There were no tears of emotion upon reunion.
No surging waves of feeling.
It was sudden.
And it was calm.
Like a quiet afternoon, where one has a deep nap, only to be awakened from a dream.
When they woke, time remained unchanged.
The familiar people were still familiar.
The years had not altered them in the slightest.
Yes.
This was never a reunion after a farewell, but a dream that had lasted a little longer. That's why the girl called out naturally, and Xu Xi smiled gently.
"I'm awake, Yingxue," Xu Xi said.
At the turn of the year.
Xu Xi, the Great Master who had been in a deep slumber, finally opened his eyes to gaze once more upon the Princess.
She smiled, her smile radiant.
She should have grown more mature, yet in front of Xu Xi, she displayed the same lively demeanor as before, hopping and sitting beside him.
Under the dim night sky, they watched the stars that had been lit on the ground together.
And she couldn't help but tease Xu Xi about his habit of sleeping.
"Master, you slept for far too long."
"I was almost waiting to fall asleep myself."
Wu Yingxue said this, and made a fake yawn, her red and white robes stretching out as she did, still as fiery as Xu Xi remembered.
"Sorry, it's my fault," Xu Xi said with a smile, not offering any excuses.
He knew.
He had indeed "slept" for far too long.
Long enough for the soldiers of the Living Army and the Princess, who had worked so hard for this, to wait through countless days and nights.
Fortunately, the tragedy had ended.
Everyone had reunited in a beautiful reality.
After a pause, Xu Xi added, "Yingxue, thank you for waking me up. You've been working hard."
Xu Xi's gratitude came so suddenly.
It took the girl by surprise.
Her lips slightly parted: "Well, it's okay... I didn't do much."
Xu Xi's thanks were not only for her earlier call but also for the girl's efforts during Xu Xi's "sleep." She had led the Living Army and continued their tenacious survival.
Wu Yingxue understood this deeper meaning.
Somehow.
Her nose felt a little stuffy.
Her eyes felt a bit uncomfortable.
Why was that? The Princess thought it must be the warmth she felt from the firelight on this cold winter night, finally bringing her a sense of happiness.
She grinned, trying to appear unaffected, and asked Xu Xi about his recent life.
"Me?"
Actually, not much has changed. Just normal cultivation and living. Occasionally, I chat with everyone in Qingniu Town.
Xu Xi spoke softly with a smile.
What he said was just trivial daily life.
But the Princess listened closely, finding it engrossing.
When she heard that Xu Xi had given everyone New Year's gifts, Wu Yingxue teased, "Master, I want a New Year's gift too. You have to make it up to me, or else I'll get mad."
The girl laughed playfully.
Her tone was full of teasing mischief.
"Which one do you want?" Xu Xi's reply caught Wu Yingxue off guard once more.
Which one?
What did that mean?
Soon, she found the answer.
Xu Xi took out a spatial ring and poured out many items, including a bundle of folded paper flowers, a newly forged spear, and even a beautiful dress.
There were many.
The items were truly numerous.
They were too many for Wu Yingxue to not be stunned.
"Master, these are all... prepared for me?"
The girl's voice was filled with uncertainty.
Xu Xi nodded, "Since you weren't here, I didn't know what to give you. So I prepared a variety, just in case you didn't like any of them."
Night fell, and the stars reflected the gentle moonlight; everything silently waited in the darkness.
The still water surface rippled once again.
It had been engulfed in the deep embrace of the night moon.
Wu Yingxue had never imagined that even when she wasn't on Earth, Xu Xi had still prepared gifts for her, and such a large number of them.
Truly.
Wu Yingxue said to Xu Xi with a smile, "Master, you're such a big fool."
Only such a fool would do something this foolish.
Wu Yingxue chuckled, collecting all the gifts from the ground: "Of course, I want all the gifts from Master. Children make choices, but I don't."
"Don't worry, Master, I like these gifts very much."
She stuck out her tongue.
Made a silly face at Xu Xi.
The girl was full of mischievous charm.
