Phoenix Fire Pavilion.
The temporary residence of Qingshan Sect disciples.
"What!? You're saying... disciples from other sects are all challenging that illusion realm!?"
Yang Zhengxin could hardly believe what he was hearing.
The illusion realm created by Lu Ze—he would never set foot in it again in this lifetime!
Yet, according to the sect disciples,
disciples from the other four major sects were all frantically competing for the leaderboard!
"That's right... and the Lingxiao Sect even hung the rankings right in the center of the Spirit Gathering Hall for everyone to see!"
The inner sect disciple delivering the news said with a bitter expression.
"Then, how are the other sects performing?"
"The Tianxuan Sect and Lingxiao Sect are fighting for first place, followed by the Cloud Immortal Palace, with the Infinite Sword Sect trailing behind."
"Such enthusiasm..."
After hearing the report, Yang Zhengxin frowned.
He still looked down on Lu Ze's illusion realm.
Yet somehow, it had become a benchmark for sect prestige.
Even if he despised it, he had to consider the sect's reputation.
At the very least, he had to think about his own face.
According to the disciple, his current score was dead last...
"What about Xu Huoyao? Has he participated?" Yang Zhengxin quickly asked.
Xu Huoyao was Qingshan Sect's most outstanding true disciple in recent years, with exceptional comprehension.
If true disciples from other sects were making a name for themselves, Yang Zhengxin believed Xu Huoyao wouldn't lag far behind.
The sect's reputation naturally rested on Xu Huoyao's shoulders.
"Senior Brother Xu? He..."
Before the inner sect disciple could finish, a commotion erupted outside.
"Senior Brother! Don’t be rash... calm down!!"
"Get out of my way! All of you, scram!! I’m going to the Artifact Refining Pavilion right now to smash his head in—let’s see if his spikes are harder or my fists!!!"
"..."
Yang Zhengxin’s hopeful smile froze on his face.
He stood and pushed the door open.
The one shouting outside was none other than true disciple Xu Huoyao.
At that moment, he was being restrained by another true disciple and two inner sect disciples, his black-purple flames erupting uncontrollably.
Clearly, he was furious.
"Fool! Stop this at once!" Yang Zhengxin roared.
A surge of divine might descended, suppressing the wild flames.
"Master..." Xu Huoyao, regaining his senses, hastily bowed. "Forgive me... I acted recklessly..."
"Hmph. Just days ago, I praised your improved temperament to the other elders... What drove you to such fury?" Yang Zhengxin asked coldly.
"I wanted to restore our sect’s honor, so I bought a mini illusion tower and the illusion crystal for Are You a Cultivator? Descend 100 Floors."
"But who knew... it would be so insidious..."
"Those spikes didn’t feel like preset traps—they seemed alive, dodging wherever I moved!"
"I suspect that Lu Ze is manipulating it behind the scenes to humiliate our Qingshan Sect..."
"That’s why I..."
The moment Xu Huoyao recalled his ordeal in Are You a Cultivator? Descend 100 Floors, his face twisted with rage.
He had always been hot-tempered.
After such humiliation, he was beyond furious.
"..."
Yang Zhengxin was speechless.
He had been counting on Xu Huoyao to turn things around.
Yet here he was, even more unhinged than himself...
"Forget it. Focus on preparing for the upcoming martial demonstration."
Yang Zhengxin waved his hand irritably.
"This ranking isn’t worth it."
"When the real competition begins... we’ll show them our true strength!"
......
Lingxiao Peak.
The cultivation hall reserved for true disciples.
Months ago, no one would have imagined that the high-tier illusion tower for true disciples would now be running a crude, low-budget illusion realm.
Inside Zhong Yi’s Are You a Cultivator? Descend 100 Floors, maddened curses and laughter echoed endlessly.
After countless trials,
he still couldn’t fathom Lu Ze’s twisted design.
Take the last attempt, for example.
He entered a new level, saw two apple trees, and immediately sensed danger.
Sure enough, walking past got him crushed by falling apples.
At the second tree, he wised up.
He baited the apple to drop, then dodged with a backflip.
Zhong Yi thought he had cracked the code.
Then he approached the third tree, poised to jump—
Guess what?
The ground wrinkled up and smothered him to death.
At this point, Zhong Yi was still holding on.
But when the fourth tree’s apples stayed put while the trunk zoomed sideways to flatten him, he started losing it.
Then the fifth tree, the sixth...
...
By the time he thought he was about to clear the stage,
a crow swooped in, grabbed the tree, and bludgeoned him to death.
Even someone as steadfast as Zhong Yi couldn’t take it anymore.
He exited the illusion and unleashed his fury on a training dummy.
Mu Yawen watched, stunned.
The dummy was forged from pliant steel, reinforced with advanced formations—nearly indestructible.
Yet Zhong Yi, a cultivator who rarely resorted to brute force, almost pummeled it to scrap with bare fists...
......
Much later.
"I—I’m about to set a new record!!! I’m gonna clear it!!!!"
Zhong Yi’s triumphant roar shook the entire hall.
The outburst yanked Mu Yawen out of his own illusion, and he peered curiously at Zhong Yi’s projected screen.
"Senior Brother, I thought you were going for first place... Turns out you’re just beating your own score."
"A journey of a thousand miles begins—"
"Senior Brother, you’re still 18 levels behind the top rank."
"...Junior Brother Mu, why are you so free? Go cultivate."
"Oh..."
Mu Yawen slunk away.
Zhong Yi’s path to victory was paved with suffering.
Mainly because his reflexes were terrible.
Others relied on talent and speed.
Zhong Yi brute-forced his way through sheer repetition.
Gazing at the new level, he sighed deeply.
He had finally breached ten floors, earning a respectable spot in the top 500 rankings.
"Ha! More apples? Bring it! Let’s see if you can touch me!"
Zhong Yi’s declaration was bold.
At the center of the map, a cannon spewed red apples in a steady stream.
Countless deaths had taught him one thing: everything here was deceitful.
Not just the apples.
Even a blade of grass could be a death trap.
The worst was when he spotted a soul-gathering array and instinctively tried to activate a respawn point.
Turns out, even that could be fake...
Dodging the slow-moving apples with ease, Zhong Yi scoffed.
"Ha. Junior Brother Lu still has some mercy left—it’s not all impossible."
He shook his head with a smile, effortlessly evading wave after wave.
Just as he thought he’d survived unscathed,
a line of text blazed across the sky:
[How many red apples appeared just now?]
"?????"
Zhong Yi’s face twitched violently.
You’ve got to be kidding me...
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.
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!
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】
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
