Grinning at the Heavens

Lou Hezheng is the laughingstock of the Crimson Toad Prefecture. Cursed in the womb by a demonic cultivator, his spiritual roots were shattered, leaving him a perpetual mortal. The story opens with him sprinting for his life through the Whispering Bamboo Gorge, laughing like a complete airhead as he dodges assassins sent by his own fiancée’s family. During the chase, he accidentally swallows a mysterious black bead. Inside lies a realm of accelerated time - and Grandpa Tuo, a relentlessly foul-mouthed ancient spirit who ruthlessly insults Hezheng’s footwork before forcing him into brutal, time-bending martial training. Returning just in time for the Iron-Crane Pavilion’s grand tournament, Hezheng shocks the elders. When his snobby fiancée stands up to publicly humiliate him, he slaps a self-drafted annulment in her face first, citing her subpar sword stances. Armed with ancient techniques, an infuriatingly goofy smile, and a brilliant, calculating mind, he begins systematically crushing the sect's arrogant elites. But as he clashes with a cold rival-turned-lover and hunts the demon who cursed him, Hezheng realizes his sect's dark artifact hoarding and his own curse are terrifyingly intertwined. Will his time-bending martial arts be enough to shatter the conspiracy, or will the demonic seal consume him first?