The entire scene fell into silence.
What just happened?
Everyone widened their eyes, staring at the four figures high in the sky.
Two Su Muwans? Two Qin Luos?
Huh?
Is this some kind of copy-paste trick?
What in the world... is going on?
Most importantly—
What did the second Qin Luo just say?
"The inheritor of the Soul-Devouring Demonic Art... is really here?"
So who is it, then?
Everyone was utterly bewildered.
What on earth is happening?
Su Bailian blinked in confusion.
Wait a second.
My love radar is tingling!
Which means...
The pair that arrived later are the real ones?
Oh, then it's fine.
Su Bailian relaxed.
This must all be some scheme orchestrated by Qin Luo and Su Muwan.
Everyone turned their gazes to the four figures in the sky, unsure of what would happen next.
And just as the tension reached its peak—
Su Muwan's icy voice cut through the air: "Insects from the Shadows, how dare you impersonate me and Qin Luo?"
With that, she raised a finger, pointing at the two figures shrouded in dark energy, and commanded coldly, "Perish!"
Hum!
In an instant, a surge of pure and overwhelming frost energy erupted from her fingertip, crashing toward the fake Su Muwan and fake Qin Luo like a tidal wave.
The crowd watched as an azure-blue wave of ice, shimmering with razor-sharp crystals, engulfed the sky.
Wherever the wave passed, the air froze instantly, crackling with brittle snaps.
The fake Su Muwan and fake Qin Luo paled, their eyes widening in terror.
They frantically summoned their spiritual energy, trying to resist the devastating attack.
The fake Su Muwan conjured a thick, writhing black mist in front of her, attempting to devour the icy wave.
The fake Qin Luo swiftly formed hand seals, layering dark spiritual shields before him.
Yet, their efforts were pitifully insignificant against such power.
The icy wave tore through the mist and shields effortlessly, swallowing them whole in a single strike.
"ARGH—"
Their agonized screams were abruptly silenced as the wave consumed them.
When the ice finally dissipated, the crowd saw the two figures encased in thick layers of frost, suspended mid-air like frozen statues.
Their faces were frozen in expressions of horror and despair, their bodies twisted unnaturally within the ice.
A deathly silence fell over the scene.
Everyone stood dumbfounded, mouths agape, unable to utter a single word.
This... this is insane.
They were... defeated in an instant?
"Is it over...?" the Sword Immortal muttered under his breath.
But the problem wasn't resolved yet.
The Soul-Devouring Array was still active, and many questions remained unanswered.
As if to address their confusion—
Su Muwan's expression remained stern as she frowned and barked toward a certain direction, "Show yourself!"
The moment she spoke—
A sinister cackle echoed through the air.
"Kehahahaha~!"
"As expected of the strongest in this era, Miss Su. These two fools were no match for you."
The crowd gasped, turning toward the source of the voice.
There, emerging from a swirling vortex of shadows, was a figure entirely cloaked in thick, viscous darkness, its features indiscernible.
Behind it stood two more figures.
They were...
"The Sword Immortal and the Zen Master?!"
The real Sword Immortal below was stunned.
Why am I up there?!
Qin Luo flew to Su Muwan's side, his gaze locked onto the shadowy figure as if identifying its identity—
Or perhaps explaining to the bewildered spectators below.
His voice was heavy as he spoke: "The Shadow Organization's [Thousand Faces]."
"Miss Su, I never thought our investigation into the inheritor of the Soul-Devouring Demonic Art would lead us to this one."
Su Muwan nodded coolly. "Thousand Faces of the Shadows—ever-changing, capable of flawlessly mimicking anyone. Combined with the power of shadows, they can create endless puppets in any form."
Upon hearing this, Thousand Faces let out another eerie laugh and waved a hand.
The Sword Immortal-like puppet behind him melted back into a faceless doll.
He sneered, "The news of this ancient ruin... I suppose your Alliance leaked it, didn't you?"
"What was the goal? Luring us out?"
Qin Luo chuckled. "The Alliance went through quite some trouble to make you show yourselves."
"Now... we've finally caught you in the act."
While the explanation unfolded above—
The crowd below was in shock.
The Shadow Organization?!
Thousand Faces?!
And what? The Alliance leaked the ruins' location just to draw them out?
Huh?!
Chu Yu lay sprawled on the ground, his mind blank.
What... what kind of nonsense is this?
What Shadow Organization?
What Thousand Faces?
And since when is Su Muwan part of the Alliance?!
What the hell is going on?!
In my past life, this ruin wasn't this chaotic!
Is... is this all because of the butterfly effect from my rebirth?!
Aside from Chu Yu—
The others quickly pieced things together.
"So... the so-called inheritor of the Soul-Devouring Demonic Art..."
"Isn't Su Bailian or Ye Qun at all!"
"And the mastermind isn't Qin Luo or his group!"
"The real mastermind is..."
Their eyes turned upward, toward the ominous figure wreathed in black mist standing before the seemingly more menacing Su Muwan.
The real mastermind is this so-called Shadow Organization?!
Wait, why does Miss Su seem even more terrifying than them...?
Who's the actual villain here?!
Thousand Faces cackled at Qin Luo's words. "Kehahaha~!"
"Caught me?"
"I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. Let me clarify—the me standing before you is just a puppet my true self crafted."
"Besides..."
He pointed at the spinning Soul-Devouring Array above, grinning maliciously.
"You should be worrying about yourselves."
"Walking right into this array without a care in the world..."
"Su Muwan, even you won't be able to escape!"
"And as for these people—"
"They'll all become nourishment to activate the Taigu Xuan Sect's—"
Before he could finish—
CRACK!!
Su Muwan flicked her finger, instantly freezing the puppet Thousand Faces into a block of ice.
SWOOSH!!
It then shattered into countless icy fragments, vanishing without a trace.
At the same time—
The Soul-Devouring Array's absorption rate skyrocketed.
As if to sell the act further—
Su Muwan clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Cunning bastards."
Qin Luo smirked. "Still, we got something out of this."
"At least we've finally encountered a core member of the Shadow Organization."
"True enough."
Just then—
"Hey! HEY!"
"Can you two focus on the giant array above us first?!"
Below, the Sword Immortal and Zen Master shouted, their faces pale.
Can you two stop chatting and DO SOMETHING?!
or! A blessing for those who struggle with love, a guidebook for dating novices. Quickly match with your dream goddess! Complete walkthroughs earn rewards, and perfect walkthroughs unlock limited achievements!】 Shen Yi, an ordinary office worker, accidentally downloads a mini-game called Dating Simulator. The mini-game is simple: randomly search for dating targets, simulate dates, and receive rewards upon successful confession. Rewards include but are not limited to money, attributes, and skills. The higher the evaluation, the better the rewards, with perfect ratings unlocking mysterious achievements. Shen Yi plans to use this mysterious mini-game to continuously pursue targets and improve himself, making his life better and better. ...... However, after several successful walkthroughs, Shen Yi suddenly notices something strange - the targets he previously simulated dating seem to be searching for him in real life?
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)
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
