Chen Guan didn't immediately accept Li Yuqing's invitation, politely stating that he would think about it. Li Yuqing didn't force the issue; she smiled, chatted for a few more sentences, and then left with Huo Qixing.
By the time he returned to his single dorm room, it was already evening.
After a simple dinner, he began his usual evening meditation, circulating the Starry Sky Meditation Map.
In his mental world, the vast star map slowly unfolded. His consciousness sank into it, receiving the nourishment of the power of the stars.
However, just as his mind was at its most peaceful and relaxed, deep within his soul, the mark left by the Demon God Baal suddenly throbbed.
Following that, a faint phantom emerged. It was still Baal's familiar face.
Heh heh heh.
It was hard to keep a straight face; Chen Guan found it difficult to imagine that the being before him was a Demon God.
Yet Baal himself seemed completely oblivious to this. Thief, you didn't expect this, did you? Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, Lord Baal will always haunt you.
You are... Baal?
Chen Guan asked, feigning ignorance. He had been on guard. Ever since he was marked, he knew this thing would never stay quiet. Its arrival now was entirely within his expectations.
Exactly. Do you have any last words?
The Demon God lazily conjured a recliner in his mental world and sprawled out on it, looking utterly leisurely.
Chen Guan smiled. Mr. Baal, how about we make a bet?
Baal looked interested. Bet on what?
I bet you can't kill me.
You win. Then I bet you can't drive me away. Lying on the recliner manifested in the mental world, Baal directly admitted it. He crossed his legs, his posture lazy and casual. He showed absolutely none of the majesty of a legendary Demon God, but rather looked like a deadbeat neighbor.
My power isn't that easy to use. Your ability is the Mythic Ability 'Reverberation', right? Friendly tip: as long as I don't want to help you, you won't be able to use your ability. Your development of this ability is way too pathetic.
Mr. Baal seems to know my ability very well? Chen Guan probed. He wasn't sure what Baal was planning, but surely he hadn't come just to chat.
I wouldn't say I know it well. Baal waved his hand. I've just lived a long time and seen some similar little tricks.
Stealing the reverberations of myths, recording them, imitating them... and even delusionally trying to master them. Good idea, but if you take too big of a step, you'll easily pull a muscle.
His tone carried a hint of schadenfreude. Especially since the target you stole from was me. My flames of fury, even if just the afterglow of a trace projection, aren't something a frail little guy like you can casually record. Right now, it's sitting in your ability like a restless bomb. It could go 'bang' at any moment and blow your brains out.
So, Mr. Baal has come to take back this power? Or...
Chen Guan remained calm. He had long known about the instability of Reverberation; Sys had already told him when he bought it.
Take it back? Baal sneered. That tiny bit of power isn't even a drop in the bucket to me. Leaving it with you as a souvenir isn't a bad idea. As for my purpose...
He paused, sizing up Chen Guan's mental world. Especially upon seeing the slowly revolving vast star map and the autonomously churning gray mist, an imperceptible strange look flashed through his eyes. Remember that little girl, Guan Jinyue?
Before Chen Guan could answer, Baal continued talking to himself. She wasn't willing to become my contractor at first. Guess why she changed her mind.
Chen Guan kindly played along. Why?
Because humans have limits, and I am not human at all. Baal remained indolent. Kid, how about we make a deal? I like your spirit of not fearing death while being so good at courting it.
Without waiting for Chen Guan to agree, Baal threw out his conditions. I won't stop you from using my power. In fact, I can even let you borrow a bit more of it.
But in exchange, you have to chat with me from time to time to relieve my boredom. Also, you have to do me a little favor. The people from the Origin Group think highly of you, and I'm quite curious about what's going on with this new Origin Group.
Besides that, help me find everything scattered across this world that is related to me or a few other old geezers.
Chen Guan understood Baal's meaning. He wanted him to be a mole, and to help find things along the way, just like the so-called beacon Guan Jinyue was looking for that day.
The benefit was probably having a super thug to help him out.
You can choose not to accept. Then we'll just maintain the status quo. The mark is on you, my power is in your ability, and I'll mess with you from time to time to see when you finally can't take it and break down.
Or, you accept, and we coexist peacefully for the time being. You help me explore the unknown and find things, and I'll give you a little taste of the benefits. As for whether you end up using me to become stronger, or I recover more of my scattered power through you, or even get some other kind of amusement out of it—that will depend on our respective skills.
Baal tossed the choice back, laying bare the pros and cons.
Chen Guan fell deep into thought.
Refusing meant constantly having to guard against the backlash of the mark and Reverberation, like a ticking time bomb. Baal was a Demon God, after all. If he really wanted to make trouble for him, even if he wouldn't die, there would be no shortage of problems.
Accepting meant actively stepping into a game with a Demon God. The risks were greater, but it might buy him room to grow, or perhaps even allow him to use the enemy's strength against them.
He remembered White Tiger's words.
In this perilous world, growing step by step might be safe, but it was too slow. He needed to become stronger faster, and he needed to come into contact with more secrets.
Not being afraid of death was his greatest advantage.
And a deal with a Demon God was undoubtedly a shortcut. So what if it was covered in thorns?
I have one condition. Keep our deal a secret.
Baal laughed. No problem. I am a demon of my word. This will be our little secret.
Then, it's a deal. Chen Guan reached out a hand formed from his mental will.
Baal also extended a dark red phantom hand, lightly touching Chen Guan's.
Contract established.
Baal's voice carried a hint of pleasure. Then, let's end our first chat here. I look forward to you finding the first souvenir soon.
Oh, right. As a deposit, here's a little gift for you, regarding how to make your scythe digest soul residue better.
A fragment of information flowed into Chen Guan's consciousness.
Immediately after, Baal's phantom dissipated like smoke, and the mental world returned to peace. Only that cold mark still existed, but it seemed to have gone dormant for the time being, showing no abnormalities, just like a sticker.
Chen Guan slowly exited his meditation, opened his eyes, and let out a long breath. His forehead was already covered in fine cold sweat.
Making a deal with a Demon God was undoubtedly dancing with wolves, but he had no other choice. At least for now, Baal seemed genuinely interested in him, and this interest, before it turned into malice, was a bargaining chip he could exploit.
He would not give up any opportunity. None at all.
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."
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
