Nangong Xiyun carried Su Luo to a nearby tree hollow, spreading soft cloth on the ground before gently laying him down.
Su Luo still showed no signs of waking.
Nangong Xiyun sat beside him, watching quietly. The longer she gazed at his face, the more pleasing she found it—she could have looked forever.
But once Su Luo awoke, she would have to leave.
It was better to simply depart without explanation. Justifying why she had spared him would be difficult, so it was wiser to say nothing and let Su Luo speculate on his own.
However, before long, Nangong Xiyun sensed something and stepped out of the tree hollow.
"You’re still here?"
Before her stood Jiang Ningshu.
"Yes."
Jiang Ningshu slowly approached. Initially, she had intended to rescue Su Luo the moment he collapsed.
But upon realizing Nangong Xiyun had no intention of killing him, she decided to observe what the other woman would do.
Though nothing suspicious had happened, Jiang Ningshu still couldn’t trust Su Luo in Nangong Xiyun’s care.
So, she resolved to take him by force.
Nangong Xiyun remarked, "Su Luo said you would obey him today. Won’t he be disappointed by this?"
"He won’t see it, so he won’t know. But you—why did you hold back?"
"What I do is none of your concern."
"Fair enough. Then, will you hand Su Luo over to me?"
Jiang Ningshu drew the Heavenly Demon Sword. Whether Nangong Xiyun agreed or not made no difference—she had already decided to take him.
"You’re the Demon Lord, but I’m not afraid."
Nangong Xiyun knew Jiang Ningshu wasn’t at full strength. Even though her earlier battle with Su Luo had drained much of her energy, she wouldn’t be easily defeated.
Clang!
Their blades collided in an instant.
Jiang Ningshu poured all her remaining power into her strikes, aiming to end the fight swiftly.
Yet Nangong Xiyun, despite her injuries, moved with grace, dodging while countering with precision.
For a time, neither could gain the upper hand.
"You feel familiar. Have we met before?" Jiang Ningshu asked.
"I’ve been quite active lately, slaying members of your Heavenly Demon Sect."
"Not recently. Never mind, it doesn’t matter." Jiang Ningshu dismissed the thought—enemies were enemies, regardless.
She drove her sword into the ground, and darkness spread outward in a circle from its tip.
"Endless Dark Prison."
Blades of shadow surged from the blackened earth, lashing toward Nangong Xiyun.
She parried, but even when shattered, the fragments merged with others, forming larger swords that renewed their assault.
"Something similar? I can do that too."
Nangong Xiyun leaped into the air, evading the dark blades. Her sword traced a circle in the sky, expanding rapidly.
With a downward sweep, a colossal sword emerged from the ring and crashed down.
One blade against countless.
Nangong Xiyun’s giant sword shattered piece by piece, flickering faintly before dispersing.
Jiang Ningshu’s dark blades met the same fate—vanishing the moment they clashed with the descending sword.
Boom!
The exchange ended in a stalemate.
Nangong Xiyun was surprised by Jiang Ningshu’s strength. Hadn’t Su Luo written in his journal that she had only completed the first stage of her power? This didn’t match that description at all.
"Demon Lord, your strength is remarkable. Does Su Luo know?" Nangong Xiyun hinted.
If Su Luo and Jiang Ningshu joined forces, Nangong Xiyun wasn’t certain she could win.
Two top-tier experts collaborating would only amplify their might.
"What do you mean? What do you know?" Jiang Ningshu couldn’t hide her astonishment.
"I only know Su Luo isn’t aware of your current strength."
"So what? He never asked. But you—how much do you know? Does Su Luo know that?" Jiang Ningshu’s instincts told her Su Luo was unaware of Nangong Xiyun’s knowledge.
Otherwise, their earlier battle wouldn’t have been so intense.
They clashed again, now silent. Each sensed the other held secrets—ones Su Luo likely didn’t know.
Jiang Ningshu wasn’t worried. Her chances of victory were high, thanks in part to Su Luo’s earlier fight.
Nangong Xiyun refused to concede, confident she could still win despite her injuries.
Their battle grew fiercer.
Then—
A sudden, ragged cough from Su Luo broke the tension.
Both women halted instantly, rushing back to the tree hollow to check on him.
Su Luo remained unconscious, but his face twisted in pain, as if trapped in a nightmare.
No serious harm, though.
"You seem unusually concerned for Su Luo. Why?" Jiang Ningshu asked first. Fighting here was out of the question—what if they hurt him?
"Aren’t you the same?" Nangong Xiyun had no intention of fighting here either.
"I’m the Demon Lord. He’s a member of the Heavenly Demon Sect."
"Hmph. The sect has countless members. You don’t fuss over all of them," Nangong Xiyun retorted sarcastically.
"You’ve slaughtered so many of our sect, yet spared Su Luo. You must have ulterior motives."
"What I do is none of your business."
They tensed again, on the verge of resuming their fight—until a glance at Su Luo stopped them.
"Let’s take this elsewhere," Jiang Ningshu suggested.
"Forget it." Nangong Xiyun sheathed her sword. "I won’t fight. I’ll leave once Su Luo wakes."
"Fine." Jiang Ningshu accepted the decision. Her goal was achieved; prolonging the battle served no purpose.
"In that case, how about a pact?"
"Speak." Jiang Ningshu wouldn’t refuse outright. She was past acting on impulse.
"I won’t tell Su Luo about your secrets, and you won’t reveal mine. When the time is right, I’ll tell him myself."
Jiang Ningshu considered this. Her own secrets wouldn’t matter much if Su Luo learned them, but Nangong Xiyun seemed deeply concerned.
"What if I refuse?"
"Then so be it. You don’t know much anyway. On the other hand, if you accuse me of having ulterior motives toward Su Luo, he might pay more attention to me. That wouldn’t be so bad."
As long as her identity as "A’Yun" remained hidden—something the Demon Lord likely didn’t know—Nangong Xiyun almost found the idea appealing.
Hearing this, Jiang Ningshu agreed immediately.
"Very well. I accept."
"Then it’s settled."
No need for distrust. Though their interactions had been brief, instinct told them both would honor the agreement.
They tended to Su Luo in silence, careful not to reveal too much. Yet in caring for him, they were equally meticulous—dressing his wounds and even changing his clothes.
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
