Cui Hao's question left the two men momentarily stunned.
It seemed an unexpected issue had arisen, causing them to short-circuit briefly.
After a pause, they silently got up, returned to their original positions, and reenacted their earlier argument before smoothly dropping to their knees again.
This time, they shouted in unison, "We beg the wise and just official to decide for us!"
Cui Hao: "..."
Still, this was somewhat within expectations. After all, an illusionary realm designed for so many trial-takers couldn't possibly account for every detail.
Had they actually led him to Little Cui, Cui Hao would have suspected this was a real village.
So, according to the setup, was he supposed to act as the official and pass judgment?
Cui Hao studied the two men.
By the letter of the law, Wang Dago was in the right. Legally speaking, aside from investigating any coercion, he hadn’t committed any major wrongdoing.
At the very least, he had paid for the marriage.
By the heart’s reasoning, Wang Ergo had the stronger case—after all, Cui Hao also favored love stories with happy endings.
But the situation couldn’t be judged so simply.
First, given how the two men reset when he asked additional questions, it was clear this illusionary realm had fixed parameters.
Since the scenario was scripted, his choices were limited: rule in favor of Wang Dago, Wang Ergo, or neither.
If he really wanted to push boundaries, he could even punish all three together.
Out of three thousand participants, there had to be some oddballs, right?
Yet with such limited options, not a single person had passed?
Either the test was flawed, or the test-maker was.
But regardless of which was at fault—
Sticking to conventional thinking wouldn’t work. He had to take an unorthodox approach!
This was just an illusion, after all—why not go wild?
After a moment of contemplation, Cui Hao glanced between the two kneeling men and smirked.
"Matters of the heart are hard to judge! Wang Ergo, how do you know Little Cui wouldn’t grow to love Wang Dago over time?"
Wang Ergo’s face twisted with grief and indignation, but he insisted firmly,
"She wouldn’t! We made promises to each other—"
Cui Hao cut him off. "If you made promises, why did she agree to marry Wang Dago instead of waiting for you?"
Wang Ergo fell silent, his face turning ashen.
Having temporarily silenced one, Cui Hao turned to Wang Dago, who was grinning triumphantly.
With feigned confusion, he asked,
"I don’t know why you’re so happy. The woman you like doesn’t like you back—she loves someone else. And you’re celebrating?"
Wang Dago’s smile froze.
Seeing both men now thoroughly unsettled, Cui Hao’s mood improved. He sighed dramatically.
"Think about it—even if I ruled in your favor, would you really get what you want?"
"Would either of you truly be satisfied? In this matter, both of you have some justification, but neither holds the absolute truth."
"Frankly, neither of you can truly give Little Cui happiness."
Wang Dago and Wang Ergo exchanged glances before turning back to Cui Hao.
He reached out, placing a hand on each of their shoulders, and spoke with grave sincerity:
"Honestly, have you considered… life doesn’t necessarily have to be spent with Little Cui?"
Then, with deliberate slowness, Cui Hao took Wang Ergo’s hand and placed it into Wang Dago’s.
As their hands touched, both men’s expressions twisted in disgust, as if they’d just bitten into something foul.
Despite their visible discomfort, they clasped hands, bowed, and withdrew together—just as Cui Hao’s choice dictated.
Watching them leave hand-in-hand, Cui Hao nodded in satisfaction. Just as he’d thought!
As Wang Dago and Wang Ergo disappeared into the distance, Cui Hao confidently surveyed the village, ready to advance to the next trial—until another argument erupted nearby.
He turned to see two middle-aged women shoving and cursing at each other as they approached.
Ah. So the first scenario had merely been the initial test. Since he’d moved on to the second, his approach must have been correct—otherwise, he’d have been ejected from the illusion immediately. With so many candidates waiting, they wouldn’t waste time on failures.
Thus, his outrageous solution must have been the intended answer.
With this clarity, Cui Hao strode forward confidently, a self-assured smile on his face.
"Ladies, whatever the issue, I’ll settle it for you!"
About half an hour later…
Two burly men walked away arm-in-arm, their faces locked in mutual resentment.
After resolving ten such cases, the scenery around Cui Hao finally began to warp and dissolve.
Was it over at last?
He exhaled in relief. Even for him, this had been exhausting.
Thinking outside the box wasn’t easy.
As the illusion shattered into streams of light, reality gradually returned to his vision.
Cui Hao looked up. The serene pond and towering palace hall reappeared before him.
Glancing around, he saw many candidates still standing motionless, eyes closed, lost in their own trials.
Not only had he performed flawlessly—he’d been efficient too!
"What’s your name?"
A voice spoke behind him. Cui Hao turned to see the young woman who’d guided them into the illusion.
He quickly clasped his hands in respect. "Candidate 374, Cui Hao."
Li Yingling studied him for a moment before offering sincere praise:
"You’re truly one of a kind."
Cui Hao’s heart leapt—had his performance impressed the immortal sect?
But his joy was short-lived.
Li Yingling shook her head in awe. "Ten questions. How did you manage to get every single one wrong?"
"I even double-checked your progress. How does your mind even work? How could you deviate so spectacularly?"
Cui Hao’s face went blank.
Wait—those were all multiple-choice questions?
If they were that straightforward, why had so many people failed?
With a wry smile, he asked, "...So I’m eliminated?"
Li Yingling scrutinized him again. Someone who failed every question was either truly wicked or utterly clueless.
But after observing him, she concluded he was neither.
To borrow her master’s phrasing—this guy was here to troll.
Such talent was rare. After a brief deliberation, she tossed him a peculiar token.
"No. A gem like you deserves my master’s appreciation. Return in ten days for the next round."
With that, she turned and left.
This specimen was too priceless. Since her master wasn’t currently at the sect, she’d save him for the next round.
Cui Hao caught the token and called after her,
"Wait—don’t you test spiritual roots? What if I don’t have any?"
"Those without spiritual roots can’t enter the illusion. They’re sent down the mountain immediately."
Li Yingling didn’t look back. Her junior sister had reported discovering a fascinating "talent."
She needed to see this for herself.
As for this oddball? He could wait for her master’s amusement.
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!
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.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
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."
