Late at night.
Moonlight flowed into the waves, scattering like crushed silver upon the shore.
The silent beach was alive only with the sound of crashing tides, fierce and unrelenting, devoid of any other signs of life. The entire world seemed to have fallen into a deep slumber.
In this desolate hour.
Ao Budong stood rigidly on the sand, clad in plain robes, clutching a pile of gift boxes in his hands. Gone was the usual arrogance of the Dragon Emperor—replaced only by a humble, anxious dread.
He glanced around repeatedly, yet no movement caught his eye.
But there was not a trace of impatience or resentment in him. Instead, his expression grew ever more deferential, his breaths steadying his nerves as he waited with obedient patience.
Finally.
A ripple tore through the void before him, and an old man leaning on a cane stepped out slowly.
The moment Ao Budong laid eyes on that weathered, aged face, it was as if he had seen salvation. He dropped to his knees with a thud!
"Lord Crab Emperor! Lord Crab Emperor, save me!"
The Crab Emperor looked down with cold, turbid eyes, unmoved.
Even as Ao Budong kowtowed relentlessly, the old man remained indifferent, as if mercy had never been in his nature. That he had appeared at all in such delicate times was already a rare concession.
His desperate kowtowing went unanswered—his fervor met with cold rejection!
In the past.
Ao Budong would have risen in fury, vowing vengeance!
But today.
The Emperor of the Heavenly Dragon-Mermaid Clan was utterly humbled, his forehead never leaving the sand, his pleas desperate, his forced smile trembling as he presented gift after gift!
"Lord Crab Emperor! I know you favor fine wine—this is a vintage aged a hundred thousand years from my clan’s cellars!"
"And these are my treasured Soul-Refining Fruits!"
"Yes, yes! And the ancient Deep-Sea Vines left by my ancestors! And—!"
In his frantic efforts, Ao Budong unpacked the gifts with utmost flattery.
Yet no matter how he groveled, how he forced his strained smile, how he piled rare treasures upon the sand—the Crab Emperor remained unmoved, not a flicker of interest in his gaze.
Long moments of effort yielded nothing.
Ao Budong’s expression froze, teetering on the edge of collapse.
Tears of humiliation welled in his eyes as he gritted his teeth and kowtowed again, his voice breaking with sobs!
"Lord Crab Emperor…!"
"I—I am also of the sea clans! Though distant, we are still kin! I do not know what power I have offended, but I know my Heavenly Dragon-Mermaid Clan faces calamity!"
"To have fallen so low is my own fault, but the millions of my people must not perish! I beg you, show mercy!"
"Lord Crab Emperor! For the sake of our shared blood, point me to a path of survival! If even a fraction of my clan can be spared, I would die ten thousand deaths in gratitude!"
Even as his face pressed into the filthy sand, Ao Budong kowtowed like a madman.
In mere moments.
The Dragon Emperor’s face was streaked with blood and tears, his desperation laid bare!
At last.
The Crab Emperor sighed deeply.
"Ah…"
"Enough."
"As fellow sea kin, I cannot stand idly by."
Ao Budong’s head snapped up in joy, scrambling forward on his knees!
"Thank you, my lord! Thank you for your mercy!"
But before his relief could bloom.
The Crab Emperor raised a frail hand, his cold demeanor overshadowing any pity.
"Hold your gratitude."
"Though I am willing to advise you, that is all. This matter is far beyond my reach. Even I dare not defy that lord’s will. Whether your clan lives or dies depends solely on your own actions!"
Ao Budong shuddered violently, his pupils trembling!
That lord…
For the Crab Emperor to speak such a title—unthinkable!
Now hearing it firsthand.
Though his suspicions were confirmed—that the Black Isle indeed housed a terrifying presence—Ao Budong was still struck with awe. What manner of being could command such fear from even the Crab Emperor?
Suddenly.
The Dragon Emperor, who had ruled the East Sea for millennia, felt like a naive child, his authority and wisdom utterly laughable in the face of such power.
He took several deep breaths before daring to speak again, his voice quivering.
"Y-yes, of course! I would never presume to trouble you further, Lord Crab Emperor."
"But… I truly do not know what transgression brought this upon us. Please, grant me but a hint, so I may face my fate with clarity…"
Seeing Ao Budong’s genuine remorse and terror, the Crab Emperor hesitated before relenting.
"All this… is simply fate."
"Your son trespassed upon the Black Isle, provoking a certain lord into action. When we learned of his presence, none of us dared intervene. Before him, even the three of us are but ants."
Ao Budong nodded blankly, still processing.
"A skeletal figure did strike, but my son committed no offense! How have we wronged this lord—?"
The Crab Emperor looked down with sheer exasperation.
"Your son invaded the Black Isle, challenging an outsider. Even in defeat, he lacked the sense to realize that outsider was the master of the Skeletal Lord. The Skeletal Lord’s punishment was justified—how can you claim no offense?"
"You… have wasted millennia as Dragon Emperor!"
Holy—
Ao Budong’s legs gave way, nearly collapsing on the spot!
He had guessed the Skeletal Lord’s power was beyond his clan’s reach, which was why he had swallowed his pride and accepted the humiliation without retaliation…
Never had he imagined.
That such a monstrous being was merely another’s subordinate!
So.
They had offended that lord’s master from the very beginning—this was the truth of it!
What kind of horror must that master be?!
Unfathomable!
Now that the truth was laid bare, Ao Budong’s mind reeled. The disaster looming over them was worse than he had feared—annihilation was at their doorstep.
That supreme being could wipe out the entire sea clans without lifting a finger!
Before such power, he felt smaller than a grain of sand.
"This—this!"
Ao Budong kowtowed frantically again, uncaring of the grime caking his forehead!
"Lord Crab Emperor, save us!"
"I never knew such a supreme being resided on the Black Isle! Had I known, I would never have dared disrespect it!"
"Please, I beg you—what must I do…?"
Foolish as he was, his attitude was at least acceptable.
The Crab Emperor sighed once more.
"Ah."
"Before Lord Yi and the Skeletal Lord, I am nothing. How could I dare dictate anything?"
"From now on, you must act according to Lord Yi’s will. Your fate rests solely on his mood."
"I have said all I can, out of kinship. The rest is up to you—heed my words!"
With that final warning, the Crab Emperor’s figure dissolved into the night.
Ao Budong remained frozen, his shock lingering as he bowed repeatedly.
"Yes, yes! I shall obey Lord Yi’s will in all things!"
Only after long silence did he dare look up, realizing the Crab Emperor had truly left. He hastily pulled out a jade slip, roaring into it as he interrogated Ao Chang, demanding every detail of the past events be laid bare!
Upon asking, he learned that the root of it all was over a few human women. Over such a trivial matter, they had provoked a terrifying entity—what wretched luck!
Not long after,
Dragon Emperor Ao Budong summoned all the high-ranking members of the East Sea Dragon-Mermaid Clan.
In the silent great hall, gasps of shock filled the air. Ao Chang, the clan's most talented prodigy and top young warrior, was immediately bound and restrained on the spot.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
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."
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
