Hello everyone!

Sorry for the constant delays and hiatus. I'm surprised if you're still reading this with how inconsistent I am with updates. If you are still reading you're absolutely amazing and I love you. I thank you so much for your patience.
I was really busy with my final year of University I still am, but by the end of May I will have submitted all my papers and my Dissertation, so I will have a lot more free time. And I will go back to updating this story on a more regular basis. 

I have scrapped "A Fairy Prince". I have no motivation to write it, so I have replaced it with a more exciting story called 'Yummy' which I wrote a few years ago and I found in my old files. Check it out if you're interested. I will be posting chapters of that story once a week after some needed editing (wrote it when I was like 16).
Quintessence will only be updated upon the completion of GCS which I need to do!!! Just a few hundred more planned chapters (I know I hate myself for being so slow).

On another note, it's been a year since I started posting A Gatekeeper and the Celestial Sovereign on Webnovel. That's crazy, time goes really fast!

I contacted Webnovel because this story wasn't appearing anywhere and apparently no one could give Powerstones. I believe that has been sorted now. 

Again, thank you for your patience and I hope everyone is safe and indoors during this COVID-19 crisis. 

Love, 
Mexulexi

Mao Lu is a regular Beijinger, well except for the fact that he's in a lot of debt and is best friends with a conglomerate heir.
 He works hard to make money and struggles with his daily life until one day he receives a letter. 
A letter that changes everything. 
Follow his adventures as he travels between dimensions, falls in love with a powerful prince and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy.

The first volume will soon be available as a fully proofread and edited eBook and Paperback with illustrations. To be ready for the pre-order and pre-release join the mailing list on my website: https://writing-pilgrimage.com or subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5vuT5l1K1uVnfLTQQpNAuw

Official cover: Art by Rodrigo Gil Chavez

Support me on Patreon for early access to my latest chapters! http://patreon.com/WritingPilgrimage

Discord chat: https://discord.gg/3kWfcfp
Follow me on twitter @writingpilgrime
Follow me on Instagram @writingpilgrimage

This is a Danmei Novel

-Release schedule: Crazy, I am the worst at regular set updates.

-If ranked in the top 100, 1 bonus chapter
-Ranked top 50, 2 bonus chapters and some extra romance. 
-Ranked in top 10 (If that ever happens I would be so grateful.) 3 bonus chapters ***on the following Wednesday the week after rankings.

I reply and/or like every comment!

