Xia Lingxi's words did not make Gong Jun back down; instead, they ignited his fighting spirit. As the universally recognized number one figure among the younger generation of the Great Cang Nation, Gong Jun naturally had his own trump card. His trump card was the True Vision Spirit Eyes!
Gong Jun's eyes suddenly lit up. Deep within his pupils, fine silver lines intertwined. This was his special physique, the True Vision Spirit Eyes. They could see through illusions, perceive an enemy's weaknesses, and even predict an opponent's movements in the very next second.
Gong Jun used his True Vision Spirit Eyes to look Qin Hao up and down, discovering that Qin Hao's cultivation was only at the sixth level of the Nascent Soul Realm.
"Rest assured, Your Highness. I thought this person was incredibly strong, but it turns out he is merely a cultivator at the sixth level of the Nascent Soul Realm. Although he is a few levels higher than me, what I excel at most is fighting above my realm!"
Gong Jun felt it was necessary to display his strength in front of Xia Lingxi. Only by doing so could he make her admire him even more.
Facing the charging Gong Jun, Qin Hao did not make any defensive or evasive movements. He merely lifted his eyes casually.
Buzz—
An oppressive aura, even more terrifying than the one he had used to warn Xia Lingxi, swept through Gong Jun's sea of consciousness, as if an immemorial ferocious beast had violently smashed its way in.
The instant he met Qin Hao's gaze, the composure and sternness on Gong Jun's face froze, replaced by endless panic and horror.
Because of his True Vision Spirit Eyes, Gong Jun's perception was much more direct than anyone else's. The person before him was an incomprehensible, unfathomable, and even unobservable terrifying existence.
Unwilling to concede, Gong Jun channeled his True Vision Spirit Eyes to their absolute limits, attempting to see through Qin Hao's weaknesses. Then, he witnessed a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.
Under Gong Jun's astonished gaze, Qin Hao's calm eyes split into two. Within the phantom of those Dual Pupils, each pupil seemed to contain an evolving world.
An unprecedentedly terrifying pressure enveloped Gong Jun. In front of these eyes, his proud True Vision Spirit Eyes were not even worth mentioning. Being stared at by the Dual Pupils, Gong Jun felt smaller than a speck of dust.
"These eyes, are they the Dual Pupils? How is this possible? A natural-born saint that only exists in legends, how could one appear in the Great Cang Nation?"
Thud—
Gong Jun fell to his knees with a heavy thud. Where was his fighting spirit now? At this moment, Gong Jun was entirely trapped in a state of bewilderment, his entire understanding of the world completely overturned.
Xia Lingxi trembled all over. She knew Qin Hao was stronger than Gong Jun, but she never expected the gap between them to be this massive. Brother Gong Jun, the number one genius of the Great Cang Nation's younger generation, actually could not even withstand a single look from Qin Hao!
"So, so powerful! And he is only eighteen, two years younger than me! To what heights will he grow in the future?"
"I really want to see what kind of face lies beneath his mask. He might be even more handsome than Gong Jun!"
Xia Lingxi stared unblinkingly at Qin Hao, a strange gleam shimmering in her eyes.
Qin Hao glared speechlessly at Xia Lingxi, who was standing there foolishly, and said helplessly, "Aren't you going to say something?"
Reminded by Qin Hao, Xia Lingxi woke up as if from a dream. She hurriedly spoke to Xia Yang,
"Brother, stop fighting, he is on our side! Qin Hao saved me and brought me back to the Great Cang Imperial Capital."
Hearing his sister's words, Xia Yang could not help but let out a long sigh of relief. So, they were on the same side. If the person before him was truly an enemy, he really would not know how to deal with him.
Xia Yang bowed to Qin Hao,
"Thank you, fellow Daoist, for stepping in to save my sister. I have one more request to ask of you."
"Fellow Daoist, your strength is formidable. I hope you can take my sister and leave the Great Cang Nation."
"Leave? Why should we leave? Wouldn't all problems be solved if we just kill the dog emperor?"
Qin Hao's words froze the three of them in place. Xia Lingxi spoke with a slightly trembling voice,
"You, you can kill a Tribulation Transcendence Realm cultivator?"
