The crowd around them felt their hearts surge like tidal waves as the two figures entered.
No one expected the Nangong family to show up as well.
They were one of Yang City's only two reclusive clans.
Compared to the Dai family, the Nangong family truly embodied the meaning of "reclusive."
They were far more low-key than the Dais.
The middle-aged man carrying a briefcase was known as the "Working Emperor of Jiangbei"—Ren Fuhai.
All of the Nangong family's business affairs were under his control, and most people had no idea the Nangong family even existed.
Rumors said Ren Fuhai had married into the Nangong family.
The little girl beside him was Nangong Yao, the granddaughter of the Nangong family's patriarch.
Xu Mu sat back down, surprised that the Nangong family had also appeared.
According to the plot, the Nangong family kept to themselves, developing independently and never clashing with the Dragon King.
"Dai Xiao! You villain, bullying people again! Behold my holy light!"
Nangong Yao had already scampered up to Dai Xiao, pummeling his body with her tiny fists.
Dai Xiao couldn’t be bothered to deal with this chuunibyou girl.
He pushed Nangong Yao aside and glared at Ren Fuhai. "The Nangong family, who never meddles in worldly affairs, now wants a piece of the pie?"
"We’re an investment firm. When we see a promising opportunity, we invest."
As he spoke, Ren Fuhai walked toward Xu Shou. "Boss Xu, shall we talk?"
Xu Shou glanced at the briefcase in Ren Fuhai’s hand and nodded slightly.
"Hold on!"
Dai Xiao raised a hand. "If we’re talking, it should be with our Dai family first. Manager Ren, first come, first served, no?"
"Suit yourself. Business is about the highest bidder anyway. Even if the Dais talk first, if our Nangong family offers better terms later, we’ll still have the advantage."
Ren Fuhai adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses with a smile.
"Let’s all go together."
Xu Mu spoke up, then turned to Shen Hong. "Mr. Shen, you should join us too."
"Wouldn’t miss it."
Shen Hong nodded lightly. This was exactly why he had come, though he hadn’t expected Xu Shou to anticipate it and invite him outright.
Feng Jian opened his mouth but ultimately swallowed his words.
As a powerless second-generation heir, he had no place at the adults' table.
In the end, Xu Shou and Xu Ningbing led the three men to the innermost table.
"Yao Yao, you came too?"
Shen Wanning walked over to Nangong Yao with a smile.
"Wanning-jie, I didn’t see you earlier!" Nangong Yao looked up, her expression adorably clueless.
The two were close—many of Nangong Yao’s musical instruments had been taught to her by Shen Wanning.
Shen Hong was more than happy for his daughter to be connected to the Nangong family.
Since Feng Jian couldn’t join the main discussion, he turned his attention back to Xu Mu.
Especially that damn punk beside him—he was practically begging for a beating.
"Xu Mu, let’s finish our earlier conversation." Feng Jian glared at him coldly.
"What? Xu Mu?"
Nangong Yao suddenly turned her head toward the seated Xu Mu. She clapped a hand over her left eye. "Ah! The stench of evil! I shall purify you with my holy light!"
With that, she charged at Xu Mu.
She vaguely remembered Xu Mu bullying Shen Wanning years ago. Back then, she had even asked the family servants who Xu Mu was.
They had told her he was a good-for-nothing troublemaker.
And now, here he was.
"O sinner! Be cleansed!"
Nangong Yao kept one hand over her left eye while the other formed a fist, raining light punches on Xu Mu’s leg—though the force was more like a massage.
Xu Mu scanned her briefly with his Divine Eye. Neither the original plot nor the memories of the villainous Xu Mu had much on this girl.
Name: Nangong Yao
Role: Young mistress of the Nangong family, female lead of The Master Descends the Mountain: My Seven Stunning Senior Sisters.
Favorability: -20
Protagonist Level: 8 (Max 10)
Xu Mu was momentarily stunned. He wasn’t sure when exactly she became the female lead.
If it was after she grew up, fine. But if she was already the female lead now… then the protagonist of The Master Descends the Mountain had some explaining to do.
Feng Jian had planned to keep provoking Xu Mu, but with Nangong Yao around, he held back.
If he made this little girl cry, he’d be in deep trouble.
Meng Wanyue frowned slightly as she watched Nangong Yao hitting Xu Mu.
But seeing Xu Mu smile, clearly unbothered, she didn’t intervene.
Su Ruiming’s admiration for Xu Mu surged like a mighty river.
To him, this little girl was clearly flirting with Xu Mu.
Young Master Xu truly had presence—his sheer charisma had even drawn in such a cute loli.
"Wait… my sins… they’re gone?"
Xu Mu suddenly looked at Nangong Yao in exaggerated shock.
"Huh? Gone?"
Nangong Yao froze, staring at her tiny fists. "Did my purification actually work?"
"If I’m not mistaken… the eye you’re covering must be the legendary Sacred Eye, right?"
Xu Mu put on a grave expression.
Dealing with a chuunibyou girl like this? A few lines were all it took.
[Favorability +10]
Black text floated above Nangong Yao’s head.
Her eyes widened, her twin tails quivering.
Then she leaned in and whispered, "Shh! Keep it down. The bad guys might hear."
Xu Mu nearly laughed. Clearly, no one had ever humored her little games before.
A single sentence had bridged the gap between them.
"Got it."
Xu Mu nodded solemnly, then whispered back, "I’m like you—I have sacred power too. But I was tainted by darkness. Thank you for saving me."
"You… you have sacred power too?"
Nangong Yao’s face lit up with awe. "I’ve finally found a kindred spirit!"
[Favorability +10]
More black text appeared. A few words, and her favorability had turned positive.
This loli was way too easy to fool.
From a distance, Shen Wanning watched in disbelief. Just moments ago, Nangong Yao had been hitting Xu Mu.
Now, they were whispering like old friends?
Just then, Xu Ningbing approached. "Dad wants you," he said to Xu Mu.
Xu Mu nodded and turned to Nangong Yao. "I have to go for a bit."
"I’ll come too! To slay evil with you!"
Nangong Yao grabbed the hem of Xu Mu’s shirt, tagging along.
Xu Ningbing glanced down at the little girl. Since when were she and Xu Mu so close?
---
At the far table, Xu Mu noticed Xu Shou’s grim expression.
Xu Ningbing sat back down, his face icy.
Ren Fuhai was stunned. Since when had Nangong Yao sided with Xu Mu?
"Xu Mu, I never thought the Xu family’s decisions needed your approval."
Dai Xiao crossed his legs, smirking.
"He’s still part of the family."
Xu Shou forced a smile and turned to Xu Mu. "They want 80% of our pharmaceutical company’s profits. Do you agree?"
"No."
Xu Mu replied flatly as he walked over.
"Then there's nothing left to discuss." Xu Shou spread his hands with a smile, eyeing the three people across from him.
"Xu Shou, I think you're doing this on purpose."
Dai Xiao's palm pressed against the table, his tone turning icy.

u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.

pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"

transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”

for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?