Soul Heavenly Emperor was instantly stunned, because this was completely different from the scene of mutual admiration between heroes he had imagined.
"Get lost! With strength like this, you dare to share the title of Heavenly Emperor with me? You’re not even worthy!"
"What?!" Soul Heavenly Emperor snapped back to reality, his fury erupting. He never expected Gu Qingfeng to flip like a dog’s mood, changing his tone in an instant.
"You’re asking for death!"
With a roar of rage, Soul Heavenly Emperor suddenly opened his mouth wide and inhaled deeply from the endless sea of blood. A terrifying suction force erupted from his maw, drawing in every drop of the blood mist that filled the heavens and earth.
BOOM!
A thunderous rumble echoed from Soul Heavenly Emperor’s belly as boundless ghostly energy erupted from his body. In the blink of an eye, he swelled into a colossal ghostly titan, towering tens of thousands of feet tall. His entire form was pitch-black, clad in an outer layer of bone armor that encased his gargantuan frame tightly.
The ghostly titan stood tall in the endless abyss, nearly level with its depths.
"Gu Qingfeng, today I’ll show you my true power!"
Soul Heavenly Emperor’s voice boomed like divine thunder, shaking the heavens. With every breath, even the howling winds and swirling sands of the abyss seemed to freeze in place.
BOOM!
Soul Heavenly Emperor threw a punch, its force like a falling meteor, covering a radius of millions of miles. The void shattered instantly, and the very laws of the universe wailed in despair.
Gu Qingfeng felt a flicker of anticipation. Was that weak earlier strike just a test? Now, he was finally getting serious.
He retaliated with a punch of his own, releasing a wisp of chaotic energy for show. But inwardly, he braced for a sudden surge in power.
Yet, after the collision, the earth was obliterated, the shockwave reducing millions of miles to a vacuum. Even the projections of nearby Quasi-Emperors were dispersed like smoke.
But the gloom on Gu Qingfeng’s face only darkened—this punch was merely fifty percent stronger than the last.
"Damn it! What a waste of my time!" Gu Qingfeng cursed aloud before unleashing the full might of his Chaos Body.
Boundless chaotic energy coiled around him, radiating immortal divine laws. Countless Dao runes surged forth, dazzlingly radiant, weaving together into a blinding celestial light unlike anything seen before.
In a thousandth of an instant, the chaotic radiance shot forth like a laser beam, piercing straight through Soul Heavenly Emperor’s ghostly titan.
"ARGH!"
Soul Heavenly Emperor screamed as his titan form shattered, his true body tumbling out of the void, drenched in blood.
"No! Impossible! You possess the full strength of a Heavenly Emperor?! But the fifth trial hasn’t even..."
Gu Qingfeng’s mind raced. Full Heavenly Emperor strength? The fifth trial? Could it be...
"You haven’t recovered your peak power yet?"
"Of course not! How could I regain my peak when I haven’t reclaimed my Dao?" Soul Heavenly Emperor replied fearfully.
His fear wasn’t of Gu Qingfeng’s power, but of being killed on a whim—all those endless years of waiting would be for nothing.
Gu Qingfeng frowned. "Aren’t you Emperor-corpses supposed to regain full strength once you reclaim your immortal bodies and devour your projections? You’ve done both—why aren’t you at your peak?"
Soul Heavenly Emperor scoffed. "Who told you there’s only one projection? Do you think a mighty being like me, Soul Heavenly Emperor, would have such a weak projection?
"The one in the endless abyss is just a fraction. The real prize is in the fifth trial—it reflects our peak selves, forming a projection. Only by devouring that can we regain our full power."
Gu Qingfeng suddenly understood. The projections weren’t singular—the ones in the endless abyss were mere warm-ups, obstacles to temper Quasi-Emperors.
The fifth trial, however, was a battle against one’s peak self. Soul Heavenly Emperor and the others had lost their Daos, leaving them weakened, while the fifth trial’s projections still possessed them. Their goal was to seize their Daos back from those projections.
As for how, or whether they could win...
Gu Qingfeng figured it wasn’t a problem. They must have a method—otherwise, they wouldn’t be here risking their lives.
After all, a Heavenly Emperor’s Dao was self-cultivated. Taking back what was theirs from a projection shouldn’t be difficult.
At this realization, Gu Qingfeng was suddenly overcome with regret. He cursed his own blindness—he had nearly killed a comrade! Thankfully, Soul Heavenly Emperor was sturdy enough to survive his punch, or he’d have lived with eternal remorse.
"Soul Heavenly Emperor, get up quickly—the ground’s cold." Gu Qingfeng flashed over, helping him to his feet.
"Y-You... what are you doing?!" Soul Heavenly Emperor tensed at the contact, fearing a sudden lethal strike.
But Gu Qingfeng merely dusted him off, straightened his robes, and even stuffed a handful of healing pills into his hands.
"A misunderstanding, Soul Heavenly Emperor—all just a misunderstanding.
"When I saw how weak you were, wearing that bone mask and hiding your face, I thought you were an imposter!
"You have no idea—I’ve long admired you from afar! The moment I saw someone pretending to be you, I flew into a rage and struck without thinking."
Soul Heavenly Emperor: "..."
An incense stick’s time later...
Having barely recovered, Soul Heavenly Emperor reluctantly accepted Gu Qingfeng’s flimsy excuse.
"So... it was all a misunderstanding?"
"Exactly! Just a misunderstanding." Gu Qingfeng smiled warmly.
Soul Heavenly Emperor’s lips twitched. With the situation stacked against him, he had no choice but to play along.
"Fine. Since the misunderstanding’s cleared, I’ll head to the fifth trial to reclaim my Dao now."
He couldn’t bear to stay near Gu Qingfeng any longer. This man was even more mercurial than himself—beneath that friendly face, who knew when he’d turn murderous again?
"Leaving so soon? Shouldn’t you rest more? What if your injuries keep you from reclaiming your Dao?" Gu Qingfeng asked with genuine concern.
Soul Heavenly Emperor stared at the heartfelt worry on his face, feeling nothing but absurdity—and the urge to curse.
Damn it! You’re the one who beat me half to death, and now you’re playing the compassionate saint?!
Yet, bizarrely, based on his centuries of experience, Gu Qingfeng’s concern seemed real. He genuinely appeared more worried than Soul Heavenly Emperor himself about reclaiming the Dao.
Weird. Too weird.
Unable to stand another second, Soul Heavenly Emperor muttered a few dismissive words before fleeing without looking back.
Gu Qingfeng stood rooted in place, watching his comrade’s retreating figure until it vanished into the endless black sands. Only then did he lower his gaze.
"Stay safe!" he shouted into the storm.
Those two simple words carried boundless hope, care, and worry for his comrade.
THUD!
Somewhere in the swirling sands, a heavy thud echoed, followed by the sound of something scrambling to its feet—then frantic footsteps sprinting away...
At that moment, Gu Qingfeng felt like a proud father watching his son leave home—like he’d pedaled a bicycle for miles down mountain roads just to send his child off on a bus to the big city.
He hoped his son would succeed, rise above, and return safely.
] [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.”
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
【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.)
