The Ancient Martial World.
Flames of war raged everywhere, with shattered landscapes and burning villages scattered across the land. The air was thick with the metallic scent of blood, mingling with the shouts of warriors and the clashing of weapons and martial techniques.
Whoosh!
A sinister raven streaked across the sky, landing on the withered branch of a tree struck by lightning.
Gu Yan surveyed his surroundings.
This was a village, clearly located within the territory of the Thunder Sect.
Yet, what should have been a safe haven under the Thunder Sect's protection had now been reduced to ruins by invaders.
The Thunder Sect had always held a natural geographical advantage, its lands rich in thunder-attributed minerals—perfect materials for crafting weapons.
This had long made them a target for other sects.
Only fear of the Thunder Sect's leader had maintained a fragile peace.
But now, with the Thunder Sect's leader, Lei Tian, dead, the surrounding sects had bared their true fangs.
Watching the village consumed by flames, Gu Yan sighed softly. Such was the way of the Ancient Martial World.
Then—
A scream pierced the air from the distance.
"No! Please, spare us!!"
Thud!
A woman in simple cloth robes stumbled out of the village, dragging a young girl—about the same age as Shi Tou and the others—by the hand.
But the woman was already wounded, blood pouring from her abdomen. She collapsed just outside the village.
"Mom!"
The girl fell too, scrambling desperately to hold her mother.
Yet before she could, a warrior from another sect seized her by the hair, yanking her up.
A man in White Phoenix Manor robes held the girl aloft, while another stomped on the woman's body, cursing, "Worthless wretch! A mere mortal making me waste my time!"
"Ugh—!"
The woman could only groan in pain, too weak to speak.
"Mom!"
The girl thrashed, but it was futile.
Within moments, the woman bled out and died.
The girl stopped struggling, her eyes hollow as she stared at her mother's corpse.
Gu Yan, in the form of the raven, observed everything in silence.
Heaven and Earth were merciless, treating all beings as expendable.
Martial warriors saw mortals as nothing more than insects—such was the cruel law of this world.
From birth, one's fate might already be sealed.
Because the Thunder Sect had once annihilated the Leng Family, Gu Yan had killed Lei Tian. Without Lei Tian's protection, the other sects had moved to destroy the Thunder Sect.
This... was karma.
Originally, only ten sects had launched this war of plunder. But now, it seemed a chain reaction had begun, drawing more and more factions into the conflict.
Perhaps... it was because he had sent his own forces to intervene.
No matter.
The White Phoenix Manor had also been among those who besieged the Leng Family.
In that case...
The raven's eyes gleamed faintly.
Hum!
In an instant, the souls of the entire village—including the girl's mother—were absorbed into his body.
Since this innocent bloodshed was indirectly his doing, he would bear the karmic responsibility.
Gu Yan's goal had always been vengeance against the forces that had destroyed the Leng Family.
But openly intervening would only entangle him further. So... it was far simpler to absorb the souls of the dead and store them within his claws.
Once the girl died, he would take her soul too and slaughter the White Phoenix Manor men.
In this chaotic world, perhaps becoming a soul stored within his claws was the best fate this girl could hope for.
Yet just as this thought crossed his mind—
A sudden, frigid wind swept through the area.
Crack—!!
In the blink of an eye, the ground for miles around turned to frozen wasteland!
Even the burning village was encased in ice.
"W-what's happening?!"
"Gah—!! My hand! My hand's frozen solid!"
The warrior holding the girl stared in horror as the blood on his arm instantly crystallized into icicles. Beneath his sleeve, his skin was coated in thick frost.
His arm stiffened, frozen mid-air, completely immobile.
Beside him, his companion had already turned into an ice statue.
!!!
Before the warrior could react, a woman clad in pristine white robes materialized amidst the frozen wasteland.
Her figure stood out starkly against the icy backdrop, as if she were one with the cold itself.
Her long hair fluttered in the wind, but most striking were her eyes—cold and indifferent.
"L-Leng...!"
The warrior tried to speak, but the wind tore his voice apart.
The woman didn't answer. Her gaze swept the area before settling on the warrior and the girl in his grasp.
"Why slaughter the village?"
Her voice was calm, yet it pierced straight into the warrior's mind.
"Ugh—!"
He couldn't respond—the cold had already robbed him of consciousness.
Swish! A flurry of ice crystals passed by.
The man froze into a statue, lifeless.
The woman's expression didn't change. She reached out, pressing a finger to the unconscious girl's forehead.
Instantly, the ice around the girl melted away.
Thud.
The girl collapsed, unconscious.
The woman gazed at the pale, tear-streaked face before her, her thoughts drifting back to the day she had left the Leng Family.
Was her younger sister... still alive?
Then—
Whoosh!
The sound of fluttering wings cut through the silence.
A raven landed atop the frozen warrior's head.
Under Leng Bingning's slightly narrowed eyes, it spoke:
"Leng Bingning, I never took you for the compassionate type."
Gu Yan's tone was flat, but inwardly, he was calculating.
Leng Bingning was here, in the Ancient Martial World?
Then who was the Leng Bingning he had seen in the mortal realm?
Leng Bingning was, in fact, a character who only appeared in the later stages of the original story—the elder sister of Leng Qingqiu, who had gone to the Ancient Martial World to train.
Eventually, she had even become the leader of the Ice Heart Sect, mastering its supreme technique, the Ice Heart Art.
But!
Long before this, Gu Yan had met Leng Bingning in the mortal realm.
It was during a banquet at the King of Hell Palace, where Leng Bingning and Mei Xue had made an appearance.
Later, when he ventured into the Fifth Forbidden Land, Leng Qingqiu had even disguised herself as Leng Bingning to tease him.
So, in Gu Yan's mind, Leng Qingqiu and Leng Bingning must have known each other long ago.
If Leng Bingning was here now... had Leng Qingqiu sent her for some purpose?
Leng Bingning regarded the raven calmly.
A flicker of doubt crossed her mind.
When had this raven appeared?
She was certain she hadn't sensed its presence earlier.
A talking raven... was it a demonic beast?
But... it seemed the other party recognized her.
Yet, in her memory, no member of the sect was skilled in transformation arts.
Not to mention...
Leng Bingning grew increasingly wary. She realized that this talking raven before her was emanating a...
familiar aura.
Chaotic, dark, evil—a concentrated malice.
Boom! It hit her all at once.
Leng Bingning swiftly summoned an ice sword into her hand—shing!
She pointed it at the raven, her voice icy. "You... are the Night King."
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
'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.
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
