Early the next morning.
Just at dawn, as the first ray of sunlight pierced the dark night and the first rooster crowed outside, Xia Lun opened his eyes right on time.
He kissed the cheek of Aina, who was still fast asleep beside him. Aina's eyelashes fluttered slightly, but she didn't wake up.
Xia Lun got dressed neatly, intending to go to the courtyard to practice his swordsmanship as usual.
As soon as he stepped out of his room, he found that Aise was actually already waiting outside.
"Father."
"Why are you up so early today?" Xia Lun was a bit surprised. Usually, he was the one who woke Aise up, and then the two would go practice swordsmanship together.
When Aise was ten, Xia Lun officially began teaching him swordsmanship, and five years had passed since then.
Aise's talent was quite good, and his swordsmanship improved rapidly. If he didn't use the power bestowed by the Goddess, Xia Lun felt that Aise would definitely be stronger than him in the future.
Aise didn't reply; he just handed over a longsword.
Xia Lun was slightly taken aback. The familiar weight and feel in his hand... undoubtedly, he knew the origin of this sword.
"Where did you get this sword?"
Xia Lun's gaze suddenly sharpened, and his expression instantly became quite serious.
Aise rarely saw his father like this. In his impression, Xia Lun had always been amiable, with a faint smile on his face, and was completely obedient to his mother... At this moment, he couldn't help but be intimidated.
"I... found it."
"Found it?" Xia Lun scrutinized Aise for a moment.
"Uh... I wiped out a group of bandits, and this is something one of them dropped." Aise confessed truthfully.
Aise knew he couldn't hide it from his father. After all, he knew his father's identity: the Hero who had crusaded against the Demon King... His lies couldn't escape his eyes and would be easily exposed.
"Wiped out bandits? When did this happen?" Xia Lun frowned. "Nonsense! Why didn't you discuss it with me before doing something so dangerous?"
Aise fell somewhat silent, not knowing how to respond.
A soft, delicate body wrapped around Xia Lun's waist from behind.
"What are you arguing about out here so early in the morning?" Aina's chest pressed gently against Xia Lun's back. The soft touch instantly softened Xia Lun's expression.
"Did we wake you? I'm sorry," Xia Lun said apologetically.
"Not really."
Aise also rarely saw his mother like this... Although her temperament was still a bit aloof, she lacked her usual domineering edge, appearing as delicate as a young girl.
Aina's gaze fell upon the longsword in Xia Lun's hand.
"Your Holy Sword?" Aina also recognized it at a glance.
"Yes."
"Didn't you lose it many years ago?" Aina said indifferently; Xia Lun had obviously told her about this before.
"Aise found it and brought it back."
"Isn't that a good thing? He even knew to hand this over to you on his own initiative." Aina poked Xia Lun's cheek. "So what are you two still talking about?"
"Aise..." Xia Lun opened his mouth, but looking into Aina's calm, crimson eyes, he ultimately said nothing. "It's nothing."
"Then what are you standing around for? Hurry up and put this sword away. Isn't it a Demonic Sword now?" Aina took Xia Lun's hand. "Don't practice swordsmanship today. Your sword is lost and found, shouldn't you find a place to study it properly?"
Xia Lun patted Aina's head, fastened the Holy Sword to his waist, and left.
This thing was very wicked now... Naturally, he couldn't draw the sword casually; he had to find an uninhabited place first.
With Xia Lun's departure, Aise clearly felt a shift in his mother's attitude.
Her expression seemed unchanged, but the surrounding air felt as if it had begun to freeze and solidify.
"Thank you, Mother." Aise actually quite enjoyed this atmosphere, a slight smile appearing on his lips.
The matter of wiping out the bandits... if his father looked deeply into it, it would undoubtedly become very troublesome. After all, his goal wasn't to maintain public order.
Aina glanced at Aise indifferently.
"Rest assured, Mother, I will hide it well in front of Father," Aise promised.
"Did you draw that sword?"
"Mother, you must be joking. Isn't that Holy Sword something only the Hero can draw?" Aise replied with a warm smile.
If his father knew, he would definitely take him for all sorts of examinations again...
He didn't want to continue causing trouble for his father.
"Heh, you brought this upon yourself." Aina simply left this sentence behind before turning away to follow Xia Lun's retreating figure.
...
Xia Lun drew the longsword, and ink-like black energy completely saturated the blade. Terrifying resentment and killing intent washed over Xia Lun like crashing waves, but Xia Lun stood like a reef by the sea, towering and motionless, his expression not changing in the slightest.
"The situation is much worse than before," Aina's voice sounded from behind Xia Lun.
Xia Lun nodded with a solemn expression.
The Holy Sword had been missing for nearly ten years. He didn't know what had happened for it to turn out like this.
In the past, the Holy Sword was merely entangled with killing intent, but the blade itself remained unaffected... Now, however, he feared it had completely become a Demonic Sword.
But even so, it was still Xia Lun's sword.
It was exactly as Moke had said; it returned to his side... it just took a rather long time.
Xia Lun could feel its intimacy toward him; holding it in his hand, it still felt like an extension of his own arm.
Aina: "Are you going to hand it over to the Goddess Church again?"
Xia Lun shook his head: "No, I'd rather keep it by my side."
Ordinary priests simply didn't have the ability to suppress this Demonic Sword, which was why such a tragedy occurred before, causing the sword to go missing for over a decade.
Rather than handing it out again, it would be much more reassuring to keep it with him.
With him and Aina around, it wouldn't be able to stir up any trouble.
"Then what about Aise? This sword seems to react to him as well." Aina narrowed her eyes. "He seemed to have drawn it last night... I caught a trace of the aura it leaked. Aise has that condition; the Demonic Sword's influence on him will likely not be small."
Xia Lun's expression changed: "Then Aise...?"
"He should be fine for now, but if he is in long-term contact with your sword..." Aina didn't continue.
Xia Lun rubbed the center of his brows, clearly having a bit of a headache over this.
Aina suddenly suggested: "Or perhaps... we live separately from Aise?"
"Separately?" Xia Lun was stunned for a moment.
"Aise is already fifteen this year, it's about time he learns to be independent... Xia Lun, how much longer do you plan to watch over him?" Aina squeezed Xia Lun's broad palm. "If I remember correctly, when you were fifteen, you and Liyana had already come to the human realm to start as adventurers."
"That is true..."
"Then it's decided." Aina hummed slightly in a pleasant mood. "We just need to have Aise move out."
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
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.”
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
