The winter snow in Jingzhou this year fell exceptionally heavy.
The entire city was swaddled in a thick, quiet layer of white.
The main residence of the Huangfu Family was ablaze with lights.
The central heating had steamed a thin layer of condensation onto the massive floor-to-ceiling windows.
Through this misty veil, one could see the snowflakes swirling wildly outside.
It also shut out the biting cold wind beyond.
In the banquet hall, glasses clinked.
Men and women in elegant attire held champagne flutes, their faces adorned with proper, impeccable smiles.
They discussed finance, real estate, cross-border mergers and acquisitions.
Each word represented the flow of wealth amounting to hundreds of millions.
This was the center of power, a showcase for fame and fortune, a breeding ground for desire.
It was also a massive, ornate cage.
Ten-year-old Huangfu Chengshi stood in a corner of this cage.
He wore a slightly ill-fitting, white child's suit.
This suit had been hastily purchased by his stepmother's orders.
The sleeves were a bit too long, the shoulders a bit too broad.
It made Huangfu Chengshi look like a child who had stolen an adult's clothes to wear.
Even more, he resembled a young songbird, its feathers not yet fully grown, forcibly stuffed into a display case.
He did not belong here.
Huangfu Chengshi knew this very well.
His father, Huangfu Ting, the Third Master of the Huangfu Family, was holding a wine glass, laughing and chatting with a banker.
Huangfu Ting's gaze had never once drifted towards this corner.
Father Huangfu Ting was a charming and dashing man.
His mother had been Huangfu Ting's first love.
An ordinary woman without any background.
She had passed away from illness not long after giving birth to Huangfu Chengshi.
Huangfu Ting's affection for his first love might have been sincere.
But that sincerity had long been worn away under family pressure and the relentless flow of time.
He soon, under the family's arrangement, married another woman of suitable social standing as his stepmother, Zhuang Wanqing.
At this moment, his stepmother, dressed in an elegant cheongsam, was discussing next month's new arrivals from Paris with several society ladies.
Her smile was gentle and virtuous.
Zhuang Wanqing genuinely admired Huangfu Ting.
And so she hated.
She hated the woman who had once stolen the man she loved.
And by extension, she loathed the only child that woman had left behind.
She would not mistreat him.
Such behavior was beneath her status.
She simply treated him as air.
A thorough and polite neglect.
As for his father, that fickle and philandering man.
At home, he held little authority to begin with.
Towards this child who constantly reminded him of that "inglorious" past, he showed not a shred of concern.
Even when they occasionally met in the hallway.
Huangfu Ting would only frown, cast a fleeting glance, and then look away.
As if his son, Huangfu Chengshi, were some unclean stain.
The servants, naturally, were all experts at reading the wind.
Otherwise, they wouldn't survive in the Huangfu household.
Since Huangfu Chengshi received no care from his parents, the servants naturally followed suit, currying favor with the powerful and bullying the weak.
Thus, within this splendid prison called "home," Huangfu Chengshi became an extra, ill-fitting, and awkward presence.
"Young masters, you may go play in the snow in the garden now."
A servant approached and said respectfully.
This was a fixed part of the banquet routine.
The adults remained inside, engaged in their "hunt."
The children were herded outside for their "games."
For the children of the Huangfu Family.
So-called free time was merely a small-scale game of power.
And Huangfu Chengshi was always at the very bottom of the food chain.
He knew his "game" was about to begin.
He had deliberately appeared here today.
He had deliberately worn this ridiculous suit.
He had also deliberately, two days prior, let his father "accidentally" see his report card, which once again showed him ranked first in his entire grade.
He knew his father would receive a few words of praise from Grandfather because of it.
He also knew this praise would become a thorn, deeply embedded in the hearts of his eldest and second uncles.
It would even become a whip, lashing at his good-for-nothing older cousins.
He had set a trap.
A childish, yet malicious, trap set by a child.
He himself was the perfect bait.
He quietly followed a group of his cousins out of the warm banquet hall.
The icy air instantly enveloped him.
He gave a slight shiver.
Not from the cold.
But from a flicker of excitement at the impending spectacle.
The snow in the garden was deep, crunching underfoot with a "squeak-squeak" sound.
Several children soon began playing noisily.
Having snowball fights, building snowmen.
Their cheerful laughter carried far.
Huangfu Chengshi did not join in.
He walked alone towards the rockery deep in the garden.
The lighting there was dim, a blind spot for the surveillance cameras.
It was also a perfect stage.
He had just walked behind the rockery.
Several figures closed in around him.
Leading them was his eldest uncle's son, Huangfu Chengxuan.
He stood half a head taller, wearing a thin, insincere smile.
"Huangfu Chengshi, I heard you got first in your grade again on the mock exams?"
Huangfu Chengshi kept his head down, silent.
He clenched the hand hidden in his pocket.
Inside it was a fountain pen.
A reward from Grandfather just a few days prior.
A globally limited edition.
He knew Huangfu Chengxuan had been eyeing this pen for a while.
"Bookworm, what else can you do besides study?"
Another cousin gave him a shove.
"I heard Third Uncle got praised by Grandfather again because of your grades?"
"Just an unwanted stray kid, what's there to be so proud of?"
All sorts of venomous insults rained down on Huangfu Chengshi like pellets of hail.
Huangfu Chengshi remained silent.
He counted the seconds in his mind.
According to his calculations.
In another five minutes, the old butler responsible for patrolling the garden would pass by here.
The old butler was the person Grandfather trusted most.
As long as he saw this scene.
As long as he saw him, injured "by accident" while protecting Grandfather's gift.
Then, Huangfu Chengxuan and the others wouldn't have an easy time for a while.
Grandfather valued face above all and detested infighting among brothers.
"Get that new pen of his."
Huangfu Chengxuan finally lost patience.
He gave the order.
"A limited edition from Grandfather, wasted on someone like him."
Huangfu Chengxuan reached a hand towards Huangfu Chengshi's pocket.
Here it comes.
A glint of cold light, almost imperceptible, flashed in Huangfu Chengshi's eyes.
He suddenly clutched his pocket protectively.
His body trembled slightly from "fear."
"Oh? You dare to resist?"
This act of his thoroughly enraged Huangfu Chengxuan.
He shoved Huangfu Chengshi to the ground.
The icy, damp snow instantly soaked through the thin fabric of the suit.
Several children swarmed over him.
Fists and feet immediately began to land on his body.
The children's blows weren't very heavy.
But they were enough to leave some bruises that looked frightening but didn't actually harm any bones or tendons.
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.”
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
or! A blessing for those who struggle with love, a guidebook for dating novices. Quickly match with your dream goddess! Complete walkthroughs earn rewards, and perfect walkthroughs unlock limited achievements!】 Shen Yi, an ordinary office worker, accidentally downloads a mini-game called Dating Simulator. The mini-game is simple: randomly search for dating targets, simulate dates, and receive rewards upon successful confession. Rewards include but are not limited to money, attributes, and skills. The higher the evaluation, the better the rewards, with perfect ratings unlocking mysterious achievements. Shen Yi plans to use this mysterious mini-game to continuously pursue targets and improve himself, making his life better and better. ...... However, after several successful walkthroughs, Shen Yi suddenly notices something strange - the targets he previously simulated dating seem to be searching for him in real life?
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.
