The experiment with demonic creatures in the laboratory was one of Gu Yan's ideas.
The purpose was to quickly obtain tools—people who could strengthen his faction.
Creating demonic creatures using demon cells was the most efficient method.
As for the demon cells...
The fifth forbidden zone naturally had an abundance of them.
One must not forget Gu Yan’s other identity—the Nether King.
Leaving the laboratory,
Gu Yan took the express elevator up to the surface.
Passing through layers of silver-coated corridors designed to ward off the sinister aura of demonic creatures,
he stepped onto the spacious road of Hope’s Light.
After days of renovation and remodeling,
Hope’s Light had completely transformed into a small-scale living complex.
"Young Master, Miss Mei has been waiting for you for quite some time."
Old Gao had long been stationed at the entrance of the corridor, having shed his clawed disguise and reverted to his role as the butler, Old Gao.
Following Old Gao’s gaze, Gu Yan spotted Mei Xue and You Xingxue standing beneath a streetlamp not far away.
The former, upon seeing Gu Yan, wore a complicated expression. Her eyes flickered, but she eventually met his gaze.
You Xingxue, on the other hand, was visibly nervous.
Huh? Huh? Huh?
So... her lord... was actually Gu Yan?
Her instincts back in the martial arts division hadn’t been wrong.
But... wasn’t Gu Yan the young master of the Gu Family? And also Leng Qingqiu’s husband.
Then... if Leng Qingqiu was the Night King, and Gu Yan had now taken the Night King’s power...
did that mean he had stolen his own wife’s strength?
Huh?
This was so convoluted... it was making her brain hurt.
Most importantly, it turned out her lord was already taken...
Uh... that probably shouldn’t be the focus here...
You Xingxue lowered her head, her mind a whirlwind of chaotic thoughts.
Meanwhile, Gu Yan had already walked up to Mei Xue. He clapped his hands lightly and praised, "Miss Mei, your previous performance was a great success."
"Congratulations on joining our side."
Hearing this,
Mei Xue clenched her fists, gritting her teeth as she glared at Gu Yan in anger. "You deceived me. You never told me you were impersonating the Night King."
"If I had known, I would never have stooped to your level."
Gu Yan shook his head and chuckled lightly. "Is that so?"
"I don’t think so. After all, you love your brother more than anything, don’t you?"
"You’d betray anyone if it meant protecting him, wouldn’t you?"
Mei Xue’s expression twisted in fury. "You—!"
She wanted to say more, but under Gu Yan’s mocking gaze, she ultimately shut her mouth and averted her eyes.
Betraying her master had already tormented Mei Xue, and now, with her master’s power stolen, the weight of guilt pressed down on her endlessly.
But...
Mei Xue took a quiet breath, forcing her voice to remain steady. "You promised me..."
Gu Yan feigned ignorance. "Promised what?"
"My brother!!"
Unable to hold back, Mei Xue turned to face Gu Yan, her agitation rising when she saw his indifferent expression. "You promised me that after I did everything you asked, you’d return my brother’s soul to me!"
At this,
Gu Yan acted as if he had just remembered. "Oh, him. Right, I recall now."
With that, he opened his palm, and—glug, glug~!
Claw-Claw slowly emerged from Gu Yan’s hand.
Having devoured nearly thirty dragon auras, Claw-Claw’s appearance had undergone a significant transformation.
Its originally small, pitch-black body now shimmered with streaks of gold.
Three slender, gold-and-black tendrils writhed in Gu Yan’s palm.
The next moment—
"Big... sister..."
The voice of Mei Xue’s younger brother, Deng Feng, heir of the Black Tortoise Gate, emanated from Claw-Claw.
Mei Xue froze momentarily before her face lit up with wild joy. "Deng Feng!"
She immediately reached out to grab Claw-Claw,
but Gu Yan swiftly withdrew his hand.
Mei Xue stiffened, looking up at Gu Yan as a terrible premonition surged in her heart. "What do you mean by this?"
"Don’t you understand, Mei Xue?"
"What I mean is..."
Gu Yan’s smile faded, replaced by a cold, detached expression.
He stepped closer to Mei Xue and patted her shoulder, his voice icy. "Your brother’s soul is now stored with me."
"If you ever want to see him again,"
"then you’ll obey my orders without question."
"From now on, you and You Xingxue will stay here as instructors, training the children in cultivation."
Hearing this, Mei Xue’s face went blank before twisting into disbelief.
In a voice on the verge of breaking, she shouted at Gu Yan, "Are you joking?!"
"I’ve already done so much for you... I even betrayed my master..."
"And now... you’re going back on your word?!"
Mei Xue was on the verge of tears. When she had first met Gu Yan,
he had used information about her brother’s whereabouts to make her complete five tasks.
Now, knowing her brother wasn’t dead, she had obeyed Gu Yan’s orders and betrayed her master.
But now... but now...
Gu Yan remained unmoved, speaking indifferently. "That’s right."
"Mei Xue... did you really think I kept your brother alive out of kindness?"
"If you want him to stay safe, you’ll do exactly as I say."
"Unless..."
Gu Yan stepped past Mei Xue’s left side, stopping behind her. "You never want to see him again."
"..."
"You scum..."
Mei Xue’s clenched fists loosened helplessly, her voice hoarse and filled with despair.
Gu Yan didn’t respond.
Scum, huh?
He had indeed done many things worse than a beast.
But... so what?
He didn’t regret any of it.
Mei Xue’s brother had died long ago, his soul torn to shreds by Claw-Claw, beyond any hope of restoration.
Even if pieced back together and given a body, he’d be nothing more than a mindless fool.
From the very beginning, Gu Yan had never intended to let Mei Xue see her brother again.
Because in the original story, it was her brother who had driven her to betray Leng Qingqiu.
He would never allow this ticking time bomb to replay the original plot.
Gu Yan vanished from sight, his form disappearing into the night.
With Claw-Claw’s upgrade and the Night Dagger in his possession,
he could now move freely through the darkness.
Old Gao approached Mei Xue, who stood with her head bowed, her spirit shattered. He sighed. "Miss Mei, do your work here properly."
"The young master never mistreats his own."
Then, he turned to You Xingxue, who was doing her best to remain unnoticed, her head ducked low.
He smiled wryly. "Miss You, the young master asked me to relay a message. While working at Hope’s Light, you’ll have access to the internet."
"Hope’s Light has private gaming pods. The young master said you’re... well, a socially awkward shut-in."
You Xingxue’s head snapped up, her eyes visibly lighting up with excitement.
My lord... actually knows I’m a socially awkward shut-in?!
With that,
Old Gao took his leave.
He hadn't walked far when he spotted Gu Yan standing alone under a tree, gazing in his direction.
Old Gao approached quietly and said with a smile, "Young Master, everything has been taken care of."
"Mm."
Gu Yan gave a slight nod.
You Xingxue was a genius, while Mei Xue possessed both combat expertise and teaching experience.
They could help the children of Hope's Light grow stronger.
In less than half a year,
Hope's Light... would make its debut in this world.
Now then... it was time to retrieve that formation genius.
Just then—
"......"
Gu Yan suddenly noticed his vision blurring for an instant.
Brief as it was, the distortion was unmistakable.
The cost of wielding the dagger, perhaps...
Internally, he understood. Outwardly,
he remained composed. "Let's go, Old Gao. By tomorrow evening, I need the profile of a man named Ling Fa from the martial arts division."
"Understood, Young Master."
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)
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
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! ...
] [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!"
