Love Is Nothing But an Illusion

Su Luo took a sip of tea when he suddenly sensed someone probing their location.

"What's going on? Did you do something today?"

"We didn't do anything. They came on their own. I'll go deal with it."

Jiang Ningshu hadn’t expected them to dare send people again.

Within a few breaths, Jiang Ningshu had disposed of them.

The city guard soon learned that his men had been eliminated once more.

After that, he gave up, deciding to just go through the motions of an investigation—at least he could tell Huang Jiuyou he’d tried.

Unfortunately, nothing was uncovered. Even if she had intervened, there would have been no distinguishing clues.

With the matter settled, Jiang Ningshu returned to the room.

"It's done. Should we just kill Huang Jiuyou and be done with it?" Jiang Ningshu speculated that he was the most likely culprit.

"Later. He’ll probably make a move against us soon enough, but before that, I have other matters to attend to."

Huang Jiuyou still had his uses.

After a brief discussion, the three of them prepared to rest.

There was only one room—Su Luo and Little Yu shared it, while Jiang Ningshu stayed alone.

Though Little Yu wasn’t entirely comfortable being intimate with Su Luo in front of others, she had grown somewhat accustomed to Jiang Ningshu’s presence after being observed so many times.

Of course, she only tolerated light affection like hugging. Anything more was out of the question.

Jiang Ningshu, for her part, saw nothing unusual about it.

She had long known about Su Luo and Little Yu’s relationship—it was only natural for them to sleep together.

Jiang Ningshu found a quiet spot to gaze at the moon, passing the time idly.

With her level of cultivation, going without sleep for extended periods was no issue.

At the break of dawn the next day, Su Luo set out alone again.

He was ready to witness a good show.

Lei Shi had fully recovered from his injuries and spent the entire night searching for Fang Xiaoqian with the Cloudgold Stone in hand.

Fang Xiaoqian and Wu Feng, however, were holed up together, still shaken from their encounter with Su Luo.

To calm their nerves, they indulged in some intimacy.

When they finally stepped outside, they ran straight into Lei Shi.

"Fang Xiaoqian, who is he?"

Seeing her arm-in-arm with Wu Feng, Lei Shi’s expression darkened. Could what Su Luo said be true? Had he been used?

"Why are you shouting at me?" Fang Xiaoqian frowned.

Lei Shi felt wronged. "I wasn’t shouting."

"You yelled at me." Her tone grew more aggressive, as if he were the one at fault.

"Fine. Then tell me—who is he?"

"A friend," she replied dismissively.

But no friends behaved like this.

Wu Feng smirked and planted a kiss on Fang Xiaoqian’s lips.

"Let’s not treat Lei Shi like a fool anymore. I’ll be straight with you—she’s been mine for a while now."

Seeing Lei Shi’s stunned expression, Wu Feng felt a surge of satisfaction.

"Why? What does he have that I don’t? I’m stronger than him!" Lei Shi exploded.

He wasn’t some naive youth, but he had poured everything into this relationship—only to be betrayed.

The realization was too much to bear.

Fang Xiaoqian, unfazed by the exposure, spoke with shameless confidence.

"Exactly. Because you’re stronger, you should be getting more treasures for us."

"You hear that? Heal up and get back in the arena," Wu Feng sneered, his expression mocking.

Lei Shi’s rage burned hotter.

Then Fang Xiaoqian added, "Oh, and give me back my Cloudgold Stone."

She snatched it from his hands and handed it to Wu Feng, cooing sweetly,

"Here, Wu-ge. Don’t lose it again."

"Of course," Wu Feng gloated, taking it.

They didn’t know why Lei Shi still had the stone, but they weren’t about to question free loot.

His things were theirs now.

"Yours?" Lei Shi couldn’t believe his ears.

After everything, she had the audacity to call it hers?

"You gave it to me, so it’s mine," Fang Xiaoqian stated matter-of-factly.

That was the final straw.

"Why are you doing this to me?!"

His last shred of restraint shattered. He lashed out—but at Wu Feng, unable to bring himself to hurt Fang Xiaoqian.

Wu Feng took the hit—he was slightly weaker than Lei Shi.

But Fang Xiaoqian joined in, aiding Wu Feng.

One-on-one, Lei Shi could overpower either of them, but together, they overwhelmed him.

Soon, Lei Shi was beaten down again, covered in wounds.

Wu Feng pressed his foot against Lei Shi’s face.

"Remember this—next time, win us more treasures."

Then he gave Fang Xiaoqian’s backside a slap as they walked away.

"Ugh, don’t do that in front of him!"

"What, afraid he’ll get jealous?"

"Pfft, him? I just don’t want him getting off on the sight of my curves. He doesn’t deserve even a whiff."

Their laughter echoed as they left.

Lei Shi lay there, drowning in humiliation.

I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you!

The thought consumed him, but his body refused to move.

His eyes, filled with bitterness, slowly closed.

Su Luo had watched the entire scene unfold. This wasn’t the first time he’d witnessed such a play.

He mused, If Lei Shi were to be reborn now, he’d make a perfect protagonist.

A textbook revenge arc setup.

But Lei Shi didn’t need rebirth—Su Luo would give him the power to take vengeance.

After a while, Lei Shi stirred awake.

Su Luo spoke from the shadows.

"Do you want revenge?"

Lei Shi finally recognized him. "It’s you... You saw everything?"

"From start to finish."

Now calmer but utterly despondent, Lei Shi muttered, "Maybe... Fang Xiaoqian had her reasons."

"Wake up. Think back to how she acted. Stop lying to yourself."

Lei Shi fell silent. He couldn’t deny the truth.

"You know why I surrendered yesterday? Because I was once like you."

"Tell me."

"The past is the past. What matters is that I’ve been reborn. What about you?"

"I..."

Lei Shi hesitated, still clinging to denial.

Su Luo’s voice sharpened with fervor.

"Listen—love is an illusion. We must focus on strength. Join me. Have you heard of the Heavenly Demon Sect?"

"I plan to rebuild it. I will become the Demon Sovereign. Come with me—let’s carve our names in fear, not waste our lives on love. Do you want to suffer that humiliation again?"

The memory of Wu Feng and Fang Xiaoqian’s smirks ignited Lei Shi’s fury.

"You’re right. To hell with love. If you can help me destroy them, I’ll do anything."