Chaos Era, Year 1816.
Having just returned from the labyrinth, everyone was in high spirits—clearly, this expedition had been another fruitful one.
Liyana steered the carriage, Xia Lun kept watch over their surroundings, Moke sorted through some small tools, Musen flipped through a scripture, and Aina sat primly with her eyes closed, resting.
The atmosphere was somewhat quiet.
Liyana was undoubtedly the first to grow restless.
"Those potions from Lady Ankula were really effective, huh? This adventure felt so much easier than before," Liyana attempted to spark a conversation.
Musen: "Indeed, they were quite useful."
Moke: "Mm."
The silence settled in once more.
"Ugh, those undead creatures in the labyrinth were so disgusting—they scared me half to death," Liyana pressed on.
Musen: "Light magic made quick work of them."
Moke: "They weren’t too bad."
Liyana: "…"
Her attempts to liven things up had failed, leaving her the most awkward one in the group.
With half an hour still left before they reached the city, was she doomed to endure this boredom? Liyana sighed.
"Xia Lun." Aina suddenly spoke up, her voice soft but audible to everyone present.
"What is it?" Xia Lun asked gently.
"Do you think… we should try dating?" Aina said.
It had been nearly two years since they first met Xia Lun and embarked on adventures together.
Her original plan… Aina intended to see it through.
The "Goddess’s" past actions had only fueled Aina’s competitive spirit. If she could steal Xia Lun away from the "Goddess," she wondered what expression that woman would wear.
To seize everything—that was the true demeanor of a Demon Lord.
No pain, no gain… If she wanted the Hero to fall hopelessly in love with her, then taking their relationship to the next level was necessary.
Yes, it was merely a nominal relationship, of course. She wouldn’t let the Hero take even the slightest advantage of her.
Strange. Despite having carefully considered this, the moment the words left her lips, Aina felt an inexplicable agitation.
The air froze. Musen’s fingers pinched the page of his book but didn’t turn it. Moke’s lockpicking tool clattered to the floor. Liyana’s whip hung motionless in mid-air.
Xia Lun blinked in surprise, then a faint smile touched his lips.
"Of course, Aina."
"Ah! Wah! Waaaah!!!" Liyana was the first to erupt into excited screams. "Oh my gods!!!"
"This is unbelievable… Musen, am I hearing things?" Moke muttered.
"By the Goddess… Moke, I think you heard right." Musen pinched his own burly arm, confirming he wasn’t dreaming.
Aina frowned, puzzled by her companions’ exaggerated reactions.
When Lady Ankula had openly confessed her feelings for Xia Lun in front of everyone, no one had batted an eye.
Xia Lun moved to sit beside Aina.
"I never expected… you’d say something like that," Xia Lun remarked.
A faint smirk curled beneath Aina’s hood. "Surprised?"
The answer didn’t come from Xia Lun—their companions nodded vigorously instead.
Aina making the first move… It was something none of them could have imagined in their wildest dreams, yet here it was, unfolding right before their eyes.
"So when are you two gonna kiss?" Liyana blurted out eagerly, as if she were the one itching to lock lips with Aina.
Aina’s brow twitched slightly.
Kissing? Truthfully, she hadn’t thought that far ahead.
Yes, couples were supposed to kiss.
Well, Xia Lun wasn’t unattractive. If he insisted, she could tolerate it—Aina wasn’t particularly bothered by such things. But anything more intimate… She still had reservations.
"Liyana." Xia Lun’s tone carried a rare sternness.
Liyana stuck out her tongue sheepishly and wisely dropped the subject.
"Aina, don’t mind her. You know how she is," Xia Lun said, turning back to Aina. "Just go at your own pace… Don’t force yourself."
Aina gave a silent nod, though an inexplicable irritation prickled inside her.
Was the Hero… accommodating her?
...
The next day.
"What is this?"
Aina’s gaze sharpened as she took in Xia Lun’s battered state.
He looked utterly disheveled—covered in dust, his hair a mess, his clothes stained with blood.
"Dragonblood flowers. For you." Xia Lun grinned, offering a bouquet of vivid crimson blossoms. A wince crossed his face as the motion tugged at his wounds. "Didn’t expect that thing to be from the Chaos Dragon Clan instead of a chromatic dragon…"
"You went into a secret realm alone last night?" Aina recalled Xia Lun vanishing after the party split up yesterday.
Xia Lun scratched his head sheepishly. "Ah… yeah."
"Why would you do something so foolish? I have no use for these materials." Aina took the flowers and stored them in her spatial ring.
"Well… after what you said yesterday, I felt I should do something in return. The tavern’s adventurers always say Dragonblood flowers are the ultimate proof of a man’s devotion—the perfect gift for a partner…"
Aina’s expression softened momentarily before cooling again.
"I don’t need you to prove anything. Don’t do this again—it’s troublesome."
If Xia Lun got hurt, it would be troublesome. She’d have to pick up his slack during their adventures.
"Oh… I see. Sorry." Xia Lun’s face fell.
Seeing his dejected look, Aina felt an odd pang in her chest.
He’d risked his life to gather these flowers for her… and this was how she responded?
Though her goal was to make the Hero sacrifice everything for her…
She was the Demon Lord, the Hero’s sworn enemy—but she wasn’t some ungrateful wretch. She had her pride… She couldn’t trample on the goodwill of an opponent she respected.
Yes, this had nothing to do with the strange fluttering in her heart. It was purely a matter of honor between rivals.
"Xia Lun, come here."
Xia Lun stepped closer.
Aina rose onto her toes, looped her arms around his neck, and pressed her lips to his.
Nervous. Clumsy. Flavorless… but warm.
She held his gaze, watching as his cheeks flushed redder by the second. His eyes darted away shyly before finally squeezing shut.
Aina almost laughed. Who’d have thought the mighty Hero could be so bashful over something like this?
Her own heartbeat had merely quickened, her face grown slightly warm—nothing unusual. Battles could evoke similar tension, after all. This was no different from facing a worthy adversary.
After what felt like an eternity, she pulled away.
"A mere kiss is well within my capabilities," Aina huffed, feeling oddly satisfied.
Don't underestimate her, brave one.
and couldn't return to the real world. Finally, I gave up and decided to go with the flow, only to discover that writing a diary could make me stronger. Since no one could read it, Su Luo wrote freely, daring to pen anything and everything. Female Lead #1: "Not bad. This diary helped me steal all the protagonist's opportunities. I just want to get stronger." Female Lead #2: "I don’t care about reaching the peak of the cultivation world. Right now, I just want to enjoy the chaos." Female Lead #3: "What? Everyone around me is a spy? I’m the Joker Demon Lord?" ... It’s so strange. Why is the plot completely off track, yet the ending remains the same? Are you all just messing with me?!
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
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.”
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.