Fang Zhao didn't stay for too long at Zaro's little gathering. Mo Lang had given him a task yet again, and he needed to return and handle it.
As Fang Zhao was leaving, Zaro told him, "Let's talk more when you are free. See you in the game."
The Leizhou professional Esports athletes: "…" 
Senior Master, you are really high today.
Fang Zhao chuckled. "Alright, but it might have to wait till after I graduate."
After returning to his dormitory, Fang Zhao looked at the questions concerning his thesis that Mo Lang had sent over as well as the timing for the dissertation defense.
HuangArt had just finalized Fang Zhao's dissertation defense timing ten minutes ago. After him would be other advanced students who had submitted applications in turn.
Thirty minutes after Fang Zhao found out about the confirmation of the timing, he received a call from a Fiery Bird representative. Fiery Bird had already learned of the timing for the dissertation defense. The day of Fang Zhao's dissertation defense was also the day the All-Star Match would start. However, the first two days of the All-star competition didn't involve "Battle of the Century". "Battle of the Century" would start on the third day.
"Battle of the Century's" All-Star Match featured special guests. Some were retired top gamers. Some had retired from professional circles before "Battle of the Century" had even been released. However, they had been superstars during their prime in their respective games. This was a marketing ploy targeted at gamers' nostalgia, and gamers were all too happy to lap it up.
Fang Zhao was different from these people. Fang Zhao had made a name for himself through "Battle of the Century" when it had first come out. Even if he was no longer a professional gamer, he was still talked about continuously. He could even attract attention from people outside of gaming. Furthermore, with Fang Zhao's status as an endorser, Fiery Bird naturally wouldn't let an opportunity like this slip by.
After all, they were a commercial company and had to operate under their best interests. Even though it was close to a crucial period of Fang Zhao's graduation, they still had to try. Perhaps they could convince Fang Zhao to participate in the match?
Fang Zhao rejected them.
When signing the endorsement contract with Fiery Bird, Fang Zhao had told them that his studies took precedence during his advanced studies period. Fang Zhao would only cooperate with Fiery Bird and take part in commercial activities when they didn't interfere with his studies. It really was a crucial period this time. Even if he had confidence and was in the mood to enjoy other hobbies, those watching him, especially Mo Lang, didn't want to see this. The old master was already so old. Fang Zhao would feel apologetic if the old master still had to worry.
With regards to this, the Fiery Bird representative replied, "No worries. You can reconsider. The invitees for special guests will only be confirmed on the fifth or sixth day of the All-Star Match. We wish you a successful dissertation defense."
After the call ended, Fang Zhao thought about this All-Star Match and browsed through his friends' social media accounts.
From Silver Wing, Jinro and the others were already flaunting their invitation letters.
As he browsed, Fang Zhao saw Danke Assis's newly posted status——
"New little companions![Photo]"
In the photo, Danke was squatting in the middle, flanked by two extremely magnificent robotic dogs. Although the robotic dogs were sitting on the ground, they were much taller than the squatting Danke.
In the comments section, there were a group of people showing their envy with oohs and ahhs. There were also others who asked whether Fiery Bird had started to make robotic pets. Were they prototypes? Could they crowdfund them? 
However, Danke had actually been miserable when the photo was taken, contrary to his victory pose. 
He had only been acting pretentious for the photo. No one knew the pain he had actually felt. 
Danke looked at the large burn hole in the sofa and wanted to scold someone. Although it had been his wrong instructions that had resulted in the sofa being burnt, but…!
Why does a dog have laser weapons?
How the f*ck is this a robot pet? This is clearly a terminator!
They were downright playing with his happy life!
Danke glanced at that bear kid playing with the black ball at the side. Then, he took a photo of the wrecked sofa and sent it to his father. He needed to let his father see his heartache! And he wanted to request for more funds to look after this bear kid!
Suddenly remembering a fantasy drama that was currently airing, Danke analyzed the pros and cons and assigned himself the persona of a "companion of the crown prince".
If this "crown prince" advanced high up, he would also be able to tag along and enjoy the benefits. Lalala~
With this thought in mind, Danke felt much more at ease. The new companions Dogdan and Dogke seemed much more pleasing to the eye now. Wasn't it just a sofa that was burnt? It would still be worth it even if ten more sofas were burnt! 
Fang Zhao was slightly intrigued when he saw the two robotic dogs in Danke's photo. However, he quickly put those thoughts aside and continued to complete Mo Lang's assigned task.
Days passed, and the day of the dissertation defense arrived.
The dissertation defense was a test of an advanced student's entire year of learning. Mo Lang had already briefed Fang Zhao about the various questions dissertation committee could pose. While asking questions about the contents of the dissertation, sometimes they would suddenly find punctuation errors and disturb the student's train of thought. Then, they would immediately switch back to asking content-based questions. 
Even though Fang Zhao was already sick of his thesis and couldn't be any more familiar with it, he also couldn't anticipate all the questions the dissertation committee could pose. The most important thing for him was to maintain his composure.
Prof. Carter walked to the advisor's seat, saw the name "Mo Lang" printed on it and walked one more row towards the back without a change in expression.
Everyone in the academy knew that Prof. Carter was the advisor in name only. The actual advisor was Venerable Mo.
The dissertation defense for Twelve Tones Advanced students was held in a large conference room. Besides many teachers observing, there were also quite a number of students who had come. If seating weren't limited, all the students in the school would definitely have wanted to come. Those who were late didn't even have standing room.
Before the defense, Mo Lang still called Fang Zhao over to discuss some detailed questions regarding his thesis.
The dissertation defense for a top advanced studies course like the Twelve Tones would take at least four hours with a break in between. However, it still basically took up at least half the day and generally took much longer than other courses' dissertation defenses.
"Being stressed is a good thing, but don't give yourself too much additional pressure. You have already done very well. Maintain your good state until the dissertation defense ends, and there won't be any problems."
Mo Lang looked at the time and walked into the dissertation defense hall together with Fang Zhao.
