The next morning.
The Shen family villa.
Sunlight poured into the living room through the floor-to-ceiling windows, coating everything in a warm golden hue.
Compared to the hail of bullets and the roar of helicopters from last night, the quietness of this moment felt somewhat unreal.
Like waking up from a nightmare.
Su Qingxue was the first to rise.
She cooked some porridge in the kitchen, steamed a few buns, and cut a plate of fruit.
She arranged them on the dining table.
Ling Xue was also up, sitting on the sofa munching on an apple, a freshly wiped dagger resting on her lap.
Ling Shuang wasn't in the living room.
She had been staring at the screens in the surveillance room all night. Now that Ling Xue had taken over the shift, she could finally catch some sleep.
Shen Fei walked down from upstairs.
He had washed up and changed into a clean dark blue hoodie.
He looked to be in excellent spirits.
As if he had slept for ten hours last night.
In reality, he had only slept for five.
But his constitution as a martial arts grandmaster allowed him to recover at a speed far beyond that of ordinary people.
He sat down at the dining table, picked up a bowl of porridge, and took a sip.
Is Lin Ruobing awake?
Su Qingxue poked her head out from the kitchen.
She hasn't come down yet.
Shen Fei nodded without rushing her.
After everything that happened last night, anyone would need time to process it.
Let alone Lin Ruobing.
Overnight, she had learned three things.
First, the useless husband she had been married to for three years was the Asura Dragon King who commanded a hundred thousand men.
Second, her husband had brought two thousand men to attack the villa where she was a guest.
Third, her husband had been arrested on the spot.
Any other woman's brain would have short-circuited.
Shen Fei was in no hurry.
He slowly drank his porridge.
Ate a bun.
And drank another bowl of porridge.
Finally, footsteps came from the stairs.
Very light.
Very slow.
Tinged with hesitation.
Lin Ruobing walked down.
She was wearing a set of loungewear that Su Qingxue had prepared for her last night. Her hair was untied, cascading loosely over her shoulders.
Her face was pale.
Her eyes were red and swollen.
It was obvious she had cried for a long time.
Yet, her back remained straight.
No slouching, no shrinking.
Even in her most vulnerable moments, she did not allow herself to show any signs of weakness.
This was something in Lin Ruobing's bones.
Unlike Su Qingxue's icy demeanor, Lin Ruobing's strength was like the edge of a blade.
It could be broken, but it would not bend.
She walked over to the dining table and sat down opposite Shen Fei.
Su Qingxue brought over a bowl of porridge and placed it in front of her.
Eat something first.
Lin Ruobing glanced at Su Qingxue and softly said thank you.
She picked up the bowl and took a sip.
Her hands were trembling slightly.
The porridge was a bit hot, so she blew on it and took another sip.
Then she put the bowl down.
And looked at Shen Fei.
Did you know about what happened last night in advance?
It wasn't an interrogation.
It was a confirmation.
Shen Fei put down his chopsticks.
I knew.
So you asked me to come over yesterday, not to sign a contract.
Not entirely. The contract is real. But having you stay the night was indeed for your safety.
Lin Ruobing fell silent for a few seconds.
How many men did he bring?
Nearly two thousand. Fully armed. Assault rifles, armored vehicles, snipers.
Lin Ruobing's fingers tightened.
Her knuckles turned white as they gripped the bowl.
Why would he do this?
Shen Fei looked at her.
Do you really want to know?
Lin Ruobing bit her lip.
Tell me.
Because of me.
Shen Fei's tone was incredibly flat.
He thinks I stole his woman.
He thinks you belong to him.
He didn't bring thousands of men to do business with me, but to kill me and take you back.
Lin Ruobing's pupils shook.
Kill Shen Fei.
Take her back.
This was Lin Tian's goal.
It wasn't some turnaround plan, nor was it a heroic script of the Dragon King descending upon the world.
It was the most primal, violent possessiveness.
You are my woman.
Whoever touches you, I will kill.
It was that simple.
It was that crazy.
Lin Ruobing's fingers began to tremble.
Not out of fear.
But out of anger.
An anger welling up from the deepest part of her heart, suppressed for countless days and nights.
Three years.
She had been married to Lin Tian for three years.
For three years, she didn't know he was the Dragon King, didn't know he had a hundred thousand soldiers, didn't know anything about him.
He kept her in the dark.
Making her believe she had married a loser.
While she worked herself to the bone outside to support the family, he stayed home watering flowers, washing dishes, and putting on an act.
Making her unable to hold her head high in front of anyone.
Your husband is a useless freeloader.
She had heard this sentence for three years!
At every social event, every family gathering, every time Lin Hao mocked her.
She had to pretend she didn't care, pretend it didn't matter, pretend she didn't regret marrying this man.
But she did regret it.
She regretted it to death.
And now she knew the truth.
What was the truth?
