Nie Pengju's words made Gu Tianyuan heave a sigh of relief. At least they still had some rationality left.
"Let's end this bet quickly. I'll take my turn."
"Brother Gu, don’t worry. I’ll hold back—this will only be about victory or defeat, not life and death."
Gu Tianyuan found himself in an awkward position, unsure whether to nod or shake his head.
The main issue was that he had no idea how to explain this to the clan’s ancestor. What puzzled him even more was how the ancestor hadn’t intervened yet, given how far things had escalated. Wasn’t Chen Chang'an someone the ancestor valued?
"I told you, both of you should attack together."
"Otherwise, what if someone tries to go back on their word?" Chen Chang'an said with a faint smile.
Go back on their word?
That actually made sense.
If Chen Chang'an lost, what if he claimed they hadn’t followed the rules and tried to renege?
"Chen Chang'an, think carefully. If both of us attack at once, you’ll be in serious danger."
"Relax. You’ll have to actually land a hit on me first."
"Remember, each of you only gets three chances," Chen Chang'an said calmly.
"Young man, don’t get too cocky."
"Let’s do this."
"Fine!"
Nie Pengju and Ye Liuyun had no intention of wasting more words. They exchanged a glance, then flashed forward, appearing right in front of Chen Chang'an in the next instant.
As peak Emperor-level experts, their speed was so fast that only Gu Tianyuan and the big yellow dog could clearly track their movements.
"This is too easy!"
Nie Pengju and Ye Liuyun both grinned, controlling their strength as they struck at Chen Chang'an from left and right.
But just as their palms were about to make contact—Chen Chang'an vanished!
"What?!"
"Where did he go?"
This time, not just Nie Pengju and Ye Liuyun, even Gu Tianyuan was stunned. He hadn’t been able to detect how Chen Chang'an had done it either.
A moment later, Chen Chang'an’s presence reappeared—right behind them, about ten paces away. Yet there was no trace of how he’d gotten there.
It was as if he had simply blinked out of existence and then back again.
"One down," Chen Chang'an said with a faint smile.
Now, Nie Pengju and Ye Liuyun’s expressions turned grave.
No wonder Chen Chang'an dared to be so arrogant—he clearly had some tricks up his sleeve.
Just the ability to vanish without a trace in front of two Emperors was enough to shock anyone.
"Alright, this time we’re getting serious."
"Together."
Despite their rivalry, Nie Pengju and Ye Liuyun had fought each other enough times to develop some understanding. A single glance was enough to convey their thoughts.
This time, they held nothing back, pushing their speed to the limit—prioritizing agility over raw power.
Yet once again, just as they were about to touch Chen Chang'an, he disappeared without a trace.
This time, they had even extended their senses, covering the entire area so that nothing could escape their perception.
But the result? Chen Chang'an had vanished again, leaving no trace behind.
Panic set in.
At this moment, Nie Pengju and Ye Liuyun were genuinely rattled.
They were on the verge of losing. If Chen Chang'an pulled this off one more time, they’d have to bark like dogs!
The mere thought of having to start every conversation with a few barks in the future was worse than death to them.
"No!"
"We can’t lose!"
"Even if Chen Chang'an has some kind of escape technique, we’re both Emperors. How could he possibly react fast enough?"
"Right, he shouldn’t be able to react in time. And yet..."
Nie Pengju and Ye Liuyun were baffled. How was Chen Chang'an dodging them so precisely?
Even if he had a life-saving technique, activating it should take time, right?
In the split second it took to think, how was he reacting so quickly?
They couldn’t figure it out—and neither could Gu Tianyuan, who had been staring intently at Chen Chang'an the whole time.
Meanwhile, Nie Haotian and Ye Beiming were completely dumbfounded.
What the hell was happening?
These two were legendary Emperor-level experts, yet Chen Chang'an was toying with them like children?
If they lost, how could they ever show their faces again? Would they really have to bark like dogs?
"Gentlemen, you’ve got one last chance."
"Make it count."
Chen Chang'an had reappeared in his chair, lounging lazily as if nothing had happened.
Seeing his relaxed demeanor, Nie Pengju and Ye Liuyun exchanged a glance—then, to Gu Tianyuan’s utter disbelief, they turned tail and fled!
"Chen Chang'an!"
"The bet isn’t over until all three attempts are done!"
"Just wait—we’ll come back someday to settle this."
"Mark our words!"
In his ten thousand years of life, Chen Chang'an had encountered plenty of gamblers, but this was the first time he’d met someone even more shameless than himself.
Their sudden escape left even him momentarily speechless.
"Are these your friends?"
"How shameless can you get?"
"And they call themselves Emperors?"
"They just ran away?"
Chen Chang'an had truly not expected these two to outdo him in sheer audacity. They’d bolted without a second thought.
Can’t handle losing?
Seriously?
"Ahem. I barely know them. Really, we’re not close at all."
Gu Tianyuan also felt embarrassed. Two Emperor-level experts, unable to accept defeat? How humiliating. How would they face their peers in the Emperor circle now?
Wouldn’t the other Emperors laugh at them?
"You two still here? Waiting for me to treat you to dinner?"
Chen Chang'an glanced at Nie Haotian and Ye Beiming, who stood frozen in shock.
It was clear that the two fleeing Emperors had left them deeply traumatized.
Only Chen Chang'an’s words snapped them out of their daze.
"Uh… Senior Gu, we’ll… we’ll take our leave now."
"Senior Gu, I’ll be going too."
With that, they turned and sprinted away.
Humiliation. This was pure humiliation.
From now on, they doubted they could even look a member of the Gu family in the eye.
"Little Gu, those two have terrible character. You should keep your distance."
"Sore losers, no sense of honor. Absolutely disgraceful," Chen Chang'an said with disdain.
"Ahem. You’re right, I should keep my distance. But how did you do that earlier?"
"Even I couldn’t detect how you disappeared."
Gu Tianyuan hadn’t even noticed Chen Chang'an’s casual nickname for him, too fixated on his mysterious technique.
"Just a few parlor tricks, nothing worth mentioning," Chen Chang'an said modestly.
Parlor tricks?
Nothing worth mentioning?
A technique that even Emperors couldn’t counter was just a "parlor trick"?
Could you be any more full of yourself?
"Had lunch yet?"
Chen Chang'an’s sudden question left Gu Tianyuan baffled. What was that supposed to mean?
"No, I haven't eaten," Gu Tianyuan replied instinctively, thinking to himself, Is this guy planning to invite me for a meal?
"If you haven't eaten, then go home and eat. There's no food for you here."
"The Gu family is so big, yet you still come here looking for a free meal?"
"How stingy!"
Chen Chang'an's words made Gu Tianyuan's lips twitch uncontrollably.
Who the hell came here to mooch off your food?
Weren't you the one who asked if I'd eaten?
If you weren't going to offer, why even ask?
Furious, Gu Tianyuan turned and stormed off, not wanting to lay eyes on Chen Chang'an for another second.
That bastard is absolutely infuriating!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
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!
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?!
