"Y-you... put your clothes on!"
The Jialan Empress glared at Jiang Che, her phoenix eyes sharp with fury and a trace of barely concealed panic.
No man had ever dared to act so brazenly in her presence!
"Your Majesty, please be gentle. I’m someone who’s afraid of pain."
Jialan Empress: "..."
What’s the big deal? It’s just killing you. You’re acting like I’m about to flay you alive.
The Jialan Empress was indeed a ruthless figure who killed without batting an eye.
[Ding! Host has died, triggering the ‘Phoenix’s Protection’ item card. Revived!]
[Ding! Host has died, triggering the ‘Phoenix’s Protection’ item card. Revived!]
[Ding!]
Jiang Che had already given up, lazily closing his eyes as if ready for a nap.
His body and soul were like lab rats, repeatedly tortured by the Jialan Empress.
[But I won’t die for nothing. Every time you kill me now, you’ll owe me ten thousand times over in the future!]
Did she really think Jiang Che was some pushover? Sure, he wasn’t actually losing anything... but the Jialan Empress’s haughty attitude was seriously grating on his nerves. He’d have to find a way to teach her a brutal lesson later.
A chase to win him back? More like a chase to the crematorium!
......
"Huff... huff..."
A full hour had passed, and the Jialan Empress was panting—not from exhaustion, but sheer rage!
The blade in her hand was nearly dull from all the hacking!
"You... how is this possible? Why won’t you just die???"
Jiang Che: "..."
Why should I die?
This empress really isn’t up to the task. A whole hour in, and I’ve barely used up a fraction of my 9,999 revival cards.
"Jialan Empress, when I awakened my dual celestial bodies, I received the favor of the Heavenly Dao. I wonder if my immortality... has something to do with it?"
Jiang Che no longer addressed her with respect, calling her by name outright.
Because the tables were about to turn!
"The Heavenly Dao... yes, it must be! Only the power of the Heavenly Dao could bypass my detection and revive you directly!"
The Jialan Empress suddenly realized the truth!
He possessed dual celestial bodies and was the Chosen One of Destiny—naturally, the Heavenly Dao would protect him.
But no matter how she racked her brain, she couldn’t fathom why the Heavenly Dao would shield him to this extent. An unkillable man...
Was this human the Heavenly Dao’s favorite son or something?!
"I refuse to believe it! It’s impossible..."
If Jiang Che didn’t die, then Ling’er...
As the illusion dissipated, Jia Ling’er’s figure slowly materialized. Half of the young girl’s body had already turned to stone, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes.
"Ling’er!!!"
The Jialan Empress was utterly distraught, her composure shattered like never before.
Even when she learned her daughter was petrifying—or worse, possibly falling for Jiang Che—she hadn’t been worried.
Because as long as Jiang Che died, all problems would vanish!
But now? This human was under the Heavenly Dao’s protection, reviving endlessly no matter how many times he was slain... not even he could kill himself!
Then Ling’er would...
The empress was plunged into despair. No longer the aloof, untouchable ruler, she was just an ordinary mother, helpless and afraid.
"M-mother... don’t kill him..."
The half-petrified girl weakly pleaded.
"Ling’er! Ling’er..."
The woman pulled Jia Ling’er into her arms, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
To be honest... this vulnerable, tearful side of the Jialan Empress was something no one in the Nine Heavens had ever witnessed!
But Jiang Che? He was having the time of his life, practically itching to set off fireworks in celebration.
Thought you were untouchable? Killed me thousands of times? Well, karma’s a bitch, isn’t it?
And this was just the beginning!
You’ll suffer plenty more later!
Jiang Che never took a loss without payback.
Soon, Jia Ling’er fainted as the petrification accelerated.
"Ling’er... Ling’er, what do I do... what can I do?"
The Jialan Empress was frantic, pacing like an ant on a hot pan.
If Jiang Che were in the Nine Heavens, her true form might have been able to sever his Heavenly Dao protection.
But here in the mortal realm, trapped in her own dream world—the one place she prided herself on absolute control—she couldn’t even kill him. What hope was there elsewhere?
Hopelessness gnawed at her heart.
She could only watch as her daughter slowly turned to stone.
"Why won’t you just die!!!"
In her fury, the Jialan Empress ground her teeth, glaring daggers at Jiang Che.
But all she could do was glare.
"Wait... did you uncover the secrets of our Merfolk Ancestral Land?"
A flicker of hope sparked in her eyes as she suddenly remembered something.
Tsk tsk tsk. Finally asking the right question.
Jiang Che’s lips curled into a smirk.
From this moment on, Jialan Empress... prepare to dance to Young Master Jiang’s tune!
"Jialan Empress, what do you mean by that?"
"Some low-blooded merfolk from the Jialan Clan descended recently, and their bloodlines were all elevated to imperial rank. That had to be your doing. The only way to refine common-blooded merfolk into imperial bloodlines is through the secrets of our Ancestral Land!"
"If you’ve obtained those secrets... perhaps you can break the curse on Ling’er!"
Deep down, the empress held little hope. From what she knew of merfolk history, no one had ever truly broken the ancestral curse.
Those who dared to love mortals always ended up as stone statues!
"Is that so... Your Majesty, it’s true that I once discovered a ruin containing many relics and inheritances of the merfolk."
The empress’s eyes lit up. "Is there a way to save Ling’er?"
In her mind, Jiang Che must have loved Ling’er. Even if he wouldn’t die for her, he’d surely do everything in his power to save her.
Their goals had always been the same!
"There is."
Jiang Che’s smirk deepened, his tongue lightly flicking over his lips.
!!!
"You’re serious???" The woman’s regal face twisted with desperate hope.
"Absolutely. I just scanned the merfolk inheritance methods again and found a way to slow Ling’er’s petrification."
"Tell me!!! No—please, enlighten me." For the first time, the empress reined in her tyrannical temper.
Because now, all hope of saving Ling’er rested solely on him!
"And... why should I tell you?"
Jiang Che suddenly laughed, his eyes gleaming with mischief as he studied the empress with playful mockery.
The setup had gone on long enough. Time to reel in the catch.
Honestly... acting for so long was exhausting!
"Y-you... what do you mean? You were willing to die for Ling’er before! Why won’t you speak now?"
The empress was frantic.
"Heh—" Jiang Che chuckled coolly.
How could it be the same?
The power balance had shifted!
Ling’er’s affection was nearly maxed out. Now, it was the empress’s turn to pay the price.
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