After everyone was seated at the appointed time, Fang Zhao's dissertation defense started.
In this dissertation defense that was no less than four hours, Fang Zhao was bombarded by questions from the dissertation committee members in succession.
Any of these committee members could make the entire school quiver, and their questions followed one after another. The observers could sense the tense and stifling atmosphere. Indeed, those that could graduate smoothly from the Twelve Tones were gods.
In the short span of a year, besides grasping opportunities to absorb specialized knowledge and improving oneself, the students still had to busy themselves with a thesis, dissertation defense and other graduation requirements. The students present couldn't help wondering if they would be able to do the same in that position. Could they answer the questions as calmly as Fang Zhao was doing?
During this time, the All-Star Match organized by Fiery Bird had begun.
Zaro, Woo Tianhao and others had come over to participate in the festivities.
All sorts of champion gamers, big or small, would appear at this venue even if they hadn't received an All-Star Match invite. Zaro reckoned himself as one of them.
Even though champion was an overstatement, Zaro didn't care. Not listening, not listening! In any case, I am also someone who has won a championship!
After browsing the various matches, Zaro was puzzled.
"Why are there so many kids? What ghastly games are these? Why are there still virtual rubik's cubes?"
Woo Tianhao, who also followed "Battle of the Century", read the information aloud, "It's a cooperative release by Fiery Bird and a few brands of learning consoles. This is a global competition, and these ten participants are mainly students. I never imagined that virtual rubik's cubes would have a rather high popularity."
"There's such a thing? Why weren't there such events when I was in school?" Zaro felt aggrieved.
"Students associations finally won competition participation rights after decades of protest. Anyway, even if there were these events back then, you wouldn't have been able to take part. These students' IQs are much higher than yours." Woo Tianhao turned his gaze away from the mini-games venue and looked towards another building. "However, 'Battle of the Century' is still the venue for adults."
These mini games were meant for minors. In Woo Tianhao's opinion, these were all games for little kids. Whenever he saw those games, he would recall the fear of being dominated by learning controls back when he was still in school.
"Let's go, there's no point looking at this. Let's go watch the practice matches for 'Battle of the Century'."
Although the 'Battle of the Century' matches were scheduled to begin on the third day, the various gaming gods had already gathered. There were still free practice matches scheduled before the official matches to let the Esports stars adapt to the conditions.
At the same time, in Fang Zhao's HuangArt dormitory.
Curly Hair had just completed two sets of practice questions and a reading comprehension exercise with great difficulty. He was just about to enter an online class to listen to a lecture when he saw a small advertisement on the web page.
"Want to get up close and personal with Fiery Bird's All-Star Match?
"Want to interact with top gamers online?
"No need to head to the venue, the All-Star Match online platform is now open…"
Curly Hair stopped reading the whole string of words that followed. With glowing eyes, he stared ravenously at the screen as though it was a piece of meat.
"Waa! Fiery Bird!"
Curly Hair followed the notification and found an icon that had the Fiery Bird insignia. He rushed to enter it.
At the All-Star Match venue, virtual rubik's cube competition ground.
A certain popular secondary school magazine was interviewing the current record holder of the virtual rubik's cube game.
The 16-year-old record holder had set the record when he had been 14. Two years had passed, and that record was still unbroken. In the past two years, he had earned quite a bit through endorsement and advertisement deals. This competition had earned him fame and fortune.
As the interview was wrapping up, the host asked, "Later on, ten other virtual rubik's cube gamers from around the world will challenge you. Are you feeling confident?"
"Of course." The 16 year old record holder adjusted his bow tie while looking in the mirror. He flashed a mesmerizing smile. "Only I can break my own record."
To make the program interesting, the host would pick someone from the online audience. Of course, this wasn't a random selection. The system would pick from those with better records for this game. However, people on the leaderboards wouldn't be selected. This was just for the sake of entertainment, not an official challenge match. Thus, the atmosphere wouldn't be too tense. It was just a warm-up activity for interaction with fortunate viewers.
The host raised an eyebrow when the selection was done and the lucky viewer's information was displayed on the large screen. This [Little Curly Curls] seemed like he was a primary school student.
The venue's screen displayed the selected viewer's ID as well as his education level: "Primary School (Verified by learning console platform)".
Of course, this selected viewer could also be a secondary student. There were some people in secondary school that had kept their learning consoles in cold storage after a partial primary school level education. There were also some kids who were still in primary school but had secondary school level knowledge. The learning platform would put their education level as "secondary school". However, this was only used for grading authentication by the learning platform. It wasn't officially verified by the education ministry.
This fortunate viewer's account had seen quite a lot of activity in recent weeks, so it was probably a primary school student.
"Looks like this is also an impressive little gamer. Alright, now, let us connect with this lucky little viewer."
The host sent a call request. 
However, the call was rejected.
Host: "… Perhaps this viewer pressed the wrong option because he was too excited."
He sent another call request as he said that.
It was rejected again.
Host: "???"
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
The audience in the venue broke out in laughter.
The host maintained his smile. "Hi, are you student [Little Curly Curls]? Is it convenient for you to talk? You can also use text to reply. However, voice is still the best. We have to confirm whether you are truly playing or whether you're using a program to play for you."
The third call request finally went through. The entire venue heard a "guggugugug" sound and the rustling of a paper or plastic bag. 
Host: "… Student Little Curly Curls, are you having a snack?"
The sounds from the other end paused, and a puerile voice replied, "Is… is eating not allowed?"
"Of course it is allowed. You don't have to be so nervous." The host chuckled. "Can I ask why you rejected the call just now?"
"Fang… My father said that besides during classes, I should not randomly talk to people!"
In the dormitory, Curly Hair applauded his own resourcefulness while gnawing on a chew toy. 
By creating a persona of "my father is Fang Zhao", people won't know that I am a dog! 


