As A Cardinal, I Don't Do Overtime - Chapter 20

Rules exist to be broken, and every loophole is a weapon. Trust no one, and annihilate those who deserve revenge.Granger Reiner never asked to be a champion, but fate chose him as the 101st contender for the goddess of Ascension—a deity mocked as the weakest among the pantheon, with 100 failed champions in just five months.Armed with a unique system and the ability to create barriers, Granger is thrust into Agrasia, a world teeming with treachery, to compete against other champions and conquer the Endless Dungeon.What he discovers is far worse than he could imagine: betrayal lurks at every corner, allies are fleeting, and the game is rigged.Learning the hard way that fairness has no place in a world built on lies, Granger transforms his weakness into his greatest strength. With vengeance as his driving force, he sets out to destroy the system, expose the truth, and turn the goddess’s mockery into triumph.In a world where everyone is an enemy, the 101st champion will stop at nothing—even if it means taking on the world itself.

Bad news: Xu Yanmiao traveled back to ancient times, but he himself is lazy and uninterested in anything but internet cybersecurity, which is useless in ancient times.Good news: He’s bound to a system.Bad news: The system is called the Gossip System, not the fortune-telling kind, but the kind that contains other people’s private information and scandals. Utterly useless.More bad news: This system is also glitchy, and the extent of the bugs is unknown.Even more bad news: This body is that of a minor official who can attend court meetings, while Xu, the time traveler… doesn’t understand the classics, can’t write with a brush, and is at risk of being exposed for cheating in the imperial exams.Xu Yanmiao: “…”Forget it, just lie low, wait to die, maybe dying quickly could lead to another time travel.…In the court, the emperor was furious about state affairs, and the courtiers trembled in fear.Xu Yanmiao pretended to listen attentively but was actually focused on browsing the Gossip System.[Wow, the emperor just took in a 16-year-old noblewoman yesterday! A beautiful addition! He’s getting stronger with age! And he was tossing and turning in bed all night but still has such a powerful voice now! Amazing!] [This noblewoman used to be the crown prince’s concubine! And the crown prince even knows how to write passionate love letters!] [Wow wow wow! The crown prince sneaked into the grandpa’s harem… hiss—got intimate while the old emperor was attending court! Do it quickly! Why isn’t there any video…] [Huh? Why is there no sound?]Xu Yanmiao cautiously raised his head and glanced around.[What happened? Why is everyone kneeling? Where’s the emperor?]—The emperor went to catch adultery in the harem.The “imperial exam cheating” bomb finally exploded.Xu Yanmiao couldn’t explain why his handwriting on the exam paper didn’t match his usual handwriting, nor could he answer why he didn’t understand the classics.The evidence prepared by the ousted crown prince of the emperor hit the nail on the head, and his personal bodyguard was ready to drag Xu Yanmiao away to the prison, awaiting execution in the autumn.Xu Yanmiao held onto the gossip that proved his innocence but was in a quandary:How do I explain the source of my information…[Say that I secretly met with the Chief Examiner, the Minister of Rites, three nights before the exam? Impossible, that night, the Minister of Rites was dressed as a woman, spent the night at the General’s Mansion, with the general…]The general’s body shook, and he interjected: “Your Majesty!!!!”“Although the evidence of exam cheating is solid, I believe there’s still something fishy about this. It should be re-investigated! Especially Xu… Xu… Xu Yanmiao’s attire is neat and tidy! Someone who cares so much about their appearance, how could they tarnish their reputation!”The crown prince, who couldn’t hear his thoughts: ??[Also, what’s with saying that the examiner faking yawning and tiredness was intentionally leaving me a gap for cheating? He spent the night before the exam in the pigsty without sleeping, how could he not be tired the next day? But, surprisingly, the Imperial Academy lecturer actually believed in pig’s milk…]The Imperial Academy lecturer’s face went pale, and he burst out: “Your Majesty!!!!”“I… I agree with the General’s words! How could Xu Lang cheat in the exam! He… he… he deliberately drank a glass of pure water before the exam, believing that only good-hearted people can use pure things, such a kind-hearted person, how could he cheat in the exam!”Thinking he had everything under control, the crown prince: ??Xu Yanmiao was deeply moved.[They’re all good people, even if their brains don’t work well, they’re trying their best to find reasons and excuses for me.] [But I really have no way to turn the tables, alas, it’s a pity that I haven’t finished watching the TV series I’ve been following. The old emperor angered the empress last night and got kicked out of the bedchamber, and now I’m going to die before seeing the ending. He seems to be planning to paint his face with ink and pretend to be a cat to cheer up the empress…]“Bang—”The old emperor slammed the table, forcibly interrupting the continuous stream of thoughts: “I believe Xu Yanmiao did not cheat in the exam! Release him, innocent!”The civil and military officials couldn’t wait to echo, fearing that if they were too slow, Xu Yanmiao might spill more gossip.“Yes yes yes! Release him innocent!”“Long live Your Majesty!”“Your Majesty, please end the court session! Let Xu Lang go home and rest! You’ve tired him out by making him stand for so long!”The crown prince: ??Did Xu Yanmiao drug them with hallucinogens or something?

I was reborn into a chaebol family.Into a time with no cryptocurrency, no internet, and nothing else.

Ever wonder how it would feel to live life from the beginning all over again?

When Earth falls to ruin and humanity’s survival is at stake, all of mankind is forced to enter the fantasy universe of the world’s hottest VRMMORPG, Xianxia Online. To uphold law and order, past players’ profiles were erased and forced to start anew, while law enforcers and authority figures such as government officials were granted powerful positions right off the start. After all, this was a world where dog eats dog, and the weak are cruelly left behind.

Xuan, alias Zero, had been the top player and a legendary figure on the leaderboards of the game when the news struck. He had been mere inches away from being the first player cultivator to ever enter Godhood, but now, everything he had once possessed—divine weapons, legendary artifacts, and mythical beasts for pets—was gone, along with his thousands of years of cultivation. Having always been a lone wolf and remained anonymous, this reset hit him harder than most players, who could comfortably rely on others for help when needed.

But no matter. The path of cultivation was riddled with challenges and hardships—since when did he let something as trivial as this stop him? He may have lost all of his riches, but he still had the most powerful weapons of all by his side—knowledge and experience. Combine that with the various secret treasure stashes he had around the world of Xianxia Online, and his climb back to the pinnacle of strength would be inevitable. Very soon, he will rise to the top again, and crush those who dared to try and tie him down.

This game was mankind's world now. And he... was the apex predator.

Witness as Xuan climbs his way back to the peak of cultivation and dominates everyone else in existence!