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.
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.
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)
and couldn't return to the real world. Finally, I gave up and decided to go with the flow, only to discover that writing a diary could make me stronger. Since no one could read it, Su Luo wrote freely, daring to pen anything and everything. Female Lead #1: "Not bad. This diary helped me steal all the protagonist's opportunities. I just want to get stronger." Female Lead #2: "I don’t care about reaching the peak of the cultivation world. Right now, I just want to enjoy the chaos." Female Lead #3: "What? Everyone around me is a spy? I’m the Joker Demon Lord?" ... It’s so strange. Why is the plot completely off track, yet the ending remains the same? Are you all just messing with me?!
] [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!"