"Every time background music plays in my head, I feel like there is nothing to be afraid of." —Fang Zhao
Toward the end of the apocalyptic period, Fang Zhao lost his life. However, instead of dying, he found himself 500 years later in the body of a young and aspiring composer who shared the same name. Having received a second chance at life, Fang Zhao sets out to achieve the previous owner's dreams.
Armed with the experience of living through an apocalyptic age and his profession as a composer before that period, Fang Zhao uses his talent, wits, and knowledge to make his mark in the entertainment industry of the future.

It was the magnetic field again.
Huo Shaoheng switched his computer on in silence and managed to locate the dissertation that Gu Xiangwen had written. He paid for the dissertation and had it downloaded onto his computer. He then started perusing the material in detail. However, he could not understand the dissertation, as it involved a different field of study. He had a good grasp of the theories in the computing field, but the dissertation discussed theoretical aspects of high energy physics. 
He recognized individual words, but when those same words were strung together, he couldn't comprehend what they were saying.
Helpless, he forwarded the dissertation to his mother, Song Jinning. She was an expert in that area and had been restarting an experiment at that time. He called her up.
Song Jinning had just returned to her office from the laboratory when she saw the incoming call from Huo Shaoheng. Surprised, she swiped her phone to answer it. "Shaoheng? I don't recall the sun rising from the west today," she teased as she walked back into her office and sat down behind her desk.
His calm voice spoke from her phone. "Ms. Song, I just sent you a dissertation regarding research on magnetic fields. Could you please take a look at it and summarize the main points for me in a way that I can understand?"
"Research on magnetic fields? Son, why are you interested in high energy physics?" Song Jinning switched on her computer and opened up her email inbox and found his email.
She opened the attached dissertation, gave it a skim, and said, "This is an old paper that's considered to have laid the foundation and starting point in the research of Blue Planet in all countries. Why? Is there a problem?"
Huo Shaoheng said, enunciating every word, "This was written by Kevin-Ku, who is Nianzhi's father, Gu Xiangwen."
Song Jinning stood up in surprise. "Is it really Nianzhi's father?! Haha. This is wonderful. When will you ask him out? We, as future in-laws, can hold a good chat together and an academic discussion at the same time! To think that I said only Nianzhi is worthy of you. Now that I know about her father, it looks like you are the one standing to gain. Did you know that Kevin-Ku is a rare talent in the field of physics? I wonder if he will even agree to let his daughter marry you. After all, you do not dabble in the field of physics..." Song Jinning expressed some sort of regret at that.　　
Huo Shaoheng: "..."
"Ms. Song, let us stay on topic and not side-track too much." Huo Shaoheng knocked on the keyboard in front of him as if nothing had happened.
He would never let Song Jinning know that he didn't need any approval from Gu Xiangwen, as he was already married to his daughter. Thus, it had been inaccurate for Ms. Song to say "future in-laws." She should have said "in-laws" instead.
For confidential reasons, Huo Shaoheng had never told Song Jinning about what had happened to Gu Xiangwen. As a result, Song Jinning only knew about Kevin-Ku. She was unaware that Gu Xiangwen was actually Kevin-Ku.
Similarly, Huo Shaoheng hadn't known that the eminent figure in the international academic world, Kevin-Ku, was actually Gu Nianzhi's father, Gu Xiangwen, the person who they had been searching for. He had only recently learned the truth about his identity from Xie Dezhao.
Huo Shaoheng's admiration for Gu Xiangwen grew at the thought of it. The man was truly brilliant. Not only was he able to leave his mark in this world, but he was also able to do it in such a way that unless it was by pure coincidence, no one would have gotten wind of any information on him.
All these matters seemed almost like they occurred coincidentally, but could there be some sort of a connection between them? Perhaps it was similar to the person who had managed to use the golden coin to his advantage. Maybe Gu Xiangwen was also an expert in that department.
The dissertation written by Gu Xiangwen was both foundational and ground-breaking, but viewed in modern times, it was not too technical. Each country had already made progress leaps and bounds ahead of this with the research they had done based on the foundation built upon his dissertation.
Huo Shaoheng quickly understood what the paper was about after a brief explanation from Song Jinning.
Ishihara Baisan and Gu Xiangwen must have worked on the same potentially ground-breaking research, as it then was, at the same time. However, Gu Xiangwen had achieved a breakthrough in his research first and had his dissertation published in the most well-known international magazine in physics. Thus, he had become the "Father of Magnetic Fields."
Ishihara Baisan, who had been secretly competing against him, couldn't stand his success. Then again, the both of them did physics, so if he could not accept that, could it be that Ishihara Baisan had always been the pioneer, so he couldn't take it when he was surpassed by Gu Xiangwen?
Huo Shaoheng shook his head and stopped himself from mulling over the reason why Ishihara Baisan had committed seppuku.
Besides, the Huaxia Empire only stood to gain from his death. Why should he care about the reason behind it? The right-wing was only any good without the Japanese in it.
...
Gu Nianzhi was absorbed in a nerve-wracking final review. She had completed her dissertation at last and had printed it out before she sent it over to He Zhichu. As her tutor, he was the one responsible for giving it a final review.
After dinner, Gu Nianzhi and Ma Qiqi carried their schoolbags along and headed to the library. They planned to do some last-minute revision work.　　
They met Ishihara Taro at the library. He didn't speak to them. He acted as if he didn't know them, instead conversing and laughing intimately with their school counselor, Gui Suyao.
The two of them brushed past Gu Nianzhi and Ma Qiqi. Gui Suyao was only focused on Ishihara Taro. She was completely unaware that the students who had just walked past her were Gu Nianzhi and Ma Qiqi. Ishihara Taro, on the other hand, recognized them but didn't start a conversation with them. With raised brows and a slight smile, he glanced at them.
Gu Nianzhi pulled Ma Qiqi over as something came to her mind. In a soft voice, she asked, "Qiqi, is Ishihara Taro someone that Counselor Gui just got to know recently, or did they already know each other before? Do you know?" Ma Qiqi was better acquainted with their classmates and thus knew the latest gossip.
Since Gu Nianzhi asked, she whispered to her in a hushed tone, "… I heard that they got to know each other before Christmas, outside of school. Counselor Gui was so thrilled when Ishihara Taro transferred over to our school. It's rumored that he only transferred to our school because of Counselor Gui."
A romantic move like that wouldn't just charm an eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl; it would have the same effect on a mature lady like Gui Suyao, who was about twenty-six to twenty-seven years old.
Gu Nianzhi gazed pensively in the direction that Gui Suyao and Ishihara Taro had disappeared in. She had an inkling that what Ishihara Taro did might not be as simple as throwing the golden coin.
"They knew each other before Christmas?"
"Indeed. A story on everyone's lips."
"How did they meet? Did anyone share details about it?" Interested, Gu Nianzhi grabbed onto Ma Qiqi as she asked for more details.
Those who like to gossip find no greater pleasure than sharing juicy details with others. 　
Ma Qiqi pulled her into the corridor of the library and whispered, "… Of course there were rumors about it. Did you really think that Counselor Gui would keep mum with a chance like this?"　　
"And what did they say?"
"I heard that Counselor Gui sprained her ankle when she was shopping at Scion Plaza. Then, she happened to meet a handsome Japanese who lent her a helping hand. He helped take her home, and he brought a physician over to her house the very next day. They got close quickly because of that," Ma Qiqi said excitedly.
Gu Nianzhi squinted at her. "Really? They already knew each other before Christmas? Then why didn't he attend the Christmas ball? Counselor Gui was able to bear not showing him off?"
"I heard that Ishihara Taro was invited to the ball, but he couldn't make it, because he had to accompany his grandfather, who had just traveled to China. He even told her not to get angry, because they would have plenty of time together, and they didn't need to rush into things. After that, as you already know, he transferred to our school. Now he's hanging out with Counselor Gui again."
Gu Nianzhi's eyes flashed. "But previously, Ishihara Taro seemed like he was interested in our Ma Qiqi!"
Embarrassed, Ma Qiqi gave her a nudge. "Enough of that already. I only spoke a few words to him before, and everyone just kicked up a blind fuss about it. Even Counselor Gui got upset."
"Oh? So that was when rumors about them knowing each other at an earlier time started to spread, right?" Gu Nianzhi analyzed carefully. "Looks like someone got jealous and decided to lead others into her narrative."
In no time, the whys and wherefores of the "story on everyone's lips" were made abundantly clear.
Ma Qiqi thought about it for a while, and then broke into a laugh. "If you hadn't mentioned this, I wouldn't have noticed the timing in the sequence of events."
"It looks like Counselor Gui really got jealous and decided to release details about how she had gotten to know Ishihara Taro at an earlier time."
Ma Qiqi pursed her lips. "Please. I have a boyfriend. Who wants to be fighting with her over that little Japanese guy? Besides, I'm a few years older than him, and I don't like guys that are younger than me."
Gu Nianzhi gave her a thumbs-up. "You've got good taste."　　
In her mind, though, she pondered if Ishihara Taro could be linked to the incident that had happened to her and He Zhichu on the road after they left Bar Jinling on Christmas night. 
After all, he had attempted to cause her death at least twice. Gu Nianzhi had also experienced an explicable and even more hazardous situation recently, before the two incidents. She was only able to escape from the situation with He Zhichu due to his special car.
Initially, she hadn't drawn a connection between Ishihara Taro and the night train break malfunction incident, because before now, there hadn't seemed to be a connection between the two.
After hearing what Ma Qiqi said, she found it suspicious that Gui Suyao and Ishihara Taro had become close with one another just before Christmas.
Perhaps Gui Suyao was the connection between her accident and Ishihara Taro.


