The Next Day.
On the Black Tower.
After a day of investigation, Gu Yan had roughly pieced together the full picture of the Nether Clan.
First, the Nether Clan’s homeland was a place called the [Nether Prison].
However, that realm was shrouded in perpetual darkness, and the creatures living there endured hellish torment every second—both physically and spiritually.
Unable to bear such suffering, the Nether Clan chose to escape the Nether Prison and flee to the human world.
With their formidable bodies, innate talents, and power, the Nether Clan quickly conquered most of the human world.
But just before a decisive battle, the Four Sacred Beasts of the Nether Clan—the Divine Dragon, Black Tortoise, Vermilion Bird, and White Tiger—suddenly betrayed their kin. They allied with a mysterious entity to ambush the Night King, then led humanity in a counterattack against the Nether Clan.
Crushed in both strength and morale, the Nether Clan suffered a devastating defeat in the final battle.
They were driven back into the Nether Prison, and the Four Sacred Beasts joined forces with human armies to reinforce its seals. The most powerful members of the Nether Clan were scattered and imprisoned in isolated corners of the prison.
Now, for unknown reasons, the seals of the Nether Prison have weakened, allowing Lin and the others to return to the human world.
The current state of this forbidden land is actually a result of corruption by the Nether Prison’s aura emanating from Lin and her kin.
After learning all this, Gu Yan felt as if his worldview had been completely rewritten.
"So the original novel left out all these settings, and you’re just dumping them on me now?
The so-called ‘Primordial Qi’ is actually the souls of creatures who perished in the war against the Nether Clan?
And in the original story, Xiao Lin and the other protagonists’ Primordial Qi—embodied by the Four Sacred Beasts—were originally part of the Nether Clan but were swayed by someone’s words to betray their kind and side with humanity?
Was their goal really just a sudden attack of conscience to protect the world?"
"Tsk... Never mind that for now."
Gu Yan felt something odd in his hand and glanced at his surroundings.
He was currently seated on a massive throne.
But this throne was eerily grotesque.
Its frame was constructed from the spines of enormous fiendish beasts, while the armrests were formed by interlocking razor-sharp ribs, resembling protective wings.
The seat and backrest were meticulously assembled from the skulls and pelvises of rare monsters, their surfaces engraved with intricate runes and patterns.
Each rune pulsed with potent magic, shielding the throne’s occupant from all external attacks.
Most striking were the pair of enormous bone wings stretching from the throne’s back. Composed of countless smaller bones artfully fused together, they could unfurl like dark wings blotting out the sky or fold inward to reinforce the throne’s defenses.
A faint ghostly glow emanated from the entire skeletal structure. According to Lin, the glow served no practical purpose—she had simply ordered shadow sprites to hover around the throne to enhance its eerie, mystical ambiance.
At the moment, Lin stood to Gu Yan’s left, gazing at him with eager anticipation, as if asking, "Did I do a good job?"
Gu Yan fell silent. Staring at the armrest crafted from a demonic beast’s skull, he couldn’t suppress a twitch in his eye.
"I guess aesthetics don’t translate across species."
"She claims the previous Night King adored this kind of thing... Claws, your ancestor had terrible taste!"
[Squeak?]
Aside from the throne, Gu Yan’s attention was drawn to the thirteen shadowy figures standing before him, each with a distinct form.
Noticing her lord’s lack of interest in the throne, Lin swiftly changed the subject.
"My King, behold—these are your former [Shadow Guard]."
"They are Demon General-class shadow warriors, summoned through Talya’s power!"
She finished with another expectant look.
Gu Yan immediately understood.
The Three-Life Demon Claw had an innate ability (detailed in Chapter 99) to store souls and harness the powers of the deceased.
Meanwhile, Talya, one of the Night King’s earliest subordinates, could summon the shadows of those she had slain as her servants.
For the Nether Clan, bodies were disposable—only the soul was eternal.
This was why the Three-Life Demon Claw became their ruler.
In battles they couldn’t win, the entire clan would parasitize the Claw to amplify its power. After victory, the Claw would release their souls into pre-prepared spare bodies.
But there was one fatal flaw—if the Three-Life Demon Claw perished, all unliberated souls would vanish with it.
The Demon General rank corresponded to the human Grandmaster tier.
Monster Ranks:
[Demon Soldier, Ghost Soldier, Malevolent Ghost, Demon Grunt, Ghost General, Demon General, Great Demon General]
Martial Artist Ranks:
[Third-rate Martial Artist, Second-rate Martial Artist, First-rate Martial Artist, Postnatal, Prenatal, Grandmaster, Grand Master]
In other words—
These thirteen shadow warriors were all at the Grandmaster level?!
But since Gu Yan hadn’t summoned them himself, would they obey him?
[Host, rest assured—due to a series of coincidences, Claws is now the Night King.]
"Coincidences? Really? That’s your explanation for everything?"
With that thought, Gu Yan willed the Claws to connect with the shadow warriors.
Bzzzt!
The shadows quivered as if recognizing their master, then dissolved into darkness, merging with Gu Yan’s own shadow.
He could sense that with just a thought, he could summon them back at will.
Thirteen Grandmasters...
Just how overpowered was the Nether Clan back then?
The Night King who led them must’ve been at least a Grand Master in strength.
His voice deepened with authority.
"Good work, Lin."
"Mm-hmm! It’s my duty, my King!"
Lin nodded vigorously, her body trembling slightly, cheeks flushing.
Ah, my King, my King~
She couldn’t shake the feeling that the current Night King was even more intoxicating than before.
An irresistible, sweet aura radiated from him, stirring something primal within her.
Ignoring Lin’s odd state, Gu Yan’s voice turned icy, laced with killing intent.
"One more thing—has the one who manipulated the Four Sacred Beasts been found?"
"If those traitors survived to this era, that entity must still exist as well."
Lin suppressed her heated thoughts, her expression turning grave.
"My King, we investigated thoroughly back then... and reached a terrifying conclusion..."
She seemed to recall something unpleasant, her face paling slightly: "The mastermind behind the corruption of the Four Divine Beasts, the one who trapped our Nether Clan in the Nether Prison for tens of thousands of years—!!"
"Perhaps... it is our Nether Clan's natural enemy, that vile and terrifying existence!"
"The Night King!!"
Gu Yan: ?
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
] [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!"
ress Kneels to Admit Wrong] [Dealing with Love-Struck Fools] [Forced to the Throne] Ren Tianye transmigrated into a female-oriented novel world, only to find everyone in it was utterly insane. He risked his life to save a young girl from barbarians, but was accused of arriving too late and branded the real murderer. He held a knife to a military officer's neck, demanding the troop tally, but the officer only cared about questioning his wife: "Do you not love me anymore? All these years of affection and time together, they were all a mistake, a mistake!" After seizing Yunji City, the original defending general, to save face with the Empress, knelt on the ground: "You must give Yunji City back to me, or I'll hang myself at the city gate and let everyone know you're a villain!" The young lord of the Duke's mansion, to please a woman, directly ordered a merchant: "The menstrual pads you buy for her must be studded with diamonds. Loving her means giving her the best." Having become a great general, he was about to marry a merchant's daughter, who set a pre-nuptial rule: "I can divorce you anytime. When that happens, you must give me half of your troops and soldiers!" Even the Empress was a severe love-struck fool, who ordered the execution of 70,000 elite troops simply because they stood in the way of her romance. Ren Tianye was speechless. He was done. Let it all burn! This deranged female-oriented novel world! ...
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
