Bang!
As the stone statue shattered, a wail resembling one from the depths of hell erupted from within the broken fragments.
Countless pitch-black, ghost-like entities resembling vengeful spirits surged out.
Their expressions were twisted in agony, their faces contorted with malice.
But before they could escape, a shadowy, ethereal hand materialized and clenched them tightly.
"Cough, cough, cough!!!"
Due to the interrupted ritual, the Old Dragon King's soul was forced back into his original, decaying body.
Now, suffering from the backlash, blood gushed incessantly from his nose, ears, and mouth.
The Old Dragon King's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the man standing where the destroyed statue had been.
Clad in a black trench coat, the man was enveloped in tendrils of deathly black mist, his face obscured by the ominous aura.
His gaze was icy and indifferent, and in his hand, he held a black dagger.
And behind him... floated a sinister, claw-like appendage, seemingly forged from countless fragments of terrifying deathly energy.
The claw gripped all the wailing, resentful spirits that had escaped from the statue.
Upon closer inspection, it was clear that the number of malevolent spirits was rapidly dwindling.
He was devouring them!!!
"You... who are you?!"
The Old Dragon King thought of a horrifying possibility—especially that dagger.
Even in his nightmares, he could never forget it.
"You're the Night King?!"
The Old Dragon King gasped in shock.
The Night King... had arrived so quickly?!
The man standing before him... was none other than Gu Yan.
Using the Power of Night, he had traversed space in an instant to reach this place.
His goal? To eliminate the frail, bloodied old man before him.
The Old Dragon King.
A centuries-old monster.
Since inheriting the Dragon King Palace, he had been conducting inhuman reincarnation rituals.
His ultimate ambition? Eternal life.
The conditions for immortality were harsh—or rather, the conditions set by a certain entity were particularly cruel.
The most critical requirement was...
Every vessel he possessed had to be a bearer of immense destiny.
Thus, the Old Dragon King not only exploited the national fortune of the Eastern Nation, linked to the Dragon King Palace, but also used his position as its leader to recruit individuals of great destiny from across the world.
In the end, the souls of those he seized were offered to that very entity!
And the avatar of that entity was...
Crunch!
Gu Yan stepped on the shattered remnants of the stone statue, dagger in hand, his cold gaze fixed on the Old Dragon King as he advanced.
"I originally intended to let you live a little longer."
"But on second thought, it's better this way."
"People like you... only bring peace when they're dead."
Gu Yan's layered voice echoed through the cavern.
He was a cautious man, one who never acted without absolute certainty.
But the Old Dragon King had attacked his family.
And for that, he had to die.
At last, terror flashed in the old man's eyes.
The backlash from the interrupted ritual had severed his meridians, leaving him powerless.
No!
He couldn’t die!
Thud!
Before he could utter another word, the dagger plunged into his forehead.
Gu Yan stared indifferently at the Old Dragon King's horrified expression and said flatly,
"Stop screaming. You're no longer the Dragon King."
As his words faded...
Bzzz...
Dozens—no, hundreds—of shadowy figures emerged from the darkness of the cavern.
These... were once members of the Dragon King Palace.
Now, they had been transformed into Gu Yan's shadow soldiers!
"H-how...?"
The Old Dragon King's pupils contracted.
Suddenly, he sensed something—a familiar, overwhelming presence.
"The Dragon King Jade?!"
"You... you obtained the complete Dragon King Jade?!"
His voice was hoarse, his breath growing weaker.
Because of his destiny-laden body, he hadn’t died immediately.
Had this vessel still been usable, he might have even turned the tables and seized a new opportunity.
But now... it was all empty talk.
His soul was imprisoned by the dagger, leaving him no means of escape.
He couldn’t believe it.
The Night King... had obtained the complete Dragon King Jade?!
This had never happened before!
According to the prophecies...
The two were destined to be mortal enemies!
And without fail, every previous Night King had been dragged down by the Dragon King Palace’s ruler, consumed by the Power of Night until death!
Without exception!
"Wait! I was wrong! I admit it!"
"I’ll never oppose you again!"
"Spare me! I’ll tell you an enormous secret—one about the world itself!!"
"You—!"
Thud!
Before he could finish, Gu Yan emotionlessly activated the dagger’s power.
In an instant...
The Old Dragon King’s life force was obliterated.
Every possibility of revival was extinguished.
Against a centuries-old monster like him, the dagger was the most reliable tool.
"Secrets... I’ll uncover them myself."
At the same time...
[Host has lost the emotion: ‘Rage.’]
[Warning: Host has been excessively infected by the Power of Night. Further use of the dagger will accelerate the infection!! Host may lose more emotions!!]
[Host has obtained the complete Dragon King Jade.]
[Host has successfully converted 183 shadow soldiers.]
[Host...]
A flood of system notifications poured in.
Finally, the alerts ceased.
[Host has acquired the title ‘Monarch of Shadows.’ Within darkness, spiritual and physical energy are amplified tenfold!!]
[Host has acquired the skill ‘Shadow Soldier Creation.’ Can now summon shadow soldiers at will using the Power of Night!]
[Note: Shadow soldiers summoned this way are disposable, with power equivalent to only 1/10,000th of the host’s strength.]
After silently processing all the information, Gu Yan’s expression gradually calmed.
He looked down at the dagger in his hand.
And fell into silence.
So this was the price of using the dagger—the cost Xiao Leng had warned him about.
Losing emotions...
This time, it was rage.
What would be next?
What... would he become?
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
+【Epic Battles!】 "Your Highness, they say Linxi Temple is miraculous. Won’t you make a wish?" "A wish? It should be making wishes to me." "That may be so, but since you’re already here..." "..." "Fine. Then grant this princess a consort to play with." "He must be obedient, devoted, and utterly infatuated with my body—so much so that he’d kneel and kiss my feet." "Your Highness, that’s not a consort. That’s a dog." "Then add clever, witty, heroic, ambitious yet pragmatic..." "Hmm, that’s enough for now. I’ll add more later." After tossing out these words half in jest, Princess Anle departed the temple—only to catch a fleeting glimpse of the Bodhisattva statue smiling at her. Meanwhile, Yang An, fresh out of university, was having a very bad day. Good news: He’d transmigrated into another world with a cheat granting tenfold combat power. Bad news: He’d immediately fallen into the clutches of a certain villainess. Good news: Said villainess possessed peerless beauty and royal status. Bad news: She was absolutely monstrous!!! In the frozen wilderness, Yang An knelt beneath Qin Guo’er’s feet, drenched in sweat despite the cold. Desperately clutching her porcelain-perfect foot—the very one poised to crush his throat—he could only think: How do I survive this?! Need answers NOW!