Kill a Tribulation Transcendence expert? Qin Hao only had a Nascent Soul Realm cultivation. If it were a Soul Formation, or even a Void Refinement cultivator, Qin Hao might have a chance to defeat them by relying on his Dual Pupils, Innate Dao Body, Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart, and a series of other trump cards. But this was the Tribulation Transcendence Realm after all; the gap was too massive. He was no match.
"I can't kill him. I am only at the Nascent Soul Realm, but I can find someone who can." Any random guard from the Qin family would be an Immortal Realm cultivator; crushing a Tribulation Transcendence Realm expert would be far too easy.
However, as soon as these words were spoken, Xia Yang's heart trembled, and his eyes filled with a few more degrees of wariness as he looked at Qin Hao. He wondered just what kind of background Qin Hao had. From his mouth, a Tribulation Transcendence Realm expert sounded no different from a stray cat or dog on the side of the road, as if he could just find anyone to easily defeat them.
But soon, Qin Hao's proposal was rejected by Xia Yang,
"Brother Qin Hao, thank you for your good intentions. However, this is an internal matter of the Great Cang Nation. The Great Cang Nation cannot be without Royal Father. Without a Tribulation Transcendence Realm cultivator like Royal Father suppressing things, who knows how much chaos would erupt both domestically and abroad."
"Therefore, I still ask Brother Qin to help and take Lingxi away from the Great Cang Nation."
Qin Hao did not answer Xia Yang, but instead turned to look at Xia Lingxi, "What do you think?"
Xia Lingxi pursed her lips, remaining silent for quite a while before speaking, "Qin Hao, then just take me away. He is my father after all, the one who gave me life. He wants to kill me, but I cannot kill him. From now on, I will just pretend I don't have this father."
Qin Hao looked deeply at Xia Lingxi, then shook his head imperceptibly, thinking to himself, "What a silly woman."
Xia Yang patted Xia Lingxi's shoulder and said in a deep voice, "Lingxi, don't be afraid. Your brother is still here. One day, I will bring you back."
Saying this, Xia Yang turned to Gong Jun, who had not yet recovered from the might of Qin Hao's Dual Pupils, and said,
"Gong Jun, you should leave with them as well."
Xia Yang's thought process was simple. A heaven's chosen like Qin Hao absolutely could not protect Xia Lingxi for her entire life. Xia Yang was already very grateful that he was willing to help this once. He still needed to find a long-term bodyguard for Xia Lingxi.
Gong Jun was a good candidate. He was the number one genius of the Great Cang Nation, and his sister had always admired him. Perhaps this could even facilitate a marriage between them.
At that time, Xia Yang did not know that after Qin Hao instantly defeated Gong Jun with a single look, Gong Jun's image in Xia Lingxi's heart had plummeted.
People are just like this. Once they touch true excellence, the measuring stick in their hearts changes. Turning back to walk a path of settling for mediocrity would only feel awkward, or even like torment.
Gong Jun cupped his hands and bowed to Xia Yang, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, I will definitely not fail your trust. I will take good care of Her Highness the Princess."
Hearing this, Xia Lingxi glanced at Gong Jun, then looked at Qin Hao beside her. Compared to the subservient Gong Jun before her, Xia Lingxi felt that Qin Hao truly possessed a transcendent composure that seeped into his very bones, a supreme calmness that looked down from above and viewed all of creation as mere dust.
Xia Lingxi leaned closer to Qin Hao and then spoke,
"There's no need. Having Qin Hao accompany me is enough; I don't need Gong Jun. Qin Hao is very powerful, he alone is enough. If Gong Jun follows, he'll only drag us down."
Xia Lingxi's words left Gong Jun completely frozen in place. The corner of his mouth twitched. Dead weight? Even at my worst, I, Gong Jun, am still the number one prodigy of the Great Cang Nation! Having reached the Nascent Soul realm at a mere hundred years of age, my talent wouldn't be considered lacking even if placed in a Holy Land!
Furthermore, what was with the way the Princess addressed me? In the past, whenever she saw me, she would warmly call me Brother Gong Jun. Now, it was just a cold, distant Gong Jun?
. 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!"
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
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."
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.