Gu Nianzhi had no idea how to get the aloof and handsome Major General to fall in love with her. 

His eyes were dark and serious. "...Seduce me. If you can do it, I’m yours." 

Gu Nianzhi: "!!!"

Disclaimer: The following stories contains sexual assault, rape, nonconsensual acts, mentally abusive relationships, and violence towards women. Readers are advised to proceed with caution.

"But I haven't submitted my dissertation yet. I would be jobless if my submission doesn't pass," Wen Shan said while scratching her ear. 
"I should be able to help if you need data analysis for your dissertation," said Ding Junhui. 
Wen Shan looked at Ding Junhui in disbelief and began to wonder if her lecturer had a crush on her, then immediately crushed the thought. It had never occurred to her that Mr. Ding had a crush on her throughout the four years that she spent in university doing her degree, three years doing her masters, and until the end of her doctorate. She must be overthinking. 
"It's okay." 
"Right, I heard that you are close with Nalan Chunbo, who is a world-class mathematician," said Ding Junhui. 
Wen Shan finally put down her hand that was scratching her ear and started playing with the straps on her backpack. 
"I am not that close with him. I only got to know him because he is Brother Gu's wife's brother." 
"Still, you don't have to be worried. We are quite lenient on doctoral students who have been confirmed to stay to teach," Ding Junhui nodded at what Wen Shan said then changed the topic. 
"I have to take this seriously. I heard from Professor Zhao that we have to publish our dissertation on any international forum and win an award before we can pass our probation." Wen Shan stressed on the word "and" to emphasize how difficult it actually was. 
Ding Junhui knew about the requirements. After all, he was one of the lecturers who had passed his probation period. 
"It is not that difficult to write an award-winning dissertation. Write a few so you have higher chances." 
Wen Shan was speechless at Ding Junhui's suggestion, which she didn't find helpful at all. 
"I am serious. I published more than ten dissertations back then, and only one of them was awarded. I will send the link to you later so you can have a look at an award-winning dissertation," said Ding Junhui smilingly. 
Wen Shan nodded and saw Le Tian, who was looking for her when they arrived at the university. 
"Thank you, Mr. Ding. See you." Wen Shan quickly made Ding Junhui pull over and got down from the car. 
Ding Junhui nodded at Le Tian before he drove away. 
"I was just wondering how you managed to get over your Papa Nalan so fast. Looks like you are already seeing someone," Le Tian looked at Ding Junhui's car that was slowly driving out of sight and tutted. 
"What nonsense are you talking about? We bumped into each other in front of the hospital." Wen Shan rolled her eyes at Le Tian and walked with her to a bookshop nearby with her arm around Le Tian's neck.
"How is that nonsense? Ding Junhui was infatuated with you since you were doing your degree, and everyone knows about it. Also, aren't you obsessed with people who are good at maths? Ding Junhui has been promoted to assistant professor at the Department of Mathematics, how suitable for you!"
Wen Shan pushed Le Qian, who was ranting endlessly into the bookshop. What she didn't see was a car with its window wound down after they went into the bookshop. 
[Aren't you obsessed with people who are good at maths?] 
Nalan Chunbo gripped the steering wheel tightly. He found it ironic and found himself humiliated. She had made it clear when she first approached him that she was only obsessed with him because of how good his maths was, and stressed that mathematics is an essential tool for physics. 
Nalan Chunbo curled his lips sarcastically and drove away. 
He thought that he should at least try things out with her when he came to her university, but it looked like there was no need for that anymore. 
Wen Shan was browsing the books in the bookshop when she looked out the window unconsciously. She saw a car that looked like Nalan Chunbo's driving away and scoffed at herself for thinking that Nalan Chunbo had come for her. 


