Squelch!
A sharp, icy pain pierced Dick's chest.
"?!?"
His pupils contracted, his breath seemingly frozen in shock.
Dick looked down in bewilderment at the black sword impaling his chest.
Huh... How?
He stared blankly at the half-smoked cigar in his hand, then at the untouched room around him.
Had he... been in this room the whole time?
Then what about everything that just happened...
His mind went blank as he stiffly turned his head, locking eyes with the ghostly figure behind him.
His voice was hoarse, his gaze shattered, blood trickling from his lips. "This... was all an illusion..."
Squelch!
Gu Yan pulled the black sword from Dick's chest and said indifferently, "Maybe this is still part of the illusion. Why don't you... take a guess?"
At those words, Dick's pupils dilated, his consciousness fading.
Thud!
His body collapsed heavily to the ground.
The leader of the Grim Reaper Organization, a master at the late-stage of the Grandmaster realm... had fallen!
The moment Dick laid eyes on the sword—Illusion's End—he had already been ensnared in Gu Yan's illusion.
The lighter... was merely a small trick to mislead him.
The real goal was to wear down his mental defenses, bit by bit.
With that done, Gu Yan stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, his gaze calm as he observed the blood-red formation in the sky.
Under his watchful eyes, the formation gradually dissipated.
And then... a crimson orb appeared at its center.
The Blood Fiend Pearl!
The most treasured artifact of the Grim Reaper Organization.
It seemed Ling Fa had successfully dismantled the Blood Fiend Formation.
Gu Yan raised his hand in a beckoning motion.
Whoosh!
The Blood Fiend Pearl flew toward him.
Crash!
The window shattered as the pearl shot through it. Catching it in one hand, Gu Yan gripped Illusion's End in the other.
Then—Hum!
The Blood Fiend Pearl transformed into a streak of bloody light, merging seamlessly into the crimson vein running through the sword's blade.
[Congratulations! Illusion's End has absorbed the Blood Fiend Pearl. The Blood Qi Blade technique is now available!]
Hmph, Blood Qi... Not a bad ability.
Perfect for dealing with certain people.
With that thought, Gu Yan tightened his grip on Illusion's End and looked outward.
Unnoticed until now, five figures had appeared in the sky.
"Night King!"
"Night King, you ruthless bastard! Not only did you kill Dick, you even took the Grim Reaper Organization's lifeblood treasure!"
Bai Jun stood at the forefront, his expression one of shock as he stared at the familiar figure atop the spire.
But when his eyes landed on the corpse at Gu Yan's feet, horror overtook him. "Dick?! Dead?!"
The other four were all Grandmasters as well.
The man on the far left paled. "Oi oi oi, Bai Jun, this is bad. How the hell did Dick die? There wasn’t even a sound!"
"From the time we were attacked until now, it's barely been fifteen minutes!"
Another warrior hesitated, fear creeping into his voice. "Dick was a late-stage Grandmaster. Even the five of us together might not have been a match for him. This..."
Swish! Swish! Swish!
At that moment, dark figures emerged behind Gu Yan.
"Lord, mission accomplished."
Shitou and the others bowed respectfully, their masks splattered with blood.
Gu Yan gave a slight nod.
His gaze returned to the five in the sky, his voice indifferent. "Come at me together."
Those words sent a chill down Bai Jun's spine.
The Night King, now empowered by the Blood Fiend Pearl, was even stronger than before.
They... stood no chance.
"We have to retreat," Bai Jun muttered under his breath.
But—
"Bullshit!"
A burly man roared, his eyes bloodshot with rage as he glared at the black-clad figure below. "The Night King sent his men to kill my wife! This is an unforgivable grudge! Today, Lei Tian will avenge her, no matter what!!!"
Hearing this, Gu Yan glanced at the man dispassionately.
"Oh? Your wife... was this one?"
He raised his hand, and a spectral figure of a woman materialized in his palm.
It was a soul—one of many Shitou and the others had collected after slaughtering the Grim Reaper Organization's lesser members.
