"How did you do that? Don't you have no cultivation at all?" Xue Yi was puzzled in his mind.
This was too outrageous and inconceivable!
Under his puzzled gaze, Xiao Qingruo sighed slightly.
"I didn't intend to say it, but it looks like I have to tell you today."
"Say it, say it quickly!" Xue Yi was almost dying of curiosity.
Xiao Qingruo looked at him with complex emotions and said, "Actually... I can make a move once every month. It's not an illusion, but real combat. My cultivation realm and disguise are the same, 3rd Layer of the Long Life Realm."
"This..."
Xue Yi's eyes widened in surprise.
So her strength was not completely fake!
Just what kind of system did she have?
This young lady, could she really become a peerless powerhouse someday??
Xiao Qingruo continued, "The manor lord inspects my strength once a month, so I save that one chance for the first day of each month. His guess is right, once I leave the manor I'm powerless. Only on the first day of each month am I truly powerful."
Illusions could fool passersby, but not those closest to her.
She was able to live safely under Xu Conglong's nose all these years thanks to this monthly chance, not by pure deception.
"Xue Yi,"
Xiao Qingruo was still looking at him.
"Miss..."
Xue Yi felt very complicated.
He thought he was already quite outrageous, getting a free Emperor Grade Cultivation Technique as soon as he arrived in this world, and it took him 3 years to fully comprehend it.
He didn't expect this young lady to be even more outrageous, actually having the strength of the 3rd Layer of the Long Life Realm!
She was only 17 years old!
Normally, Long Life Realm powerhouses started at least in their forties and fifties!
Although it was just a one time chance per month, combined with her exquisite acting and extensive knowledge, she had risen meteorically over the past decade. It was almost real!
"Thank you for telling me the truth, otherwise the risk of exposure would have increased a lot more." She said. Her previous anger was gone, replaced with faint joy and gratitude.
"I was forced to do this. Being caught in the middle is the hardest. Now that we have no more secrets, we can speak more plainly. Let's work together to deal with the manor lord's test." Xue Yi said solemnly.
Xiao Qingruo nodded, "Yes, with your real strength and my fake strength, as long as we handle it properly and don't encounter too powerful enemies, we should be safe from exposure."
"Before that, answer me one question first."
Xiao Qingruo: "Go ahead."
Xue Yi asked her, "Why do you pretend to be so powerful? The risks are so high, yet you persist. I won't believe it if there's no purpose!"
Xiao Qingruo smiled slightly, "If I said it was just for fun, would you believe it?"
Xue Yi firmly shook his head.
"Alright."
She smiled again and explained, "Then I'll tell you the truth. Actually I'm trying to reach higher, to see if I can obtain treasures that can reforge my bones and cleanse my marrow. You know, trash doesn't have to stay trash forever. There are many treasures in this world that can improve one's aptitude. As long as I pretend successfully enough, I can obtain a lot of resources. One day when I get a treasure that can cleanse my marrow and obtain the aptitude to cultivate, with all the cultivation techniques in my mind, I can absolutely become a very powerful expert."
"I see..."
Xue Yi could feel her sincerity. She was telling the truth this time.
A person with no aptitude, relying on an illusion system and a monthly chance to make a move, dared to go so far.
She was quite bold!
Beyond boldness, she also had meticulous thoughts. Otherwise she would have died countless times over the years!
"Alright, now that we've cleared the air, we can trust each other. You can tell me about anything you encounter outside in the future, and we'll think of solutions together. Especially things on the manor lord's side, we must be cautious!"
Xiao Qingruo was in a good mood. The manor lord's attitude had always been a knot in her heart. She didn't expect it to be resolved so easily because of Xue Yi, which was an unexpected delight.
Xue Yi was also in a good mood now.
Learning more of the young miss's secrets reassured him that he no longer needed to be anxious about this little trash.
"In a few days the manor lord will send us out. When we come back, I'll start bragging to him about your strength, pretend you really made a move, so he'll feel relieved and trust you." Xue Yi said.
Xiao Qingruo thought for a bit, "Don't exaggerate too much either, or else if he suddenly tests me twice a month one day, it'll be troublesome."
"OK."
The room became quiet as both stopped talking.
The tense atmosphere had finally dissipated.
Sitting in the chair, Xue Yi felt like the rain had passed and the skies had cleared, the weather had turned for the better. His whole body felt much more relaxed.
At this moment, Xiao Qingruo stood up and walked over to him with a smile, saying, "Xue Yi, nice to meet you."
Then she extended a hand towards him.
This gesture was very odd.
A handshake?
That wasn't a custom in this world!
Xue Yi was secretly surprised.
What was going on? Was she testing him?
How did she start suspecting him?
No, he absolutely could not fall for this!
Xue Yi pretended not to understand the meaning of this gesture, and asked in puzzlement, "Happy to be happy, why are you giving me your hand? Could it be... you want to reward me? Hehe..."
Then he grinned and grabbed her small hand, rubbing and squeezing it, experiencing the soft and smooth jade hand of this peerless beauty.
"You! Let go!"
After being grabbed and rubbed by him for a while, Xiao Qingruo realized the test had failed. She angrily shook off his hand and ran into the bedroom.
Xue Yi laughed and said, "Young miss, you've already rewarded me, so you shouldn't be angry about earlier, right?"
"I'm still angry! Furious!" She spoke in an annoyed tone.
Xue Yi joked with her for a few more sentences before stopping. He then observed his newly obtained weapon.
In his heart he was thinking, this test of hers was probably not because she had noticed anything, but rather...
Loneliness.
Xue Yi also had this feeling.
Although coming to this world felt very exciting and thrilling, the loneliness was also indescribable.
Everything here was different from his past life. Although he didn't have to work as hard as a corporate slave in his past life, in some ways it was less free and more dangerous here, with the possibility of losing his life over trivial matters at any time. He had to tread carefully.
Especially late at night, it was easiest to miss his previous life.
In the guards' quarters he had a few friends, and he had only been in this world for 3 years.
Even he felt some loneliness, let alone the young miss. Xiao Qingruo stood too high up, had been here even longer than him, so her loneliness was imaginable...
Today as they cleared up their misunderstanding, they both untied a knot in their hearts.
Xiao Qingruo probably felt that she finally had a friend, so she was in a very good mood.
She made this test hoping for a response.
If Xue Yi really responded, showing he was a "fellow countryman", she would be even happier, and their relationship would become closer.
But... this was not what Xue Yi wanted.
Sharing some secrets could be joyful.
But some secrets were best kept to oneself.
Especially when one's strength was still insufficient, one had to be prudent.
After all, who knew how many "fellow countrymen" there were in this world, and what role one played after coming to this world.
Until everything was clear, or... until he became an invincible powerhouse, any carelessness could lead to irrevocable consequences.
He had already taken a big gamble today, he didn't dare to gamble anymore.
Perhaps there would be a chance to tell her in the future.
But definitely not now.
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.
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
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.”
