The news that Chen Xia was going to stand up for the probationary disciples quickly spread throughout most of Blue Sky Sword Sea.
This was not a secret at all, but rather big news, so it spread quickly, which was normal.
The probationary disciples were very excited and quite believed in Chen Xia. Some even regarded Chen Xia as their rebirth parent.
This was not because of the recovered Spirit Stones.
Rather, it was because Chen Xia was truly willing to protect them, unlike the Formal Disciples who only treated them as tools for extortion.
Moreover, what Chen Xia collected was really little. He would collect 10 or just a few Spirit Stones, and wouldn't say anything to you, as long as you paid.
Compared to collecting Spirit Stones, it was more like completing a task.
Protecting them in exchange for just a few Spirit Stones, he was like a living Buddha in this world.
The incense money sincerely offered to a Buddhist deity probably wouldn't even amount to a few Spirit Stones.
However, in the eyes of the Formal Disciples, Chen Xia was no living Buddha, but rather the great villain of Blue Sky Sword Sea who had spent 300,000 Spirit Stones to buy Qiong Qi's head.
So everything has two sides.
For example, poop is useless to you, but for a dog, it is a delicacy.
The example may be a bit vulgar, but the rationale is not.
Half a month after this news spread out, opinions also emerged among the Formal Disciples and Elders.
The most common opinion was that Chen Xia's idea was extremely laughable. He still wanted to collect Spirit Stones. Without a head-on confrontation with them, what grounds did he have to collect Spirit Stones?
Was he really becoming a living Buddha, relying on alms to collect Spirit Stones?
One Elder even directly stated,
"Chen Xia will definitely not be able to protect the Probationary Disciples, let alone collect these Spirit Stones. It's just his own nonsense, utterly laughable!"
"A person wanting to threaten a group of people, how funny is that."
Such remarks continued, most were pessimistic about Chen Xia.
There was also a small portion discussing the distribution curve of the nebula, trying to deduce its date of birth.
Chen Xia naturally heard these remarks too, but he didn't care so much and took no action. He first waited in his Cave Residence for half a month.
The probationary disciples started to become doubtful, wondering if Chen Xia was just making empty promises.
The Formal Disciples became more and more gleeful, their remarks increasingly exaggerated.
Saying things like Chen Xia was useless, just verbally bluffing but incompetent when it came to action.
They almost described Chen Xia as a completely useless vegetable.
After exactly half a month, on the fifteenth day, right when public opinion was about to peak,
Chen Xia walked out of his Cave Residence, casually carrying a small wooden stool. He slowly walked towards the Heavenly Pavilion, placed the stool down, and sat there.
In front of the Heavenly Pavilion was the area occupied by the Formal Disciples at the sword tip.
Chen Xia sat there silently guarding the entire front, not saying a word, just sitting with arms crossed.
Everyone was a bit puzzled by this.
What was the meaning, switching professions to become a gatekeeper?
The Formal Disciples didn't understand and didn't dare take reckless actions either, carefully observing for over ten days. During this period there were some changes.
For example, Chen Xia added a sunshade behind the stool, then added a tea table, and most absurdly, he added a stove.
Other than that, there was no other movement.
The Formal Disciples were delighted, feeling that Chen Xia's behavior should be showing weakness. After all, he had even set up a stove, wasn't that indicating he was inviting them for a meal?
Perhaps as the top candidate of the previous generation, Chen Xia was too embarrassed to directly say it, wanting to preserve some face, so he used this tactful way.
The more the Formal Disciples guessed, the more they felt this was likely. The news quickly spread out.
After hearing it, Elder Fourth Law smiled, but still waved his sleeves disdainfully and coldly snorted,
"Now you know to admit defeat, but it's too late. I gave you a chance before, but you didn't cherish it. Even if you want to admit your mistake now, I won't easily accept it!"
One month passed.
Finally, some Formal Disciples went to the probationary disciples' area, walking with arrogance and not the slightest fear.
As they approached, seeing Chen Xia still cooking rice there, they became even more reassured and strode right in. They even wanted Chen Xia to bring them two bowls of rice to taste.
But remembering Qiong Qi, they decided not to make things difficult for Chen Xia after all.
"Give money."
A plain voice called out, stopping them in their tracks.
"What money?" The two Formal Disciples turned around in bewilderment towards Chen Xia.
"You came from over there," Chen Xia pointed outside, "Now that you've entered here, you should pay me."
"Huh, there's never been such a rule!" The two Formal Disciples were confused.
Chen Xia brought out the cooked rice pot and placed it on the stove, raising his brows as he asked,
"Just say, will you pay or not?"
His tone was a bit impatient.
The two Formal Disciples also sensed this. They hurriedly asked, "How many Spirit Stones?"
"Two thousand," Chen Xia flatly replied.
The two Formal Disciples instantly froze.
Damn!
Outright robbery!
Of course they were unwilling to pay. They immediately tried to utilize their Spiritual Energy to retreat backwards.
But the moment they had just started gathering Spiritual Energy, their heads suffered a fierce impact, as if smashed by a small asteroid.
The two disciples' bodies were now embedded into the ground, each with a sharp flying sword hanging over their heads.
"Pay up," Chen Xia still said indifferently. At the same time, he picked up the rice pot beside him and scooped out two mouthfuls of Thousand Year White Ling Root.
The two Formal Disciples panicked and hurriedly shouted,
"Chen Xia, you have the restrictions of the rings, you wouldn't dare kill us right?!"
"I don't dare," Chen Xia very honestly shook his head, then chewing the Ling Root in his mouth, added, "But I dare cripple you."
As he spoke, the flying swords really turned their tips and stabbed into the two people's shoulders, splattering blood.
Scared out of their wits, the two didn't dare act tough anymore and hastily said they would pay.
Two thousand Spirit Stones, one thousand per person, fell into Chen Xia's pocket without any less.
This was recouping one year's losses with one month of business.
The two Formal Disciples' bodies trembled as they fled, probably not daring to come to the probationary disciples' area again for a very long time.
This matter also quickly spread throughout Blue Sky Sword Sea.
Elder Fourth Law was so angry he almost coughed up blood, and smashed the table before him into smithereens.
So it turned out Chen Xia was not trying to admit mistake and surrender, but to rob them instead!
Some also raised questions. On what basis did Chen Xia collect money? What money was he collecting?!
Chen Xia's reply was also very simple:
"Toll fee for crossing the bridge."
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
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!
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