He was the powerful and influencing heir of B City, the merciless head of the commercial world, but the divorce papers made him lose his cool. 
“Sign the divorce papers, daddy,” said the 5-year-old boy. 
This man had the divorce papers thrown in his face by his wife six years ago, and was now being pushed by his own son to sign the papers. 
“That would make you a single-parent child,” said Gu Juexi coldly. 
“Mommy said unicorns don’t exist but men like you do,” the boy leered at his father and said. 
Gu Juexi’s face fell. ‘That damned woman.’
“You haven’t signed the papers,” the boy reminded as the man left. As usual, the door shut in his face. 
Good lord… Dad and mom are not getting a divorce and are giving him a baby brother? How worrying!

The celestial emperor of immortal beasts was reincarnated as a black snake in a desolate era which cultivators, demons and devils fought fiercely to become true immortals and have lived as long as the heavens themselves...
  In this world ruled by mortals wu yu will find a way to ascend the heavens and even transcend them, follow him on his journey as he takes back his throne as a primordial emperor.
  ...
  Ima say this so no one goes crazy- I am not the best writer but I will try to improve however I can, but the more I write the better I will get, if you have any ideas to make the story better plz leave them down in the comments

https://discord.gg/FkrUBg
  Join the discord server to discuss about the novel and the chapters

Feng Feng stared calmly at her as if he was waiting for her to show him around campus.
Qiao Yaruan waited for the Dean to leave before she shot Feng Feng a vicious glare. "Silver Screen King Feng, is the silver screen no longer enough to satisfy your desires?"
Feng Feng leaned against the edge of a table and stared at Qiao Yaruan who resisted the urge to scream at him. Indeed, if he went by one day without seeing her in an angry state, he would not feel comfortable.
"Of course, life is the actual performance," Feng Feng replied matter-of-factly.
Qiao Yaruan hugged the book in her hands and looked up at him in a serious manner. "Silver Screen King Feng, have I offended you?" Qiao Yaruan asked straightforwardly.
"If you think about it, you've offended me quite a few times. For example, that incident outside that KFC, the time you kicked me." Feng Feng bent down until his lips lingered near her ear.
Qiao Yaruan instinctively took one step back and stared at him with ever-growing seriousness. She knew that it was definitely not a small offense. Otherwise, he would not have glared at her so viciously last night and nearly choked her to death.
Why would he do that if not for absolute hatred?
"So kicking you once is all it takes to make you want to strangle me? You sure have a long reflex arc, Silver Screen King Feng." Qiao Yaruan passed by him after mocking him.
"About your graduate dissertation, I think I might join in as your dissertation lecturer," Feng Feng suddenly spoke up.
Qiao Yaruan suddenly paused and turned around to stare in disbelief at Feng Feng who was smiling at her. "Do you think that this would scare me? The Dean would never approve this if it causes the top student of the entire class to be unable to graduate."
Feng Feng walked to her and put his hands in his pocket. Qiao Yaruan would never have thought that the man before her was thirty years old, eight years older than her, if she had not seen his records before.
"That's right, top of the class. But for Shui Anluo, that's hard to say." Feng Feng spoke in a low voice but the threat in his tone was obvious.
"You..." Qiao Yaruan gritted her teeth and glared at Feng Feng. However, she chuckled. "Do you think that I'm stupid? Are you planning to challenge Director Chu?"
"Do you really think that Eldest Chu will protect Shui Anluo all the time? Even so, as long as she fails, I can prevent her from graduating anyway."
Qiao Yaruan's grip around her book tightened and her body grew tense as well. "Feng Feng, don't you think that dragging others into our dispute is too despicable?"
She was certain that there was some kind of dispute between them but she had no idea how she had managed to offend him in the past.
Feng Feng looked down and straightened his clothes. "Despicable? In this world, any method used to achieve one's goals is completely rational. Qiao Yaruan, I'll be waiting for you in the 3rd Lecturer's Block on the fifth floor, office number 507 on the first day of classes." Feng Feng declared as his warm breath brushed across her ear again. After he saw Qiao Yaruan's trembling figure, he strode off in good spirits.
Qiao Yaruan felt cold as she turned around and stared at his elegant and unconventional figure. She would have remembered if she had ever met an evil-doer like Feng Feng before so she was quite certain that she had never met him before this.
However, even so, why does he hate her so much?
That was right, he hates her. Even though he had concealed it very well, she was still able to sense it.


Divorced, disowned, and down on her luck, Shui Anluo was determined to move on and live a peaceful life… Unfortunately, her ex-husband somehow found out about the baby and insisted that she should move in with him again. Soon, he realizes that he cannot live without her… But the road to marriage is bumpy and Shui Anluo is unwilling to go through heartbreak again. Can she take back everything that had belonged to her and will she find the courage to jump in and fall in love again?

