At the entrance of a luxurious private villa, a crowd of tall men in suits had already gathered, resembling a bodybuilding contest.
"Hey, what are you guys doing here?"
A muscular man in line, irritated by the voice behind him, turned around. Upon seeing a man shorter than himself, he sneered contemptuously.
"Kid, this isn't a place for you. I suggest you go home."
"I was just curious, can you explain it to me?"
"Alright, do you know whose villa this is?"
"No."
"This is Li Jing's, from the highly reputable Li Corporation in Shu City."
"Li Jing? Who's that?"
"..."
The man gave Ye Feng a disdainful look but eventually explained.
"You can think of him as someone we common folk can't reach. He's very wealthy."
"Oh, so what's the connection with you guys queuing up?"
"Don't you watch the news? Last night, Miss Li Mucheng was kidnapped! So Mr. Li is recruiting talents to find someone strong enough to protect the young lady."
Ye Feng smirked upon hearing this and then feigned a shocked expression.
"What! Kidnapped! Who dares to do such a thing? Don't they want to live?"
"Exactly, the kidnappers must be part of a powerful criminal organization! Otherwise, they couldn't have taken Miss Li under such tight security."
"Maybe..."
"So we're facing an evil force! Don't you feel a fire burning inside you?"
Seeing the almost shirt-ripping man, Ye Feng shook his head expressionlessly.
"I think nothing is as practical as one thing."
"What thing?"
"Money~"
"Pfft! Materialistic!"
"So you're here working for free, not asking for a single cent?"
"Heh, ideals are ideals, reality is reality. You can't mix the two."
The burly man chuckled awkwardly and then said seriously,
"Kid, with your small frame, I advise you not to join. Protecting these big shots is dangerous, this isn't a game. I suggest you go next door, maybe you'll get lucky."
"Next door?"
Curious, Ye Feng peeked out from the crowd and noticed there were two lines. One was the bodyguard recruitment line he was in, and the other had only a few people.
"What are they applying for? Cleaners?"
"They're applying to be a tutor."
"A tutor?"
...
"What's your name?"
"Uh... Ye Feng."
"Do you have a resume or anything?"
"No."
"What!"
The interviewer was surprised, taking off his glasses to scrutinize the young man before shaking his head.
"Sorry, you're not qualified."
"How do you know without giving it a try?"
"Kid, I admit you have some talent, but we don't take pretty faces here. What can you teach? Our young lady requires a tutor who is both virtuous and scholarly. Your frivolous attitude already disqualifies you."
"Perhaps... I can teach her survival?"
...
"This is Ah Fu, Miss Li's bodyguard. He'll test you."
Ye Feng was led to an open space where Ah Fu, wearing boxing gloves, was punching a sandbag.
"Bang bang bang"
The heavy sounds continued until Ah Fu saw someone approaching and took off his gloves.
"Who's this?"
"Ah Fu, this is the candidate for the tutor position. Please test him."
"Test him? I don't know anything about academic knowledge."
"He's not here to teach knowledge."
Ah Fu seemed to understand, picking up another pair of gloves and throwing them at Ye Feng.
"Kid, let's have a sparring match."
Ye Feng caught the flying gloves with one hand and smiled.
"Sure."
"Not bad, hope you're not all show. Here it comes."
Ah Fu smiled as Ye Feng put on the gloves. He stomped his left foot and charged straight at Ye Feng, throwing a straight punch towards his face.
Just as the punch was about to land on Ye Feng's nose, he bent down and dodged, countering with an uppercut to Ah Fu's stomach.
"Bang"
Ah Fu blocked Ye Feng's attack with his other hand and then stepped back, shaking his hand.
This kid has some strength.
"Ready for more?"
"I hope you can keep this up, otherwise, getting disfigured wouldn't be good."
Ye Feng didn't take Ah Fu's words to heart. His combat skills were intermediate; unless he faced a boxing champion, he had nothing to fear.
As time went on, even Ah Fu was surprised. It felt like his moves were being seen through, and what was more absurd was that Ye Feng wasn't even sweating after several rounds. After all, Ah Fu was a retired soldier.
"Enough, enough."
Ah Fu quickly took off his gloves and threw them aside. He knew Ye Feng was stronger than him. Having this kid as a tutor, in name, to protect the young lady might be an unnoticeable ace. However, this all depended on the master's approval.
"What's your name, kid? I must admit, you're quite skilled."
"I'm Ye Feng."
"Ye Feng, call me Ah Fu. You passed my test."
"Oh? Are there more tests?"
"Of course, but there's no rush. Just give me your phone number, and I'll contact you later."
"Okay."
Ye Feng nodded slightly, not worried about more tests, and left leisurely.
This kid has a good temperament. Maybe he can really become the young lady's nominal tutor.
After Ye Feng disappeared, Ah Fu headed into the villa, walked through the corridors, and knocked on a room's door on the second floor.
"Dong dong"
"Come in."
Only after a commanding voice from inside the room responded did Ah Fu adjust his clothes and enter.
Inside, a middle-aged man with a stern expression and weathered face was looking at documents on his desk, unmoved by Ah Fu's arrival.
"Master."
"What is it?"
"Today, a young man came for an interview. He's quite skilled and wants to be the young lady's tutor. My thought is..."
Ah Fu briefly summarized to the man in front of him and waited for his response.
"Your idea is good, but make sure to thoroughly investigate this young man's background. If he's clean, there's no problem. I hope you handle this matter well."
"Yes! Master, please rest assured. Ah Fu will handle it with utmost care."
"Mm."
After Ah Fu left, the middle-aged man put down the documents and looked at the photo frame on his desk. It was a family photo. A girl was being held by a beautiful woman, and beside the woman sat the man, Li Jing.
...

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.

Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"

grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)

igrating to the cultivation world for two hundred years, I've managed to lie low and reach the Nascent Soul stage. Only now does my golden finger arrive? ...