Everything went exactly as expected.
The Demon Race was completely won over by the Demon Venerable's resourcefulness, immersed in the smug satisfaction of having victory within their grasp.
After a few moments of celebration, the entire Demon Race began to fantasize about the beauty of their future total victory. Long Tian, as the genius single-handedly cultivated by Lord Demon Venerable, bore a heavy responsibility in this plan. His performance was nearly flawless, pushing his prestige to unprecedented heights, bearing the expectations of the entire Demon Race.
However.
Long Tian himself, the demon who carried everyone's hopes, was currently tangled in a myriad of conflicting emotions.
"Phew..."
The fierce wind whistled past his ears as he stepped through the void, directly piercing through the starry atmosphere.
Cloud Star was right before his eyes. Long Tian's expression grew increasingly apprehensive. Even his usually perfect acting skills could not conceal the panic in his heart, and his brows furrowed slightly.
What should he do?
Was there truly no turning back now?
The development had exceeded all expectations, and the plan had been completely derailed. He never imagined that the Demon Venerable would actually order a pursuit against him. To protect himself, he had no choice but to kill even more of his own kind, thereby becoming a sinner of the Demon Race.
As things stood now.
The Demon Race had likely already deemed him a traitor. What was the point of returning to Cloud Star to continue his undercover mission?
Could it be...
From now on, he could only head to Cloud Star and turn this fake act into reality, truly becoming the Master of Cloud Star?!
No way!
He was a magnificent genius of the Demon Race; how could he associate with lowly humans!
His mood grew increasingly conflicted, and Long Tian's brows locked tightly together.
He unconsciously slowed his pace, even sprouting the thought of slipping away. But when he raised his eyes to peek at the monk in front of him, that unfathomable and ruthless aura instantly terrified him into absolute despair.
A dignified demon genius was now as frail and helpless as an ant, suddenly plunged into a dilemma where even his proudest stratagems were of no use whatsoever!
That shift in his demeanor and breathing was almost imperceptible.
However, it absolutely could not escape Chen Kunpeng's perception.
He stopped and looked back, seeing through the conflict in Long Tian's eyes at a single glance.
He spoke with a smile, his questioning tone full of goodwill.
"Benefactor."
"Why have you suddenly stopped?"
"As the Master of Cloud Star, you just defeated the horde of demons and protected all living beings. Having established such great merit, you should return with your head held high and your chest puffed out, accepting the respectful welcome of all souls. Even if your appearance is slightly disheveled, you need not care too much."
"For this battle, you have every right to be proud."
As soon as his voice fell, Long Tian was so shocked that his eyes trembled.
"The respectful welcome of all souls...?"
That panicked expression completely exposed the astonishment in his heart. Despite having made such a monumental contribution, he had never expected such treatment, which clearly showed his noble character of not seeking fame or fortune.
Even if his cultivation was weak and his Buddhist nature was slightly lacking.
Having such virtue made him worthy of the status of Star Master.
Chen Kunpeng saw through everything at a glance, and a rare sense of appreciation appeared in his smile.
"Indeed."
"Just now, this poor monk sent a message to the many cultivators of Cloud Star, broadcasting the footage of the previous battle. You deserve the respectful welcome of all souls, so there is no need to be modest."
Hiss...
As soon as those words were spoken, Long Tian fiercely sucked in a breath of cold air in his heart!
His battle just now had actually been broadcast everywhere by this monk?!
Damn it!
Didn't this mean letting all the living beings of Cloud Star witness everything, turning them into tainted witnesses of his slaughter of the Demon Race?!
From now on.
No matter how he tried to explain, he would never be able to clear his name.
The Demon Race only needed to send someone to ask around, and they would know that he was the one who killed the elites of the various tribes. Whether it was the vicious nature of the demon horde or the cold-blooded, domineering style of the Demon Venerable, neither would ever let him off.
This move.
Truly severed his last shred of hope, forcing him back to Cloud Star with no alternative!
This monk was too ruthless!
Fuck!
The more he thought about it, the colder his heart grew, and the despair that all was lost filled his soul.
Long Tian wanted to cry but had no tears. He didn't dare vent the bellyful of anger he held, so he could only silently bless eighteen generations of Chen Kunpeng's ancestors dozens of times over in his heart!
Seeing the monk watching him with a smile.
Long Tian was so frightened he didn't dare think any further, hastily squeezing out a smile and bowing.
"Master praises me too much, too much..."
"Ah, yes, yes, yes! You are absolutely right. As the Master of Cloud Star, having gone through this bloody battle, I can be considered to have some merit. I should indeed return with my head held high!"
Hearing this, Chen Kunpeng finally nodded in satisfaction and stepped forward once again.
"Excellent, excellent."
In the span of a breath, Chen Kunpeng's figure turned into a streak of light and descended upon Cloud Star.
Long Tian's eyelids twitched wildly as he watched. Even if he had a myriad of reluctances in his heart, he was truly helpless. He was already caught in the middle and shunned by both sides. He had absolutely no capital to establish himself in the Demon Race anymore, nor did he have the chance to make an active choice. Perhaps heading to Cloud Star was his only path of survival.
Now.
He could only play along with the situation and take things one step at a time.
Thinking of this.
Long Tian took a deep breath and silently comforted himself.
"I am the Master of Cloud Star, I am the Master of Cloud Star..."
After a few silent, hypnotic chants in his heart, he finally managed to calm his mind, turning into a streak of light and following closely down to Cloud Star.
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
] [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!"
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.”
