Most players have certain habits when playing cards that even they themselves don’t notice.
Some players, when lying, will make distracting gestures—like suddenly saying something meaningless or glancing in a particular direction.
Others, when dealt either an excellent or terrible hand, will unconsciously display subtle expressions or movements.
Take Chen Yiyun, the player to Lu Ze’s left, for example.
Chen Yiyun holds her cards in her left hand while resting her right hand flat on the table.
But whenever her hand is particularly bad, her right hand involuntarily clenches into a fist.
Lu Ze has observed this seven times.
In six of those seven instances, Chen Yiyun’s hand contained either just one target card or none at all.
The seventh time is now.
Add to that the fact that the straightforward Xu Hao has already played two [Heaven] cards, and Lu Ze’s conclusion is clear—
Most of the [Heaven] cards must be in Wang Tianjing and Xu Hao’s hands, while Chen Yiyun likely holds at most one.
So he decides to take the initiative, throwing out three bluff cards.
Better to stir the waters than wait passively for defeat.
Given Chen Yiyun’s temperament, the odds of her actively challenging Lu Ze with such a poor hand are less than 30%.
Judging by her current hesitation and deep contemplation, Lu Ze feels his gamble has paid off.
Her hand must be just as terrible as his!
"Miss Chen, call his bluff! Don’t let him intimidate you!"
Wang Tianjing, sitting to her left, grows anxious and quickly chimes in.
"I have four [Heaven] cards—how could he possibly have three left?"
"Even if he did, why would he play them all at once? That’d be suicide if someone challenged him later!"
Hearing Wang Tianjing’s reasoning, Chen Yiyun’s furrowed brow smooths out. She glances at Lu Ze, clearly tempted to challenge him.
Beside them, Xu Hao frowns. "Brother Wang, ‘silence is golden’ when spectating a game. This isn’t very sportsmanlike of you..."
"Not at all."
Lu Ze shakes his head with a smile.
"We’re all players here—there’s no such thing as ‘spectator silence.’"
Xu Hao mutters under his breath, "He’s neither your enemy nor your direct opponent. Why interfere? Earlier rounds didn’t involve direct clashes anyway..."
"Brother Xu is too honest... There are three possible reasons for this."
Lu Ze raises one finger, grinning.
"First, Brother Wang has a soft spot for Miss Chen."
Wang Tianjing’s face flushes red as he waves his hands in protest. "L-Lu Ze! What nonsense are you spouting?!"
Lu Ze raises a second finger.
"Second, Brother Wang wants to use Miss Chen to gauge my playing style... Personally, I think this is the most likely."
"Third..."
Lu Ze’s gaze slowly shifts from Wang Tianjing to Chen Yiyun, whose expression instantly changes.
With a sly smile, he raises a third finger, elongating his tone slightly:
"Brother Wang may not be my direct opponent, but he is Miss Chen’s."
The moment Lu Ze finishes, the three react differently.
Wang Tianjing fixates on the first point, Xu Hao on the second, and Chen Yiyun on the third.
Chen Yiyun, who had been on the verge of challenging Lu Ze, breaks into a cold sweat.
Following Lu Ze’s analysis, she suddenly realizes—Wang Tianjing might be the real villain here!
Whether he’s using her to decipher Lu Ze’s tactics...
Or outright setting her up for failure...
Wang Tianjing risks nothing!
In fact, if she challenges Lu Ze, Wang Tianjing stands to gain the most!
"Miss Chen, don’t fall for it! If his cards were real, why bother explaining? He’d just wait for you to challenge him!"
Wang Tianjing refuses to back down.
Initially, he had indeed wanted to probe Lu Ze’s strategy, as suggested.
But now, he’s convinced Lu Ze is bluffing—and he won’t pass up a chance to weaken his strongest rival.
Chen Yiyun pauses.
That does make sense!
If Lu Ze’s cards were genuine, why waste words?
Wouldn’t he just wait for her to challenge and lose?
Why say so much?
Her doubt resurfaces.
Yet the moment she hears Wang Tianjing’s words, Lu Ze’s lips curl into a faint, fleeting smirk—as if he’d been waiting for this very line.
Wait...
Just as Chen Yiyun prepares to challenge, something feels off.
Lu Ze seems to have anticipated this remark!
Why did he stop explaining?
Isn’t he just baiting her into questioning him?
Realizing this, Chen Yiyun feels like she’s losing her mind.
What should she do...
Are Lu Ze’s cards real or fake?
Is he tricking her into challenging him?
An unbearable itch gnaws at her chest.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
As she hesitates, three slow, deliberate knocks echo across the table.
Chen Yiyun instinctively turns toward the sound—Lu Ze is tapping the table with his knuckles.
"Miss Chen, time’s almost up."
His smile remains unreadable.
Chen Yiyun’s gaze freezes.
Because she notices—Lu Ze’s knuckles land precisely between two widely spaced cards in his hand.
Two critical details flash through her mind:
1. Lu Ze had glanced at his cards only once before placing them face-down on the table.
2. When selecting the first, second, and fourth cards to play, he hadn’t hesitated at all.
Everything points to someone confidently playing real cards!
With a resigned breath, she shuts her eyes and tosses her sole [Heaven] card.
"One [Heaven]."
"Miss Chen, you’ve been fooled..."
Wang Tianjing sighs.
He now sees that Chen Yiyun holds at most one [Heaven].
Which only confirms his belief—Lu Ze must have bluffed.
Knowing Chen Yiyun, under such pressure, her last-second play is likely genuine.
So he doesn’t rush to challenge.
This round, Chen Yiyun is already in his grasp.
"Three [Heaven]."
"Challenge!"
The moment Wang Tianjing lays down his cards, Xu Hao slams the table.
"Hah! Brother Lu’s cards must be real. I have three [Heaven], and there are only eight in the deck. How could you possibly play three at once?"
The cards flip over—two [Heaven] and one [Immortal].
"..."
Xu Hao whips his head toward Lu Ze, stunned.
"You lied to me!"
"What happens in the illusion stays in the illusion."
Lu Ze shrugs innocently.
Xu Hao lifts a hand crossbow to his temple.
Though he’s done this countless times, the cold press of metal against his skin still sends his pulse racing.
Click.
The empty chamber clicks. Xu Hao exhales shakily and lowers the weapon.
The game continues.
[This round’s target: Mortal]
"One [Mortal]."
Xu Hao discards a card.
"Three [Mortal]."
Lu Ze repeats his tactic.
Cards face-down, swiftly selecting the first, second, and fourth again.
His voice drips with playful mischief:
"Care to guess~?"
"..."
Chen Yiyun’s lips tremble with suppressed fury.
Remembering how thoroughly Lu Ze had played her earlier, she seethes.
How dare you play three cards when you don’t even have one?
And you’re doing it again this round?
Even the placement of the cards is exactly the same?
This round, Chen Yiyun was holding two [Human] cards in her hand, brimming with confidence.
"Lu Ze, have some decency… At least change the position of your cards. Are you trying to fool me like I’m an idiot?"
Chen Yiyun laughed at her own frustration, raising a finger.
"I challenge!"
"It’s a misunderstanding, I’m actually a good guy…"
Lu Ze shrugged helplessly and revealed his hand.
To her shock, it was three [Human] cards.
Chen Yiyun froze in place.
She took a deep breath, picked up her crossbow, bit her lip hard, and glanced tearfully at Wang Tianjing, then back at Lu Ze.
"Why did I have to get stuck between two seasoned liars like you…"
"Ahhh!! Just kill me already!!!"
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
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?
