"Decent willpower, but your strength is lacking."
Hu Yirong offered her assessment.
Still, for her age, it was passable. Though Hu Yirong looked young, her true age was far older.
"It is lacking," Li Siyi admitted, knowing her own shortcomings, but she wasn’t ready to give up yet.
"I see the hunger for power in your eyes. How about it? Come with me to the Heavenly Demon Sect. I’ll make you stronger."
Suddenly, Hu Yirong found herself intrigued by Li Siyi. The girl’s potential was undeniable.
"Go on," Li Siyi said.
"Ever heard of the Dual Cultivation Art? You grow stronger through intimacy—pleasure and power entwined. As a member of the Heavenly Demon Sect, I practice it. The beneficiary would be you alone—draining men of their cultivation to fuel your own, with immense gains. Interested?"
Li Siyi fell silent.
"Oh? So you are tempted by power. Come, I’ll teach you." Hu Yirong’s voice dripped with enchantment, laced with a subtle spell to sway the will.
"Listen to me, and within a year, you’ll reach the Nascent Soul stage."
Hu Yirong pressed further.
Li Siyi finally spoke. "If there’s a technique to take from men… is there one to give to them?"
"Of course there is. But what are you implying?"
Battered and bruised, Li Siyi forced herself to stand, raising her sword again in defiance.
"If I ever fall so far—forsaking everything for power—I’d sooner give my cultivation away and throw myself off a cliff."
Her gaze never wavered. Not even a flicker of temptation remained.
She might steal opportunities using her diary, but Li Siyi didn’t consider that true wickedness. To commit evil for strength? That was unforgivable.
And unnoticed by anyone, a faint glimmer flickered within the rust of the iron sword in her hand.
Hu Yirong stiffened.
This answer? This was her answer?
"Hahaha! Fascinating. I’ve never heard such a reply before."
"What’s so funny?"
"Because I don’t believe you’ll hold to it."
"That’s none of your concern."
"Fine, fine. Let’s see what choices you make. No one refuses power forever. When the day comes that you fall, I’ll be there to celebrate you."
Hu Yirong tossed two jade slips to Li Siyi.
[Dual Cultivation Art]—Absorb the cultivation of men or women to empower yourself.
[Sacrificial Robe Art]—Transfer your own cultivation to another.
People change. And watching that transformation? Now that would be entertaining.
Li Siyi crushed the [Dual Cultivation Art] slip without hesitation, keeping only the [Sacrificial Robe Art].
Hu Yirong merely smirked. "I’ll remember your defiance now. But that hunger in your eyes? I know regret will find you. When it does, seek me out."
"Never."
Just then, Su Luo and the others sensed the disturbance and rushed toward them.
Hu Yirong moved to kill the rest—sparing only Li Siyi—before making her escape.
But Li Siyi wouldn’t allow it. She raised her sword to block.
In her current state, though, stopping Hu Yirong was impossible.
Enter Su Luo.
His arrival froze Hu Yirong mid-action. She hadn’t expected to see him here. "Su Luo? What are you doing here?"
Li Siyi was equally stunned. She’d been about to use her master’s life-saving treasure against Hu Yirong. "Su Luo! Why are you here?"
"We’ll talk later. First, we handle this."
Hu Yirong chuckled. "Right, right. I’ll deal with the others. Your little lover is all yours."
A test—probing for reactions, hoping to uncover the nature of Su Luo and Li Siyi’s relationship.
Su Luo frowned at the term "little lover," but priorities came first. "What I meant was—handling you."
He drew his sword and advanced.
Hu Yirong paled. "Su Luo, don’t joke. We’re both of the Heavenly Demon Sect."
"I know. And I’m not joking."
With every step he took, terror coiled tighter around her.
Watching him from afar before, she hadn’t grasped his true strength. Now? The disparity was crushing.
I’ll die.
Desperate, she lashed out with illusion magic.
Useless. Such petty tricks couldn’t touch him.
Her eyes darted to Jiang Ningshu—the one who’d arrived with Su Luo. If she could take her hostage, there might still be a chance.
Hu Yirong unleashed a ranged spell, then lunged.
Jiang Ningshu met her with a single glance.
An overwhelming pressure crashed down.
This… will also kill me.
Regret flooded Hu Yirong. She should’ve fled sooner.
But there was no undoing it now.
Su Luo’s blade flashed.
And she was gone.
It was over.
"Good thing you showed up, Su Luo."
"This isn’t the place to talk."
Su Luo dispelled the illusions on the others, ensuring they’d sleep safely within a protective formation.
After briefly tending to Li Siyi’s wounds, he led her away to a quieter spot.
Relief and joy lit Li Siyi’s face—especially at seeing Su Luo.
"Su Luo, how did you get here? Are we just that in sync?"
"Passing by coincidence. But I’m glad you’re alright. By the way, why did Hu Yirong call you my ‘little lover’?"
"Pfft. She’s just foul-mouthed."
Li Siyi’s cheeks warmed. She couldn’t very well admit that under the illusion’s influence, she’d been screaming his name and confessing her feelings.
Too embarrassing.
And with others present, no less.
…Others?
The figure in the oversized black robe—gender unclear, but knowing Su Luo? Ninety percent chance it was a woman.
(If Su Luo knew she thought that, he’d be furious. Why not one hundred?!)
"Are you… Xiao Yu?" Li Siyi ventured.
Jiang Ningshu shook her head.
Li Siyi turned back to Su Luo, sweetness laced with lethal intent. "Dearest Heavenly Demon, would you care to introduce her?"
"Just a friend. Introduce yourself," Su Luo deflected, leaving it to Jiang Ningshu.
Her current identity was… complicated. Best to let the Demon Monarch decide her own cover.
"I’m Shu."
That was it?
"And your relationship with Su Luo?" Li Siyi pressed.
"Traveling companions."
Jiang Ningshu had questions of her own for Su Luo, but now wasn’t the time. Those could wait.
Seeing Jiang Ningshu’s reticence, Li Siyi backed off. Pushing further would seem like picking a fight.
Fine. Probably nothing major anyway. I’m overthinking it.
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.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
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."
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?!