The truth was her husband wasn't a loser.
Her husband was the Dragon King.
Sounds pretty badass, right?
But then what?
Then this Dragon King ruined her company's business—Yuanhang Logistics was his arrangement.
Then this Dragon King, out of jealousy toward another man, brought two thousand men to attack the villa where she was a guest.
Then this Dragon King got arrested, the Dragon King Palace was annihilated, and as the Dragon King's wife, she had to bear all the public pressure and legal risks.
All his forbearance and scheming, none of it was for her own good.
It was all for himself.
For his own pride.
For his own possessiveness.
For his twisted dream of one day making everyone kneel before him.
And she, Lin Ruobing, from beginning to end, was just a prop in his script.
A princess kept in the dark, waiting for him to save her.
An audience prepared to worship him after he endured three years of humiliation.
She was not his wife.
She was his trophy.
Lin Ruobing's eyes grew red again.
But this time she didn't cry.
She took a deep breath, suppressing all her emotions.
She looked up, meeting Shen Fei's eyes directly.
Shen Fei.
Yeah.
Will Lin Tian's matter implicate me?
This was the first practical question she asked.
She didn't ask about feelings.
She didn't ask about right or wrong.
She asked about the stakes.
Because she still had a company.
And over three thousand employees.
And dozens of people in the Lin family to feed.
She had no right to wallow in her emotions.
Shen Fei looked into her eyes.
After experiencing a night of breakdown, the first thing this woman thought of the next morning wasn't self-pity, but how to protect her foundation.
She was different from Su Qingxue.
When Su Qingxue faced difficulties back then, her first reaction was to seek his help.
Lin Ruobing's first reaction was to assess the damage and find a countermeasure.
Two different types of women.
Both very strong.
But strong in different ways.
It won't implicate you.
Shen Fei gave her a clear answer.
Lin Tian's matter is his personal action. The organizational structure, funding sources, and criminal records of the Dragon King Palace have no intersection with Lin's Logistics. I have already spoken to the military; the scope of the investigation will not extend to you.
Lin Ruobing's shoulders relaxed slightly.
But not completely.
What about public opinion?
I'll handle it.
A short and simple promise.
Spoken casually.
But Lin Ruobing knew the weight behind those words.
If Shen Fei said he would handle it, he really could.
He had the ability.
And the confidence.
Lin Ruobing lowered her head, looking at the porridge in the bowl.
The white rice porridge rippled slightly in the bowl.
It reflected her own face.
A tired, pale, and no longer young face.
"Thank you."
Her voice was hoarse.
"You've been helping me all along. From the Yuanhang Logistics incident until now."
"You've helped me too much."
"I don't know how to repay you."
Shen Fei picked up his bowl of porridge and took a sip.
"There's no need to repay me."
"Just run your company well. The Shen family's logistics sector is still counting on cooperating with you."
The corners of Lin Ruobing's mouth twitched.
She wanted to smile, but couldn't.
Because her tears fell first.
A single drop.
Only one drop.
She quickly raised her hand and wiped it away.
"I'm sorry, I lost my composure."
Shen Fei didn't look at her wiping away the tear.
He was looking down, drinking his porridge.
A tacit avoidance.
Leaving her with enough dignity.
Lin Ruobing took a few seconds to adjust her emotions.
When she looked up again, although her eyes were still red, her expression had returned to a calm state.
"Shen Fei."
"Hmm?"
"I'm going to divorce Lin Tian."
This sentence was spoken very softly.
But very firmly.
No hesitation.
No struggle.
As if announcing something that had been decided long ago.
Shen Fei put down his porridge bowl and glanced at her.
"This is your own decision."
"Yes. My own decision."
Lin Ruobing looked straight at him.
"It has nothing to do with you. Even without you, after what happened last night, I would still get a divorce."
There was a kind of stubbornness in her tone.
As if emphasizing that she wasn't divorcing because of him.
But her eyes betrayed her.
In those eyes looking at Shen Fei, there was a softness she hadn't even realized herself.
Shen Fei saw it all, but didn't point it out.
He just nodded.
"If you need any help, just say the word."
"Okay."
Lin Ruobing picked up her bowl of porridge and began to eat her breakfast seriously.
A mouthful of porridge.
A bite of a steamed bun.
Eating very slowly, but steadily.
Su Qingxue came out of the kitchen and sat down in the seat next to them.
The three of them sat around the dining table.
Quietly eating breakfast.
Sunlight shone in through the window.
Warm and bright.
Su Qingxue glanced at Shen Fei.
Then glanced at Lin Ruobing.
The corners of her mouth twitched slightly, but she didn't say anything.
She just silently pushed the fruit platter toward Lin Ruobing.
...
After breakfast was over.
Lin Ruobing left the Shen family villa.
Ling Xue drove her back to the Lin's Logistics headquarters.
She didn't return to the Lin family home.
