master of chess.
In a mere few dozen moves, he had completely sealed off his opponent's avenues of attack.
The old man’s face flushed red as he muttered curses.
He had spent the last three days bitterly studying his ancestral chess manual, determined to use his forefathers' techniques to defeat this rival, but he never expected to lose so quickly.
"It makes no sense... The Ancestor said this strategy would remain unsolvable for three hundred years. How could this happen..."
The old man rubbed his goatee in bewilderment.
Zhong Yi struggled to stifle a laugh.
To him, this chess manual was simply too antiquated.
"Fine, fine. I accept my loss... I have nothing of value to give you, but if you have any use for this ancestral pill recipe, take it."
Convinced of his defeat, the old man graciously fished a brocade pouch from his pocket and tossed it to Zhong Yi.
[Side Quest (Ancestral Chess Manual) Completed!]
[Reward Obtained: Lost Body-Tempering Pill Recipe (High Grade) x1]
Seeing the system prompt, Zhong Yi was overjoyed, practically jumping in place with delight.
"Hahahaha! Fellow Daoists, Su Di'er's path to immortality is secured!!"
...
...
Zhong Yi spent half a day gathering the herbs mentioned in the recipe from the immortal peaks outside the town.
He then spent a little more time visiting the market to commission someone to refine them.
Refining the pills was quick; as long as you paid, you got the goods.
Although it defied common logic, such things were commonplace in Lu Ze's illusions, and the cultivators were long accustomed to it.
Zhong Yi returned to the inn in high spirits, holding the pill recipe.
Then, he realized another very serious problem—
The method for using this Body-Tempering Pill required grinding it into powder for a medicated bath.
After listening to Zhong Yi's flushed explanation, a fleeting blush crossed Su Di'er's cheeks.
"Li Ang..."
Su Di'er pointed at the large wooden tub before her, eyeing Zhong Yi skeptically.
"You don't just want to see me..."
"Pff, pff, pff! I—I am absolutely not that kind of person!!!"
Zhong Yi’s face turned beet red. He waved his hands frantically, flustered as a young boy.
"This recipe is incredibly precious. It must be used in conjunction with a medicated bath to... to be effective..."
"A-And..."
"I'm only responsible for mixing the medicinal solution. I absolutely will not step half a foot into this room. You can rest assured!"
In his nervousness, Zhong Yi started rambling.
His frantic behavior was quite awkward.
But to his surprise, no Behavior Points were deducted.
Which meant...
The real Li Ang would likely have reacted in much the same way in this situation.
Seeing Zhong Yi's reaction, Su Di'er was instantly amused.
"Ahem..."
The young girl coughed lightly and teased, "Li Ang, you saved my life. Offering myself to you in return is only proper..."
"D-Don't talk nonsense! Let's just get started!!!"
Zhong Yi shouted, cutting her off as he rushed to fetch hot water.
Behind him, the girl's laughter rang out like silver bells.
...
The medicinal solution was soon mixed.
Amidst the girl's teasing laughter, Zhong Yi pushed Su Di'er into the bathhouse and then forcefully shut the door.
The bullet screen instantly erupted with laughter at the scene.
[Ol' Zhong, you talk a big game about cultivation, so why are you acting like a virgin little brother right now?]
[Honestly, it doesn't look like he's acting.]
[Su Di'er has total dominance in this regard~]
[I'm curious, what would happen if Ol' Zhong actually went in?]
[Streamer, if I gift you a 'Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect,' can you take us inside for a look?]
[You bunch of beasts! She's just a child!]
...
"W-What Ten Thousand Swords? We are people of the Orthodox Path; how could we harbor such depraved thoughts!!"
Zhong Yi shook his head firmly in response to the chat's teasing.
In reality, even if someone wanted to do that, they wouldn't be able to.
With the character behavior system in place, "Li Ang" would not allow the player to do anything that crossed the line.
At this moment, Zhong Yi was separated from Su Di'er in the wooden tub by only a door.