"Lei... Lei Tian... run..."
The woman's spirit sobbed weakly, her voice fragmented.
Then—
Crunch!
Before Lei Tian could react, Gu Yan clenched his fist, crushing the soul into nothingness.
"NO!!!"
Lei Tian's sanity snapped. Teeth gritted, he charged at Gu Yan like a maddened beast.
"Night King!!! I’ll kill you!!!"
"Wait! Lei Tian, don’t be reckless!" Bai Jun shouted, but it was too late.
"To hell with waiting!!"
"If you cowards won’t fight, I’ll do it alone!!"
Lei Tian hurtled toward the Night King, his rage unstoppable.
Then—
Under the watchful eyes of all, Gu Yan merely looked up and uttered a single word.
"Annihilate."
BOOM!!!
A surge of black-and-crimson Blood Qi erupted in Lei Tian's path.
The collision was instantaneous.
BOOM—!!!
Lei Tian's body disintegrated on impact.
"Lei Tian!!!"
Bai Jun screamed in disbelief.
Lei Tian had been a mid-stage Grandmaster, the leader of the Thunder Sect.
And yet... he had been obliterated in one move?!
His face twisted in terror. The remaining Grandmasters panicked.
"Run! RUN!!"
They turned to flee.
But—
As Bai Jun spun around, he saw the black-clad figure slowly raise his sword horizontally.
Then, with a single, effortless swing—
BOOOOOOM!!!
A blinding dark-red sword beam tore across the sky, its sheer power enough to make one's scalp tingle.
It swept forward with unstoppable force, obliterating everything in its path—buildings, terrain, even the fleeing Grandmasters.
Bai Jun and the others were fast, but the sword beam was faster.
"Is that... a sword beam?!"
"You’ve got to be kidding me..."
The slash was so vast it blotted out half the sky, like the scythe of death itself.
Squelch—
Flesh and stone alike were shredded apart. A macabre dance of blood painted the air.
One by one, the Grandmasters were pierced through, their bodies reduced to crimson mist.
"ARGH—!!"
Bai Jun poured every ounce of his energy into escaping, but when he glanced back—
The dark-red slash was already upon him.
No escape.
Despair flooded his heart.
Was this... the end?
Suddenly—
"Bai Jun!"
A black void materialized before him.
A familiar voice echoed in his ears, but before he could process it, he was sucked into the abyss, consciousness fading.
SWOOSH—!!!
The dark-red slash razed everything in its wake, stretching for hundreds of miles before finally dissipating.
Crash...
A supernatural phenomenon altered the weather, gathering dark clouds that unleashed a downpour upon the land.
Patter, patter!
The heavy rain fell upon the ground, relentlessly washing away the bloodstains in the mud.
Gu Yan stood amidst the ruins of a shattered spire, calmly surveying the scorched remains of everything around him.
The Grim Reaper Organization had been annihilated.
Yet another faction responsible for the extermination of the Leng Family had been erased from existence.
With the Thunder Sect's high-tier combatants wiped out, the progress of universal martial cultivation would undoubtedly accelerate once more.
And this time... both the Western Nation and the Eastern Nation ought to recognize the severity of the Night King's threat, uniting to form an alliance.
Hah. Everything was proceeding according to plan.
As for the one who had taken Bai Jun away, Gu Yan had already deduced their identity.
He had long since detected their presence—precisely why he had felt no hesitation in launching his assault on Bai Jun.
Still... he wondered how Bai Jun would react upon learning the truth of his rescuer. Would it be joy... or sorrow?
At that moment.
An umbrella was raised above Gu Yan's head.
"My lord."
Little Bai approached on tiptoe, using her clawed ability to manifest an umbrella, which she held aloft for him.
Gu Yan gave a slight nod, a faint smile curling at the corners of his lips. "Let's return."
"And while we're at it... let the world know the Grim Reaper's final fate."
"Yes!"
Whoosh!
Their figures vanished into the rainy night, as though they had never been there at all.
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!"
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)
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
