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."
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
