Late at night.
The world was silent in the depths of the darkness.
In the underground city where humanity now resided,
aside from the martial artists standing guard, everyone else had fallen into slumber.
In a certain room,
Leng Qingqiu tossed and turned in bed, her mind
suddenly flooded with countless dreams.
The dreams stretched endlessly, so long that she began to forget whether she was in reality or a dream.
At times, she fought alongside Gu Yan against divine beings.
Other times, she was transported back to the urban world, forming a band with Gu Yan and touring the globe.
Then, in another moment, she found herself in a fantasy realm, transformed into a crimson-clad vengeful spirit, dying in Gu Yan’s embrace.
...
...
Until the final dream appeared.
Leng Qingqiu understood everything.
The schemes of the Heavenly Dao, the wars of the gods.
The fate of a million lifetimes of reincarnation...
All the efforts Gu Yan had made in secret, the sacrifices he had endured...
And... Xiao Leng’s final choice...
!!!
Leng Qingqiu’s eyes snapped open. She sat up, leaning against the headboard.
Her breathing quickened, her expression a mix of shock and disbelief.
"What... what is all this...?"
Her voice trembled as she recalled that today was the anniversary of the day she and Gu Yan had met.
In the evening, Ling'er, Gu Yan’s parents, and the rest of the family had shared a meal with her.
After a rare moment of relaxation, she had fallen asleep early.
But now...
She had indeed slept, yet...
"Xiao Leng, Xiao Leng?"
"Xiao Leng, are you there?"
Leng Qingqiu called out softly, but...
there was no response in her mind. She couldn’t even sense Xiao Leng’s presence anymore.
It was as if Xiao Leng had vanished without a trace, like a stone sinking into the sea.
How could this be...?
Leng Qingqiu’s heart sank to the depths. She... understood everything now.
It turned out that she and Gu Yan had known each other since their very first lifetime. Back then, they had used the power of forbidden scriptures to initiate this million-cycle reincarnation,
all for the sake of finding even the slightest chance to defy the Heavenly Dao.
And this lifetime... was their final opportunity.
Both Gu Yan and she had to become the strongest in the world.
So...
Xiao Leng... was another version of "Leng Qingqiu," born solely for this lifetime.
Her sole purpose was to sacrifice herself so that Gu Yan could break through his limits and become the world’s strongest.
How could this be...?
Leng Qingqiu bit her lip, fists clenched tightly.
Xiao Leng hadn’t been born from her negative emotions in the past...
Instead, she was a fragment of her soul, separated from the very first lifetime—a vessel to store all her and Gu Yan’s memories,
only to willingly give her life in this final cycle.
Xiao Leng...
No wonder... No wonder Xiao Leng had known all of Gu Yan’s plans.
They had prepared everything in secret.
Xiao Leng had always intended to sacrifice herself, which was why she had kept it hidden from Leng Qingqiu.
The last glimmer of hope... had been Xiao Leng.
Tears streamed down Leng Qingqiu’s face. After all these years together,
even though they had often bickered, during the darkest days after her family’s destruction,
Xiao Leng had been the only one who stayed by her side, speaking to her in her mind.
Now that the plan had reached this point,
and Xiao Leng had given her life to return to her original form...
Then...
"Should I... kill you...?"
"Gu Yan..."
Leng Qingqiu lowered her head, her voice choked with sobs.
By the window in the room,
a figure sat, seamlessly blending into the world—Gu Yan.
His expression was solemn, his voice heavy. "I’m sorry... for keeping this from you for so long."
Gu Yan’s heart was weighed down with sorrow.
He had never wanted to sacrifice Leng Qingqiu, nor Xiao Leng.
Even before he knew the truth, when he had thought Xiao Leng was merely Leng Qingqiu’s second personality,
he had never considered sacrificing her.
His plans had never involved sacrificing anyone close to him.
In this lifetime, he had wanted to achieve a perfect ending.
But...
"......"
Leng Qingqiu shook her head, wiping away her tears.
She took a deep breath and looked at Gu Yan with determination. "No, I’m the one who should apologize."
"Xiao Leng sacrificed herself for me. This burden should have been mine to bear..."
"If I had been the one to sacrifice, the same result could have been achieved. Xiao Leng would have inherited my memories and become the true self..."
Gu Yan’s breathing grew slightly uneven.
Whether it was Xiao Leng or Leng Qingqiu,
they were, in essence, the same person.
Xiao Leng held the memories of all past cycles, while Leng Qingqiu was the original self of this lifetime.
But one of them had to perish.
Only if both became Heavenly Dao-level powerhouses could they defy the Heavenly Dao.
So...
Was there truly no way to have both...?
"Gu Yan, since Xiao Leng has already made her choice..."
"I won’t hesitate anymore."
Leng Qingqiu spoke softly as she stood and walked toward Gu Yan.
She reached out, pulling him into an embrace, her voice laced with quiet resolve. "Gu Yan... I understand what you meant."
"You wanted me to become humanity’s hero, to shed the identity of the Night King forever."
"Gu Yan... I accept."
"In this lifetime... we must succeed."
Gu Yan closed his eyes, resting silently in Leng Qingqiu’s arms, savoring the moment.
Soon, the final step of their plan would arrive.
Leng Qingqiu held him tighter, her voice tender. "Though we’ll soon have to part again..."
"Before that..."
"I want you to make up for all the time you’ve missed with me these past months."
"Stay by my side, just for a few days..."
"Consider it a gift for our million-cycle anniversary."
"Will you?"
Gu Yan nodded slightly.
"I will."
......
......
The next day,
news of Gu Yan’s return spread throughout the Gu household.
Friends who had known and cherished him rushed to the first floor.
Leng Ling'er was the first to arrive, chattering excitedly around Gu Yan. "Brother-in-law! Where have you been all this time?"
Her face was alight with joy, unwilling to let him out of her sight.
Ning Qian observed Gu Yan, sensing something strange.
Hmm... She could no longer perceive his aura. He seemed like an ordinary person now...
Where had he gone all these days?
Gu Yan’s parents, Gu Tianming and Su Murong, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"You brat! Where have you been all this time?"
"You had Qingqiu worried sick!"
Liu Jianxing, now a pillar of the Sword Holding Department, grinned broadly and clasped his hands. "Brother Gu, you’ve finally returned!"
"We all thought you were—"
"Hey! What kind of nonsense is that? My brother-in-law isn’t going to die!"
"Cough..."
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."
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
] [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!"
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?!
