Unity is always more important than winning or losing.
The power unleashed by a truly united team is by no means a simple addition of individuals, but a true force.
Unstoppable and invincible.
The Golden Feather Guard had strict military discipline and followed orders to the letter, making them the elite of the elites.
But Gu Chengyin knew very well that humans were not machines.
This was already a high-stakes gamble with their lives on the line. Now, with hundreds of thousands of rebel troops closing in on them like a tidal wave, an invisible pressure weighed down on everyone's hearts like a mountain at all times.
Under this suffocating atmosphere, for many hot-blooded men, a vigorous and bloody battle would actually relieve the pressure better than avoiding combat, and it would also better reflect their worth.
Therefore, Gu Chengyin's orders naturally drew a lot of confusion and silent criticism among the rank-and-file soldiers.
However, military orders were absolute, and no one dared to question them openly.
But this undercurrent hidden beneath the silence could not escape Gu Chengyin's exceptionally sharp perception, which had been enhanced by the system.
Since he had closely tied his own interests to Fake Luo Zhao, this naturally became the primary problem that had to be solved.
Otherwise, it was highly likely to bring a fatal blow at some point in the future.
Furthermore, Gu Chengyin's current foundation of true qi was derived from his influence over these thirty thousand Golden Feather Guards.
Whether Luo Zhao herself would be heartbroken over their casualties, Gu Chengyin did not know.
But he was truly heartbroken. After all, whoever died among the Golden Feather Guards would result in a loss of his true qi.
At this moment, inside the central command tent, it was dead silent.
Whether it was the battle-hardened senior commanders or the fierce and resolute Chen Busha.
Or the faction of female officials led by Shangguan Yunying, every single one of them was earnestly pondering over Gu Chengyin's deafening and enlightening words.
The air was filled with an unprecedented solemnity and reflection.
Even True Luo Zhao, who had been watching from the sidelines, had deep and complex ripples rising in her phantom-like eyes.
When she first formulated the Golden Cicada Shedding its Shell stratagem, she had indeed felt sorrow and reluctance for these thirty thousand Golden Feather Guards.
But the situation was critical at the time, and returning to the Divine Capital took precedence over everything else.
Thus, with the resolute mindset of a warrior cutting off their own wrist to survive, she chose to sacrifice them.
Her planning was mostly based on calculating trade-offs in the current situation. She truly had never, or perhaps had no time to, act like Gu Chengyin.
To elevate the life, death, and value of every individual to a strategic perspective equal to, or even higher than, the ultimate goal.
So when Gu Chengyin articulated this in a way that felt almost like a soul-searching interrogation, True Luo Zhao's heart was suddenly touched.
If this Golden Feather Guard, which had gone through countless hardships and believed in her implicitly, could truly be brought back to the Divine Capital intact...
Then, after jointly experiencing this miraculous life-and-death breakout, what she would possess would no longer be just an inner guard defending the royal family.
But an iron-blooded core whose souls were completely bound to her, whose loyalty was unshakable, and who would be enough to become the foundation of her rule!
This power was something that no amount of gold, silver, treasures, or high-ranking positions could buy; it was a truly priceless treasure.
But the premise was that they could actually return completely unscathed.
Up until this moment, deep down, True Luo Zhao still believed that the casualty-free speedrun Gu Chengyin spoke of was nothing but a fairy tale.
There had to be a more dangerous conspiracy hidden behind this man.
However, after experiencing this thought-provoking mental rectification that struck straight to the heart, a trace of fantasy that even she hadn't anticipated involuntarily and quietly sprouted from the deepest part of her heart.
If this man, acting in her name as Luo Zhao, truly created a miracle within the ironclad encirclement of hundreds of thousands of rebels and brought these thirty thousand Golden Feather Guards back to the Divine Capital without a single scratch...
Then what an incredibly solid foundation of power and capital of prestige she would possess!
This fantasy flashed like a spark, but it was immediately and ruthlessly extinguished by True Luo Zhao with astonishing willpower! She immediately reflected on herself:
I am the Crown Princess of Great Luo! How can I harbor such unrealistic fantasies and place my hopes on a man?!
There is no one in this world worthy of my expectations, nor is there anyone worthy of my reliance!
The only things I can rely on are absolute calmness and balance!
Forcefully suppressing her surging emotions back into the frozen abyss of reason, True Luo Zhao once again cast her gaze toward the figure speaking with assurance in the tent.
