Severing Su Muwang's Thread of Fate

If you were to ask where the largest concentration of system holders could be found,

the answer is obvious.

It would undoubtedly be the Martial Arts Alliance.

The former leader scoured the entire world in search of system holders.

As for why he's the "former" leader—

well, it's simple.

Because the current leaders are him and Su Muwan.

However, they can't just confiscate Ouyang Xuan and the others' systems yet—after all, they still need them to work like dogs.

Qin Luo glanced again at the previous "Path to Kingship" series of missions.

Having just taken over Illusory Star City yesterday, the current progress was at 3.

The number left to complete the goal?

...105.

Good grief.

A long and arduous road indeed.

But now, with the Fate System in hand, this didn’t seem like such a difficult task anymore.

Every few cities, they were bound to encounter a T0.

The hardest part about dealing with them was their providence, as it bound them inextricably to their respective cities.

This would hinder Qin Luo and the others' efforts to take control.

However.

Now, all they had to do was sever their fate and bonds, and...

subduing the city would be as easy as flipping a palm.

With that in mind,

Qin Luo raised his right hand.

A seemingly ordinary pair of scissors floated above his palm.

[Fate Scissors]

Capable of tearing apart the bonds between people and rewriting their predetermined destinies.

Truly the ultimate weapon for eliminating T0s.

Oh, right.

Qin Luo focused his thoughts.

Gurgle~!

A shadowy creature emerged from behind him.

She bowed respectfully and said, "Master."

Qin Luo glanced at her.

The shadowy being was enveloped in an ethereal dark mist, as if gently cradled by the night.

Her skin bore a cold, silvery-gray hue, like frost-forged jade under moonlight.

Her ink-green hair cascaded wildly, the ends flickering like black flames, slightly curled.

Her ears had grown pointed and delicately upturned.

Most striking were the black vines of the Flower of Malevolence creeping along her arms.

This was Qing'er, now transformed into a shadow by Qin Luo.

As a T1 supporting character, her potential was immense.

The shadow organization was short on manpower.

So Qin Luo decided—aside from T0s, he would convert all other supporting characters into shadows to bolster their ranks.

Qing'er’s shadow form granted her a unique ability:

[Corrupted Bloom]

Perhaps due to her fusion with the Flower of Malevolence,

her power allowed her to maintain a half-human, half-demon form or fully demonize at will.

She could sprout the Flower of Malevolence’s vines anywhere to absorb energy and replenish herself.

Most importantly, her vines, pollen, and petals could spread throughout every corner of a city, allowing her to detect any movement.

Truly the perfect tool for gathering intelligence.

Qin Luo looked at her and ordered, "Release your vines. Spread them beneath Jiang City and the surrounding thirty cities."

"Find anyone who meets the same conditions as your little boyfriend."

"As you command, Master."

Qing'er nodded, then dissolved into a flurry of petals and vanished.

Qin Luo withdrew his gaze.

His current objectives were sixfold:

First: Let the young mistress enjoy life to the fullest.

Second: Seize control of systems.

Third: Expand the organization’s influence.

Fourth: Infiltrate the ancient sects of the Profound Heaven Realm.

Fifth: Subdue the Eastern Kingdom.

Sixth: Capture T0s.

He ran through them once more in his mind.

Satisfied, Qin Luo nodded.

For now, these six would suffice.

The rest?

Just wait for Qing'er to spread her power across all nearby cities.

Alright then.

Snip, snip.

Qin Luo weighed the Fate Scissors in his hand and smirked.

Time to test it on someone.

...

...

Living room.

"So, just because you got your hands on some scissors, you decided to test them on me?"

A well-rested Su Muwan stared blankly at the scissors placed before her.

She shot a suspicious glance at the grinning Qin Luo and suddenly tensed. "Qin Luo, you’re not going to mess up my fate and make me even unluckier, are you?"

Qin Luo blinked innocently. "Don’t worry, Young Mistress. You’re already as unlucky as it gets."

"What’s that supposed to mean?!"

