The Reticent Blade - Chapter 237 – The Army Arrives

Koi Niles has always been alone. Quiet halls and empty lunchtimes are his familiar companions. Grades matter to him; they’re his way out.Ashley Miller owns the school corridors. Captain of the ice hockey team, confident smile, and a name everyone knows. When a class project pairs them together, Connor sees a chance. But Ashley disappears, leaving Connor to carry the weight.Days later, under the harsh lights of Connor’s part-time job, Ashley returns. This time, it’s different. He stands up for Connor, turns the tide against the bullies. A simple act of kindness that feels new and warm.They share moments—short walks, brief talks, the understanding of two worlds colliding. Friendship grows where none was before.But Ashley holds a secret behind those bright eyes. One evening, worry leads Connor to Ashley’s door. What he discovers there changes everything he thought he knew.

Ten years after her parents’ divorce, the grandmother who raised Chu Tingwu passed away, leaving her to be shuttled back and forth between relatives.At this moment, an entity claiming to be a “Cub Rearing System” suddenly appeared, wanting to bind itself to her and cultivate her into an outstanding graduate of its program.Just as Chu Tingwu was about to refuse, she saw her personal attributes on the system interface—[Name: Chu Tingwu][Species: Cat]Chu Tingwu: Something’s not right here…Due to a bug, the system had identified her as a kitten.Her stats were those of a cat, but her appearance remained human.How should an exemplary human-cat be raised? Sleeping, causing mischief, eating until she became as round as a pig?However, the reality turned out to be quite different: extreme sports, expert bird-catcher, master mouse-hunter, catching invasive fish barehanded with dynamic vision, using camouflage and tracking skills to film documentaries of rare birds, nearly making the social news as a suspected retired special police officer.For the first lesson in cultivation, the system said gravely:“A cub cannot live alone. We need to find you a cat mother… I’ve already detected a suitable candidate nearby. Go to the target location quickly, little one, and let the cat mother adopt you.”Chu Tingwu looked up as an advertisement fluttered into her hand:[Sunshine Pet Hospital: Limited-time half-price pet neutering, one month of free food with every pet adoption]Chu Tingwu: Who exactly is adopting whom here?

How does it feel to lose your parents at the tender age of four?Imagine the trauma, the psychological scars. Now, take it a step further—what if they died right in front of you?That was Kael’s reality. As a young boy, he watched his parents perish while desperately protecting a golden coin.At the time, Kael had no idea of its significance. He only knew that their deaths were tied to it.Fleeing from his father’s murderers, he was forced to survive on the unforgiving streets, learning to fight, steal, and endure.Twelve years later, he had transformed into one of the deadliest assassins the world had ever known.He had no official title. No known employer. No traceable identity. Just a calling card.They called him The Coin Flipper.Not because he left his mark, but because after every kill—just as the body hit the ground, as the last breath escaped—he would flip a coin.No one knew why. Some believed it was mockery, a cruel reminder that fate had turned against them. Others thought it was ritual.But what they didn’t know was that each coin held power—literal currency of the Core System embedded in Kael’s soul.Every kill earned him millions. Digital fortunes funneled into off-grid accounts with each confirmed target. Blood turned into bounty, pain into profit.And one thing was certain: if you saw the glint of a coin spinning through the air, death had already found you.

Liu Changgong time-traveled to a cultivation world. However, without any talent for cultivation, he was destined to be an average person. So, Liu Changgong simply cultivated for fun. When he was free, he would also do calligraphy, paint, play chess and the qin to pass time…