After saying those two words, Xie Lingyu's gaze returned to what lay ahead.
Hearing her speak, Chu Xingchen turned to look at her.
He saw that her eyes were already fixed forward, her expression calm, as if the words she had just spoken were utterly ordinary.
But the Xie Lingyu of the past would never have said something so teasing.
Yet now was not the time for banter.
Chu Xingchen suppressed the urge to make a witty remark.
After all, Xie Lingyu was thin-skinned—if provoked, she really would strike, and he had no desire to end up like that tactless flood dragon, kicked halfway across the room.
Still, having grown accustomed to teasing his disciples, holding back his words now felt unnatural.
He lifted his gaze forward, pressing his lips together lightly.
Xie Lingyu watched the bustling crowd undeterred by the rain.
Life offered no respite, not even in the face of storms and calamity.
After walking for a while without hearing a word from Chu Xingchen beside her, she glanced at him again.
His expression was slightly solemn as he looked ahead, as if he hadn’t even heard her earlier remark.
In the past, he would have seized the opportunity to tease her with some infuriating comment.
Unable to resist, Xie Lingyu broke the silence. "What do you plan to do?"
Chu Xingchen raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Be a troublemaker."
"A troublemaker?!" Xie Lingyu shot him a dubious look.
Was there some hidden meaning to the term? Self-deprecation?
Chu Xingchen explained, "Achieving something is hard, but ruining it is as easy as drinking water."
"To put it simply, whatever our enemies want to accomplish, we just have to make sure they don’t."
"We’ll keep causing them problems—they’ll have to keep fixing them. Sooner or later, they’ll slip up."
"And since we have nothing to lose if we fail, while their failure could cost them everything, they’re the ones who should be worried."
Xie Lingyu frowned slightly, considering his words before realization dawned.
"You mean to start with the rebels in Xuanwu Kingdom?"
Chu Xingchen nodded. "More or less. No way we’re letting them have an easy time of it."
"I’ll split our forces—some will stay here to keep watch, so we don’t miss our chance if they try to flee. Meanwhile, I’ll lead a team to test their mettle."
Xie Lingyu quickly interjected, "You’re not thinking of intervening directly, are you? You know karma isn’t just an empty saying."
There was precedent—Bai Xuanling had once killed without hesitation, his bloodlust so overwhelming that now he spent more time suppressing his inner demons than cultivating.
Bai Xuanling’s will was unquestionably strong, yet even a cultivator of his caliber had succumbed to the consequences of excessive slaughter.
And despite the chaos in the heavens, the Tianyan Sect’s leader had divined Bai Xuanling’s tribulation with unwavering clarity: death and annihilation.
True, Bai Xuanling had killed many, some deserving, others casualties of sect conflicts.
The Tianyan Sect’s famed divination arts were, in essence, the study of cause and effect—karma was their foundation.
Yet knowing this didn’t stop them from defying fate when necessary. After all, what true cultivator would resign themselves to destiny?
Chu Xingchen shook his head lightly.
"I’m no demon. And how many of those rebels are just starving folk fighting for survival?"
"I’m only going to put my wits to work."
Xie Lingyu hesitated, suddenly unsure—compared to scheming, maybe direct action would be better.
Chu Xingchen glanced at her. "Good, since you agree, I’ll make arrangements. Before you arrived, we were short-handed—if I left, Li Xingtian and the others might not handle things well. But now it’s different."
"Qinghe’s a flood dragon at the Nascent Soul stage, and water veins are her domain. She’s perfect for guarding against sneak attacks."
"Though she doesn’t seem the brightest, and she’s a bit lazy."
"So I’ll have Li Xingtian stay too. He’s got a knack for ambushes and rarely makes mistakes—a good backup."
"I’ll take Li Yingling with me to Xuanwu Kingdom and look into the Xuanwu affair."
"As for you—stay in Cangzhou, or come with me?"
