Gu Yan, Who Naturally Embodies the Character

"Monarch?"

Gu Yan stared at the woman before him, whose power clearly didn't belong to this dimension.

He was slightly stunned.

First of all, what was a "monarch"? And second... what was a monarch?

Zhua Zhua, do you understand what she's saying?

[Chirp chirp (No idea!)]

Hearing this, Gu Yan pondered again.

Could it be that his true identity was actually some incredibly powerful monarch?

Is that why he had been brought to this world?!

Gu Yan felt like he had grasped a crucial clue!

Is this what I think it is, System?

[Host, the "monarch" she’s referring to isn’t you—it’s Zhua Zhua.]

[After absorbing draconic energy, Zhua Zhua became the Claw of Destiny. Combined with the fact that the monarch of the Netherrace originally takes the form of a Triple Demon Claw, along with the wish you made to the Profane Tome, a series of coincidences led to Zhua Zhua evolving from an ordinary Triple Demon Claw into the Nether Monarch of the Netherrace.]

"Oh, then never mind."

Gu Yan’s emotions gradually settled.

The situation was complicated, yet simple—ultimately, a chain of coincidences had led to this outcome.

So... could he take advantage of this?

With that in mind, Gu Yan calmly observed the woman’s actions.

"Your Majesty... I never thought it would truly be you..."

"Why have you taken this form? Where is your world-shrouding true body?"

"Why have you assumed this human appearance?"

As she spoke,

Lin bit her lip, tears falling uncontrollably. "It seems those traitors, the Four Sacred Beasts, inflicted irreversible damage upon you all those years ago."

"But it matters not, Your Majesty. The Black Tortoise is already dead, and we have broken free from our seals."

A flash of killing intent flickered in her eyes as she coldly declared, "Soon, your servants shall gather the Nether Legion once more to conquer this world! And as for the remaining three traitors—we will slaughter them all!"

By now, Gu Yan had pieced together most of the story.

First, the Nether Monarch’s original body was very likely the complete form of the Triple Demon Claw. From Lin’s words, it seemed the Nether Monarch had perished long ago—betrayed and slain by the Four Sacred Beasts. Considering the Black Tortoise was already dead...

Tch, were these "Four Sacred Beasts" the same ones from the original plot—the ancient sources of primordial energy?

After all, he had previously absorbed the Black Tortoise’s essence.

But what was the Nether Legion?

He glanced at the creatures prostrating around them.

Don’t tell me... these so-called "monsters" were the Nether Legion?

Following the usual tropes,

they must be the Netherrace. So now, he was their monarch?

The original novel never mentioned anything like this...

Ah... Wait, now that he thought about it, there was a passing reference...

Gu Yan searched his memories.

It was a brief scene intercut after the protagonist’s party defeated the latest antagonist—a side plot following Leng Qingqiu.

[On a blood-soaked land, her figure stood atop a colossal corpse, surrounded by the mangled remains of countless monsters.]

[She crushed the still-beating heart in her grip.]

[Her lips curled slightly. Hmph, all of them are trash. Not that I expected them to kill Xiao Lin and his group. Otherwise, the final battle would be far too dull.]

[She raised her hand, tilting her head back as the heart’s blood dripped into her open mouth.]

[Heh... The souls of the Netherrace, these monsters’ predecessors, taste quite exquisite. A shame... there are so few left...]

......

Recollection complete.

Gu Yan looked at the Netherrace woman before him, his heart twitching.

Well then...

So the Netherrace had been mentioned—just wiped out the moment they appeared, slaughtered by Leng Qingqiu to fuel her own power.

After silently mourning the Netherrace (or rather, the monsters) for precisely one second,

Gu Yan spoke, altering his voice to sound like a fusion of multiple tones:

"My power has waned... I was forced to seize this human’s body."

"In this form, less than a tenth of my strength remains. But no matter—through this human’s memories, I have learned that countless human weaklings will soon gather here."

"When that time comes... Cough, cough, cough!!"

He feigned weakness, breaking into a fit of coughing.

"Your Majesty!"

"Please, conserve your strength! Let Lin take you to the tower to recover!"

