A few days later.
Gu Changyuan brought Tushan Hanyan back to the Heavenly Court.
After sending Tushan Hanyan off, Gu Changyuan waved his right hand and summoned every Immortal Emperor of the Heavenly Court to the central hall.
Figures appeared from different directions, each radiating the unique aura of an Immortal Emperor.
That aura alone, when manifested by a single individual, was enough to make heaven and earth turn their heads—and when more than thirty such auras converged within the same great hall, the pressure nearly turned the air itself stagnant.
Because of their ties to the Heavenly Court, these Immortal Emperors were already acquainted with one another.
All of them kept their auras tightly restrained; none deliberately released their pressure to assert dominance, nor did any suppress themselves to appear humble.
Gu Changyuan watched as everyone gathered. He raised his right hand and gave a light wave toward the center of the hall.
A massive round table materialized in the palace.
One by one, they took their seats, no one jostling for position.
Gu Changyuan braced his hands on the tabletop, leaning slightly forward. His gaze swept across every face in the room, and then he spoke.
"You are all no doubt aware of the news regarding the Imperial Court.
Beyond the Immortal Emperor realm lie the Dao Venerable and Divine Emperor stages.
That, presumably, is the realm each of you seeks to pursue and attain.
And this so-called 'Emperor'—he should already have reached the Dao Venerable stage.
To acquire more information, we may well have to obtain it from the Emperor himself.
Moreover, I have sensed that the enemy has already detected Zhenyue's fall and is now rapidly investigating.
So we have little time left—once they lock onto our location, the Imperial Court will strike first.
If that happens, we will be forced onto the defensive."
His tone remained calm, but the expression on every Immortal Emperor present turned grim.
"So," Gu Changyuan straightened up, his gaze pausing for a moment over the assembled crowd, "rather than sit and wait for death, it is better to strike first and go straight for their heart.
On the Middle Province Immortal Domain, I have already laid a concealed teleportation formation through my avatar—one that can deliver us directly to the core of the Imperial Court.
Catch them completely off guard."
The Immortal Emperors around the round table exchanged glances.
Zhuge Xuanji did not speak immediately. After a moment, he gave a slight nod.
"We have all reviewed the intelligence. The data on the core region's defensive nodes is complete.
The odds of winning with a preemptive strike are higher than with passive defense."
The leading Immortal Emperor of the Xuanyuan clan slammed a palm onto the table—not hard, but the sound rang out sharply.
"Nothing more to say. We fight! I've been waiting for this day for a long time."
The Immortal Emperors of the Purple Dawn Immortal Dynasty and the Cloudwild Immortal Dynasty also voiced their positions one after another. Though their words were more measured than those before them, their stance was equally unambiguous.
Since they had already boarded the Heavenly Court's ship, there would be no hesitation now.
The vast majority of Immortal Emperors leaned toward taking the initiative, while a few more cautious ones, after repeatedly simulating every possible outcome, had to admit the same conclusion.
Passive waiting would only sharpen the Imperial Court's vigilance and thicken their defenses—and once the Emperor fully locked onto the Heavenly Court's position before making a move,
what awaited them would be the full crushing weight of the Imperial Court's might.
But a preemptive strike, at the very least, could disrupt their rhythm and seize the first-mover advantage.
Gu Changyuan listened to their deliberations without rushing to interject.
His gaze swept across each face, taking in the light that kindled in their eyes as the news spread, the resolve born of hatred, and the unwavering certainty that came after careful deliberation.
Then he spoke. His voice was not loud, just enough for every person around the round table to hear clearly, without effort, without emphasis—yet it silenced all discussion.
“For this operation, only the Immortal Emperor will go. After all, this is a covert strike, and the teleportation array can only carry a limited number of people at a time.”
The air in the hall seemed to congeal for a brief moment.
Gu Changyuan noticed the faint confusion, and continued:
“The Emperor’s stronghold is guarded by other forces at least. Any cultivator below the Immortal Emperor level would only become a burden. We need to tear through their core defenses with the fastest speed and the strongest combat power, establishing suppression before the Tians hengs can react.”
His gaze swept across the faces around him once more, his tone calm as ever:
“All of you are to contend with the other Tians hengs, split them apart, and suppress them one by one. As for me—”
He paused slightly.
“I will force the Emperor out and engage him directly.”
The hall fell silent for a moment.
A rare flicker passed through Xing Huang’s golden eyes. She looked at Gu Changyuan and spoke softly:
“Changyuan, that is a Daozun.”
She did not question, did not dissuade—she was merely stating a fact that everyone knew all too well.
Around the round table, many gazes simultaneously turned to Gu Changyuan.
Those eyes carried concern, curiosity, and anticipation—they were waiting for an answer.
An answer sufficient to put their hearts at ease, to entrust their backs to him.
Gu Changyuan leaned back in his chair, his gaze calmly meeting those stares.
“Leave it to me.”
His voice was quiet, but resolute.
In his past life, he had undoubtedly already reached the Daozun realm.
Now, with the feedback from over thirty Immortal Emperors and countless Immortal Kings and below,
Gu Changyuan himself did not know exactly what level he had reached. Only by facing a true Daozun would he find out.
And he still had trump cards in reserve, so he did not believe he would lose.
A flash of understanding passed through Xing Huang’s golden eyes. She nodded slightly and asked nothing further.
What they were facing was not just the Imperial Court, but also the Devouring Beast King from beyond that world.
Since it could easily deal with Immortal Emperor Cangwu, the Devouring Beast King was at least at the Daozun level.
To contend with it, the Emperor was currently the fastest way to understand the Daozun realm.
Seeing no objections, Gu Changyuan spoke again:
“In that case, everyone rests here for now. Four hours from now, we strike directly at the Imperial Court."
transmigrates into the role of a villainous rich second-generation kid in an urban fantasy novel, and gets bound to a god-tier choice system. Right at the start, he catches the female lead stealing exam papers! This triggers the villain's choice options! [Choice 1: Pretend you didn't see anything] [Choice 2: Loudly call her out, drawing everyone's attention] [Choice 3: ...] And thus, a twisted villain is born. To avoid getting killed by the protagonist, he has no choice but to take down all the protagonists first. Jiang Che: Nobody understands being twisted better than me!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