Because the Lin family was now also in a state of chaos.
The military had searched the Lin family home last night and taken away all the equipment and items in Lin Tian's basement.
Old Madam Lin was so frightened she was hospitalized.
Lin Hao had two broken ribs and was also in the hospital.
The rest of the Lin family were in a state of panic, and no one dared to go out.
Lin Ruobing didn't go to see them.
She went straight back to the company.
Sitting in the CEO's office, she began to deal with the mountain of accumulated work.
There were dozens of unread messages and over a dozen missed calls on her phone.
All about last night's incident.
Some were asking for information, some expressing concern, some kicking her while she was down, and some just enjoying the show.
Lin Ruobing didn't reply to a single one.
She only did one thing.
She opened her phone's contacts.
Found a name.
Lin Tian.
Looked at it for two seconds.
Then pressed the delete button.
"Confirm delete contact Lin Tian?"
Confirm.
The name disappeared.
Along with three years of marriage.
Gone.
Lin Ruobing put down her phone and turned on her computer.
Began to process the meeting materials for the afternoon.
She had no time for sorrow.
Nor did she have the luxury to grieve.
Over three thousand employees were waiting for her to feed them.
The entire Lin family was waiting for her to support them.
New cooperative projects were waiting for her to push forward.
She could only move forward.
She couldn't stop.
She couldn't look back.
...
Shen family villa, study.
Shen Fei sat in his chair, looking at the latest data on the system panel.
[Lin Ruobing has deleted Lin Tian's contact information!]
[The bond between the core heroine and the Son of Fortune has completely broken!]
[Lin Tian's Fortune Value: -800]
[Current Lin Tian's Fortune Value: 5200 -> 4400]
[Lin Ruobing's favorability toward the host continues to rise: 78 -> 82]
82.
It had already crossed the critical line of 80.
What did above 80 mean?
It meant irreversible.
Once feelings crossed 80, they would never regress.
Unless an extremely major negative event occurred.
But Shen Fei wouldn't let that happen.
He closed the panel and picked up his phone.
A new message.
From his uncle.
"Xiaofei, Lin Tian has been handed over to the military procuratorate. Preliminary investigations reveal charges involving: organizing armed rebellion, illegal possession of firearms, smuggling, money laundering, gathering crowds to disturb social order, etc. With multiple crimes punished concurrently, a conservative estimate is life imprisonment.
The Four Heavenly Kings are being processed in the same case. Azure Dragon and White Tiger refuse to cooperate with the investigation, while Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise are relatively cooperative.
A nationwide crackdown operation has been launched, and it is expected to complete a comprehensive screening of the remaining members of the Dragon King Palace within a month..."
After reading it, Shen Fei replied with two words.
"Received. Thanks, Uncle."
Then he put down his phone.
Leaned back in his chair.
Looking at the sunlight outside the window.
Lin Tian had entered the military procuratorate.
The Four Heavenly Kings had all been arrested.
The domestic and foreign forces of the Dragon King Palace were completely wiped out.
The hunting progress was mostly complete.
But it wasn't over yet.
Because Lin Tian was still alive.
And his fortune value was still 4400.
It hadn't hit zero yet.
The system's rules were very clear: the fortune value had to be zero before he could be killed.
A fortune value of 4400 meant that Lin Tian's Dao heart had not completely shattered.
He still had beliefs.
He still had an obsession.
That obsession was called Lin Ruobing.
As long as Lin Tian still felt that "Ruobing will wait for me," his Dao heart would not break.
He had to be made to know.
Lin Ruobing wouldn't wait for him.
Lin Ruobing had already chosen someone else.
Shen Fei stood up.
Walked over to the desk.
Opened a folder.
Inside were several videos and photos.
All materials accumulated over this period.
Footage of Lin Ruobing watching a movie with him in the villa.
An audio recording of Lin Ruobing on the phone at the company calling him "the person I trust most."
A shot of Lin Ruobing smiling and serving him food at the hotpot table.
And from this morning.
Lin Ruobing sitting across from him eating porridge.
Lin Ruobing saying "I'm going to divorce Lin Tian."
The look in Lin Ruobing's eyes as she looked at him after wiping away that tear.
Shen Fei organized these materials.
Selected a few of the most impactful segments.
Saved them onto a tablet.
Then he picked up his phone.
Dialed a number.
"Uncle, I need a small favor."
"Speak."
"Help me deliver a tablet to Lin Tian's cell."
The other end of the phone was silent for two seconds.
"You kid, your heart is black enough."
"It's genetic."
His uncle chuckled.
"Alright, I'll get it done for you this afternoon."
The call ended.
Shen Fei placed the tablet on the desk.
The sunlight shone on the screen, reflecting a piercing light.
To kill a man, you must destroy his heart.
The final blow.
It was time for it to fall.
'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.
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.
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.
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."
