The originally overcast sky was torn open, and sunlight poured down as if it had substance.
Yet the expected scene did not unfold.
The undead struck by the holy magic should have rapidly dissolved into dust, but they simply stood there, their hollow eye sockets seemingly filled with mockery.
Fang Zhiyi grinned. Anti-magic coating—this was one of his research achievements, and he had the books from the Mage Tower to thank for it.
"How is this possible?" The priest's jaw dropped. Holy magic had no effect on these creatures of death! The bones that should have been scorched by sunlight now gleamed brilliantly.
"A priest? I have those too." Fang Zhiyi waved his hand, and several hooded figures stepped forward, raising their hands in unison. The skeleton soldiers assaulting the city walls suddenly moved with heightened speed, as if bolstered by some enhancement.
What filled the defenders with despair, however, was the sight of the ghouls halting their attacks and instead drawing eerie magic circles on the ground.
The archmage reacted first: "Stop them!"
"Too late." With Fang Zhiyi's mocking smile, countless hands burst forth from the earth on the battlefield—some green with decay, others already reduced to bone.
The defenders were stunned. No wonder they had chosen to attack the eastern gate! Countless humans and orcs had died here just days ago.
Facing the endless tide of the undead, Vivian finally stepped forward.
She had waited for this moment, though she hadn’t been certain it would come.
"Fang Zhiyi!"
Fang Zhiyi obligingly looked up, simultaneously signaling his undead forces to halt their advance.
"I want to negotiate with you." Vivian took a deep breath, her expression fearless.
This was the moment—if she could just take his hand and whisper sweet words, he would obediently retreat, only to return to her side later, a hidden tool lurking in the shadows.
Among the crowd, Rhein’s face remained dark.
Suddenly, Fang Zhiyi stood and bowed deeply to Vivian. "Your Highness, wasn’t it you who summoned me? The plan to kill the Crown Prince isn’t yet complete."
Vivian froze. What did he mean?
The people around her stared at her with strange expressions.
Realizing the implication, Vivian frantically waved her hands. "When did I ever tell you to kill my brother? Don’t spout nonsense!"
Fang Zhiyi feigned sudden understanding. "Ah, my mistake. Yes, I came of my own accord. Listen well—if you value your lives, hand over the Crown Prince!"
The crowd’s gazes at Vivian now carried unmistakable conviction.
"Fang Zhiyi!" Vivian couldn’t comprehend why he would say such things. How did he know she wanted her brother dead?
Fang Zhiyi clapped his hands as if struck by another realization. "Understood! I await your next command! Retreat!"
The vast undead army withdrew without hesitation, marching swiftly and orderly back to their territory, leaving behind a bewildered Vivian and the city’s defenders, their faces a mix of shock and suspicion.
What had they just heard?
Princess Vivian had conspired to kill the Crown Prince? And that necromancer was her subordinate? The sight of the breached gates and the retreating undead only cemented their belief.
"It’s not true! I never ordered him to come!" Inside the palace, Vivian stood helpless, desperately pleading with her grim-faced brother. The high-ranking officials of the Mage Association and the Holy Church were present, along with the two captains of the Knight Order.
"As much as I’d like to believe you, Your Highness," the Knight Captain said coldly, "explain to me why an endless undead army that had already broken through our gates suddenly retreated." His grudge against Fang Zhiyi—stemming from his son’s fate—now extended to the princess he saw as a traitor.
His words carried weight. No one would believe a necromancer commanding tens of thousands of undead would stage such an attack just to frame a princess.
"It’s not like that! Truly!" Vivian couldn’t fathom how things had spiraled so out of control.
"So this is the truth," Rhein said, stepping out from behind a pillar, his face alight with vindication. "This is why you distanced yourself from me and fawned over him."
His words reminded the mages—Vivian had indeed gone to great lengths to protect Fang Zhiyi, even taking a sword strike meant for him.
Meanwhile, rumors spread among the people: Princess Vivian, outwardly a holy mage, had secretly embraced darkness. She had even seduced the necromancer to secure her bid for the throne.
The already terrified populace grew furious. Many had lost friends or family hanged as accomplices of necromancers. Now, they gathered outside the palace, demanding the princess be handed over.
The Knight Order uncovered letters hidden in Vivian’s chambers, including a freshly intercepted third one. The Knight Captain read it aloud before the assembly:
"Your Highness, I’ve fulfilled our agreement. Once your brother is dead, you’ll be queen. Though I advise against killing the Knight Captain and his useless son just yet—the kingdom still needs their protection."
"Slander!" The Holy Church’s leader spoke for the first time, unwilling to see his beloved disciple fall.
The Knight Captain ignored him and continued: "You confided that the Holy Church’s leader is your mentor—a fact unknown to others. With their support, your reign will be secure. As for the Mage Association’s selfish lot, leave them to me. A queen must keep her hands clean. I await your next orders." The letter was signed.
The Holy Church leader stared at Vivian in disbelief. She had revealed their relationship to the necromancer? Could this be true?
Panicked, Vivian didn’t know how Fang Zhiyi had learned these secrets.
"It’s not true!" she repeated, her usual grace and composure gone.
Her brother demanded sharply, "Then swear it! Swear on your holy magic that his words are false!"
Vivian hesitated. She couldn’t—because while Fang Zhiyi’s claims were fabricated, the ambitions he described were hers.
Seeing her silence, the Crown Prince understood. Wearily, he waved his hand. "Cast her out of the palace. From this day forth, she is no longer royalty."
Banished from the palace, Vivian was then stripped of her magic by the archmages. The light that had always accompanied her vanished.
As the furious mob dragged her toward the pyre, she finally understood.
This was just like Fang Zhiyi’s fate. Had he, too, seen this future through some dark magic?
Now everything made sense—the rumors spreading through the city, the letters professing loyalty, the feigned siege—it was all just to punish himself! To punish himself for failing to save him!
As the flames rose, she stared at those furious faces and let out a bitter laugh.
These foolish commoners... How detestable they were as weapons.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
or! A blessing for those who struggle with love, a guidebook for dating novices. Quickly match with your dream goddess! Complete walkthroughs earn rewards, and perfect walkthroughs unlock limited achievements!】 Shen Yi, an ordinary office worker, accidentally downloads a mini-game called Dating Simulator. The mini-game is simple: randomly search for dating targets, simulate dates, and receive rewards upon successful confession. Rewards include but are not limited to money, attributes, and skills. The higher the evaluation, the better the rewards, with perfect ratings unlocking mysterious achievements. Shen Yi plans to use this mysterious mini-game to continuously pursue targets and improve himself, making his life better and better. ...... However, after several successful walkthroughs, Shen Yi suddenly notices something strange - the targets he previously simulated dating seem to be searching for him in real life?
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