Only this time, the coldness and killing intent in her eyes seemed to have faded a bit, replaced by a more complex and incomprehensible scrutiny.
And hidden within that scrutiny was a trace of something she herself hadn't fully realized, a trace of forcefully suppressed...
Expectation.
I hope that after you all return, you will earnestly convey this to everyone.
Gu Chengyin's voice pulled everyone's attention back.
Do not let down Her Highness's earnest intentions.
After saying that, he neatly sat back in his seat and handed back the floor.
On the main seat, Fake Luo Zhao, who had been resting with her eyes closed, finally slowly opened her eyes.
Her phoenix eyes calmly swept across every face in the tent.
Then, she spoke. Her voice was not loud, but it carried an extremely strong penetrating power:
What Director Gu said...
She paused slightly, ensuring that every word fell clearly into everyone's ears.
...is exactly what is in my heart.
Immediately after, her gaze became even more profound, sweeping past the crowd as if looking toward a more distant future:
When we achieve success in the future, this glory.
I shall not enjoy it alone.
These two extremely short sentences were like a raging fire igniting dry firewood!
Except for Gu Chengyin, everyone in the tent instantly began breathing heavily, their eyes bursting with a blazing light!
They uniformly straightened their bodies, standing tall and at attention as if being inspected. With hearts full of a determination to swear loyalty to the death, their voices rang as loud as a bell, bursting out in unison with two words as heavy as mountains:
Loyalty! Devotion!
The wave of sound almost blew the roof off the tent.
Gu Chengyin quietly watched this scene, secretly marveling at Luo Zhao's influence in his heart while simultaneously giving a thumbs up to his own brilliance.
He had not been eager for quick success and instant benefits; instead, he chose to become Her Highness's most trusted spokesperson, cleverly attaching himself to this naturally powerful rallying cry.
As long as this great banner did not fall, he could lay low and develop, safely getting through the early stages.
As for the crises Luo Zhao encountered, in Gu Chengyin's eyes, none of them were very difficult problems to solve.
He even couldn't quite understand how such a good hand of cards had been played so terribly.
Fake Luo Zhao's performance was also taken in by True Luo Zhao.
But this time, what it brought her was not anger, but a chill bordering on horror.
Simply because of the words Fake Luo Zhao said, that brief yet extremely weighty declaration.
The train of thought, the angle, the wording... it was exactly how she herself would have declared her stance if she were in this situation.
Precisely because of this, True Luo Zhao felt even more terrified.
She had originally thought that Gu Chengyin's manipulation technique was merely like controlling a marionette, making Fake Luo Zhao give some simple responses.
But looking at it now, Fake Luo Zhao's words, deeds, demeanor, and logical thinking, and even that aura belonging to a superior and the exact tact needed to win people's hearts...
...were almost indistinguishable from the real her!
No wonder Shangguan Yunying and Chen Busha hadn't noticed the slightest thing up to this point.
If there was any difference at all, it was that Fake Luo Zhao had absolute trust in Gu Chengyin.
As for her, she harbored nothing but absolute killing intent toward Gu Chengyin.
"Fortunately, he failed to notice that my soul was preserved by the jade bracelet."
True Luo Zhao felt her heart settle slightly. This was her sole advantage at the moment, and her only hope of turning the tables.
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
y came from. The chests contained supplies, currency, class-change scrolls, skills, talents… and even godhood! The laws of the world were completely rewritten. This became a world where everyone gambled with their fate! Some people, despite having nothing, opened a divine artifact and rose to the top, eventually ruling the world. Others went bankrupt, opened nothing but worthless junk, and leaped from skyscrapers in despair. Lin Ye arrived in this world from another reality, utterly bewildered. “What is going on? Why is everyone a gambling addict?!” “Opening chests? No way. I refuse to gamble. I’ll start with myself!” Until— On his first chest, he obtained a Mythic Talent: Void Incarnation! He could become completely intangible, pass through all things, and reduce everything to nothingness! … On his fiftieth chest, he obtained a Mythic Weapon: Blade of Karma! With a single slash, karma shattered, twisting the universe and overturning the myriad phenomena of creation! … On his ninety-ninth chest, he obtained a Mythic Divine Treasure: Primordial Purple Energy! It could split open the heavens and earth, create all things, and evolve countless worlds with a single thought! Lin Ye: “Now that I think about it… shouldn’t someone have told me that every chest is guaranteed to contain something Mythic?!”
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