Then, her gaze swept around, she quickly pulled a chicken leg from one of the gifts the villagers had given Xu Xi.
With glistening oil, she nibbled at it little by little.
Wu Yingxue's eating was much more refined than before.
As if she was deliberately maintaining some kind of image.
"Eat slowly, there's more if you need," Xu Xi said with a smile, watching Wu Yingxue eat.
He noticed a bit of grease at the corner of the Princess's mouth and used elemental force to gently wipe it away.
"Slow down, there's plenty more if you need," Xu Xi said with a smile, watching Wu Yingxue eat.
He noticed a bit of grease at the corner of her mouth and used elemental energy to gently wipe it away.
The night was so deep.
That faces appeared dark.
But the people from the Living Army had lit up a series of fiery stone towers, and the light reflected on their faces, giving them an orange glow.
Wu Yingxue's face was also tinged with a blush from the firelight.
"Yingxue, can you tell me what happened while I was asleep?"
After finishing the chicken leg.
Xu Xi showed curiosity and asked Wu Yingxue.
He had asked the people of the Living Army before, but they knew little, only remembering being revived by Wu Yingxue and not much else.
So.
Xu Xi decided to ask the direct source.
He wanted to know how Wu Yingxue had achieved greatness.
"Mo Li has been killing demon cultivators all along, and Krisha has been slaying gods. Both of their paths were anything but simple."
"I wonder what kind of path Yingxue took?"
Xu Xi was curious and waited for the Princess's answer.
"Master has asked me."
"I must respond."
Wu Yingxue did not refuse. After some simple organizing of her thoughts, she began to recount the story of after leaving the Ten Thousand Mountains.
Leading the Living Army out of the Demon Clan's heartland.
Forming an alliance with the human forces of the Martial World (Wujie).
Through hundreds of years of asceticism, leading the Living Army to slay the Azure Dragon, eating its flesh and drinking its blood.
...
As Wu Yingxue's story continued, Xu Xi's expression grew increasingly incredulous.
He hadn't considered it too far-fetched.
That Wu Yingxue's path would become so extraordinary.
But was it too ridiculous?
After slaying the Azure Dragon, Wu Yingxue's narrative became more and more outrageous: endless inner world swallowing, absorbing the principles of the universe, clearly a protagonist's template.
No.
Was this even reasonable!?
Did the world really need him to die to unleash everyone else's potential?
Xu Xi was overwhelmed. Upon hearing about Wu Yingxue single-handedly annihilating demons from the Martial Realm with a single spear strike, he silently compared it to the path he had originally forged through the Ten Thousand Mountains.
"Yingxue... your progress is simply incredible."
The girl's strength had surpassed even his own. Xu Xi was happy for her.
But in his happiness, Xu Xi felt the world was spiteful towards him.
invincible power, Gu Changge transmigrates into a fantasy world, bound to a sign-in system that grants him cultivation rewards and various peerless treasures daily. While others struggle desperately to break through their cultivation realms, he has long since reached the pinnacle of the Great Dao, becoming a reclusive Emperor whose true strength even he himself cannot fathom. Originally planning to lie low and retire peacefully on Purple Bamboo Peak, the system suddenly issues a new task — take on disciples. With no other choice, Gu Changge casually picks up a few disciples: The eldest disciple, born with a War God Constitution, is thrown a copy of "War God Stratagems" by him, and ends up conquering the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, becoming a peerless War God who sweeps across the cosmos. The second disciple, possessing a Chaos Sword Body, can break all techniques with a single sword, his swordsmanship unmatched throughout history. He points his sword at the heavens: "My master said, the sword and the man stand together. If the sword perishes... my master will give me another one." The third disciple, a reborn Empress who returns to her throne, her elegance and grace overshadowing all beings. And without anyone noticing, his own sect, the Qingxuan Sect, has become the number one sect on the continent. Looking at these unbelievably formidable disciples, Gu Changge, holding the "Primordial Purple Qi" he just signed in for, falls into deep thought: — Wasn't this supposed to be a peaceful retirement? How did I become the ultimate master?!
. 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!"
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)
] [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!"
