“Rebellious disciple! Rebellious disciple! Rebellious disciple!”
“Without spiritual roots, how will you ever cultivate in the future!”
Forest Sword Hall.
Cloud-patterned tiger paintings adorned the walls, with wisps of blue smoke drifting through the air, and ancient trees towering above.
Li Wanshou's face was dark with anger, as he shouted at Xu Xi for the first time, his usual kind demeanor replaced by a fierce scolding. It was clear that he was truly furious this time.
“It’s simple, Teacher. I won’t cultivate anymore,” Xu Xi replied with a calm smile. Perhaps because this simulation was nearing its end, he felt no fear in the face of Li Wanshou’s rage.
He paused for a moment, then added in a more subdued tone, “After all, I don’t have many years left to live anyway. Cultivating or not doesn’t matter much.”
Hearing this, Li Wanshou’s expression froze, his anger slowly fading into a complex mix of emotions as he gazed at his beloved disciple who had lost all his cultivation.
“Tell me, from the beginning to the end, what exactly have you done?”
“Yes, Teacher.”
There was no need to hide, nor any reason to do so.
Xu Xi recounted in detail how he had researched external spiritual roots and how he had burned himself to create them, leaving no detail untold for Li Wanshou to fully understand.
“Ah,” Li Wanshou’s eyes widened in shock, even accidentally pulling out a white whisker.
“How could this be? I only mentioned it casually, yet you actually created external spiritual roots!”
“A genius, truly a genius!”
Li Wanshou was first overjoyed, then shook his head in regret. “Alas, you’ve destroyed your own spiritual roots, my child. Otherwise, ascending to become an immortal would have been within your reach.”
The old man fell silent, shaking his head and sighing repeatedly as he paced back and forth in the hall.
Finally, he stomped his foot in frustration and glared at Xu Xi.
“Rebellious disciple, why were you so hasty? Do you even know what you’ve done? Why didn’t you discuss this with me beforehand?!”
Bearing the brunt of the old man’s scolding, Xu Xi shook his head slightly. “If I had told you beforehand, you would have stopped me, wouldn’t you?”
“I understand your intentions, Teacher. You wanted me to take things slower, more carefully, and without harming myself, in order to save Moli’s life.”
“But, I couldn’t do that.”
“I couldn’t stand by and watch my own family member die.”
The old man was silent.
His lips twitched as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to scold any further.
His eyes softened, filled with both understanding and a touch of pride, as if witnessing a child grow into adulthood.
“I understand,” Li Wanshou said.
“Since this was your decision, as your teacher, there’s nothing more I can say.”
All his anger subsided as he continued, “I’ll take care of the matter with the sect. I still have some sway there.”
“But Moli…”
Li Wanshou hesitated, unsure of how to proceed.
He knew how deeply the bond between the siblings ran. If Xu Moli were to find out that her brother had sacrificed himself to save her, she would likely be driven to the brink of despair.
A gentle breeze swept through the hall, rustling the leaves of the ancient trees outside, creating a wave-like shadow of the foliage.
In the distance, the faint chime of an ancient bell echoed.
Xu Xi’s gaze darkened. “I don’t plan to tell her the truth. After some time, I’ll leave the Heavenly Sword Sect.”
“Moli will be left in your care, Teacher.”
Sacrificing her brother’s life to survive was a cruel reality.
Even someone who had weathered countless storms would feel guilt and remorse.
Let alone…
A girl who had always looked up to Xu Xi as her pillar of support, never separated from him for a moment.
…
After discussing everything with his master, Xu Xi, carrying a simple wooden sword, slowly left the Forest Sword Hall. The sword had been forcefully given to him by the old man.
Specifically:
“Get out, rebellious disciple!”
“Take this sword with you so you don’t get beaten to death by mortals and embarrass me!”
The old man scolded and waved him off, eventually kicking Xu Xi out of the ancient hall with a loud slam of the door.
It seemed he never wanted to see Xu Xi again.
Standing outside the hall, Xu Xi looked down the winding path paved with green stone slabs. He reached back and gripped the wooden sword’s hilt, feeling the surge of powerful spiritual energy within.
With the original owner’s permission,
Even a mortal could wield it freely.
“Understood, disciple.”
…
Returning to his cave dwelling, Xu Xi stayed by the bedside for two days until the external spiritual roots fully merged with Xu Moli’s body. The original heavenly curse dissipated without a trace.
In contrast, Xu Moli’s Qi sensation had mysteriously advanced.
She hadn’t even started cultivating yet,
But she had already taken her first step into the realm of the extraordinary, thanks to her innate talent.
“Brother…”
Xu Moli’s voice was hoarse, weak from her recent recovery, but she soon noticed that her body no longer hurt, feeling an inexplicable sense of lightness.
“That’s great.”
As if guessing something, she smiled sweetly from her sickbed, “Brother, you’ve done what you promised me.”
“Yes,” Xu Xi gently held her warm, pale hand, which had regained its warmth.
It was like holding a fleeting flower,
Or catching the wind of summer.
His tired voice was filled with gentleness, “I promised you, Moli. I would bring you back, no matter what.”
The girl smiled even more joyfully, but soon, her eyes reddened uncontrollably, and she kept wiping them with the back of her hand.
“I’m sorry, Brother. I don’t know why, but I suddenly feel like crying.”
“It’s as if something very sad has happened.”
“It’s strange. I should be happy right now.”
For some reason,
Without knowing why,
Xu Moli clutched her chest, her fingers turning white from the force, as if something incredibly important was slipping away—something that absolutely must not be lost.
Something more important than her own life, more precious than all her convictions.
Like the roots of a tree, the wings of a bird, the fangs of a beast.
If that thing were gone, she would not be able to survive, suffocating from the loss.
“It’s okay,” Xu Xi’s soothing voice came from beside her, his hand gently stroking her hair. Only at this moment did the emptiness of losing that precious thing feel temporarily filled.
“I think it’s just because little Moli slept too long, and your body isn’t quite used to it yet.”
“It’ll get better after a while, don’t worry.”
Is that so…
The 17-year-old girl felt something was off, but thinking about it, Xu Xi had no reason to lie to her. Maybe it was just because she had been sick for too long that she couldn’t help but cry.
With that thought, her emotions gradually calmed down.
There was nothing to be afraid of anymore.
No matter what hardships came their way, her brother would always be by her side. As long as her brother was there, there was nothing to fear.
Yes, as long as her brother was there.
Xu Moli tightly grasped Xu Xi’s hand, holding on with all her strength, unwilling to let go.
“Brother, will you leave me?”
“…No, I won’t.”
This was a lie.
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'!"
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.
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
