Situ Kong's face abruptly darkened. He bowed to the Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, there may have been an unexpected incident at the Hall of Nurturing the Heart. I shall take Gu Qingfeng away immediately to investigate the matter."
The Emperor was well aware that imprisoning Gu Qingfeng was a sensitive issue and could not allow him to spout nonsense in the Golden Chime Hall. After all, strictly speaking, Gu Qingfeng was his savior, and repaying kindness with malice would tarnish the Emperor's dignity.
This was precisely why, even after confining Gu Qingfeng, the Emperor had still bestowed upon him the title of "Equal King," a gesture meant for public perception.
The Emperor nodded, about to grant permission.
Unexpectedly, Gu Qingfeng then made a shocking declaration: "Brother Emperor, listen to this! Situ Kong has no respect for authority! As an Equal King, how dare a mere State Preceptor speak to me this way?"
The term "Brother Emperor" left everyone present utterly stunned.
They all stared at Gu Qingfeng as if they had seen a ghost, their minds momentarily short-circuiting.
This was the Emperor! The sovereign ruler of billions in the Great Yan Dynasty, the one who held the Mandate of Heaven, the supreme Son of Heaven! And he just called him "brother"?
Even the Emperor himself was dumbfounded. In all his years, this was the first time he had ever been addressed in such a manner.
"You... what did you call me?" the Emperor stammered, wide-eyed.
"Brother!" Gu Qingfeng replied matter-of-factly. "As the Equal King, I stand shoulder to shoulder with you, sharing this realm. And since you're a few years older than me, isn't calling you 'brother' perfectly natural?"
Natural, my ass!
The ministers inwardly screamed.
While the title "Equal King" did imply equality with the Emperor, who in their right mind would actually dare to stand shoulder to shoulder with him? Try it, and you'd be trying your way to an early grave.
And since when was "a few years older" phrased like that?!
Hearing Gu Qingfeng's words, the Emperor's lips twitched uncontrollably. He was both furious and inexplicably amused.
This was the first time since ascending the throne that he had ever felt so blatantly disrespected.
"Outrageous! How dare you insult His Majesty? Guards, seize this wretch!" Before the Emperor could speak, the young eunuch standing beside him—a peak Dragon Transformation expert—shouted coldly.
A group of armored imperial guards immediately rushed in from outside.
"Audacious!" Gu Qingfeng roared. "I am the Equal King! Who dares lay a hand on me?"
The imperial guards paid him no heed, surrounding him without hesitation.
Damn it! The title of Equal King really doesn’t carry much weight.
Gu Qingfeng cursed inwardly, but outwardly, he remained unruffled.
Just as they were about to drag him away, he suddenly shouted, "Wait!"
The imperial guards, experienced in such matters, paused—knowing that when someone yelled "wait," it was customary to wait.
They glanced at the Emperor, gauging whether he wished to hear more.
At that moment, Gu Qingfeng's sigh drew everyone's attention.
"Ah, I had hoped to interact with you all as an ordinary prince, but all I received in return was suspicion and distance. Very well, I’ll come clean—I am actually a disciple of... a god!"
The moment the word "god" left his lips, everyone's eyebrows shot up.
"...To be precise, the True God who came to the capital recently to capture Demon Pu is my master."
The revelation sent waves of shock through the crowd. The implications were staggering.
Not long ago, the appearance of a god in the capital had been common knowledge. Now, a disciple of that god had emerged?
Their first instinct was disbelief.
Only Situ Kong's expression turned grave.
He had personally faced the god and remembered every word spoken that day.
The god had said that a "fortunate one" would present the Ageless Pill to the Emperor and that only one member of the Gu family was worthy of notice.
And the Equal King just happened to be surnamed Gu!
Could this be a coincidence?
Now that he thought about it, the god's words seemed laden with hidden meaning, both statements pointing toward something deeper.
"What a brazen fraud! With your meager talent—barely at the Internal Qi Realm—how could a god possibly take you as a disciple? Ridiculous! Take him away!" the young eunuch sneered.
The imperial guards moved to act.
"Wait!"
Situ Kong abruptly stopped them.
The guards sighed inwardly—twice now, they had been halted mid-action.
"Your Majesty, grant me a moment. There are matters I must verify," Situ Kong said solemnly to the Emperor.
Then, through a secret voice transmission, he relayed his suspicions.
The Emperor was no fool. Those in positions of power rarely believed in coincidences—after all, they themselves had orchestrated countless "coincidences" in their lifetimes. They knew all too well that behind every seeming coincidence lay deliberate design.
"Granted."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Situ Kong turned to Gu Qingfeng, his gaze piercing. "You claim to be the disciple of a god. Do you have proof?"
"Of course!"
Gu Qingfeng showed no hesitation. Since the god was none other than himself, he wasn’t borrowing someone else’s prestige—there was no risk of exposure.
With that, he produced the Mid-grade Heavenly Tier Spirit Weapon—the Kalan Pearl.
The moment the Buddhist treasure appeared, it captivated all present. Perfectly smooth like jade, it radiated a serene golden light, as if bathing the entire Golden Chime Hall in its glow.
"That’s... the Kalan Pearl, a sacred Buddhist artifact!" someone exclaimed.
Those gathered were all figures of high standing, well-versed in rare treasures. Few would fail to recognize such an item.
At the sight of the Kalan Pearl, most were immediately inclined to believe Gu Qingfeng’s claim.
When the god had appeared, Demon Pu had publicly surrendered all his possessions—including the Kalan Pearl.
Later, when the Buddhist sect learned that their long-lost treasure had resurfaced, they had even sent envoys to the capital to investigate.
These events had spread throughout the capital and beyond.
Situ Kong’s pupils constricted the moment he saw the Kalan Pearl. He had witnessed Demon Pu handing it over to the god.
And now, here it was in Gu Qingfeng’s hands. Did this not mean... Gu Qingfeng truly was the god’s disciple?
How else could the Kalan Pearl be in his possession?
First, it was a Mid-grade Heavenly Tier Spirit Weapon, a unique treasure of the Buddhist sect—impossible to replicate.
Second, if the god hadn’t bestowed it upon him, who in this world could possibly seize an artifact from a deity?
"This is the protective spirit weapon my master gifted me, obtained from Demon Pu’s offerings. You’ve all heard of it, haven’t you? Does this suffice as proof?" Gu Qingfeng declared with an air of arrogance.
Seeing his smug demeanor, the crowd found themselves believing him even more.
After all, if he weren’t the god’s disciple, how could he afford to be so brazen?
If he weren’t the god’s disciple, how could he dare call the Emperor "brother" and boldly claim to share the realm with him?
They had initially thought Gu Qingfeng a madman, but now it seemed he had every reason to be audacious—with a god backing him, who wouldn’t act with such impunity?
【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.)
] [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.”
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
