"Russian Roulette?"
The three spoke in unison, their faces filled with confusion.
Lu Ze didn’t expect them to have heard of it—he’d only mentioned it for fun.
"Better show you instead."
A thought struck Lu Ze as he recalled the hidden weapons on the sect leader he’d just swiftly killed.
He rummaged through his bag and pulled out a hand crossbow, quickly modifying its internal mechanism.
A jade disk, divided into six equal sections and engraved with intricate runes, was fitted into the center of the crossbow.
"This," Lu Ze declared, "is the [Russian Roulette Art]."
He casually placed a bolt into one of the sections. Under the concealment runes, the bolt vanished instantly.
The jade disk began spinning rapidly before settling after a few breaths.
"Observe," Lu Ze explained, "the bolt is hidden within this special jade disk..."
Then, he raised the crossbow and aimed it at the bound demonic cultivator nearby.
"Mmph—mmph!!"
The sect leader’s right-hand man, gagged, widened his eyes in terror, writhing desperately.
At that moment, Lu Ze seemed no different from a demonic overlord in his eyes.
"Each trigger pull spins the disk once."
With a grin, Lu Ze pulled the trigger.
A click echoed—no bolt fired.
The disk advanced one space, the previous section darkening.
"Phew..."
The demonic cultivator exhaled in relief.
"No one knows which pull will release the bolt."
Lu Ze continued pulling the trigger rapidly, the crossbow never wavering from its target.
"???"
The demonic cultivator was baffled.
What the hell…
Shouldn’t they switch targets after each shot?
Were they seriously treating him like a demonic pawn?
BANG!
A deafening sound.
A bolt embedded itself deep into the ground between the demonic cultivator’s legs.
The soil was soaked with a large wet patch.
"Ah! How could you do that? What if you’d hit him!?"
Chen Yiyun rushed over in a panic, sighing in relief upon seeing the demonic cultivator unharmed.
"Sniff… sniff…"
Tears streamed down the demonic cultivator’s face.
This was true righteousness!
Before his tears could dry, Chen Yiyun added,
"Demonic cultivators fetch higher contribution points if captured alive… You really must be careful…"
"#$%@#%..."
The demonic cultivator’s eyes rolled back as he fainted on the spot.
……
"So… what’s the point of this contraption?"
Xu Hao eyed the modified crossbow curiously, the disk now inscribed with Lu Ze’s so-called "Russian Roulette Art."
"Simple. We’re playing a game."
Lu Ze pressed the crossbow against his own temple.
"Each of us gets one. The loser pulls the trigger."
"..."
Wang Tianjing, now under the crossbow’s aim, trembled.
"I get the idea, but why point it at me…?"
"So it tests both courage and luck?"
Chen Yiyun grasped the concept instantly, impressed by Lu Ze’s creativity.
"What’s the game, exactly?"
Xu Hao’s interest was piqued.
"Wait, wait, wait—"
Wang Tianjing waved his hands frantically.
"Are we really betting our lives over some secret treasure?"
He gestured at the bolt pressed to his temple, forcing a bitter smile.
"Of course not."
Lu Ze smirked.
"This is all happening inside an illusion."
……
……
Lingxiao Sect.
"What!?"
"Lu Ze’s in trouble!?"
News of Lu Ze’s predicament sent shockwaves through the sect.
For one, demonic forces had launched a rare attack on a righteous faction disciple—a golden-core elite, no less.
Moreover, Lu Ze was a true disciple of Lingxiao Sect.
And… there was another layer, known only to a select few—
Lu Ze was bound by fate to the Heavenly Dao!
If something happened to him, Lingxiao Sect would lose a monumental opportunity!
Heavenly Dao Secret Realms only vanished once their treasures were claimed.
Forcibly breaking in from the outside required overwhelming power.
To breach a secret realm meant for those below the Nascent Soul stage, multiple Void Refinement experts would need to join forces!
Zhao Wendao immediately summoned all sect elders, rushing to the secret realm.
Other sects, upon hearing the news, mobilized their forces as well.
The cultivation world was suddenly on high alert!
……
……
Meanwhile.
Inside the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm.
Lu Ze’s illusion was complete.
A simple game like this was child’s play for him.
Done in minutes.
"All set."
Lu Ze exited the Illusion Tower, casually handing the illusion crystal to the others.
The secret realm severed all external communication.
The "internet" was down.
Unable to update the crystal online, Lu Ze resorted to the old-fashioned method of passing it around.
At least the "local network" still worked.
"That fast!?"
The trio was stunned.
Though they knew little about illusion crafting, they understood it wasn’t nearly this simple.
For Lu Ze to finish in under an hour? That was master-level skill!
Xu Hao lacked an Illusion Tower, so Lu Ze lent him one.
All four stepped into the illusion.
Its title appeared before them—
The Con Artist’s Teahouse.
"Con Artist’s Teahouse? No way—we’re righteous cultivators!"
The highly principled Xu Hao shook his head vehemently.
"It’s just a game, Brother Xu. No need to fret… Deception is part of the jianghu experience."
Lu Ze chuckled.
The four found themselves in a uniquely atmospheric teahouse.
Under the night sky, lanterns flickered within.
All around, cultivators of varying appearances clinked cups and chatted.
On the second-floor stage, a stunning dancer performed.
The trio sat at a round table in the center, leaving one seat open.
Behind them, the teahouse owner watched with keen interest.
"Usually, it’s a four-player game. Take some time to learn the rules—I won’t take advantage."
With admin privileges, Lu Ze strolled freely through the teahouse.
Since they only needed to die once each to complete the task, he wasn’t in a hurry.
"Hmph. Brother Lu underestimates us."
Wang Tianjing bristled with competitive spirit.
Eyeing the playing cards on the table, he felt confident in his gaming skills.
Cards? He’d played Lu Ze’s Three Kingdoms Kill before.
The game was wildly popular in the Tianxuan Sect. Luck mattered, but so did strategy.
Even without divination arts in the illusion, Tianxuan disciples were born calculators!
Even the game’s creator might not outplay them!
Lu Ze smiled wordlessly, simply displaying the rules.
In the original Con Artist’s Tavern, the deck used Queens (Q), Kings (K), Aces (A), and two Jokers.
When adapting Three Kingdoms Kill, Lu Ze had localized these card symbols.
The J, Q, and K cards respectively represent "Human," "Earth," and "Heaven."
The Joker cards, on the other hand, correspond to "Immortal" and "Demon," colloquially referred to as the "Big Joker" and "Little Joker" among players—a naming convention that coincidentally aligns with their counterparts in the previous life.
Soon, lines of system text floated before the three individuals.
[The deck contains a total of 20 cards, as follows:]
[6 "Human" cards, 6 "Earth" cards, 6 "Heaven" cards, 1 "Demon" card, and 1 "Immortal" card.]
[At the start of each turn, a target card type will be randomly selected from "Heaven," "Earth," or "Human."]
["Immortal" and "Demon" can be treated as any card type.]
[During the play phase, a player must first declare the number of target cards they intend to play, then play the corresponding number of cards face down. The minimum is 1 card, and the maximum is 3 cards.]
[The next player may "challenge" the authenticity of the previous player's declared target cards.]
[If challenged, the player's cards will be revealed. If all cards match the target type, the challenger pulls the trigger; if any card does not match the target type, the player who played the cards pulls the trigger.]
[If only one player remains with cards in hand, that player is forced to "challenge" the previous player.]
[The last surviving player wins the game.]
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
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.”
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
