After probing and obtaining the results, Gu Chengyin no longer dwelled on that bizarre nightmare, nor did he obsess over those inexplicable intuitions.
After all, the truth was right in front of him, outweighing any chaotic thoughts.
This damn broken system had finally been reliable for once.
Gu Chengyin stood up and strode down from the second floor. On the first floor of the Wenli Hall, everything was as usual.
Luo Zhao had already returned to the main seat behind the long desk, burying her head in the mountain of official documents.
Her posture was upright, her profile focused, and the vermilion brush flew across the memorials even faster than before.
It was as if everything that had just happened on the second floor was merely a trivial line of code in a running program; now that the code was executed, the system had returned to its main task thread.
And Shangguan Yunying had also returned to the stacks of files, continuing to sort and archive them.
Her figure looked exceptionally gentle in the morning light, as if the person who had just sat on Gu Chengyin's lap and taken the initiative to kiss him was another personality, and now she had switched back to work mode.
Gu Chengyin's gaze swept over the two of them.
He walked up to Luo Zhao, maintaining the proper distance of a subordinate, and said respectfully,
"Your Highness, I am preparing to go to the Ministry of Rites to take up the post of Right Vice Minister."
"His Majesty has ordered that the liaison affairs between Great Luo and the various cultivation sects will be handled by me from now on."
This was an important transfer of power.
The Great Luo Dynasty had a vast territory, and the large and small cultivation sects within its borders were countless, including top-tier sects like the Azure Sword Sect.
Liaising with these cultivation sects had always been one of the most important duties of the Ministry of Rites, involving resource allocation, disciple selection, sect tributes, and even the balance of power between the dynasty and the sects.
This also concerned Gu Chengyin's future plans; after all, starting from the Golden Core realm, he was no longer bound to individuals.
Hearing Gu Chengyin's voice, Luo Zhao did not even lift her head.
Her gaze remained on the memorial, and her vermilion brush did not even pause as she simply gave a faint "Mm."
Her voice was flat and devoid of any emotion, as if she were just listening to a subordinate report a routine matter.
Gu Chengyin did not mind it either.
Although Luo Zhao had been hypnotized, normal communication between monarch and minister still had to take place.
He turned his head and glanced at Shangguan Yunying, who was currently facing away from him, fully concentrated on organizing the files.
Gu Chengyin withdrew his gaze and strode toward the outside of the hall.
His figure passed through the boundary between sunlight and shadow, disappearing beyond the tall doors of the Wenli Hall.
His footsteps gradually faded away.
But the moment Gu Chengyin's figure completely vanished...
The atmosphere on the first floor of the Wenli Hall suddenly changed.
"Bang!"
A soft, muffled thud echoed out.
It was the sound of the vermilion brush being slammed heavily onto the desk.
Luo Zhao suddenly hunched over, pressing hard on her stomach.
Her face instantly turned pale, and then a sickly blush rushed to her cheeks.
Her pupils, which had just been as blank as stagnant water, now burst with a terrifying, icy glint. She stared in the direction Gu Chengyin had left, her teeth grinding loudly,
"Despicable! Shameless! Lewd! Bastard!"
Meanwhile, on the other side.
"Thump."
It was the sound of knees hitting the ground.
Shangguan Yunying leaned limply against the wall, then slowly slid down to sit on the floor.
She was also clutching her stomach, her entire face flushed bright red, spreading from her cheeks to the roots of her ears, down to her neck, and even her exposed wrists were tinged with pink.
But unlike Luo Zhao, it was not the red of anger, but the red of embarrassment and shame.
Hearing the commotion, Luo Zhao turned to look.
When she saw Shangguan Yunying's state, she was initially stunned, and then a flash of shock and complex resonance crossed her eyes.
She was about to speak out, but catching a glimpse of a few female officials still busy in the hall, she forcefully swallowed her words back.
She stood up and quickly walked over to Shangguan Yunying, squatting down and asking urgently,
"Yunying, did that bastard molest you too?!"
Luo Zhao uttered the word "too" through gritted teeth.
Shangguan Yunying shuddered all over.
She looked up at Luo Zhao, her eyes full of disbelief,
"Ah... could it be that Your Highness... also..."
The sentence was left unfinished, but the meaning was clear enough.
Of the two women, one was the Crown Princess of Great Luo, peerlessly magnificent, and the other was the Chief Female Official, gentle and beautiful.
Yet at this moment, both were squatting on the cold floor, one clutching her stomach and gnashing her teeth, the other clutching her stomach with a face flushed red.
They looked at each other in silence.
The air froze in this instant.
They remained silent for a full five breaths.
It was Shangguan Yunying who moved first.
The embarrassed flush on her face gradually faded, replaced by murderous anger, and she made a move to stand up.
"Your Highness! I'm going to kill him right now!"
"It's one thing for him to molest me! But how could he do that to Your Highness..."
Before she could finish her sentence.
A cold hand tightly grabbed Shangguan Yunying's wrist.
"Forget it, Yunying."
Luo Zhao's voice was very calm.
"This was just a test."
"Gu Chengyin is not that kind of person; he didn't truly want to molest us."
"As long as we make him believe that we are both under hypnosis, he definitely won't mess around again in the future."
"Going to kill him at this time would do more harm than good."
Luo Zhao's voice was filled with rationality.
"We must endure this for now."
"Wait until the future..."
"And then we will settle the score with him properly."
Shangguan Yunying sat blankly on the spot, her body trembling slightly due to emotional fluctuations.
She wasn't actually going to kill Gu Chengyin, at least not right now.
Her previous action was half out of embarrassment and half a posture put on for Luo Zhao to see.
She was testing Luo Zhao's attitude.
Testing what kind of choice this Crown Princess would make after experiencing such humiliation.
If Luo Zhao acquiesced, or even supported her in killing Gu Chengyin, it would mean that Luo Zhao had lost her head to anger.
But if Luo Zhao stopped her, calmly analyzed the pros and cons, and chose to endure...
Then it would prove that Luo Zhao had truly made up her mind and was truly determined to carry that crazy plan through to the end.
And now, Luo Zhao's choice was the latter.
Calm, rational, enduring, and waiting.
Moreover, if Luo Zhao truly resisted, she would have lashed out just now instead of letting Gu Chengyin do as he pleased.
This was also the main reason why Shangguan Yunying didn't actually intend to make a move.
After all, Luo Zhao was awake; she was not hypnotized. She was hiding behind a puppet of consciousness, witnessing everything with her own eyes.
From a certain perspective, it could even be said that Luo Zhao was willing.
Shangguan Yunying slowly nodded.
"Your Highness, I understand."
Right at this moment, Shangguan Yunying noticed the color of Luo Zhao's lips.
A thought suddenly flashed through her mind.
Shangguan Yunying's face flushed with a rosy hue once again.
This time, it was not out of anger, nor out of embarrassment, but because of a highly awkward association.
She raised her head and looked at Luo Zhao.
Luo Zhao was also looking at her.
The gazes of the two women met in the air.
Then, Luo Zhao also realized something, and her gaze fell onto the color of Shangguan Yunying's lips.
Her expression immediately became strange.
If Gu Chengyin had performed the exact same direct test on her and Shangguan Yunying...
Wouldn't that be equivalent to...
As expected, they really should kill that bastard right this instant!
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."
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
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.”
