Every chess piece dreams of breaking free from the board—the feeling of being constrained at every turn is unbearable. Any cultivator who ascends to the pinnacle seeks unfettered freedom.
Gratitude is gratitude, after all—one who eats another’s food must bow their head, and one who takes another’s gifts must soften their stance. What is owed will naturally be repaid!
But to use gratitude as leverage, forcing someone to do what they refuse? Even if unspoken, resentment will fester in the heart.
Such was the case for Han Qianxue. Rising from obscurity, the chat group had been indispensable in her journey to becoming a Celestial Immortal. She acknowledged this debt. Had the group been willing to keep up appearances—to not blatantly expose its desire to control her—she would have remained unwaveringly loyal, ready to die for their cause without hesitation.
After all, "Repaying the lord’s golden platform favor, drawing the jade dragon to die for the king" was no empty phrase.
Alas, the chat group did not trust her. Every gift was merely a means to mold her into a puppet, to be manipulated at will!
And Han Qianxue, who had climbed from mortal roots to her current heights, was no docile lamb to be led by the nose!
Before, when resistance was impossible, she had no choice. But now, an administrator had emerged, daring to rebel...
Well, this treacherous ship carried great risks—but the rewards were even greater!
The chat group’s backing came from a mighty immortal of the higher realms, seeking to make her a puppet. Now this rebellious administrator was stirring the pot? Fine—let’s fight!
When two tigers clash, one is bound to be wounded. Having taken such a gamble, she would seize the greatest advantage possible!
She would be a partner in this scheme, not a powerless pawn!
Of course, her weight alone wasn’t enough—which was why she intended to drag the deeply acquainted second-ranked powerhouse into the fray.
"You setting conditions pleases me," Chen Yi said calmly, watching her. "But your desire to play both sides? That, I dislike."
Agreeing too readily would arouse her suspicion. This old fox, tempered by years of cultivation with an unshakable Dao heart, wasn’t so easily fooled.
Only by feigning refusal, applying pressure, and then relenting could he lull her into lowering her guard.
Once the chat group’s inspection passed without issue, she’d get what was coming to her!
Han Qianxue felt the crushing weight of his gaze but pressed on. "I need to leave myself a way out, don’t I?"
Chen Yi shook his head slightly. "Don’t think watching from the sidelines will keep you safe. Those who straddle the fence die the worst deaths."
Han Qianxue forced a smile. "Who knows how far your sinking ship will sail? Betting my life on it—the waves are too high. I’m afraid."
Chen Yi held her gaze, letting the pressure build until her primordial spirit teetered on the brink of collapse. Only then did he nod faintly. "Very well. I’ll grant you time to observe. I trust you’ll make the wise choice. Now—you know how to cooperate, don’t you?"
"I believe you won’t break your word," Han Qianxue replied with a slight nod. "First, withdraw from my consciousness. Otherwise, any abnormal state can’t be blamed on me."
Without another word, Chen Yi kicked off, sending tremors through her consciousness as he forcibly withdrew.
The next instant.
Deep within the lair of the Voidborn Abominations.
Chen Yi yanked hard, dumping Han Qianxue out from a concealed pocket dimension.
She lay serene, a swollen lump on her forehead, eyelids puffy as she stirred awake.
"Ugh... that hurts..."
Regaining control of her body, Han Qianxue winced at the throbbing pain in her skull. She channeled immortal energy to disperse the bruise while scanning her surroundings—only to stiffen in shock.
She was no longer on the Azure Cloud Continent. But how had she ended up in the Voidborn Abominations’ nest?
The undying broodmother was gone too. Had this guy wiped it out?
Impressive. No wonder he dared to rebel!
"Had enough time to wake up?" Chen Yi’s voice echoed from nowhere, his form entirely hidden beneath a concealing cloak. "Good. Then prepare your testimony."
Han Qianxue saw nothing—unsurprising, given that if she could, she wouldn’t have been ambushed in the first place.
Not that seeing him would’ve helped. Even with warning, she couldn’t have resisted. But the sheer lack of martial virtue! Not even a chance to struggle—just one punch, and her head still ached...
Shaking off the dizziness, she steadied her turbulent sea of consciousness. "I’m ready. Proceed."
The moment she spoke.
A needle-like apparatus materialized before her, emitting an eerie pulse that scanned her state.
[Confirmed: Disconnected group member—‘Noble Lady Han of the High Isle’]
[Disconnection cause: Mid-Zhōu-grade Bone Cocoon Parasite. Member ‘Noble Lady Han of the High Isle’ was instantly devoured, severing signal.]
[Parasite eliminated. Member status stable, no anomalies detected.]
[Cleared for reintegration into Group One’s jurisdiction.]
Han Qianxue: "..."
Since when was there a "Mid-Zhōu-grade Bone Cocoon Parasite"?
The audacity of this lie!
Chat Group System Administrator, your authority truly knows no bounds!
[Multiverse Travelers’ Mutual Aid Group—Group One—login verification in progress...]
[Inject a strand of divine sense for authentication...]
[No anomalies detected.]
[Next verification: Primordial Spirit resonance sensitivity.]
[Identify personally experienced scenes from among 1.296 billion image nodes. Time limit: 30 seconds...]
[Time’s up. Correct selections: 6. Incorrect: 102. Confirmed as ‘Noble Lady Han of the High Isle’s’ autonomous will.]
[Verification passed. Login permitted.]
"Tch. That many wrong?" Han Qianxue muttered, feigning frustration to prove she wasn’t scheming but genuinely attempting the test.
Chen Yi: "..."
Devious verification system!
Good thing he hadn’t directly puppeteered her. Had he controlled her responses, he’d have objectively matched every memory node—selecting all correctly within the time limit.
And that would’ve been the trap—proof she’d been compromised!
Caution truly paid off.
Now, having cleared the hurdle, Han Qianxue... did she really think she could stay neutral? Heh. Time to put her to work.
Without ceremony, Chen Yi seized control of her account interface.
"Eh? Why can’t I—? Wait! Why’s the interface moving on its own?! You—is this your doing?!"
Panic surged as she recalled the consciousness space—how he’d dismantled the chat group’s imprint and stuffed something inside before reassembling it.
What had he inserted?
Could it be... some kind of virus?!
Oh no!!!
Her chat group account was gone—along with everything she hadn’t withdrawn yet!!!
Watching Han Qianxue clutch her chest, seemingly heartbroken to the point of suffocation, Chen Yi smirked.
"Done here. I’ve kept my word—no coercion. You may return to the Azure Cloud Continent now. A surprise awaits."
With that, he vanished without a trace, as though he’d never been there at all.
Due to the effect of the Cloak of Concealment, Han Qianxue couldn't see Chen Yi at all. But when she heard him trying to leave after taking everything he wanted without consequences, she immediately panicked:
"No, don't go! I was wrong, I shouldn't have been greedy. I don't want any surprises anymore, just please give my account back. I'll do anything you say..."
"Senior... senior, are you still there?"
"Please say something? I'm scared... don't leave me alone like this..."
"Ahhh!!! You bastard! You complete bastard!!!"
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
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)
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
