His gaze swept over the Western delegation.
!!
Everyone under his scrutiny felt a surge of warmth in their hearts, as if caressed by a spring breeze—so comforting it made them want to close their eyes.
The next moment, something bizarre happened.
Led by Rein, every member of the Western alliance stood up in unison, their eyes blazing with fervor as they chanted in perfect sync:
“I swear my eternal loyalty to Lady Su Muwan XN!”
[Total Army Command]—activated!
Their voices boomed, brimming with an inexplicable devotion, reverberating through the conference room and making the screens on the walls tremble faintly.
“???”
Ouyang Xuan froze, his hand still mid-air, as if struck by lightning.
He turned to Qin Luo, his lips twitching. “What did you do to them?”
Su Muwan also blinked in surprise before glaring at Qin Luo, a flicker of confusion in her eyes.
Then, with a stifled scoff, she muttered under her breath, “What kind of trick are you pulling now?”
Qin Luo shrugged, flashing an innocent smile. “Nothing much. Just turned them into allies.”
He paused, a playful glint in his eyes. “After all, to ensure the script proceeds flawlessly, we can’t afford any surprises.”
“……”
Ouyang Xuan was utterly speechless.
Rubbing his temples, he felt like a mere figurehead in front of Qin Luo.
This guy’s abilities were downright absurd—with a casual move, he’d recruited the entire Western delegation. How were they supposed to negotiate now?
Come to think of it…
Ouyang Xuan blinked. He hadn’t been controlled, had he?
He still had his self-awareness, after all.
Right. Even if this was one of Qin Luo’s system abilities, he himself was also a system bearer.
There was no way he could be manipulated.
Every action he took now was his own genuine choice!
The Western delegates, completely oblivious to their own odd behavior, stared at Su Muwan with fiery admiration.
Rein even stepped forward, dropping to one knee and declaring reverently, “Lady Su, give us your orders! The Western alliance will brave any danger for you!”
Su Muwan: ?
She glanced down at the crystalline hairpin in her hand, then back at the suddenly “brainwashed” Westerners, her lips twitching. Finally, she turned to Qin Luo. “They’re not acting?”
“Of course not.”
“Besides…”
“Isn’t this great, Lady Su?”
Qin Luo leaned in with a grin, lowering his voice. “Saves us the hassle of negotiations. Now they’ll just obey you—how convenient.”
Su Muwan snorted but didn’t argue, though a hint of smugness flashed in her eyes.
Admittedly, the feeling of being fervently worshipped was… kind of exhilarating.
The atmosphere in the room grew surreal. The Eastern Kingdom’s officials exchanged bewildered looks, while the Western delegation buzzed with zeal, ready to leap into action at any command.
Ouyang Xuan sighed and reluctantly resumed his role as mediator. “Well… since we’re all in agreement, let’s discuss strategies for tomorrow’s sea tribe invasion.”
Qin Luo waved a hand, cutting him off. “No need. I’ve already handled it.”
With a faint smirk, he added, “Tonight, the Eastern and Western alliances will issue a global announcement.”
“When the sea tribe attacks tomorrow, humanity will stand united in battle.”
“An announcement?” Ouyang Xuan frowned. “But how can we mobilize so many forces so quickly—”
“Done. They’re all my people now.”
“?? How?”
“Just a little something I took care of.”
“??”
That night, a world-shaking announcement from the Martial Arts Alliance’s official channels exploded across the internet:
[Joint Announcement from the Eastern and Western Kingdoms]
[Year 66612 of the Martial Era, November 27th. With the sea tribe’s invasion imminent, the Eastern and Western Kingdoms unite all of humanity to resist!]
[Tomorrow, the coastal front at Tianhai City will be fully engaged. Every human must rise to defend our homeland!]
[Led by Su Muwan and Qin Luo, the Martial Arts Alliance stands with our brethren in this battle!]
The announcement sent the online world into a frenzy. Live-stream platforms were flooded with comments:
[Humanity rises! Crush the sea tribe!]
[With Lady Su and Master Qin leading, I’m all in!]
[I’ve already signed up as a volunteer! Let’s go, brothers!]
[Hey, don’t get fooled—this isn’t a fight for civilians. Stay home and watch the stream.]
The streets of Tianhai City blazed with light as martial artists gathered, sharpening weapons and preparing for the life-or-death battle ahead.
Allied forces from both kingdoms fortified the coastlines, warships lining up and spirit-powered cannons charging.
Everyone was ready.
Except…
In the vast universe beyond.
Deep within the Celestial Flame Sacred Hall of the Chixiao Domain, an elder cloaked in crimson robes abruptly opened his eyes.
He was Yan Lie, the Third Elder of the Sacred Hall, his aura as scorching as molten rock.
At this moment, a crimson jade tablet in his palm—the life tablet of his chosen pawn, Xiao Fei—suddenly cracked.
“The threads of fate… have shifted?”
Yan Lie’s brow furrowed, anger flickering in his gaze. “Who dares interfere with my piece?”
Descending with a split soul was forbidden, but he gritted his teeth. “Just a quick look. I’ll return immediately—no harm done.”
A wisp of crimson soul-light erupted from his palm, streaking toward the lower realm.
At the same time…
In the Ghost King’s Hall of the Nether Domain, a skeletal figure draped in black robes—Ming Ku, the Seventh Elder—sat upon a throne of bones.
Hovering above his fingertip was a ghostly green soul-lamp, tied to the life of his chosen pawn.
The flame within the lamp suddenly flickered violently, radiating an ominous aura.
“…What’s happening?”
Ming Ku’s raspy voice dripped with suspicion. After a moment’s hesitation, he sneered. “I’ll descend briefly. This won’t take long.”
With a wave of his hand, an emerald wisp of soul-light shot from his brow, hurtling toward the lower world.
And it wasn’t just them.
Across the vast cosmos, nearly every major power from dozens of domains sensed the anomaly at the same time.
Their chosen pawns—those fated individuals they’d invested in—had their destinies thrown into chaos.
Faces darkening, these mighty figures knew the risks of descending, yet none could bear to lose control of their pieces.
So, they all convinced themselves:
[Just a quick trip. In and out.]
Streaks of soul-light tore through the void, streaking like meteors toward that tiny blue world.
Under Tianhai City’s night sky, Qin Luo stood atop the alliance headquarters.
A faint smile curled his lips, as if he’d sensed something.
Softly, he murmured, “The fish… are biting.”
…
Author’s Note: Tomorrow’s the end of the month, so I’ll be taking a refreshing little break~
…
Whoa!! Massive thanks to “Peerless Young Master” for the King of Gifts!!

d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!

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!

iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."

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)