"Congratulations, Old Patriarch."
The people sitting around all stood up to congratulate Cui Rui when they saw him come out.
Everyone was chattering, offering all kinds of well wishes.
However, Xu Ningbing and Xu Mu did not stand up.
Cui Rui naturally noticed this, but he didn't mind.
He smiled and said, "Thank you all for coming. Actually, as old friends, some of you probably know that today is not my actual birthday."
The surrounding crowd listened attentively; Cui Rui's birthday banquet had indeed been moved up.
"Let me tell you the reason. It's because the actual date of my birthday coincides with the day my granddaughter is getting married."
As Cui Rui spoke, he placed his hand on Cui Nannan's shoulder.
The people present were all old foxes. Hearing this, they unanimously looked at the man on the other side of Cui Rui.
It seemed the other party had an extraordinary background.
"How could an old man like me compete with my granddaughter's marriage for a date? So, I moved it up a few days."
Cui Rui said with a smile, "Allow me to introduce him. This is the grandson of the Great Elder of the Demonic Sword Sect."
Hearing this, the crowd gasped in surprise.
Although merchants at their level didn't know exactly what the Demonic Sword Sect was, it sounded like a martial arts sect from the name.
Sects were ranked even higher than hidden families. They never expected the Cui family to latch onto such a powerful backer.
From now on in Jiangnan, even a family as strong as the Qin family probably wouldn't be able to rival the Cui family.
"Hello everyone, my name is Peng Huihuang, from the Demonic Sword Sect. Nannan and I fell in love at first sight. After we get married, the Cui family's business will be the Demonic Sword Sect's business."
Peng Huihuang's tone was flat, but incredibly intimidating. "If anyone dares to touch a single hair on the Cui family's head, our Demonic Sword Sect will make sure they never know a day of peace!"
Cui Rui grinned from ear to ear.
Everyone present understood that the power dynamics in Jiangnan were about to change.
Cui Yunshen now fixed his gaze on Xu Mu. The Cui family was about to soar into the sky; what could the Xu family possibly use to fight them now?
Xu Ningbing also suddenly realized what was going on. No wonder the Cui family dared to threaten them so blatantly; it turned out they had a new backer.
Xu Mu, on the other hand, looked at Wu Tian in the distance. He was sitting alone at a table, drinking red wine.
"Hahaha! Everyone, please sit. The food will be served shortly. You can all have another feast at my granddaughter's wedding."
Cui Rui motioned for everyone to sit down.
However, right at that moment, several merchants took the initiative to approach Xu Ningbing.
"President Xu, our company has run into some problems recently, and we've decided to terminate our cooperation with the Xu family. Don't worry, we will pay the penalty for breach of contract in full."
"Miss Xu, it's the same for our company. We no longer wish to cooperate with you."
...
Xu Ningbing had negotiated with five companies this time. Two had already canceled their cooperation over the phone.
The remaining three were terminating it right here.
Countless people looked toward Xu Ningbing. Canceling a partnership in front of so many people was a public slap in the face.
Xu Ningbing's expression darkened. These people could have easily told her this in private; they were clearly doing it on purpose.
Just then, Cui Yunshen walked over with a smile and sat down next to Xu Ningbing. "Miss Xu, I think cooperating with our family would be a good choice for you. But what price are you willing to pay?"
"What does your Cui family think you are? Do you really think you can cover the sky with one hand in Jiangnan? Our products are good, so we will always find partners."
Xu Ningbing slammed the table and stood up abruptly. "Even without partners, we can open up the market ourselves."
Seeing this from afar, Peng Huihuang immediately walked over.
Cui Nannan followed closely behind him.
The surrounding people watched with an attitude of enjoying the show. This Xu Ningbing was indeed too young and naive.
The man from the sect had just spoken, declaring his protection over the Cui family, and she dared to publicly clamor against them. Wasn't she just courting death?
