"What the hell?"
Fang Chu immediately recoiled in shock.
Though he had dodged a fatal blow, his shirt over his chest was slashed open in several places.
His face darkened. "Who are you? I don’t think I’ve ever crossed paths with you."
"You haven’t crossed us, but you’ve crossed our captain!"
One of the black-robed figures lunged at Fang Chu without hesitation.
Fang Chu sneered. "You think you can take me?"
He met the attack head-on.
Boom!
Their fists collided, sending a dull thud echoing through the mountain forest.
The ground beneath their feet cracked violently.
Zap!
Suddenly, arcs of electricity surged from the black-robed man’s arm.
Fang Chu’s entire body stiffened as the current coursed through him.
Seizing the opportunity, the black-robed man drew a dagger with his other hand and slashed toward Fang Chu.
Swish! Swish!
Just then, two sharp stone spikes erupted from the ground beneath the black-robed man’s feet, piercing straight through them.
"Tsk!"
The black-robed man gasped sharply, the pain robbing him of strength as he collapsed to the ground.
Fang Chu quickly regained control of his body and was about to press his advantage when another black-robed figure attacked.
Fang Chu swiftly retreated.
The newcomer hoisted his injured comrade onto his shoulder and hissed coldly, "Fang Chu, you’ve made an enemy of the Eternal Life Research Institute. You’ll die a miserable death!"
With that, he vanished into the shadows.
Fang Chu’s eyes turned ice-cold. The Eternal Life Research Institute…
He had heard of this organization before. They had existed for years, always on the Cleaners’ most-wanted list.
Yet they still thrived—proof of their terrifying power.
Fang Chu couldn’t figure out when he had offended them.
Who was this "captain" they mentioned?
Could it be… Xu Mu?
---
Xu Mu had already returned to Jiang City with Chen Xuan.
He had agreed with Miao He to meet at Pear Blossom Village the next morning.
After dropping Chen Xuan off at a hotel, he headed home alone.
This time, outside the ruins, he had encountered a master at the Divine Ability realm. Meanwhile, Meng Wanyue and Dai Xingluo hadn’t even reached that level yet.
Xu Mu wondered if he should even bring them along this time.
Pulling up to the supermarket near his villa, he parked and went inside to stock up on supplies.
The last ruins—just an ordinary one—had trapped them for days. This ancient ruin would undoubtedly be far more dangerous.
Basic necessities like food and water were a must.
He grabbed the same items as last time: bottled water and high-energy snacks.
After loading them into the car, he drove back to the villa.
In the garage, he opened the trunk and neatly packed everything into his storage space.
Once done, he slumped onto the living room couch.
Come to think of it, he had rushed off to find Chen Xuan this morning and hadn’t even done his daily system draw.
Since he had nothing else to do, he decided to use his 10-draw and see what he’d get.
Opening the system panel, he initiated the draw.
The wheel in front of him began spinning.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a third-grade spiritual herb: Nightspring Grass.]
"…?"
Xu Mu was baffled. Why did the system keep giving him this stuff?
He was a righteous man, a man of principle—did he look like he needed this?
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have obtained 30 cultivation points.]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have obtained 20 attribute points.]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the title: Novice Array Master.]
"Hell yeah!"
Xu Mu grinned at this reward.
For exploring ruins, mastery of arrays was essential.
Last time, if not for Qin Ju’s help, escaping would’ve been a nightmare.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have obtained 30 cultivation points.]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a third-grade spiritual herb gift box.]
…
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have obtained 20 cultivation points.]
Aside from the array master title, the Nightspring Grass and the herb gift box felt worse than the baseline rewards.
Still, getting a Novice Array Master was already a win.
This round netted him 140 cultivation points and 60 attribute points in total.
He allocated all of them immediately.
As his body surged with newfound strength, he checked his updated stats.
Name: Xu Mu
Identity: Villainous Saint Physique, HR Manager of Xu Corporation
Realm: Mid-stage Divine Ability
Physique: 945
Spirit: 945
Cultivation Points: 620/800
Fate Energy: 1042
Xu Mu nodded in satisfaction. He was close to reaching the late stage of Divine Ability.
Once he broke through to the Golden Body realm—the threshold of a true master—he would take the initiative.
He then reviewed his newly acquired array knowledge as a flood of memories integrated into his mind.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Using his perception, he sensed Feng Yue standing outside.
He got up and opened the door.
"Boss, I just got back from Yang City and saw your car here, so I thought I’d drop by," Feng Yue said with a smile.
Xu Mu looked her over. Today, she had ditched her usual style for a sleek black office suit with a pencil skirt.
Combined with her alluring peach-blossom eyes, she was basically a walking Nightspring Grass.
"Why the new look?" Xu Mu asked.
"Had a meeting at the company. Gotta dress the part."
Feng Yue adjusted her handbag and winked. "Wanna come over to my place?"
Xu Mu shrugged. Ye Tong wouldn’t be back from work for a while anyway.
Feng Yue led the way, the sway of her skirt teasing glimpses of what lay beneath.
Xu Mu averted his gaze. A gentleman shouldn’t stare.
In Feng Yue’s living room, Xu Mu made himself comfortable. "Zhang Que’s gone. Why are you still living here?"
"Boss, I don’t like that tone," Feng Yue pouted playfully. "Trying to kick me out already?"
"That’s not what I meant."
Xu Mu waved her off.
"It’s Madam’s idea, actually. She doesn’t want me to leave."
Feng Yue smirked as she sat beside him. "She said since Yang City isn’t far, I can come back every day and keep her company."
Xu Mu had no idea what Ye Tong was thinking.
Maybe, after marrying into this life, she had no friends—so she latched onto Feng Yue.
Then again, Feng Yue could get along with even Dai Xingluo, let alone Ye Tong.
"Boss, do you know why love needs to be long-lasting?" Feng Yue leaned against his shoulder.
"Why?"
"Because it’s literal—it has to be long, and it has to last. Otherwise, it’s not love."
Feng Yue grinned mischievously.
"You little—! Focus on running the company instead of spouting nonsense, or I’ll audit you again!"
Xu Mu jabbed a finger at her.
---
Feng Yue lay sprawled on the couch, her eyes glazed as she stared at the ceiling, utterly drained.
Xu Mu checked his newly acquired justice points and nodded.
Though Feng Yue’s fate energy wasn’t high-tier, quantity made up for quality.
Just then, the doorbell rang again.
His perception revealed Ye Tong standing outside.
He quickly straightened his clothes.
Feng Yue checked the door camera and chuckled. "It’s Madam. Maybe you should hide in the bedroom?"
Xu Mu considered it, then agreed.
He was genuinely curious—what would Ye Tong and Feng Yue talk about?
Especially for a young married woman like Ye Tong, she might have a side to her that even her friends don’t know about.
He walked into the adjacent room, leaving the door slightly ajar rather than closing it completely.
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
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.”
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