The girl scooped up the medicinal liquid with her hands, creating splashing sounds that drifted through the cracks of the door to Zhong Yi's ears.
Despite it being the sound of ordinary water, Zhong Yi felt restless, his face burning.
"This shouldn't be..."
Zhong Yi muttered to himself, and then realized something was wrong.
Under his character panel, there was a pink negative status effect: [Restless].
Clearly, the illusion had actively added this—it was Li Ang's current psychological state.
He must be a shy and introverted type...
Zhong Yi smiled helplessly and began silently reciting the Calming Mantra in his heart.
"Li Ang, what are you doing?"
From behind the door, the girl's crisp voice sounded slightly muffled. An image of Su Di'er speaking amidst thick steam involuntarily appeared in Zhong Yi's mind.
"I'm... I'm reciting a mental cultivation method. I'll teach it to you later."
Zhong Yi lied quickly, his old face blushing.
"Li Ang..."
"Hmm?"
"Have you really never thought about it?"
"Thought about what?"
"Letting me offer myself to you or something?"
The girl's voice ended on a laugh, clearly teasing him.
"..."
Zhong Yi fell silent.
It was his first time encountering such a situation, and he honestly didn't know how to respond...
"Am I not pretty?"
"No, you're very pretty."
"Then why do you have no interest in me?"
"Listen, Su Di'er, you're still young..."
"I'm not a child anymore!"
"Okay, okay... Su Di'er, just soak properly. Don't let anything below your neck surface from the water."
Zhong Yi scratched his head, quickly changing the subject.
"Li Ang, come in for a second."
"Until you have fully absorbed the medicinal power, dried yourself, and put on your clothes... that is absolutely impossible."
"Tch, boring Li Ang."
The girl's voice carried a hint of disdain, which confirmed to Zhong Yi that she was joking, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.
The air fell silent, leaving only the pattering sound of water.
"Ahhh!!!"
Suddenly, a scream came from the bathhouse.
"What's wrong!?"
Zhong Yi shot up.
"It hurts... It hurts so much! There's something wrong with the medicine!!!"
The girl shrieked in panic.
Zhong Yi didn't have time to think; he pushed the door open and rushed in.
"Are you alright!?"
Through the thick steam, Zhong Yi could only see a pair of slender, tender feet kicking at the edge of the wooden tub.
And the girl's face, faintly visible, wearing a mischievous grin.
"Hehe~"
Zhong Yi finally realized it was Su Di'er's prank.
Fortunately, the bathhouse was full of steam, and the medicinal liquid was an opaque dark green, so nothing could be seen.
"You..."
Zhong Yi was about to speak.
The girl scooped up a handful of water and splashed it at Zhong Yi...
...
[Congratulations! Su Di'er has successfully tempered her body. Level increased to 1.]
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
y came from. The chests contained supplies, currency, class-change scrolls, skills, talents… and even godhood! The laws of the world were completely rewritten. This became a world where everyone gambled with their fate! Some people, despite having nothing, opened a divine artifact and rose to the top, eventually ruling the world. Others went bankrupt, opened nothing but worthless junk, and leaped from skyscrapers in despair. Lin Ye arrived in this world from another reality, utterly bewildered. “What is going on? Why is everyone a gambling addict?!” “Opening chests? No way. I refuse to gamble. I’ll start with myself!” Until— On his first chest, he obtained a Mythic Talent: Void Incarnation! He could become completely intangible, pass through all things, and reduce everything to nothingness! … On his fiftieth chest, he obtained a Mythic Weapon: Blade of Karma! With a single slash, karma shattered, twisting the universe and overturning the myriad phenomena of creation! … On his ninety-ninth chest, he obtained a Mythic Divine Treasure: Primordial Purple Energy! It could split open the heavens and earth, create all things, and evolve countless worlds with a single thought! Lin Ye: “Now that I think about it… shouldn’t someone have told me that every chest is guaranteed to contain something Mythic?!”
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'!"
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
