The seating areas of the major sects were now within arm's reach of the Golden Dragon Palace. The few who could pass through here—whether nobles, hypocrites in fine robes, or even towering figures of the martial world—all paid their respects with reverence.
The recipient of their deference was a silver-haired old woman. Her attire, woven in patterns foreign to this world, and her faintly golden eyes exuded an aura that seemed otherworldly.
"Achoo!"
Beside her, Tian Miao sneezed and scratched her chin in puzzlement.
"Someone's talking about you."
It took the old woman a long moment to react.
"Who would be thinking of this old one? Li Mo? We’ve already done him a favor—he wouldn’t dare, would he?"
Tian Miao gazed into the distance and spotted Empress Chuge just beyond the Meridian Gate.
With a hint of confusion, she asked,
"Master, why did you rank Her Majesty second this time?"
"Who do you think is superior between the two?" Old Granny Yantian countered.
"Of course, it’s Miss Bing'er... but Her Majesty is of noble status," Tian Miao replied, still perplexed.
"No."
Old Granny Yantian stroked her cane, narrowed her eyes, and murmured softly,
"Across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, none surpass her in nobility."
"Huh?"
Tian Miao was stunned.
"None surpass her in nobility"—but who exactly was this "her"?
Her master hadn’t clarified, but Tian Miao had another way to verify it.
Recently, her divination arts had advanced, allowing her to glimpse more of the future. So...
She could peer into the fates of both Miss Bing'er and Empress Chuge. Whoever made her cough up more blood would be the one her master meant.
But after some thought, she resisted the urge to act on curiosity. Divining recklessly in the imperial capital might invite unforeseeable consequences.
Just as the crowd buzzed with chatter like a downpour, the bronze carriage inched forward, and Li Mo stepped out first, hopping down.
As everyone knew, Li Mo was no peerless beauty.
But his carriage couldn’t possibly hold only him.
Countless eyes converged on the bronze carriage, eager to catch a glimpse of the woman who could overshadow the Empress of Great Yu—what appearance she would present today.
A delicate hand brushed aside the carriage curtain, and the figure within rose into the sunlight. The fluttering of her phoenix-feathered robes, unique under heaven, still paled beside her face—a cold yet noble beauty, her grace innate, unrelated to status or rank.
When the Tyndall effect manifests, light takes form.
When she stood there, beauty became tangible.
Especially when she let Li Mo take her hand, her ethereal aura gained a vivid spark.
Ding-ling—
The wind chimes at the carriage eaves rang crisply.
Rustle...
From nowhere, a shower of blossoms scattered like snowflakes in a westerly gale.
That’s right!
"Since we’re here..."
Li Mo muttered, gripping the Mirage Pearl.
So what if Empress Chuge had her grand entrance?
They could add special effects!
Ying Bing shot him a glance, torn between amusement and resignation.
Let him have his fun...
The crowd fell silent, feeling that witnessing this scene made their lives complete.
"Darling, let’s be honest—she’s prettier than you. Even if you rip my ears off, I won’t take it back!"
"Why does it feel like her face has changed somehow? I can’t pinpoint it, but it’s different from before."
"Will she perform today? I still remember her sword dance at the Armament Forging Assembly."
"Obviously not."
"Why?"
"Li Mo is the sponsor of the Hundred Blossoms Festival! Look at him grinning like a fool—you think he’d let Fairy Han perform for others?"
"Damn, so that’s why he poured so much money into this. It all makes sense now."
Meanwhile...
Empress Chuge, surrounded by palace attendants, had just passed the Meridian Gate when she suddenly halted and turned back, her gaze lingering with deep complexity—longing, envy, and more.
"So beautiful..."
Even the maid supporting her was entranced, unable to tear her eyes away.
The maid shuddered, sensing the empress’s icy stare, and hastily lowered her head.
"This servant deserves death."
"All admire beauty—how could this one be so petty?"
Empress Chuge gently patted the maid’s hand.
"Go to the ancestral hall and summon Granduncle."
"Yes."
At these words, an inconspicuous palace maid’s eyes flickered as she observed the scene beyond the gate—her, and him, hand in hand—before slipping into the shadows.
At the festival entrance...
All of the imperial capital could witness the Hundred Blossoms Festival, but most could only watch via the "broadcast" of the Realm Panorama Scroll. Those queuing here for live attendance were all figures of extraordinary status.
Among them were privileged scholars from the Imperial Academy.
One, overcome with excitement, was moved to compose poetry on the spot.
"Fairy Han... such celestial grace..."
Song Qian stood dazed for a long while before suddenly declaring, "I must pen a verse!"
