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?
invincible power, Gu Changge transmigrates into a fantasy world, bound to a sign-in system that grants him cultivation rewards and various peerless treasures daily. While others struggle desperately to break through their cultivation realms, he has long since reached the pinnacle of the Great Dao, becoming a reclusive Emperor whose true strength even he himself cannot fathom. Originally planning to lie low and retire peacefully on Purple Bamboo Peak, the system suddenly issues a new task — take on disciples. With no other choice, Gu Changge casually picks up a few disciples: The eldest disciple, born with a War God Constitution, is thrown a copy of "War God Stratagems" by him, and ends up conquering the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, becoming a peerless War God who sweeps across the cosmos. The second disciple, possessing a Chaos Sword Body, can break all techniques with a single sword, his swordsmanship unmatched throughout history. He points his sword at the heavens: "My master said, the sword and the man stand together. If the sword perishes... my master will give me another one." The third disciple, a reborn Empress who returns to her throne, her elegance and grace overshadowing all beings. And without anyone noticing, his own sect, the Qingxuan Sect, has become the number one sect on the continent. Looking at these unbelievably formidable disciples, Gu Changge, holding the "Primordial Purple Qi" he just signed in for, falls into deep thought: — Wasn't this supposed to be a peaceful retirement? How did I become the ultimate master?!
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
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!"
