The tower master of the poacher's tower wasn't actually that difficult.
After a few rounds of skirmishing, the four of them won the battle fairly smoothly.
"What a shame!"
Zhou Qiaoling let out a sigh, lamenting that Zuo Yi's outfit couldn't be dropped as loot.
"What a shame!"
Mu Yawen also sighed along, lamenting that the Pal Sphere thrown at Zuo Yi's Thundercaller Bear had no effect at all—it just bounced right off.
"What a shame!"
Zhou Yue shook his head too, lamenting that the Thundercaller Bear hadn't managed to electrocute Zhong Yi to death.
"...So what exactly are you all lamenting about?!"
The corner of Zhong Yi's mouth twitched.
The battle victory wasn't without rewards, though.
It just wasn't equipment or clothing—it was a pink glowing orb.
Zhong Yi extended his palm, and the orb transformed into a round sphere resembling a Pal Sphere, dropping into his hand.
"An Envy Key Sphere? An ancient relic? Maybe a key item for activating a formation?"
Zhong Yi curiously picked up the Envy Key Sphere and inspected it.
"I got one too."
"I've got one as well!"
"Can this catch Pals? It doesn't seem to be throwable."
The other three also received the same reward.
Before they could examine it more closely, the four were teleported outside the tower.
"What is this thing exactly? How about we go ask the village chief?"
Zhong Yi curiously studied the finely crafted little trinket and, with questions in mind, returned to the small village.
When the old village chief learned that Zhong Yi and the others had defeated Zuo Yi, he looked absolutely stunned.
After all, on an island full of beginner-level Pals, the Thundercaller Bear tamed by Zuo Yi was undoubtedly the top predator.
"Chief, do you know what this is?"
Zhong Yi pulled out the Envy Key Sphere and held it out to the village chief.
The old chief's pupils sharply contracted.
"Where did you get this?"
"We picked it up off Miss Zuo after beating her."
Zhong Yi answered truthfully.
"This..."
The old chief hesitated, his gaze flickering vaguely toward Zhou Qiaoling, as if something had suddenly crossed his mind.
"Picking up other people's things is immoral..."
"Why are you looking at me?! Everyone picked one up, alright!"
Zhou Qiaoling said with full confidence.
The old chief pulled a pair of reading glasses from his pocket, put them on, and examined the sphere for a long time.
"If I'm not mistaken... this should be the Key Sphere recorded in ancient texts."
"Say something we don't already know?"
"Rumor has it there are multiple Key Spheres; I'm not sure which one this is..."
"It's Envy! Envy!"
"Regardless of which one it is, this is something of utmost importance. The Pal Spheres you all carry are actually just inferior imitations made in the Key Sphere's likeness."
"Are you even listening to us?!"
"In any case, I don't know the specifics. Why not go ask Miss Zuo herself?"
"...If you'd just said that from the start!!!"
The conversation between Zhong Yi and the old village chief had the live-stream chat rolling with laughter.
[Talk about saying a lot without saying anything]
[Top-tier nonsense literature right here]
[Feels like Old Devil Lu put all his effort into making the Pals this time; these villagers aren't nearly as smart]
[Who says? I think Zuo Yi is pretty sharp, seems just like a real person]
...
The four of them headed back, planning to find Zuo Yi and get some answers.
After all, their base was right below the poacher's tower anyway.
Zhong Yi initially thought they'd have to enter the tower and challenge her again. But when they got back to the base, they saw a figure standing at the foot of the tower.
It was none other than Zuo Yi, who had been so arrogant just moments ago.
"Hmph! You lot actually dare to come back!"
The moment they drew near, Zuo Yi lifted her chin and put on a look of utter disdain.
"I only lost because I let my guard down for a second—it's not like I truly lost to a bunch of nobodies like you!"
"That woman... her tone sounds oddly familiar..."
Zhong Yi muttered under his breath, then pulled the Envy Key Orb out of his backpack.
