Upon hearing Nangong Xiyun's response, Su Luo was momentarily stunned.
It only then occurred to him that the East Extreme Demon Lord shouldn’t be dead at this point. Although the East Extreme Demon Lord didn’t have much screen time later, he still played a role.
Seeing Su Luo’s expression, Nangong Xiyun felt she had guessed correctly.
Su Luo asked, "Then why tell me?"
"Telling you is my sincerity. If you keep my secret, I won’t harm you."
This move left Su Luo baffled—what was the connection here?
Was Nangong Xiyun setting up some grand scheme, with him as a key piece?
Still, Nangong Xiyun’s proposal wasn’t bad. The East Extreme Demon Lord’s death was different from Luo Xinlan’s case. Luo Xinlan never appeared before the protagonist, but the East Extreme Demon Lord was supposed to later.
If he died now, it would inevitably disrupt the plot.
If Nangong Xiyun could fill that gap, it might work out well.
"What if I refuse?"
"Even if you refuse, I’ll still impersonate him. It’s just a matter of when you expose me."
"Do you really think you’re invincible?"
If exposed, the Left Envoy, the Right Envoy, and the other demon lords would surely gang up on her. Against such a lineup, even Nangong Xiyun wouldn’t survive.
"I just believe in you."
"Hmph."
Su Luo didn’t fully trust Nangong Xiyun’s words, but the proposal intrigued him.
"Fine. But for the next year, the East Extreme Demon Lord you impersonate must follow my lead." Su Luo almost laughed at his own words—since when did he have bargaining power?
But this was necessary. He needed to control Nangong Xiyun to prevent the plot from veering too far off course. Otherwise, he might as well impersonate the East Extreme Demon Lord himself.
"Agreed."
Nangong Xiyun accepted without hesitation. She understood Su Luo’s desire to preserve the storyline—this was her way of staying in the Heavenly Demon Sect.
Su Luo hadn’t expected her to agree so quickly. He thought it would take more persuasion.
"Alright, then."
Su Luo accepted. For now, Nangong Xiyun would play the East Extreme Demon Lord, keeping him "alive."
Once Su Luo grew stronger, if Nangong Xiyun broke their agreement, he could expose her and take over the role himself.
That was his contingency plan.
The matter was settled, but Su Luo couldn’t bring himself to feel happy.
"Little Yu, let’s go."
Su Luo took Little Yu’s hand and left for his quarters.
Little Yu squeezed his hand gently, trying to ease his mood. She knew the situation with "A-Yun" had upset him.
Su Luo assured her he was fine.
But Little Yu knew him too well. She understood he just needed time to process things, so she didn’t press further.
"Wait for me." Nangong Xiyun followed.
"Aren’t you supposed to be playing the East Extreme Demon Lord?"
"No rush. If I take over now, I’d have to shoulder the blame for the labyrinth incident. Better to wait until things cool down."
That made sense. If they couldn’t find the culprit now, they’d eventually give up. By then, she could return and spin any story she wanted—no one would be able to verify it.
Su Luo ignored her but didn’t stop her from tagging along.
"By the way, do you know much about the East Extreme Demon Lord? His habits, quirks—tell me."
"Later." Su Luo wasn’t in the mood to talk to her.
"Oh."
Nangong Xiyun could no longer return to being "A-Yun," at least not in Su Luo’s eyes.
Following behind him, she felt a pang of sadness knowing this.
......
In the days that followed, the Heavenly Demon Sect scoured every inch of their territory but found no trace of the intruder—nor of the East Extreme Demon Lord.
The investigation turned up nothing.
The Left Envoy was furious. The East Extreme Demon Lord was never around when needed, yet never did anything useful.
Wait—if the East Extreme Demon Lord was missing, did that mean the vote was back to a tie?
The Left Envoy saw an opportunity. Perhaps the East Extreme Demon Lord’s disappearance wasn’t such a bad thing.
Still, he needed to refine his plans to ensure everything went smoothly.
Meanwhile, Nangong Xiyun continued acting as Su Luo’s subordinate, behaving as usual. But Su Luo couldn’t treat her the same way.
"Don’t—such trivial matters shouldn’t trouble you."
"Can’t you speak normally? You’re a powerhouse—act with the pride you deserve."
"How could I dare? I respect you too much to order you around. Do whatever you like."
He was shutting her out completely, even resorting to sarcasm.
Nangong Xiyun hesitated, realizing Su Luo was genuinely upset. Anything she did now would seem like an act to him.
Sigh...
Little Yu, however, treated Nangong Xiyun as usual—as long as Nangong Xiyun didn’t mind the shift in dynamics.
Given Nangong Xiyun’s senior status, Little Yu would’ve adjusted if she objected. But since she didn’t, Little Yu saw no reason to change.
"Little Yu, what should I do?" Nangong Xiyun asked gloomily. She’d been trying to mend things with Su Luo, but he gave her no opening.
Worse, she didn’t even know how to bridge the gap.
"I’m not sure. But do you have a reason you absolutely must stay here?"
"Are you trying to chase me away too?"
"No, I’m just asking. Tell me."
"I have feelings too. At least as ‘A-Yun,’ I was happy with you all."
"Have you told Su Luo that directly?"
"He wouldn’t believe me."
"And you think I would?"
Why confide in her but not Su Luo?
"Little Yu, you’d believe me. You’re different from Su Luo. He’s proud—I deceived him for so long, and now he’s angry. Nothing I say will convince him."
"But I don’t think Su Luo is that angry."
"Little Yu, you’re still inexperienced. You wouldn’t understand."
Little Yu didn’t argue. She might lack experience, but she knew Su Luo. If he were truly furious, he’d either cut the problem at its root or simply disappear.
The fact that he still spoke to Nangong Xiyun meant things weren’t as dire as she thought.
Oh well. They’d have to work it out themselves.
Little Yu doubted Nangong Xiyun would believe her anyway.
Just then, Sect Master Jiang Ningshu arrived. The moment she entered, she sensed the unusual atmosphere.
"What’s going on? Why does it feel so tense here?" Jiang Ningshu asked Su Luo, who was lounging around.
"Nothing. Do you need something?"
There was no way Su Luo would tell the Sect Master about Nangong Xiyun.
"Not really. Just passing by."
After days of secluded cultivation, Jiang Ningshu had completed her second breakthrough, restoring her strength to the peak of the Cave Void Realm.
This peak was even stronger than before, as she had refined the power of the heavenly tribulation into her own.
"Alright, make yourself at home." Su Luo just wanted to laze around and not think about anything.
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.
【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.)
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
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.”
