Leng Qingqiu had been rendered speechless by Gu Yan's words, her face flushed and heart racing.
But now, she was playing the role of Leng Bingning, Leng Qingqiu's elder sister, so she had to act accordingly.
Suppressing her embarrassment, Leng Qingqiu forced her voice to remain steady as she replied, "Oh? I must have underestimated you then."
"Who knew Gu Yan could say something like that?"
What did she mean by "who knew"?
Did he usually come across as that unreliable?
Gu Yan raised an eyebrow. "Come on, hearing you say that is kind of a blow to my ego."
"But... well, I can’t blame you for thinking that, because..."
He paused for a few seconds before continuing with a teasing tone, "Even my dear wife Qingqiu hasn’t uncovered all my good qualities yet."
"What a shame. If only our Qingqiu were here—I’d definitely show her every one of my strengths!"
Leng Qingqiu’s heart skipped a beat.
Why was Gu Yan suddenly saying this? Had he figured out she was pretending?
No, no... that couldn’t be.
She was confident in her disguise.
Covering her mouth, she let out a soft laugh. "What strengths do you even have?"
"You can show them off right now, and I’ll pass them along to my little sister later."
Gu Yan, however, shook his head slightly. "Nope."
"These are qualities I only reveal in front of Qingqiu."
"Since you’re not our Qingqiu, Sister Bingning, let’s just drop it."
Leng Qingqiu felt both relieved and disappointed.
Relieved because Gu Yan maintained proper boundaries with outsiders.
Disappointed because, right now, she wasn’t Leng Qingqiu—she was pretending to be the fabricated Leng Bingning.
This disguise was limiting her too much.
Still, chatting with Gu Yan in this strange, familiar-yet-distant way gave her an oddly refreshing feeling.
She chuckled lightly. "You’re quite loyal, aren’t you? Fine, I’ll stop teasing you. Let’s just keep walking."
Gu Yan smiled without a word.
Internally, though, he was calculating—it was about time. While he wasn’t in a hurry to leave, the group gathering could interfere with his plans.
So...
In his mind, he issued an order for Plan B to Lin.
Meanwhile, Leng Qingqiu suddenly tensed, her sharp gaze turning toward Gu Yan.
Huh?
Had Gu Yan just been silently communicating with someone in his head again?
Unlike Gu Yan’s leisurely, sightseeing-like attitude, Bai Jun and his group ahead were on high alert.
"Captain, just how big is this place?"
"We’ve been walking forever, but the surroundings look exactly the same."
Zhao Zilin, a fellow innate-level martial artist with a bronze complexion, gripped his Martial Arts Department-issued rifle tightly.
His voice was tense—the faint red mist around them obscured their vision, leaving their instruments as the only way to confirm their bearings.
"No idea. Might be a quirk of the Forbidden Zone."
"Maybe it’s related to this mist."
Bai Jun shook his head, scanning the endless white haze around them.
They were in what seemed like a tropical rainforest, surrounded by dense trees and shrubs. Logically, they should’ve encountered dangerous magical creatures by now...
But...
Why was there no trace of them?
A trap?
Just as the thought crossed his mind—
*Hum!*
The mist began to shift. Bai Jun could clearly see its color deepening from pale red to... blood crimson!
Even the previously visible trees and shrubs became indistinguishable.
"Stay sharp, everyone!"
"Keep your eyes open!"
Bai Jun shouted—but it was already too late.
When he turned around, his expression froze.
The people who had been behind him moments ago were gone.
"Damn it...!"
Bai Jun cursed under his breath.
His instrument showed all the surrounding signals had vanished—his team had been separated.
How did this happen?
Staying rooted in place, Bai Jun warily observed his surroundings.
The crimson mist was spreading rapidly, swallowing even the faint outlines of the path until nothing remained but pure white.
Like an invisible hand, the mist had effortlessly torn them apart.
The team was now scattered.
Yet—
Before Bai Jun could react, the mist shrouding the Forbidden Zone began to dissipate.
The scene before him gradually cleared.
"??"
Bai Jun blinked in confusion.
He found himself standing near a seemingly tranquil swamp, its surface covered in thick moss and decaying leaves.
Along with... over a dozen martial artists from the department and various sects!
They exchanged bewildered glances, equally disoriented by the sudden shift.
Bai Jun quickly realized—they had been...
Teleported?
"Brother Bai Jun...!!"
A familiar, fragile voice reached his ears.
He turned—
There stood Bai Lian, her eyes red-rimmed like a frightened fawn amidst the crowd.
Her vulnerable appearance instantly stirred a fierce urge to protect her.
She, too, seemed to have been separated from her team by the mist.
"Bai Lian?!"
Bai Jun was stunned, then immediately strode toward her without hesitation.
Meanwhile—
Every martial artist from the department or sects who had entered the Forbidden Zone had been similarly scattered and regrouped by the mist.
Shangguan Miaoyin and Ning Qian coincidentally ended up in the same area.
"Hmm? Interesting... The mist split us up?"
Shangguan Miaoyin surveyed her surroundings.
They were in a vast, open space with a floor made of an unknown material. At its center stood an ancient altar, above which the air warped—as if hiding a portal to another world.
Ning Qian frowned, tightening her grip on her sword as she eyed the altar warily. "This thing feels off. The aura of magical creatures here is overwhelming."
Shangguan Miaoyin nodded slightly, scanning the others nearby.
Their cultivation levels varied—some were department martial artists, others from sects.
Their confused expressions suggested they, too, had been randomly relocated by the mist.
Well, no matter.
Her gaze flicked to Ning Qian, who was intently studying the altar.
*Being paired with Ning Qian...*
*Not the worst outcome.*
Time to filter out who belonged to which faction.
...
As expected, Mei Xue and You Xingxue were grouped together.
"Waaah! Where are we?! This is so scary...!"
You Xingxue crouched on the ground, hugging her head as tears welled in her eyes.
Mei Xue ignored the other party, merely casting a quiet glance around. She found herself in a dense, shadowy forest where towering trees stood closely together, their intertwined canopies blotting out the sky.
Even though the crimson mist had dissipated, the place remained as dark as night.
More importantly...
Mei Xue observed the attire of the people surrounding her.
Why such a coincidence?
But it didn’t matter. She narrowed her eyes slightly.
The terrain was perfect—an ideal... assassination ground!
Coincidentally, her former master had tasked her with hunting down sect warriors, and this was the perfect opportunity to test her new abilities.
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!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
+ Slow Paced + Main Character Thrives Together with His Disciples】 Transmigrated into a cultivation world, Chu Xingchen awakens a discipleship system that reveals the tags of his disciples! Starting from scratch, he builds the strongest sect. Disciple One: Li Yingling 【Gold Tag: Genius Cultivator】【Purple Tag: Extremely Lucky】【Blue Tag: Bewitchingly Beautiful】 Disciple Two: Li Hangtian 【Gold Tag: Reincarnated】【Purple Tag: Ruthless and Decisive】【Blue Tag: Loyal and Noble】 Disciple Three: ??? 【Orange Tag: Alluring Demoness】【???】【???】 Thus, in the cultivation world, an unremarkable little sect appears out of nowhere, but little do others know that each member of this sect is a powerhouse in their own right. The book is also known as: Cultivation? It's Exactly Like This!
