The next morning.
Keywords like "Night King," "Night Organization," and "Qingfeng Sect" quickly topped the trending searches.
This organization, which had vanished for a month, once again entered the public eye.
Was the Night King's true purpose to punish evil and uphold justice, or to devour souls for cultivation?
The internet was sharply divided.
One camp argued that the Night King only killed ruthless villains who treated civilians as less than human—deserving deaths.
The other camp believed the Night King's intentions were sinister, aiming to rise above moral constraints and feast on souls without remorse.
The debate raged fiercely online.
At the headquarters of the Martial Arts Department.
Inside the large conference hall of the main building.
All department members had gathered.
The crowd speculated that today's discussion would undoubtedly revolve around the Night King.
Bai Jun, who had been absent for some time, was naturally among them. As the department's youngest prodigy and master, he sat in the front row.
Lin Yinyin had also been summoned back, a rare occurrence.
"Bai Jun~~ (T_T), you’re not dead!!"
Lin Yinyin grabbed Bai Jun's hand, sniffling and sobbing dramatically.
Bai Jun's lips twitched as he sighed helplessly. "Teacher, you’re overdoing it."
"Though I didn’t die, I lost a layer of skin. Now I’m just a lowly logistics staff."
"Whaaat?"
Lin Yinyin froze, glanced at the figure on stage, then lowered her voice. "That old geezer won’t let you go to the frontlines anymore?"
Old geezer...
Bai Jun stole a look at Long Tianyuan’s stern expression on stage before replying softly, "The director shielded me from some of the pressure. Just being allowed to stay in the department is already a miracle."
"Oh!"
Lin Yinyin nodded, her face brightening again. "Hehe, that’s fine too. Let me tell you, these days without you, Little Yanzi has been keeping me company."
"Little Yanzi?"
Bai Jun paused, then smiled in realization. "You mean Gu Yan? How’s he been?"
"Little Yanzi treats me so well! He always gives me candy."
At the mention of Gu Yan, Lin Yinyin’s face lit up, her eyes sparkling. "Let me show you the new candies he gave me—he said they’re not even on the market yet!"
"They’re super sweet!"
Just as she was about to pull out the candy, Bai Jun stopped her with an exasperated look. "Don’t. This isn’t your home. If the director sees you, you’ll get scolded again."
Lin Yinyin’s face fell. "Oh."
She reluctantly tucked the candy back into her pocket.
On the podium.
Director Long Tianyuan swept his stern gaze across the room and spoke gravely, "Last night’s events are no secret to all of you."
"The Qingfeng Sect of the ancient martial world... was annihilated by the Night King."
"We dispatched specialists to investigate."
"And confirmed... no survivors."
"During the livestream, the Night King refined and devoured the souls of the entire sect for cultivation."
"Such brazen actions..."
Long Tianyuan took a deep breath to steady himself.
In a heavy voice, he continued, "The dead cannot return, and the disciples of the Qingfeng Sect have lost even the chance of reincarnation."
"The Night King has shown us that this treacherous fiend will always lurk in the shadows, waiting to strike!"
"He is a criminal against the world, a vile threat capable of catastrophic destruction."
"I hereby declare: Effective immediately, all personnel must heighten vigilance. The surveillance team is to monitor energy anomalies in real-time!"
"The production division must ramp up output of [Searchlights]—everyone must carry one to identify Night Organization affiliates at a glance!"
"The construction division must accelerate facility upgrades! By the end of this month, all projects must be completed!"
"..."
One directive after another was issued.
The room was deathly silent.
The director... was truly furious this time.
Finally, Long Tianyuan’s tone softened slightly. "There’s one more announcement."
"As we all know, the world recognizes only one cultivation system—martial arts."
"This is a fact acknowledged globally, even in the ancient martial world."
"But now... we’ve discovered a second cultivation system!"
At this, Long Tianyuan’s gaze shifted toward a corridor in the conference hall.
A moment later, a figure slowly came into view.
Her steps were light and graceful, as if she tread on invisible clouds—less like walking and more like floating.
Her tall, slender frame stood proud like a solitary snow pine, regal yet graceful.
Her face was serene, cold as the autumn moon, distant and untouchable.
Her long hair cascaded like a waterfall, shimmering faintly as it swayed with her movements.
Her eyes were closed, her expression tranquil, her aura icy.
Her presence silenced the room.
The audience was spellbound, their breaths caught in their throats.
Their eyes followed her as if drawn by an invisible force.
Who... was this?
"Leng Qingqiu!!"
"Why is Leng Qingqiu here?"
"The Leng Family’s eldest daughter, once the top divine maiden, after her family was..."
"Hey! Shut up about that here!"
Bai Jun’s eyes widened. Wait—
Why was Gu Yan’s lover at headquarters?!
Beside him, Lin Yinyin swung her legs cheerfully and called out, "Sister Qingqiu!!"
??
Bai Jun shot her a look.
Sister Qingqiu??
You’re old enough to be her great-grandmother!
The name "Leng Qingqiu" echoed in everyone’s minds, as chilling and unforgettable as her presence.
Her arrival didn’t just shift the atmosphere—it delivered an unprecedented shock.
Because...
Hum! Hum! Hum!
As Leng Qingqiu hovered near the podium...
Ten radiant, translucent blades of light materialized behind her!!
Even from their seats, the audience could feel the terrifying power emanating from them.
What... kind of technique was this?!
Long Tianyuan, seeing the crowd’s attention fully captured, declared solemnly, "Everyone, I announce this now."
"Leng Qingqiu will join the Martial Arts Department as the founder of humanity’s second cultivation system!"
"This system is called..."
"Spiritual Master!!"
"A path that relies purely on psychic energy to launch soul-based attacks!"
"This... is the natural counter to the Night King!!"
BOOM!!!
The words struck like thunder.
Spiritual Master?!!
Gasps of shock filled the hall.
Everyone stared at Leng Qingqiu in shock.
The Divine Maiden... actually founded a second system?!
She comes out of seclusion and drops a bombshell like this?!
Wait, isn’t Leng Qingqiu Young Master Gu Yan’s girlfriend?
Weren’t they just dating? And all this time, she was secretly establishing her own sect?!
The next moment.
Leng Qingqiu slowly opened her eyes.
Hum!!!
Her eyes were no longer empty and lifeless—instead, they gleamed with a pure, radiant white light!
And when the crowd caught even a glimpse of her gaze, they suddenly felt a sharp, stabbing pain in their minds.
This was just from a passing glance.
Countless faces paled as people hurriedly averted their eyes.
So this was...
A mental attack?!
Long Tianyuan declared proudly, "From today onward,"
"Leng Qingqiu will be the head of the Martial Arts Department’s Sword Holding Division. She will personally select talented individuals to join its ranks."
"Psychics will be our ultimate weapon against the Night King!"
"Meeting adjourned!"
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)
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
] [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!"