"Don’t do this, Song Qian. Don’t."
"Poetry? Your clichés would shame the academy!"
"Snatch his brush! Don’t let him embarrass us!"
His classmates, well aware of his literary "prowess," rushed to stop him.
One noticed Song Qian’s entourage and frowned.
"Song Qian, when did you replace all your attendants?"
At this, Hall Master Lu of the Verdant Wood Society and the disguised servants around Song Qian tensed slightly.
Indeed, the group following Song Qian—including the disguised Hall Master Lu—were all members of the Demon Summoning Cult.
Confucian martial arts were peculiar, neither purely martial nor scholarly. Who knew if they had methods to expose their identities?
"None of your business."
Song Qian snorted, displeased at the attempt to seize his brush.
Another scholar whispered something into the doubter’s ear, and the latter’s face paled. Clutching his backside, he scrambled away as if fleeing a plague.
Song Qian: "?"
He felt something deeply offensive had been implied.
"Young Master, let’s head in first," Hall Master Lu suggested calmly.
"You go ahead. I’ll wait here a bit longer."
Song Qian stubbornly remained, craning his neck for a better view.
"Very well. We’ll proceed first."
With no other choice, Hall Master Lu handed the golden invitation to the violet-robed eunuch at the gate.
"Last time, Father acted all chummy with Li Mo—must’ve been for official business. Now that the festival’s a done deal, heh..."
Song Qian smirked inwardly.
In officialdom, groveling when needed and kicking aside when useless was the norm.
He wasn’t afraid now...
"Ah, Minister Song!"
Just then, Song Baiyue peeked out from a carriage behind them, assisted forward to the entrance.
Dizzy and disoriented by the clamor, the elder Song failed to spot his unlucky son.
"Sword Hero Li, Fairy Han."
The violet-robed eunuch first greeted Li Mo and his companion, then turned to Minister Song with a shrill voice.
"Oh, Lord Song, His Majesty was waiting for your report yesterday and sent this humble servant to look for you three times. Could it be that you’ve cast His Majesty aside?"
"His Majesty is broad-minded and may not mind, but this servant cannot bear to see the imperial health suffer. We must have a serious talk about this."
Lord Song immediately recognized that the other party was picking a fight—angling for bribes and favors.
But the truth was, he had genuinely forgotten about the report last night...
Song Baiyue: "How about I invite you to the Moonlit Pavilion later? We can discuss this properly..."
Li Mo: "......"
Old Song really wasn’t sober yet. Though the Moonlit Pavilion now ran legitimate business, many still saw it otherwise.
Wasn’t this like inviting a eunuch to a brothel?
Sure enough, the purple-robed eunuch was not amused, his expression darkening:
"Lord Song, what exactly were you doing last night?"
"I..."
Song Baiyue realized his blunder but found himself tongue-tied—after all, he truly hadn’t been doing anything proper.
He could only turn to Li Mo for help.
"Uncle Li, Auntie... could you two put in a word for me?"
"......"
Li Mo was genuinely stunned.
Old Song really had the nerve to call them that—no wonder he rose through the ranks so swiftly. His audacity was practically as thick as Xuan steel.
"???"
Young Master Song felt as if struck by lightning.
What the hell? Had his seniority just dropped another notch?
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
esick Sect? Well, at least it's considered a respectable orthodox sect. Wait a minute— What kind of vibe are you all giving off? Shouldn’t this be a love-struck, romance-obsessed sect? Why does everyone here sound more like demonic cultivators? "Master, today he’s getting married. This disciple wishes to descend the mountain and crash the wedding, then toy with him to death right in front of his wife..." "Elder, I only got into your sect through connections, so why won’t you teach me anything?" "Because I also became an elder through connections." Thankfully, Su Ji was just an outer sect labor disciple. Surely, nothing too crazy would— "Junior Brother, you’ve broken through to Qi Refining. Once you sever your useless spiritual root, you can officially become an outer sect disciple." "The Great Dao is merciless. Don’t let a worthless spiritual root waste your essence and spirit, hindering your cultivation." Is this really the Lovesick Sect? ... Three years later, Su Ji sat in the seat of the Lovesick Sect’s sect master, sighing with emotion. His rise to this position all started when his junior sister adamantly insisted on preserving his "spiritual root." "Mmm... Senior Brother, what’s our relationship now?" "Stop talking. Keep going." "By the way, that newly promoted top-tier sect—didn’t they come to buy our Love Beans?" "One top-grade spirit stone per Love Bean—is that really so expensive?" "I suspect they’ve eaten too many Love Beans." "Now they’re lovesick." Well, this really is the Lovesick Sect after all.
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
【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.)