"Isn't that... my key orb?"
Zuo Yi covered her mouth in surprise, then shot Zhong Yi a look tinged with contempt.
"So you stole it while I was passed out? You look like an upright gentleman, but your methods are just as low-class as your personality!"
The corner of Zhong Yi's mouth twitched. "You better watch your mouth, kid... You're the one who dropped it yourself!!"
"Forget it, you don't have to give it back. It's yours now."
Zuo Yi pouted her lips, seemingly not all that bothered.
"It's called a Key Orb. They say each of the eight towers on this island seals one inside—this is just one of them."
"Father once said that Key Orbs should belong to those with real strength, and I believe what he said."
"Since you challenged me and won, it's yours now."
"But let's make one thing clear: this doesn't mean I recognize you. I'm only doing this because I trust my father's words!"
"If you understand, then grab your stuff and get out of my sight this instant. I don't want to see you for even a single second more!!"
With that, Zuo Yi turned her face away, and a faint, barely-there blush crept across her cheek.
"Ugh..."
Zhong Yi let out a sigh. He couldn't shake the feeling that her way of talking was oddly familiar.
"Miss Zuo, what I meant to ask is—what exactly is this Key Orb for..."
Even though she'd just said she didn't want to see him again, the moment Zhong Yi spoke, Zuo Yi immediately spun back around.
"What's it for?"
Zuo Yi pressed a finger to her lips, thinking hard for a moment.
"I don't actually know what the Key Orbs are. I only remember Father saying they're part of some mysterious formation... connected to an ancient seal."
"If you could collect all of them, maybe then you'd find out... Gah! What's that look for?! Are you looking down on me!?"
Zhong Yi squinted, barely stopping himself from just nodding outright.
"This woman doesn't know anything..."
Zhong Yi muttered under his breath.
"You insufferable barbarian—go away! You're just the worst!!!"
Zuo Yi huffed and turned her back to him, occasionally stealing glances at Zhong Yi from the corner of her eye.
"Sigh... Seriously, women with this kind of temper are the last thing I can deal with..."
Zhong Yi shrugged helplessly, then turned around to find Zhou Yue and Zhou Qiaoling staring at him in utter bewilderment.
"What are you two looking at me like that for?"
"Just impressed by you, that's all... No matter what I or my sister said, she wouldn't even give us the time of day."
"Pfft, what's so great about getting her attention? Every word out of her mouth is an insult... Junior Brother Mu, what's wrong? Why that expression on your face?"
Zhong Yi noticed Mu Yawen fidgeting and rubbing his hands together nervously, and suddenly had a look of epiphany.
'So Junior Brother Mu is into this type? Must be too shy to talk to a woman. Alright, alright—as his senior, I might as well help him out.'
Zhong Yi thought to himself, nodding with a cheerful grin.
Since Mu Yawen was too embarrassed to speak up, Zhong Yi would take it upon himself to play wingman.
With that in mind, Zhong Yi patted Zuo Yi on the shoulder.
"Miss Zuo, if I may ask—what sort of things do you fancy?"
"What!? I told you... huh?"
Just as she was about to put on a look of disdain, Zuo Yi's cheeks flushed crimson in an instant.
"L-liked things, huh..."
"Mm..."
"I-It should be... blueberry cake, I guess?"
"W-why are you asking something like that..."
Zuo Yi suddenly dropped her haughty demeanor, her head lowering slightly, her manner carrying a hint of girlish shyness.
"Junior Brother Mu, did you hear that? Next time, bring her a blueberry cake—guaranteed to work!"
Zhong Yi said cheerfully as he turned back to Mu Yawen.
"..."
Zuo Yi's breath hitched for a moment.
"I'm done. Let's just end it all."
"??? Why did you summon a Thunderclap Bear out of nowhere???"
"No—why are you shocking me with lightning???"
"Ugh, this is exactly why I can't get along with a woman like her!!!"
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
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."
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.
