Bai Jun finally breathed a sigh of relief after confirming the details and learning that his younger sister was unharmed.
However, his unease lingered.
This inexplicable attack had reminded him of something troubling. He spoke solemnly into the phone to Gu Yan on the other end: "Gu Yan, the assailant... was probably after the half-piece of Dragon King Jade my sister carries."
"Dragon King Jade?"
Gu Yan feigned surprise. "But didn’t Qiong Lan already hand that half-piece over to me? That news should have spread by now..."
Bai Jun replied softly, "After that day, I made sure to suppress any possible leaks."
"So, no one in Jianghai knows the jade’s ownership has been transferred to you."
He then pleaded earnestly, "Gu Yan, I’m begging you—the attackers will definitely come after my sister again."
"I can’t return right now. You’re the only one who can help me. Please, Gu Yan."
"Protect my sister."
Gu Yan responded, "Bai Jun, there’s no need for such formalities. Your sister is like my own, and besides, Qiong Lan is my sister-in-law’s best friend."
"I won’t let any harm come to her."
"Good. Thank you."
Bai Jun was deeply moved. In times like these, Gu Yan truly proved to be the most reliable. "By the way, how’s Old Gao doing?"
Lin Yinyin was still immature—he worried she might struggle in the department.
After a brief pause, Gu Yan replied, "The boss is fine."
"Her strength speaks for itself. She hasn’t faced any real setbacks."
"And the inspection team wouldn’t let outsiders provoke Lin Yinyin."
Hearing this, Bai Jun felt reassured.
After a moment’s thought, he quietly shared some insider information with Gu Yan: "Also, Gu Yan... earlier, I was actually in a meeting."
"The topic was... whether to initiate universal martial awakening."
"From the looks of it, the proposal will most likely pass."
"When that happens, the world will change drastically. I’m not sure if I’ll even be able to return."
"If I don’t make it back, Gu Yan, I’m counting on you to test Qiong Lan’s martial potential and get her into the Jianghai branch as a support staff member."
Unless absolutely necessary, headquarters would never reveal the existence of martial practitioners to the public.
If they were making it public now, it could only mean the world was on the brink of upheaval.
The incidents at the Fifth Forbidden Zone and the Night King had already claimed too many martial practitioners.
Keeping it hidden any longer might lead to the world’s destruction.
On Gu Yan’s end, a strange glint flickered in his eyes upon hearing this.
Heh. He had thought he’d need to stir up more trouble to achieve this, but now things had conveniently fallen into place.
Returning to the conversation, he feigned surprise. "Universal martial awakening? Isn’t that too sudden?"
"Not sudden..." Bai Jun’s voice dropped to a whisper. "We’ll talk more later. My phone is specially encrypted—only I can trace these calls."
"Gu Yan, what I just told you is critical. Don’t breathe a word of it until headquarters makes the official announcement."
"Understood."
Click.
The call ended.
Gu Yan pocketed his phone, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
Time to make preparations.
January next year?
He checked the date.
Huh.
The new year was almost here...
Time really flew.
......
That night.
A new member joined the ranks of Hope’s Light.
In a spacious, pristine underground laboratory:
"Do you like it?"
"A customized array lab, just for you."
Gu Yan led Ling Fa, who was carrying bags of belongings, into the space.
After a day of internal struggle, Ling Fa had decided to leave the department and join Hope’s Light.
He had taken all the ancient array manuals from the sixth floor of the library.
At first, he had been nervous.
But the moment he stepped into this array laboratory with Gu Yan, he was instantly captivated.
The walls were adorned with intricate array patterns, each detail gleaming with a delicate silver sheen. The symbols seemed alive in the dim light, faintly resonating with the central master array.
"That’s the control hub for this array lab."
Gu Yan patted Ling Fa’s shoulder and pointed to the center, where a circular console embedded with gemstones and runes served as the core of the entire laboratory’s array system.
Sophisticated equipment and transparent crystal tubes crisscrossed the space, carrying streams of multicolored liquid—essential energy sources for array experiments.
The surrounding instruments and monitors hummed softly, emitting faint beeps.
Nearby, a precision array engraver automatically carved complex patterns onto special mineral slabs, each stroke brimming with latent power.
"Follow me."
Gu Yan guided Ling Fa toward the console.
He placed his hand on the console and said, "By channeling qi into the control panel like this... this array laboratory will reveal its true purpose."
As his words faded—
Hummm!
The surroundings began to shift.
The original lab dissolved, replaced by a vast, open plain.
Ling Fa was stunned. "A... spatial array?"
And one integrated into the console? Just how advanced and precise must the craftsmanship be to achieve this?
"This is the testing ground—for experimenting with large-scale output arrays," Gu Yan explained.
"And then..."
With another shift in the scene—
In an instant, the surroundings darkened. Ling Fa and Gu Yan now stood in a shadowy forest shrouded in crimson miasma.
Roar!
The growls of beasts echoed around them.
Ling Fa's expression changed as he spotted the source—various demonic creatures sealed inside transparent containers!
Gu Yan clarified, "This is the specimen chamber."
"To preserve their ferocity, the environment was designed this way."
"Anyway... there’s much more for you to explore on your own."
The scene reverted to the laboratory.
Then, Gu Yan turned to Ling Fa, whose face was alight with awe and excitement, and said, "Join us, and all this will be yours."
"But in return, you’ll have to give up something important to you."
"For example... your life and death."
Gu Yan opened his palm, revealing a writhing, tentacle-like tendril.
Ling Fa swallowed hard, staring at it. Then, without hesitation, he grabbed it and shoved it into his mouth.
"Nothing matters more to me than researching arrays!" he declared fervently. "I’m in!"
Gu Yan chuckled. "I knew I wasn’t wrong about you."
With a nod, he added, "Then, I formally welcome you to the Light of Hope."
"And the first task I need you to undertake is..."
"To develop a spatial array capable of containing the entirety of the Light of Hope."
Ling Fa didn’t hesitate. "Give me time—I’ll make it happen!"
......
......
Leaving Ling Fa alone in the lab, Gu Yan stepped outside.
Night had fallen.
Old Gao, who had been waiting, approached. "Young Master, the patriarch called. He wants you at the company tomorrow morning."
"The company?" Gu Yan was taken aback. Why so suddenly?
Old Gao nodded, then lowered his voice hesitantly. "It seems... it’s about the transfer of shares."
"Young Master, you might be inheriting the position of Gu Family head sooner than expected."
Gu Yan: "?"
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
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!
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
