The gloomy sky seemed ready to rain at any moment.
Drip—
Yet what fell first, shattering into crystalline droplets upon the ground, was not rain but pale golden blood, along with tattered strips of cloth fluttering down.
Jiang Yu, his face marred, gripped Jiang Chulong by the neck, his double-pupiled eyes reflecting her ash-gray irises, now exposed as the cloth strips fell away.
No trace of tearful grievance or disbelief remained in them.
In his memories, Jiang Chulong had always been a timid and fragile girl.
Even when bullied by palace maids—who swapped the royal winter charcoal for smoky, inferior coal—she would still whisper a meek "thank you."
Later, it was he who shielded her for years, disgusted by the greedy siblings who clung to him for profit.
Jiang Chulong was different. She could treasure a discarded doll from Yu Yang like a priceless treasure, her joy lasting for ages.
Yet he had always wondered why she lived in the cold palace.
Eventually, his mother’s personal maid revealed the truth: it was all the Empress’s doing.
Every hardship Jiang Chulong endured was orchestrated by his mother, while he, the pride of the Empress, had deluded himself into playing the savior.
Of course, had it ended there, the two might have merely grown distant.
But then he discovered the reason behind his once-godlike father’s gradual decline.
"The one who ascends the throne cannot attain immortality."
His father had never been the crown prince. A wanderer at heart, he roamed the martial world with pride, befriending heroes and earning renown as the reincarnation of the Martial Emperor. When the crown prince died suddenly, his father took the throne—only to weaken over the long years.
At first, Jiang Yu brimmed with confidence. If his father faltered, he would not. He would surpass him.
Then, during ancestral rites, he found his father’s lingering will from youth.
Ten battles. Ten defeats.
His father, too, had been in his early twenties.
Yet despite his double pupils, Jiang Yu lost again and again, crushed so utterly he could barely lift his head. By the end, he felt no pain—only an all-encompassing numbness.
Had his father been hiding his true strength all these years?
Burning with questions, he went to the Dragon-Keeping Pavilion.
There, he saw not the Great Yu Emperor—revered, mighty, and wise—but...
A tormented failure. A beast caged by fate.
That night, he staggered through the palace’s labyrinthine walls, long and shadowed.
Then, at the end of the gloom, a door opened.
"Big Brother Crown Prince... you came to see me again?"
The girl leaning against the doorframe smiled—hopeful, yet cautious.
The despair festering in his heart birthed a mad impulse, a thorned vine.
Instinctively, he seized it.
Climb.
Leave everything behind...
Even if the path led only to deeper darkness.
"Double pupils—the path of the invincible... ha."
Jiang Yu snapped back to reality, his dual gaze turning icy.
He raised his sword, ready to carve open Jiang Chulong’s chest and uncover the divine relic resonating with her sword bone.
But then—
A searing pain tore through his own chest.
Within his manifested divine will, the sacred sword clenched in the golden dragon’s jaws thrashed violently, slicing the beast’s maw bloody.
Thud—
His chest split first.
The bloodied, sword-shaped bone erupted with noble silver radiance, its aura piercing through all laws, and struck the Imperial Dragon Sword—shattering it midair.
"The sword bone... mine!"
Jiang Yu abandoned Jiang Chulong, snatching desperately for the Imperial Sword Bone.
His divine will convulsed. Golden dragons roared. The imperial domain trembled, shaking heaven and earth. He stood one step from the Inner Realm—yet this upheaval far surpassed it.
"What’s happening?"
Bystanders stared in confusion. Why had Jiang Yu’s divine will erupted so violently?
To the clueless commoners and martial artists, it was pure chaos.
"The Imperial Sword Bone wants to return to Chulong," Ying Bing murmured.
"Chulong, get back here!"
Li Mo shouted toward the stage.
A new sword bone had already formed within Chulong. Their goal was achieved.
If they waited for Jiang Yu to recover, escape might be impossible.
The little princess, ever obedient to her "Big Brother Li," scurried back, clutching her rabbit for comfort. After a few frantic pats, she whispered:
"Big Brother Li... the Green Leaf Sword is broken..."
"You’ve done enough. It’s just a sword. I’ll forge you ten more if needed."
Li Mo’s gaze shifted to the stage.
A figure materialized beside Jiang Yu—an austere, middle-aged man in a plain black robe and tall hat, his face expressionless.
Yet his presence alone made the surrounding Sky Patrol guards bow deeply.
He represented the Great Yu imperial clan.
With one hand, the black-robed man slammed Jiang Yu’s shoulder. With the other, he wrenched the sword bone free—then brutally hammered it back into Jiang Yu’s chest.
His voice, devoid of emotion, echoed across the capital through the Rivers and Mountains Scroll:
"Jiang Chulong has fallen from the stage. Jiang Yu wins."
His gaze lingered on Jiang Chulong, Li Mo, and Ying Bing before he vanished in a sweep of his sleeve.
"The tournament continues."
The violet-robed eunuch on the judges’ platform announced loudly.
The disturbance ended as abruptly as it began, leaving the crowd bewildered.
Yet one thought nagged at them all:
Jiang Yu was declared the winner... so why did it feel like he lost?
---
Among the nobles:
"Eldest Brother Crown Prince, are you unharmed?"
Princess Yu Yang offered a vial of healing balm, subtly studying Jiang Yu’s expression.
Strangely, his complexion was robust, his aura steady.
"I’m fine."
Jiang Yu ignored the stares. Though he hadn’t discerned what lay within Jiang Chulong, there was a silver lining:
The resisting force within the Imperial Sword Bone had weakened after its outburst.
Assimilating it would now be easier.
He looked up at the Rivers and Mountains Scroll.
This victory meant advancing to the next round—where his opponent...
Would be either Li Mo or Ning Que.
Why "either"?
Because the other stages had long been decided.
Ning Que had only just defeated Huang Donglai and now prepared to face Li Mo.
On the stage:
Ning Que gasped for air, lowering the jade flute he’d played for half an hour.
"Done running? You could’ve surrendered earlier. No need to exhaust yourself."
"That just means you’re out of shape."
Huang Donglai shook his head.
"You try playing for half an hour and see how you feel!"
Ning Que snapped, whacking Huang Donglai off the stage with his flute.
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