Of course, that was a big fat lie. Baiyi planned to create a little diversion so that by the time the dust had settled, he would be back after December 5th. That way he would miss Grace Day completely; it should suffice, right?
It did not really matter that the kids wanted to celebrate the festive season. Grace Day celebrations would last 10 days, so with only one day taken out, they would still have 9 days left to play.
That way, he would not have to celebrate the festival alone, and the kids would get to join the celebratory gala. Baiyi had to admit that he was very pleased with his own plan.
However, before they hit the road, Baiyi had to finish two issues he had on hand. First, the issue regarding his Power Level Examination. The Association was going to take a break for the 10-day celebratory period of Grace Day, and after the holidays were over, it would be saddled with a heap of work, which it would have accumulated during the break. Because of this, Baiyi reckoned that it would be much better just to finish his theses as soon as possible.
That night, the Scholar-led group of Voidwalkers writing the dissertations finally completed them all. Baiyi copied them down onto papers and attached a letter, where he requested a speedy process, to the written dissertations.
The next thing Baiyi had to do was find a vacation destination. However, he had already taken care of this; he had found quite a location.
Back when Baiyi had just finished off Thaas, the Fifth Walker had directed his newly-smuggled energy — which was twenty percent of the total energy he had in the Void — to roam in and out of realms, slowly searching for undiscovered small, habitable realms, like some sort of scout.
However, quite amazingly, this stream of smuggled energy had recently returned to Baiyi with a report on a miniature realm for human habitation that had not been visited by humans!
Compared to other realms, this new realm could be considered a baby. It was only as big as five Arfin cities. It was also too small to host a country. These were probably the reasons why humans had not bothered to visit the realm. It was just too small an environment to act as the cradle to any hypothetical civilization with sufficiently high intelligence.
However, this did not stop the realm from being bewitchingly beautiful. The realm had every marvel that nature had to offer. Valleys, rivers, forests, meadows could all be found in the realm; it was a paradise.
This made it the perfect spot for the kids to frolic and explore. It had the scenic wonders of an adventure but possessed none of its uncontrollable risks. The returning part of Baiyi's consciousness had already surveyed the realm and confirmed that there were no intelligent life forms there, neither were there any reactions that suggested the use of unnatural powers. The only lifeforms that it had detected some adorable critters.
All the Voidwalkers agreed that this realm was a good place to travel. This time, Baiyi was sure that he was not being subliminally persuaded.
Baiyi did not just consider this realm a perfect place to play. If everything went well, he would like to build his academy right there. After all, the nosy Church was not there, and the annoying hustles of the common folks did not exist there as well.
Baiyi would be free to do whatever he wanted. Would it not be awesome?
Naturally, the only way to be sure of that would be to go there in person. That was one of the reasons why Baiyi wanted to complete his Power Level Examination quickly. Another reason, of course, was because many materials that were needed to build the trans-realm transporter portal formation were controlled by the Association. Thus, in order to build his own portal, Baiyi would need to buy materials from the Association itself, and that would only be possible if became a member first and submit a detailed request report.
The next day, class was once again conducted by Professor S because Baiyi had to rush to the Association's Arfin branch to submit his thesis, seeing as it was still early in the morning. Furthermore, he was in a hurry because Aya had sent him a letter telling him that she would be arriving at noon for a wholesome family reunion lunch. 
Baiyi was not planning to disappoint his first full-time employee.
Hence, Baiyi soon returned to the very same building he had created a havoc in a few days before.
The front desk had already been replaced by a sturdier metal desk. The receptionist was gazing at with a strange look from behind her new desk, but Baiyi ignored her. He went straight into Fatty Joe's office and stared at the branch manager with a weird expression.
"Can you submit these for me? These are my dissertations for the Examination," Baiyi asked, waving the five papers in his hands.
Fatty Joe was stunned. He asked Baiyi to take a seat, then he began to address Baiyi's request.
"Master Hope, you have your thesis already? I… I just heard the news of you joining the Exam yesterday! I myself made a small bet… The betting polls have not even closed and here you are, already done with your work!"
Baiyi replied, "I have a lot more time in my hand now, remember? This has enabled me to spend many nights working on this."
With this, Baiyi was reminding the man that he was, after all, a Soul Armature who did not need to sleep.
Then, Baiyi asked, "Anyway, about that bet you mentioned…"
"Just some office entertainment," Fat Joe replied, with a smile on his face. When Baiyi mentioned how he had managed to complete his dissertation so fast, there was no doubt on Fat Joe's face, only bewilderment. He believed that it was possible for Baiyi to have already finished his dissertations. If a researcher wrote down a few key ideas everyday for the duration of his academic career, it would take only a little amount of time for the researcher to flesh out his ideas and use them to write a coherent essay. In fact, this was any easy method to write any thesis.
Fat Joe proceeded to explain to Baiyi why the betting polls were set up. Sorcerers enjoyed little thrills just as much as common folks did. Therefore, whenever there were big headlines making rounds, sorcerers would usually place bets on the parties involved.
This time, Baiyi made the news, and the sorcerers set up a bet on whether or not Baiyi could pass the Immortal-level power examination. 
Surprisingly, a lot of sorcerers actually bet against Baiyi success because, to them, the odds of him failing was more plausible than the other outcome.
It seemed like there was only so much a reputation fueled by the Church's claims could amount to.
"As you already knew, sorcerers are a proud bunch. Sometimes, that pride can turn into outright complacency and overconfidence." Fat Joe explained, feeling embarrassed.
"I hope that there would no dirty ploys in this exam." Baiyi could not care less about what others thought of him; instead, he dryly commented on another issue.
"Don't worry about that. When the Examination is conducted for those with a power level equal or beyond Legendary-level, the entire process became quite strident. It will be completely fair, transparent, and balanced. No one will be able to rig the outcome just to win some minuscule bet," Fat Joe replied reassuringly.
Then, the branch manager picked up Baiyi's thesis which had been sitting neatly on his desk and asked, "May I?"
"Oh, sure. Please. You can correct me if you spot any errors," Baiyi said, feigning humility.
Fat Joe flipped through Baiyi's first thesis which was titled "The Efficiency, Accuracy of Formulation, and Malleability in the Practical Usage of Rohlserlian Formations and Modern Runes: Differences, Strengths, and Weaknesses."
Just that mouthful of a title made cold sweat drip down Fat Joe's forehead. When he opened up one of Baiyi's dissertations, Fat Joe felt that he was reading something that had been written in some sort of proto-language. Despite knowing the individual terms used in this paper, he still found the entire content unrecognizable.
'This thesis is way over my head…' With no choice but to give up on that dissertation, Fat Joe shifted his focus to the next one: "A Discourse on the Application of Simplified Runic Magic in Battles by Modern Sorcerers."
'The hell is a "Simplified Rune"?' Fat Joe had to dig deep into his memory to remember that simplified runes were runic magic used by a bizarre sect of sorcerers who called themselves the "War Druids".
This paper, however, did not require an understanding of intricate formations, so Fat Joe could still understand parts of the essay, albeit with great difficulties. More importantly, just the first few paragraphs made him feel like his mind had been blown wide open.
Finally, he finished the paper and exhaled with fulfillment. "Such a marvelous way of utilizing the technique; who knew! Although these war druids have different philosophies, unlike we sorcerers, the ways by which these simplified runes are applied are very interesting. Many parts of this dissertation were particularly enlightening…"
Fat Joe had already decided to use his privilege to make a copy of that dissertation for himself so that he could learn even more from it. He had reasons to believe that if he could completely understand the wisdom embedded in it, his own power would most certainly see a marked improvement.
Baiyi did not say anything. He only waited for the branch manager to finish reading all the dissertations.
The other three dissertations were about alchemy, engineering, and astrology, which inevitably made Fat Joe feel like he was reading ancient texts. Although he had not studied any of these three subjects, he could still easily detect the professional countenance of the author who used these jargons. He was sure that Baiyi's knowledge in these subjects was second to no other person.
"I did not expect Master Hope to possess such deep understanding on these subjects. Your perspectives in many aspects of these subjects are unique," Fat Joe said coyly.
Baiyi could only laugh internally. He was sure that Fat Joe had not understood a single word, but he chose not to blow the branch manager's cover. Instead, he replied courteously, "If it is alright and does not require any corrections, then please help me submit them."
"Rest assured, I will get on it right away!" Fat Joe replied reassuringly. Then, he leaned into his chair and said to Baiyi, "After reading your thesis, I'm sure that those hundred gold coins are as good as mine already!"
'The fella didn't hold back at all, did he? But then again, he is the Branch Leader of a city, so betting a hundred gold coins should be considered as small entertainment.'
As soon as his matters were taken care of, Baiyi saw no reason to stay any longer, so he stood up. However, at that very moment, Fat Joe asked, "Um, Mr. Hope? Forgive my curiosity, but you can't possibly be… the Great Unmoving Sage himself, right?"
"He was considered the most knowledgeable Great Sage in the history of the Doors of Conundrum — a man who had dyed the pages of academia with his pen, and a man who had inscribed his name and prestige into history. From what I heard, from the moment he joined the Doors of Conundrum, he never stepped outside of their libraries again. Not many saw his true face. We only recognized him through the thesis stamped with Great Sage's Mark. No one even knew his real name! Sir Hope, it was you, wasn't it? Only a man like that would match your prestige," Fat Joe finished.
Baiyi shook his head sideways and replied, "There are way many people like me in the Doors of Conundrum, you see. It's just that everyone has always been so engrossed in the ocean of knowledge, that they had not given much care for other things. The mundane could not possibly best the wonders that lay between the pages."
However, on the inside, Baiyi cried, 'Open your eyes and look at me. What part of me looks like a fossil-aged hikikomori now?'


