Invincible…
Even if she teamed up with her uncle…
Their chances of survival were at most one in ten…
Or perhaps, even if the undefeated Jiangxia Guardian were to arrive, the odds would still be no better than fifty-fifty…
What kind of terrifying existence had these invaders unleashed this time…?
And this…
Might just be a mere…
Gatekeeper of the Ashen Village?
A crushing weight of despair pressed down on Su Muxue’s heart…
Swirling smoke obscured the old man’s face, leaving only a pair of murky eyes calmly fixed on her.
No killing intent, yet more suffocating than any bloodlust.
In his eyes, she was nothing but an insignificant speck of dust—not even worth the effort of crushing beneath his fingers.
The despair threatened to shatter her spirit entirely.
Su Muxue forced herself to stay calm.
She couldn’t retreat…
Behind her was a barrier of bones and gray mist—no escape.
She couldn’t fight.
That would be suicide.
Her only option seemed to be… pretending nothing was wrong and walking past him?
Su Muxue took a deep breath, trying to steady her pounding heart and suppress the trembling of the spirit sword in her consciousness.
She slowly lowered her gaze, avoiding that soul-shivering stare.
Her footsteps were light, almost soundless, yet each step felt as heavy as a mountain.
Time stretched endlessly.
A distance of mere steps.
She could feel his eyes still lingering on her, cold and indifferent.
Sweat silently soaked through the back of her robes.
Finally, she passed the giant tree.
Not daring to look back, she quickened her pace toward the heart of the village.
Just then, Liu Yuan spoke up: "Hello, grandpa! Could you tell us how to get to that clock tower over there?"
Su Muxue and the middle-aged man’s hearts lurched in unison, their eyelids twitching uncontrollably.
The sudden question struck like a hammer to their chests.
We’re done for!
Su Muxue’s spine stiffened instantly, her instincts screaming to yank Liu Yuan behind her.
Even Lian Yunhuang turned deathly pale, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
Though her senses weren’t as sharp as Su Muxue’s, she could still instinctively feel the terrifying power radiating from the old man—enough to crush them effortlessly.
Yet, the expected wrath never came.
Amid the curling smoke, the old man seemed to pause mid-drag.
Slowly, those murky eyes shifted to Liu Yuan.
Su Muxue could clearly sense the difference in his gaze—no soul-crushing pressure, just the look of an ordinary elder regarding a lost girl.
Noticing everyone’s eyes on her except her brother’s, Liu Yuan blinked in confusion, her expression perfectly blank.
Uh…
Did she say something wrong?
Wasn’t this an escape room?
Sure, it didn’t look much like one…
But the core gameplay was still there, right?
With such a big ‘NPC’ standing there, wasn’t asking for clues the obvious move?
Why were they all ignoring him?
…
Smoke drifted from the old man’s withered lips.
He didn’t answer immediately, his murky eyes shifting as if waiting for something.
Seconds ticked by.
Each one was agony for Su Muxue.
Finally, the old man’s voice rasped out, rough as sandpaper, slow and calm:
"The clock tower…"
"Follow this path… straight ahead… until you reach a dirt house. There, you’ll find your next clue."
What was this?
Favoritism?
Did this old bastard pick and choose who to help?
Su Muxue swiftly reined in her thoughts, suppressing the turmoil in her mind.
Whatever the reason, this was the best outcome they could hope for.
But… a dirt house?
Her gaze followed the direction he’d indicated.
A strange sound reached her ears—like someone clumsily dragging something heavy.
A hunched skeleton was struggling to plant a crooked wooden sign in the ground.
On it, white paint spelled out an arrow pointing toward the clock tower.
The skeleton’s movements were stiff and reluctant. Once the sign was up, it glanced around furtively, as if afraid of being caught.
Noticing Su Muxue’s stare, the skeleton made a throat-slitting gesture before hastily retreating into the shadows.
The sight only deepened Su Muxue’s unease.
This so-called "Lord of Ashes" and his minions seemed…
More like unwilling actors in a poorly staged play.
Liu Yuan, blissfully oblivious, tugged at Su Qi’s sleeve, eager to move.
"Brother, the grandpa gave us directions! Let’s go find the clock tower!"
Su Qi remained silent but allowed himself to be pulled along.
…
Watching the five figures disappear into the distance, the old man took three deep drags of his pipe, wheezing as if he’d narrowly escaped a supervisor’s inspection.
Just as he was about to fade back into the mist, his neck creaked stiffly—until his head toppled to the ground with a thud.
From this new vantage point, he saw two figures looming over him: a burly man and a bald one.
"Hey, old man…"
The head rolled once on the dirt. "Didn’t anyone teach you to be polite when asking for directions?"
The burly man remained unfazed. "Alright, old man, listen up—is there a shortcut to the clock tower? We ain’t got time to follow the long way like those others."
He never imagined the Lord of Sin would value his offering so highly…
To the point of descending upon Great Xia with his domain…
And that clock tower…
Surely, it was the Lord of Sin’s throne…
The lost lambs, scrambling for escape, only to face ultimate despair…
What a beautiful sight it would be…
Truly worthy of the great ‘Lord of Sin.’
He had to reach the clock tower first—to witness it all unfold.
The old man picked up his head and reattached it. "In such a hurry?"
"I don’t know any shortcuts…"
His voice dropped to a sinister rasp. "But I can send you two on a one-way trip."
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