Fuming, Su Muwan crossed her arms. Qin Luo was getting more and more outrageous these days!

Every word out of his mouth was a direct hit to her pride.

If it weren’t for the fact that she liked him, she’d have already punched him square in the face.

Though, admittedly, Qin Luo was built like a tank—even her full-powered punches barely fazed him.

Anyone else would think he’d dumped all his stat points into defense.

But still.

Hehe...

Su Muwan’s heart swelled with smug satisfaction. Back when she’d set her standards for a partner,

her one non-negotiable condition was that they had to survive one of her punches.

And why just one?

Because anyone who took two was already dead.

Seeing Su Muwan huff and then resign herself to his whims,

Qin Luo got to work.

Fate Manipulation—activate!

Alright, Young Mistress, let’s see what your destiny has in store...

Qin Luo studied the threads of Su Muwan’s fate.

As he looked,

his expression shifted from focused to utterly blank.

Yep. Just as expected.

When it came to her providence, Su Muwan’s threads were just one giant tangled ball of black yarn.

At this moment, the threads of her fate were even more spine-chilling.

Unlike the neat, orderly interweaving of an ordinary person's destiny, these threads resembled countless twisted black serpents, coiling and writhing around one another, exuding an aura that sent chills down the spine.

The threads were dark as ink, yet at certain junctures, they pulsed with an eerie, blood-red glow.

Creak creak creak!!

Snap!

Qin Luo covered his face.

He stared at the black threads of fate now surging toward him.

This indescribable mass filling the entire room... was actually Su Muwan's destiny?

Just how tragic could it possibly be?

Qin Luo turned his disbelieving gaze toward Su Muwan, who was blinking her bright, lively eyes at him.

Her expression was full of anticipation, as if asking—Luo Luo Luo, how’s my fate looking?

Sorry, young mistress.

It’s cursed. You really don’t want to see this.

"Qin Luo, what does my fate look like?"

"Tell me quickly—has it gotten a little more hopeful?"

Su Muwan was nervous, but there was also a glimmer of hope in her voice.

After all, so much had already changed in this lifetime.

Maybe her fate could change too?

Uh...

Hearing this, Qin Luo lowered his hand and gave Su Muwan a faint smile before enunciating slowly, "It’s... just... fine."

"Here, let me help you tweak this less-than-ideal fate of yours."

Su Muwan’s eyes lit up. "Yes, yes, please!"

With that, Qin Luo pulled out a pair of scissors and searched for a thread that wasn’t quite so grotesque.

This particular thread was tied to a minor misfortune in Su Muwan’s life.

According to the original trajectory, Su Muwan would suffer a flare-up of her cold toxin tonight. Though she would grit her teeth and endure it, her body would still sustain damage.

Snip~

Qin Luo effortlessly severed the thread.

And just like that, fate shifted toward a better outcome.

[Su Muwan will suffer a cold toxin flare-up tonight, but due to proper handling, her cultivation will actually improve.]

He blinked.

That easy?? But how does her cultivation improve?

Whatever.

Let’s try another one.

Qin Luo moved to another thread—this one tied to a life-or-death crisis for Su Muwan.

[Su Muwan will continue provoking dozens of Chosen Ones and end up being ganged up on and killed.]

Snip!

He put some extra force into cutting this one.

And once again, fate shifted.

[Su Muwan will continue provoking dozens of Chosen Ones, but due to external factors, someone else will die in her place.]

Qin Luo: ?

What the hell??

Shaking his head, he decided that as long as she didn’t die, it was fine.

Then, he turned to the eagerly waiting Su Muwan and smiled. "Don’t worry, young mistress. I’ve already eliminated some of your minor misfortunes."

Though...

He put the scissors away, remembering the warning that came with the Fate Scissors.

Su Muwan giggled and threw herself at him, nuzzling against him excitedly. "As expected of Luo Luo!"

Looking at the adorable young mistress, Qin Luo reached out and ruffled her hair.

Well... at least nothing major should happen for now... right?