So her name was Lin, Gu Yan noted inwardly.

Lin hurriedly supported him, her face full of distress, before glancing at the seemingly useless Old Gao. She turned to Yinyue and ordered coldly, "Yinyue, kill this old fool."

Old Gao: "......"

Everything was happening too fast—he didn’t even know where to begin complaining.

Since when did Young Master become so good at improvising a role?! Aren’t you afraid this’ll backfire?!

Of course, Gu Yan wouldn’t let Old Gao die. He shook his head and pointed at him.

"Unnecessary. This human... is of use to me."

"Let him be reborn as one of us."

As soon as the words left his mouth,

Gurgle—!

A black liquid surged from the ground, rapidly engulfing Old Gao.

"W-What is this?! Aaaaargh—!!" he screamed in agony.

Lin watched excitedly. "Your Majesty’s cellular assimilation!"

"All who undergo it endure unbearable torment before submission! Serves you right, human!"

"Becoming His Majesty’s slave is an honor! Relish this gift, you lowly worm!"

Minutes later,

Old Gao emerged—now clad in dark robes.

With newfound reverence, he bowed. "My Lord."

Thus, his corruption was complete.

With this done,

Gu Yan decided to fully infiltrate their ranks. "Very well. Lin, lead me to the tower."

"At once, Your Majesty!"

Lin’s cheeks flushed slightly. That familiar tone and demeanor—it was undoubtedly His Majesty!

......

......

Spring Mountain Residential District.

Xiao Lin sat cross-legged on his bed, eyes closed, his body wreathed in shimmering golden dragon silhouettes.

He was cultivating the Dragon King Palace’s forbidden art—the Nine Revolutions Divine Dragon Technique!

Legends claimed that mastering this technique would allow one to summon the true form of a divine dragon by channeling their draconic essence!

After baring his heart to Shen Wan'er, Xiao Lin had resolved to grow stronger. Though he had accidentally killed Wang Yulan’s mother, causing countless misunderstandings,

he still had Shen Wan'er. If he could just regain his power and uncover the identity of the black-clad figure who stole his jade pendant,

he could surely prove his innocence to Wang Yulan!

In hindsight, Xiao Lin now realized how suspicious the timing was—

the theft of his pendant, the setup that led to Wang Yulan’s mother’s death...

Everything was far too coincidental, as if an invisible hand were orchestrating it all.

And that wasn’t all—his junior sister, Ning Qian, had vanished without a trace after their last encounter.

No matter how he searched, he couldn’t find her.

Where had she gone?

The only comfort in his heart was probably the gradual deepening of his relationship with Shen Wan'er.

At least they were no longer strangers like before.

Just then—

Thud!

Xiao Lin suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest—Bang!

He was forced out of his meditative state. "Dragon Lord... what's wrong, Dragon Lord?"

Clutching his chest, Xiao Lin repeatedly called out for the Dragon Lord. Whenever his heart ached like this, he knew something was wrong with the Dragon Lord.

Sure enough, the next second—

Whoosh!

A small horned serpent slithered out from Xiao Lin’s chest and collapsed onto the bed.

The Dragon Lord's condition had grown even weaker and more lethargic compared to before. Xiao Lin immediately scooped him up, worry etched on his face. "Dragon Lord, what happened to you??"

The Dragon Lord's voice was frail as he replied, "Xiao... Xiao Lin, something’s not right. It feels like... something has awakened."

"Not long ago, I sensed that old bastard Black Tortoise had died, and then... something else seemed to... Hiss!"

The Dragon Lord abruptly cut himself off, his tone turning panicked. "No! They’ve broken free! How could this... Could it be that the Black Tortoise's death weakened the seal?"

"What do we do..."

"My strength hasn’t recovered yet..."

Xiao Lin tensed up as well, trying to reassure him. "Dragon Lord, what exactly is happening? What’s going on?"

"Ah... This matter shouldn’t concern you, Xiao Lin. Your destiny is to face the Night King..."

"But... I don’t know what went wrong... They’ve actually broken through the seal and emerged."

After a brief hesitation, the Dragon Lord finally told Xiao Lin about the Nether Clan.