Over the great river, Li Yingling efficiently inspected the water veins while Li Xingtian meticulously mapped the terrain.
As for a certain flood dragon, she had long since vanished without a trace—likely napping somewhere in the depths.
Before disappearing, Qinghe had spouted nonsense so absurd it made Li Yingling want to laugh.
Excuses like "inspecting rare water veins" or "occasional underground currents," as if Li Yingling were too dim to see through the obvious lie.
Then she sank into the river and hadn’t resurfaced since.
But it didn’t matter. Li Yingling hadn’t expected Qinghe to actually help.
Two streaks of light approached swiftly from the distance.
Li Yingling and Li Xingtian glanced up before returning to their tasks.
It was Chu Xingchen and Xie Lingyu.
Chu Xingchen hovered above the river, scanning for a certain slacking flood dragon.
"Seen Qinghe?" he asked.
Li Yingling nodded. "She was here earlier. Probably deep underwater now."
Xie Lingyu’s expression remained unperturbed—if Qinghe had been working, that would’ve been the real surprise.
"Yingling, pack up. You’re coming with me," Chu Xingchen instructed before turning to Li Xingtian.
"Your ambush tactics are solid. Stay here with Qinghe—keep watch and finish the water vein maps."
"Master…" Li Xingtian sighed. "That flood dragon…"
He didn’t finish, but the meaning was clear—Qinghe was too unreliable.
He wasn’t skilled in water vein detection, and some ambush techniques required Nascent Soul-level power.
Chu Xingchen patted Xie Lingyu’s shoulder.
"I’ll leave Xie Lingyu’s token with you. That’ll make sure the flood dragon obeys—east, west, or even rolling in place if you order it."
Xie Lingyu responded with a sharp elbow to his ribs.
"Xie Lingyu’s token"? Really?
Li Xingtian watched as his master clutched his chest in exaggerated pain.
If only he’d mastered the art of dodging…
But with Xie Lingyu staying, he bowed.
"Please guide me, Senior Xie."
"Just mutual support," Xie Lingyu replied evenly before preparing to summon Qinghe.
Under the gaze of the crowd, Xie Lingyu retrieved a jade flute from her spatial ring and began to play a soft, melodious tune. The notes, amplified by spiritual energy, pierced effortlessly through the water's surface.
Within moments, Qinghe surged up from the riverbed and appeared before the group.
Just as Li Yingling and Li Xingtian were marveling at the flute's summoning power, Qinghe turned to Xie Lingyu with eager eyes and asked,
"Is it feeding time?"
Li Yingling gave a firm nod at Qinghe's words—now that was an impressive technique!
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
'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.
Explosive Plot Song Gua crossed over into another world, bringing along a whole crew of his doppelgangers—all of them mischief-makers. This was a world where everyone could choose a class. Song Gua became a "Bondweaver," capable of borrowing power, while his doppelgangers took on a wide variety of classes, covering just about everything. The number of doppelgangers grew day by day, each one a talented individual with a charming way of speaking. Under Song Gua's brilliant leadership, they would "greet" each other daily and engage in friendly "sparring," pulling off one major scheme after another on Earth. Sometimes they were bandits—stealing bosses, plundering mines, snatching resources. Sometimes they were saviors—descending like divine warriors to face world bosses threatening to massacre cities. Sometimes they even went undercover, infiltrating various major factions to stir up trouble from within, keeping their enemies constantly on edge. To prevent their doppelganger abilities from being exposed, Song Gua made them wear masks with mahjong tile patterns and don Taoist robes in various colors. "Remember, in front of outsiders, call me 'The Dice.'" "Got it! Boss!" "Not 'Boss'—it's 'The Dice.' Think about the vibe, pay attention to the vibe." "Yes! Boss!" "For crying out loud..." From then on, whenever they appeared, they would have their own theme song playing: ~Hey~ paying respects at the mountain stronghold at night~ whose arm is draped over whose shoulder~ gather your courage and follow along...
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."
