As dusk fell and the sun dipped below the horizon, Li Mo returned to the blacksmith's shop, carrying the hopes of the entire village and a wild deer that had been frightened to death by a demon.
The humble, rustic courtyard was filled with wisps of smoke gently swaying in the breeze.
"Do celestial fairies even need to eat?"
While preparing the venison and skewering it on bamboo sticks, Li Mo secretly pondered. Maybe he should offer some to her once it was grilled—his roasted meat was exceptional, after all. He figured that both blacksmithing and cooking required precise control of heat, making them oddly similar.
If she didn’t eat it, perhaps heavenly beings simply didn’t need food...
Lost in thought, the young blacksmith suddenly froze as he sat on the earthen doorstep.
Without him noticing, Ying Bing had stepped out of the house and settled beside him on the same threshold.
Her hair rippled in the gentle breeze as she hugged her knees, her bright, spirited eyes studying him with an amused gaze, as if she could never tire of looking at him.
Li Mo’s face flushed, his mind drifting somewhere far away.
"Shouldn’t you flip it?"
"Oh—right! Sorry, you’re just... too beautiful." Li Mo hastily turned the venison over.
"You’re still as foolish and childish as ever."
"Huh?"
The young blacksmith didn’t understand, but he suddenly felt as if an arrow had struck his heart.
Before his transmigration, he had prided himself on being unshakable. Now, faced with a true beauty’s charm, he realized he was utterly defenseless.
No—what was he thinking? The celestial fairy was probably just momentarily amused...
"Would you like some?"
"Not like this." Ying Bing shook her head.
"You don’t like grilled meat?" Li Mo was a little disappointed, assuming she didn’t consume mortal food.
"Because you haven’t finished it yet."
Ying Bing took out a few chili peppers, crushed them into powder, then mixed them with other seasonings.
"Try it."
"Lady Fairy, you’re skilled in cooking too? This is amazing!"
Li Mo took a tentative bite, his eyes lighting up instantly—it tasted just like the barbecue from his past life! He had wanted to recreate it here but couldn’t find all the ingredients.
Pleased by the praise, Ying Bing instinctively reached for Li Mo’s hand but pursed her lips and restrained herself, opting to take a skewer of meat instead.
Glossy grease shimmered on her lips:
"Don’t call me ‘Lady.’"
"Then what should I call you?"
"Just... call me sister."
Resting her chin in her palm, her eyes brimming with mirth, she blinked lightly—nearly blinding the young blacksmith with her radiance.
This celestial sister wasn’t quite what the village elder had described.
How many times would he have to save the world to marry someone like her?
"So... Fairy Sister, will you stay in Dawang Village forever?"
"Where you are, I will be."
Li Mo didn’t understand why she said that, but he realized one thing—
Fate and safety shouldn’t be left to the whims of celestial beings or other uncertain forces.
A man must forge his own path and be his own savior.
The fairy sister staying in Dawang Village gave him that very opportunity...
"That martial technique I used earlier was strange. I know how to perform it, but I can’t explain it... I’d like to teach it to the other villagers."
"I can refine it. It should be possible."
......
"I love watching this."
Shang Qinqing’s eyes sparkled as she made strange, excited noises.
Qin Yuzhi had also been completely converted into a devoted shipper. She was itching to pull the same trick as before—linking their dreams together.
Damn it, I’m not just shipping—I want to fast-forward the romance!
Unfortunately, she couldn’t enter the Scroll of Rivers and Mountains, so the plan had to wait.
Meanwhile, the imperial capital was in an uproar, countless faces twisted in expressions of betrayal, like stray dogs kicked on the roadside.
"Damn it, I came for the intense celestial trials! What is this?!"
"You lured us in just to kill us with sweetness? ‘Call me sister’—just kill me now and get it over with!"
"Something’s off! Isn’t the Scroll supposed to erase memories? What exactly did they forget?!"
"Change the damn channel!"
The scene descended into chaos.
To be fair, the projection had lingered on Li Mo and Ying Bing for so long that everyone nearly forgot—
This was supposed to be a trial of three, yet one person seemed to have been erased from the start...
Jiang Yu was crucial—he was now the only participant left in the Celestial City and, barring unforeseen circumstances, would one day wield the Divine Sword of Heaven.
Emperor Jingtai also felt it was time to check on Jiang Yu’s progress in the capital.
Thus, the scene shifted, returning to the Celestial City.
At that moment, a meeting was underway.
"Jiang Yu is now the most innately powerful among us in the Celestial City. He has already established a faint connection with the Divine Sword and will undoubtedly become its master in time."
A celestial being spoke solemnly.
Though the gathered celestials varied in age and appearance, they all shared the same longevity, making seniority irrelevant.
In the Celestial City, the only threats they faced were the dangers beyond their walls and the calamities of this world.
They respected strength alone—for only the strong could lead them against such perils.
With Ying Bing gone, Jiang Yu was now the mightiest among them.
"Then from now on, we shall follow Jiang Yu’s lead and defer to his judgment!"
Most celestials acknowledged Jiang Yu’s authority.
The few who still hoped for Ying Bing’s return had no grounds to oppose him.
"Since you honor me thus, I shall not refuse."
Jiang Yu took the seat of leadership and asked, "How do you plan to face the calamity fifty years from now?"
The elder celestial who had first supported him—a being born with auspicious violet light and the former leader of the celestials—stroked his beard.
"During the first calamity, the demons are imbued with a strange power, as if favored by the heavens. Their strength surges, and so does their bloodlust."
"They gather in hordes and assault the Celestial City."
"Each time, we intercept them at the human cities, eradicate them, then repair the walls."
"Leader Jiang Yu, during this time, you must hasten to bond with the Divine Sword. Only then can we better control the situation and minimize casualties in the Celestial City."
"At the same time, you should gain experience—preferably in the human cities—to learn how to battle demons. Moreover, the trials of combat will help you master the sword."
The former celestial leader was like an impeccable NPC, laying out both main and side quests with perfect clarity.
Jiang Yu heeded his advice.
Thus, he took the Divine Sword of Heaven and, accompanied by several powerful celestials, left the Celestial City to begin his journey.
Through countless battles and endless reverence from the human cities’ people, who worshipped him as a deity, Jiang Yu’s expressions grew colder, his smiles ever more distant.
After slaying yet another demon, he and his kin soared into the heavens.
The moment they vanished into the azure, his smile faded entirely as he murmured to himself:
"The divine sword seems capable of absorbing the awe of others, growing ever more powerful..."
"The Celestial Clan is so mighty, while the Earthborn are but slightly stronger ants. Why don't we fully claim the Celestial City as our own, subjugating the hearts of the other two cities, enforcing order and hierarchy?"
"By then, the Celestial Clan will ascend even further, and the heavenly calamities will no longer be a threat."
He turned to his fellow Celestial clansman and said:
"Could you dye me a bright yellow robe with the first light of tomorrow's dawn?"
. 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!"
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.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
