Ye Chen stared intently at the data before him, his face filled with disbelief.
If this were true, then Ye Tong's birthday would finally make sense.
Perhaps, to rationalize his existence, his father had altered Ye Tong's birthdate, pushing it forward by several months.
That way, his own "birth" would appear perfectly natural.
"You're actually adopted?"
Huang Qu also furrowed his brows, never expecting Ye Chen's origins to be so shrouded in mystery.
But upon closer thought, it made sense—Ye Chen's cultivation talent was far too extraordinary.
People like him usually had parents who were anything but ordinary.
In comparison, the Ye Family, not even considered a hidden clan, seemed utterly mediocre.
"Even if I'm adopted, they still raised me. The Ye Family's grievances are mine to settle as well."
As Ye Chen spoke, he suddenly froze.
If he and Ye Tong weren’t related by blood, didn’t that mean they could marry and have children?
In his heart, Ye Tong was the perfect woman.
Before, blood ties had held him back, but now, that restriction was gone.
However, judging from their last conversation, Ye Tong seemed quite taken with Xu Mu.
Ye Chen wasn’t sure if he could convince her to willingly choose him instead.
But no matter what, the truth about their lack of blood relation had to be revealed to Ye Tong as soon as possible.
...
Xu Mu had already obtained the video, though the camera angles were occasionally obstructed by others.
Still, the footage was clear enough—Chai Wang truly deserved to die.
What was worse, the people around him had simply watched in silence, not a single one stepping in to intervene.
"They say the entertainment industry is a murky world. Now I see it firsthand."
Without wasting time, Xu Mu drove straight to the Chai Family’s estate.
In the past, he might have concealed his identity, but now, there was no need.
As Xu Mu approached the Chai estate, the roar of a sports car engine reached his ears.
He immediately extended his senses, quickly spotting Fang Chu and Dai Dongyang in the vicinity.
"So, these two have teamed up."
Xu Mu murmured under his breath. Their meeting at the Chai estate likely meant they were plotting against the Xu Family.
This video had arrived at the perfect time.
By the time he reached the estate gates, Fang Chu and Dai Dongyang had already left.
Xu Mu addressed the guards at the entrance, "I’m Xu Mu. I need to speak with Chai Wang."
Without waiting for their response, he strode past them toward the estate.
The guards immediately moved to block him.
"Young Master Xu, please wait here. I’ll inform the master at once," one guard said, reaching for his walkie-talkie.
"No need. Chai Wang will definitely see me. Save yourselves the trouble."
Xu Mu continued forward.
Two guards raised their arms to stop him, but it was like trying to halt a bulldozer—they couldn’t hold him back.
Soon, Xu Mu stood before the estate’s main villa.
Chai Wang was already waiting at the entrance, a cigar dangling from his lips.
"Master, Xu Mu, he—"
"Dismissed."
Chai Wang waved the guard away, took a slow drag from his cigar, and asked coldly, "Xu Mu, what brings you here?"
"I have something very important to discuss with you."
Xu Mu stepped forward, slinging an arm around Chai Wang’s shoulders.
Chai Wang’s face darkened with displeasure. He shrugged off Xu Mu’s arm and said flatly, "Mind your manners. I’m your elder."
"True, you are an elder. People call me a spoiled heir, but compared to you, I’m just an amateur. I could learn a thing or two from you."
With that, Xu Mu walked into the villa ahead of him.
"What do you mean by that?"
Chai Wang frowned but followed Xu Mu inside.
Xu Mu settled onto the sofa, crossing his legs and beckoning Chai Wang with a finger.
Chai Wang’s expression grew increasingly stormy, but he suppressed his anger and approached.
He didn’t sit beside Xu Mu, choosing instead to stand behind the sofa.
"Master Chai, I was wondering—what would happen if this video got out?"
Xu Mu unfolded his phone to full screen, maximizing the display.
At first, Chai Wang looked indifferent, but the moment the footage played, his eyes bulged, and his cigar dropped to the floor.
"Master Chai, isn’t that you in the video? Impressive speed. I could never match that."
Xu Mu smirked before closing the video.
"Where did you get this?"
Chai Wang’s face darkened. The incident in the video was still fresh in his memory.
The angle suggested the camera had been hidden in a purse on a nearby shelf.
"That’s not the point. The point is—what crime have you committed?"
Xu Mu’s tone was icy.
Chai Wang clenched his fists, cold sweat breaking out on his brow.
He knew full well that if this got out, he’d be facing life imprisonment—or worse.
"Xu Mu, since you came to me instead of reporting it outright, you must want something. Name your terms."
Chai Wang quickly circled the sofa and sat across from Xu Mu.
"You had two visitors earlier. What were they here for?"
Xu Mu pointed at Chai Wang. "Don’t lie. One false move, and we’re done talking."
Chai Wang had been about to dodge the question, but Xu Mu’s warning made him swallow his words.
Fang Chu had always wanted to deal with Xu Mu—they knew each other, and Xu Mu could easily guess his intentions.
With a sigh, Chai Wang admitted, "Xu Mu, I was wrong. But Fang Chu forced me into this."
He gave a brief explanation: Fang Chu was a martial artist, and the Chai Family couldn’t defy him.
They had no choice but to follow his orders against the Xu Family.
"And why was Dai Dongyang here?" Xu Mu pressed.
"They seemed acquainted. Dai Dongyang also wants the Xu Family gone. This time, he’s hiring a top-ten assassin from the Death Ranking to target your family."
Chai Wang laid out Dai Dongyang’s plan in full detail.
Xu Mu’s eyes turned frosty. Dai Dongyang was clever—eliminating the Xu Family while undermining the Nangong Family in one stroke.
"Has the assassin been hired?" Xu Mu asked.
"Yes. I already paid. Death Ranking’s eighth—Black Hand."
Chai Wang explained, "The payment went through Dai Dongyang’s account. His rank is high enough to hire top-ten assassins."
"What a coincidence. My account can also hire top-ten assassins."
Xu Mu pulled out his phone—though the account he was using had originally belonged to Lin Yang.
"What… what are you planning?"
Chai Wang’s face paled with dread.
"You’re going to pay for me too. I want a top-ten assassin to take out Dai Dongyang and Fang Chu."
Xu Mu said coolly, "Let’s go with the sixth—Black Robe."
"Xu Mu, are you trying to bankrupt me? Fang Chu and Dai Dongyang are both martial artists! Hiring the sixth-ranked will cost me a fortune!"
Chai Wang nearly fainted. Just hiring Black Hand had already cost over ten billion—cold, hard cash.
"Fine then."
Xu Mu stood up. "Here’s my advice: turn yourself in now. The sentence might be lighter."
"I’ll pay! I’ll pay the damn money!"
Chai Wang blurted out in desperation.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
] [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!"
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