Imagine being forced to live, after death, as incorporeal bodies trapped in a vast space of nothingness for thousands of years, with nothing to do but exchanging past memories with other cohabitants (read: weirdos).  Everybody wanted out, but there was no way to leave the Void... 
Until one day, a young man was finally summoned, as a powerful but reluctant mentor, by a bubbly and motivated but completely naive young girl. Baiyi, finally out of the Void, was the only one who could save all of the other 32 souls from their prison and his summoner might just be The Key to their freedom.
However, Baiyi had to use the techniques and abilities the other souls had taught him throughout the years, and together with his own extensive knowledge of anime and game tropes from his shady and dangerous past as an otaku, to face the biggest challenge of them all: training the clumsy young girl he was forced to partner up with… into a competent sorcerer!

What went wrong? Was I just stupid? Was I blind? What did I do wrong?When I first met you, you were very mysterious. I barely even knew your name. You slowly began opening up about your life. How you aren't like everybody else. How you don't belong here. How you don't fit in. How you wrote a dissertation about her. How you deeply admired her. How you even loved her.  How did I not see this before? You are depressed because of this girl. I did not know how to feel. My heart dropped. Sank. From its core. Tears began filling up my eyes. Felt as if someone reached down. Grabbed my heart. Stepped onto it. Broke it into pieces. Watched me fall into pieces. Left me. To bleed from the pain. What could I have done to be better? Could I have just ignored you? Could I have just have never seen you? If I could turn back time. I would. Why couldn't I have been smarter? You took away my happiness. My pride. My existence.

dissertation editing

EDITING

Editing

A Gatekeeper and The Celestial Sovereign

Superstars of Tomorrow

Hello, Mr. Major General

The Bumpy Road of Marriage: Divorce Now, Daddy

[Read Eternal Deity Phone] Primordial Serpent (stopped for now)

The Bumpy Road of Marriage: The Ex-Wife Is Expecting

Why Did You Summon Me？

Love at First Sight?

People search dissertation editing also like: