He looked at the uncompromising stubbornness in his grandson's eyes and sighed inwardly. That look was exactly like his own when he was young, and exactly like his son's.
"It seems that in the past few years you've spent out there, you've only grown in skill, not in wisdom," Long Ye's tone turned cold. "Still so naive. Do you really think you can change the world with just a heart full of hot blood?"
"I'm not naive!" Long Ao gritted his teeth. "I just don't think we should get used to sacrifice, or treat it as a matter-of-course option. Every sacrifice should be an absolute last resort. It should be remembered, not lightly dismissed as just another price to pay."
The gazes of the grandfather and grandson clashed fiercely in the air, the atmosphere in the study tense and explosive.
"Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together." Long Ye finally waved his hand, his face returning to the placid calm of an ancient well, though beneath that calm lay deep disappointment.
"It's fine that you brought your friend back. Nanny Wang will take good care of you. But the affairs of Jiangcheng are not for you to question. You can try to stop it, provided you have the ability to do so."
"Get out."
"Grandpa..."
"Out."
Hearing his grandfather's unquestionable tone, all of Long Ao's words caught in his throat.
He knew it was useless to say more. His grandfather's beliefs were a fortress forged by decades of blood and fire, indestructible. Even as his closest kin, he couldn't shake them.
Suppressing his churning emotions, he turned and strode out of the study.
The door closed behind him, cutting off the heavy, suffocating atmosphere inside.
In the courtyard, Chen Guan stood up from a wicker chair. Looking at Long Ao's taut face and clenched fists, he didn't ask any questions.
Nanny Wang glanced at Long Ao's expression and said softly, "Young Master, the rooms are ready. You're in your old room, and the one next to it is for student Chen. Go rest your feet for a bit."
"Thank you, Nanny Wang." Long Ao tried his best to soften his tone, turning to Chen Guan. "Let's go. Let's get settled first."
Chen Guan hoisted the coffin back onto his back and walked with Long Ao toward the west wing.
Long Ao noticed the coffin instantly turn invisible on his back and remained silent for a moment. "If you ever need anything in the future, just tell me."
Chen Guan nodded. "Yeah, I'll let you know if I need anything."
"I'm serious." Long Ao walked ahead, not shying away from Nanny Wang beside them. "All the gifts bestowed by fate have already been secretly priced."
The door clicked shut, cutting off whatever he might have said next.
After closing the door, Long Ao stood in place, unmoving for a long time.
He had thought An Changqing was the only one capable of being his rival, but the appearance of Guan Jinyue and Chen Guan was undoubtedly a slap in the face.
He had also wondered yesterday, what was the point of him tagging along?
Chen Guan was stronger than him.
Long Ao stared in the direction of the study, as if trying to see the person inside through the walls. "Grandpa, I don't believe in fate."
...
In the evening, Nanny Wang prepared a simple home-cooked meal.
The atmosphere at the dining table was silent. Long Ye did not appear; according to Nanny Wang, he was handling important matters in the study. Long Ao didn't ask much about his grandfather. He ate quickly, his mind clearly not on the food.
After dinner, Long Ao said to Chen Guan, "For the matter with the Great Wall, we'll set out tonight. You can rest first, or take a walk around. The courtyard is safe. I need to prepare some things alone."
Chen Guan nodded. "Alright."
Long Ao returned to his room and shut the door tight.
Chen Guan stood in the courtyard for a while, watching the night gradually dye the sky.
The night sky in Jiangcheng always seemed to be covered in a layer of gray haze, with sparse stars. He returned to his room, put down the coffin, sat cross-legged, and sank his mental energy into his sea of consciousness.
The Starry Sky Visualization Map slowly revolved, nourishing his spirit. He deliberately looked at the mark of Baal deep within his soul.
"Wake up." Chen Guan provided a wake-up call, knowing that Baal had been watching the show all along.
The mark lit up lazily, and Baal's teasing voice rang out. "Oh, finally remembered Lord Baal, did you?"
"What is the Great Wall's real plan?" Chen Guan asked directly. With Long Ao's earlier remark, even the most obtuse person would sense something wrong. Long Ao coming to Jiangcheng wasn't just a family visit; it likely had to do with Long Ye and himself as well.
"Plan? What plan? The old dragon head's plan to use you as bait to catch a big fish?"
Baal scoffed. "Do you even need to ask? It's obvious. What that little guy named Hong Xing told you about being bait was just sugar-coating it. The truth is, the old dragon head needs to make everything hidden in Jiangcheng's underground completely active so he can uproot it all."
"And you, kid, are his chosen, most suitable sacrificial lamb. As for the reason, Lord Baal isn't omniscient, so don't ask me."
Chen Guan's heart sank slightly. Just as he thought, Hong Xing had been hiding something.
"Do you have a way to break this?"
"Break it? Why would I break it?" Baal said leisurely. "This is so interesting. Based on my understanding of the old dragon head, his calculations must be quite thorough, with a high success rate."
"If you die, this little mark of mine will just have to find a new place to stay. A bit troublesome, sure. But if you don't die, it means you're highly capable, and I'll think even more highly of you. It's a win-win deal for me."
"...Suit yourself."
Chen Guan exited his sea of consciousness and opened his eyes. The room was dim, illuminated only by the faint light filtering in from outside the window.
Baal's attitude was exactly as expected.
This demon god had never been an ally; he was more like a wicked spectator crouching by the stage, hoping the plot would take the most unexpected turn.
Counting on Baal to help break Long Ye and the Great Wall's scheme was like gambling. Although Baal had a prior agreement with him, Baal wasn't short on candidates. The currently missing Guan Jinyue was a prime example.
However, it wasn't a total loss. Baal's words had confirmed the worst-case scenario.
He was indeed the marked sacrifice in the plan. The cult was bound to be eradicated, but whether he lived or died in the process didn't matter.
Run? Could he really run?
Touching the coffin beside him, he knew that as long as his main body didn't die, he wouldn't die. This was his greatest advantage. He might just be able to win some benefits for himself. If he just ground through daily tasks at the academy, earning popularity points would be far too slow.
He wasn't Baal's only contractor, and Baal wasn't his only helper either.
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
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!
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!
