"Jiang Xinyao, remember one thing: you are yourself first, and then any other identity."
After speaking, Qin Hao retracted the hand he had planted against the tree and took a step back, as if that highly aggressive wall-pinning had never happened.
Jiang Xinyao stood blankly on the spot, her back against the rough trunk, her mind completely blank.
None of the excessive demands she had anticipated appeared—no asking for treasures, no unreasonable conditions, not even the slightest hint of ambiguous coercion.
He used that incredibly precious "any condition" in exchange for... actually letting her "be herself"? He was giving her spiritual freedom and courage!
After the immense astonishment in Jiang Xinyao's heart passed, it was replaced by an overwhelming wave of shock and emotion.
No one had ever said such words to her. Her family taught her to shoulder the responsibilities of an Imperial Daughter, and she was accustomed to playing the expected role under the halo of the Imperial Daughter.
Those moments of confusion, those occasional thoughts of breaking free from her restraints, had been deeply suppressed by her.
Yet today, this person used the most direct and precious way to see through and validate the deepest desires of her heart!
A sour feeling rushed to her nose. Jiang Xinyao lowered her head, not wanting Qin Hao to see her reddening eyes.
"Why? You clearly could have made a demand that benefited you, so why did you..."
Qin Hao extended his index finger and placed it against Jiang Xinyao's lips.
"Because I think a Jiang Xinyao who can suppress her cultivation to fight fairly, who feels unwilling to lose but won't deny her defeat, is much more real and adorable than a Jiang Xinyao who merely conforms to the standards of an Imperial Daughter to cater to others' preferences."
"You also deserve a vaster sky."
Jiang Xinyao stared blankly at Qin Hao, her heart surging with unprecedentedly complex emotions.
There was astonishment, emotion, relief, and a trace of quietly growing palpitation that even she herself had not noticed.
"He's different, he's different from the rest!" This thought spread in Jiang Xinyao's heart.
Unknowingly, Qin Hao's image in her heart became tall, warm, and deeply branded into the bottom of her soul.
Jiang Xinyao took a deep breath. Her beautiful eyes stared unblinkingly at Qin Hao for quite a while, and finally, her gaze became firm.
"I understand. Thank you. I want to cancel my engagement! I don't want to be manipulated by others!"
Jiang Xinyao, who had originally wanted to break off her engagement, became even more determined after receiving Qin Hao's encouragement. What Qin Family Imperial Son? She didn't care at all. After breaking off the engagement, perhaps she could try to be with Ye Hao...
As soon as this thought emerged, Jiang Xinyao immediately blushed bright red. What was she thinking? She and Ye Hao had only met once...
Qin Hao nodded in satisfaction. The child was teachable. This was right. How could he be bound by a piece of paper?
Qin Hao was a transmigrator after all. Now that he was a lone wolf, he could flirt with girls without any psychological burden. But if he had a wife at home, that sense of responsibility in his heart would really prevent him from letting go.
"Ye Hao, there's something I don't understand. You are so strong and have an extraordinary background. Why are you acting as a rented Dao Companion for others? What reward do you want?"
Jiang Xinyao noticed that Qin Hao was covered in top-tier magical treasures from head to toe. He was clearly not someone lacking resources. Why would he exchange his services as a rented Dao Companion for resources?
"I want karmic luck. After our rental period ends, you will evaluate my service. Based on how good or bad your evaluation is, I can share a portion of the karmic luck on your body."
Qin Hao didn't hide it. Jiang Xinyao was the Imperial Daughter of the Jiang family. If Qin Wuya could see that his karmic luck had increased, the Jiang family members would naturally also be able to see that Jiang Xinyao's karmic luck had decreased.
Rather than lying and causing unnecessary trouble, it was better to lay it all out.
Hearing this, Jiang Xinyao couldn't help but show a look of sudden realization: "No wonder. A mysterious and profound thing like karmic luck is indeed not something other resources can compare to. Are you very short on karmic luck?"
Qin Hao nodded: "Extremely short. So when the time comes, you must give me a good review!"
Looking at Qin Hao's eager appearance, the corners of Jiang Xinyao's small mouth curled up: "That will depend on your performance. However, I do know a place where there is a chance to increase karmic luck."
As soon as these words came out, Qin Hao's eyes instantly lit up. What! There was actually a place that could increase karmic luck? Where? What he lacked the most right now was karmic luck, because with insufficient karmic luck, every time Qin Hao wanted to break through to the Soul Formation Realm, he could feel a strong rejection from the world!
Worried that he would be rejected by the Heavenly Dao and die on the spot, Qin Hao had been suppressing his cultivation, preventing it from breaking through. Now hearing that there was a place that could increase karmic luck, how could he not be excited?
Qin Hao figured that this good place should be in the Jiang family. If it were outside, with his identity as the Imperial Son of the Qin family, there was no reason he wouldn't have heard of it.
"Our Jiang family has a treasure that can increase another person's karmic luck. Do you want to go?" Jiang Xinyao's lips curled up uncontrollably. She seemed to know how to handle this guy Ye Hao now.
Qin Hao couldn't stop nodding repeatedly: "I want to go so badly! Lady Imperial Daughter, please make sure to take me there!"
Qin Hao felt that taking Jiang Xinyao's order was truly the right choice. Not only could he get the system's basic rewards, but he could even get extra karmic luck. It was simply fantastic!
"My shoulders are a bit sore..." Jiang Xinyao rolled her neck, a faint smile playing on her lips.
As soon as Jiang Xinyao finished speaking, Qin Hao understood immediately and stepped forward, then very naturally reached out and pressed his hands on Jiang Xinyao's slender shoulders.
"Is it here, my Lady Imperial Daughter?" Qin Hao applied just the right amount of pressure, using his warm body temperature to accurately massage Jiang Xinyao's shoulders.
Feeling Qin Hao's movements, Jiang Xinyao couldn't help but let out a soft, comfortable hum, the tips of her ears quietly turning red.
"My Jiang family has a supreme treasure called the Primordial Luck-Plundering Stele, which offers a chance to obtain karmic luck."
"For every successful challenge against someone, the Primordial Luck-Plundering Stele will reward the challenger with a portion of karmic luck. If you fail, it will plunder a portion of your karmic luck, but the amount plundered is very small, far less than the reward."
"This was originally a qualification that belonged to me. If you want me to give this qualification to you, shouldn't you pay a little something?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Hao's movements stiffened slightly: "What do you want? Let me tell you, I sell my skills, not my body."
Qin Hao's exaggerated display of guarding his chastity made Jiang Xinyao burst into laughter. She gave Qin Hao an exasperated eye-roll and reached out to swat away his hands resting on her shoulders.
"Pfft! Who wants your body? Even if you wanted to sell it, I wouldn't buy it. Stop flattering yourself."
Saying this, Jiang Xinyao turned around to face Qin Hao. Her beautiful eyes looked him up and down, flashing with a sly and curious light.
"My request is very simple. I want to see... what you look like when you take off your mask."
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