Seeing Peng Huihuang approaching, Cui Yunshen smiled. He didn't even need to make a move himself.
"Brother-in-law, you're here?"
But Peng Huihuang didn't even look him in the eye.
Instead, he stared straight at Xu Ningbing. "Miss, I've fallen in love with you at first sight. How about you marry me?"
"Huh?"
Everyone around was dumbfounded when they heard this.
Including the Cui family members. However, even as an elder, Cui Rui didn't dare to say much.
The man was from a sect, and more importantly, the grandson of the Great Elder. Cui Rui couldn't afford to offend him.
Hearing this, Cui Nannan immediately grabbed Peng Huihuang's arm and shook it. "Hubby, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Only then did Peng Huihuang snap back to reality, giving an awkward smile.
"You slutty fox! Get out of here right now! Today is my grandpa's birthday banquet. Who gave you the nerve to come to our house and insult us?"
Cui Nannan pointed at Xu Ningbing and cursed, "Somebody! Throw her out!"
She was actually very grateful to Wu Tian, as it was Wu Tian who introduced her to Peng Huihuang.
As the child of a second wife, with mediocre talent and being a woman on top of that, she had been neglected by the family since childhood.
She had always wanted to find a big shot to marry.
Unexpectedly, this wish had come true.
She had conquered Peng Huihuang with her bedroom skills and finally got her wish to become his concubine.
Since their marriage was arranged, her status in the Cui family had skyrocketed.
Let alone peers like Cui Yunshen, even her father treated her with respect.
She couldn't let this woman ruin everything.
"What are you staring at? Do my words mean nothing?"
Cui Nannan growled at the security guards around them.
Hearing this, the security guards quickly walked over.
Xu Mu revealed a faint smile. He looked at the exasperated Cui Nannan and said, "Women like you are the craftiest. You take what men shoot out, rub it on yourself, and claim you just smell like a baby."
"You... are courting death!"
Hearing this, Cui Nannan grabbed a plate from the table and threw it at Xu Mu's face.
With her recently elevated status, her temper had also grown increasingly violent.
Swish!
Before the plate could hit Xu Mu, it was caught by Xu Ningbing.
"Attacking my brother? I think you're the one courting death!"
Xu Ningbing threw the plate back at Cui Nannan's face with a backhand motion.
Crash!
The plate shattered. Cui Nannan hurriedly covered her face and retreated. "Ah! My face... Hubby, say something!"
Peng Huihuang was taken aback for a moment, then revealed a lecherous smile. "Beating my woman right in front of me, you've got a lot of nerve!"
"She attacked my brother first!"
Xu Ningbing said coldly. Even if he was a sect expert, she wasn't afraid.
"Your brother insulted me first!"
Cui Nannan roared, covering her face.
"That's because you insulted my sister first," Xu Mu shrugged.
"So what if our Cui family insults you? Attack them! Today is my birthday banquet, and I want to see blood!"
Cui Rui slammed the table and stood up fiercely.
Today, even if Peng Huihuang didn't make a move, he had to.
Otherwise, where would he put his face in the future?
The surrounding security guards quickly charged over, and the guests immediately stepped aside to make room.
The Cui family's security guards were all ancient martial artists. These two siblings were in for it.
Swish!
A middle-aged man reached out to grab Xu Ningbing.
Xu Ningbing easily dodged and kicked him in the waist. The man flew backward on the spot, crashing into the distant table where Cui Rui was sitting.
The surrounding guests were all dumbfounded. A woman had just kicked a burly middle-aged man flying—was this a joke?
Seeing this, Cui Rui's expression turned grave. "An ancient martial artist?"
"What? Did you really think your Cui family was the only one in the world with ancient martial artists?"
Xu Ningbing took off her non-prescription glasses, her tone icy cold.
Watching from a distance, Wu Tian let out a wicked smirk.
Although things hadn't gone exactly according to his plan, the end result should be the same.

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.”

d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!

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?"

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.