The moonlight flowed like water, and the top floor of the Fan Tower fell into an eerie silence.
Gu Chengyin leaned against the soft couch by the window, supporting his forehead with his left hand, his face full of helplessness.
Just a moment ago, he had been knocked out by Lin Qingyan's lightning without any warning.
Just a moment ago, he had been woken up from his stupor, his head still spinning.
Just a moment ago, he had been treated like an object, reduced to a prop in a competition of who was faster.
And now, Shangguan Yunying was standing in front of him, declaring confidently:
"I am the woman Gu Chengyin likes the most!"
When she said this, her eyes were astonishingly bright, her chin slightly raised, and her face was written with absolute determination to win.
Lin Qingyan stood to the side, looking at her demeanor. She only gave a faint glance and said nothing.
But Gu Chengyin saw it. In those cold, clear eyes, there was unmistakably an eager gleam.
This showed that Lin Qingyan didn't care as little as she appeared to on the surface.
Not only did she care, she actually wanted to compete with Shangguan Yunying.
Gu Chengyin closed his eyes, unwilling to think about it any further.
Right now, he only wanted to say one thing: Are you two crazy?
One was Jingzhe of the Heavenly Master's Mansion, usually so cold and aloof like a fairy from the heavens, someone whom everyone had to respectfully call Lady Jingzhe upon meeting.
Yet at this moment, she was acting like a jealous little girl, picking a fight with a junior in the Foundation Establishment realm.
The other was the Chief Female Official, usually gentle, capable, and tactful, a woman sought after by countless noble young masters in the Divine Capital to no avail.
Yet at this moment, she seemed possessed by something, her mind entirely consumed with the desire to win.
And as the man they were fighting over, Gu Chengyin was currently leaning against the soft couch with a massive headache.
It wasn't just from being electrocuted, but also his helplessness regarding these two women.
Where was your clarity? Where was your rationality? Where was your intelligence and sense of propriety?
What kind of situation was this?
Gu Chengyin took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
His original train of thought and deductions had now been stirred into a complete mess, impossible to continue.
Whatever Cui Shifan, whatever imperial decree, whatever Luo Zhao, all of it was pushed into the corners of his mind right now.
Only one thought remained in his head:
He had to make these two busty but brainless women settle down.
He had to let them know who was the true master of the house.
Gu Chengyin opened his eyes and looked to his left. Lin Qingyan stood there in plain white clothes, her ink-black hair cascading down, the moonlight coating her in a cold, silvery glow.
Her face remained as indifferent as frost, but something was clearly hidden deep in her eyes.
He then looked to his right. Shangguan Yunying stood there, hands on her hips, her fighting spirit soaring, her eyes shining like two bright lamps.
Her face was covered in confidence and inevitability.
Gu Chengyin furrowed his brows. If a tiger doesn't show its might, do they really take him for a sick cat?
Fine.
Since speaking nicely wouldn't work, they couldn't blame him for being impolite.
He raised his head, looked at the two women who were still locking horns, and said in a deep voice:
"Enough!"
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unprecedented sternness.
Lin Qingyan and Shangguan Yunying both froze at the same time.
They turned their heads to look at Gu Chengyin.
Then they saw that his face, which usually bore a gentle smile, was now filled with utmost seriousness.
His brows were slightly furrowed, the corners of his lips pressed tightly together, and deep within his eyes lay suppressed anger.
Gu Chengyin just sat there. Even though he had just been knocked out by lightning, he was now exuding an aura that made people afraid to look him directly in the eye.
Lin Qingyan's pupils contracted slightly.
She suddenly realized that she had gone too far.
Not just with knocking him out, but also locking horns with Shangguan Yunying, treating Gu Chengyin as a competition prop, and...
In short, many things.
And in every single one of them, she was the one in the wrong, not Gu Chengyin.
Lin Qingyan opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found she couldn't speak.
Because Gu Chengyin's gaze had already fallen upon her.
"Lin Qingyan!"
He called her by her full name, pausing after every word.
He didn't call her Auntie, but used the most formal, stern, and serious direct address of her name.
Lin Qingyan trembled all over.
Those three words were like three claps of thunder exploding in her ears, shaking her mind completely blank.
She looked at Gu Chengyin's serious face and those unsmiling eyes.
She couldn't help but feel afraid.
Yes, afraid.
She was at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, the most powerful combatant in this Fan Tower.
As long as Lin Qingyan wished it, she could knock Gu Chengyin unconscious again in an instant, directly kill Shangguan Yunying, or level the entire Fan Tower to the ground.
But now, facing Gu Chengyin, who was only in the Foundation Establishment realm, Lin Qingyan's heart held nothing but fear and trepidation.
She couldn't even maintain the coldness on her face.
That usual mask of indifference cracked at this moment.
Her eyelashes fluttered softly, her lips pressed slightly together, like a child who had done something wrong, anxiously awaiting punishment.
Looking at Lin Qingyan in this state, Gu Chengyin's heart couldn't help but soften.
But he didn't show it.
At a time like this, whoever softened their heart first would lose.
He had to use the sternest attitude and the harshest wording.
To let Lin Qingyan and Shangguan Yunying know that his rules were the only rules.
Gu Chengyin reached out his hand and pointed to the empty space in front of him.
"Come here."
His voice remained stern, devoid of any warmth:
"Kneel down and admit your mistake."
Shangguan Yunying watched this scene from the side, her eyes wide as saucers.
Kneel down and admit her mistake?
Gu Chengyin was making Lin Qingyan kneel and admit her mistake?
Making Jingzhe of the Heavenly Master's Mansion, Luo Zhao's aunt, kneel and apologize?
Shangguan Yunying instinctively wanted to speak up and stop him.
No matter what was said, Lin Qingyan was a Golden Core fairy, someone even Emperor Luo didn't dare to control.
What if Gu Chengyin angered her because of this? What if...
Before Shangguan Yunying could finish her thought, she saw Lin Qingyan move.
She took a step, walking over to the spot Gu Chengyin had pointed to.
And then, with utmost obedience, she knelt down.
Her movements were very slow, even carrying a hint of caution.
The moment her knees touched the ground, Lin Qingyan raised her head and stole a peek at Gu Chengyin.
In that glance, there was no anger, no humiliation, and no unwillingness.
There was only submission and an eagerness to please.
It was as if she was saying: I was wrong, please don't be angry, okay?
Shangguan Yunying's mouth dropped open in a round shape.
This...
Was this that cold and aloof Lady Jingzhe?
Was this the Golden Core fairy who was beyond Emperor Luo's control and whom even he didn't dare cross?
Was this the Lin Qingyan who, just a moment ago, had knocked Gu Chengyin out with a lightning lotus while wearing a look of complete indifference?
Yet at this moment, she was kneeling there honestly, right in front of Gu Chengyin.
The moonlight spilled over Lin Qingyan, illuminating that face that was still cold and clear but now full of obedience.
Her hands rested properly on her knees, her back straight as an arrow.
She looked like a little kitten that had realized it made a mistake and was seeking its master's forgiveness.
Yes, just like a little kitten.
A kitten that was usually baring its fangs and claws, proud beyond measure.
Now, with drooping ears and a shrunken neck, looking at its master with big, wet eyes.
As if to say: You can hit me or scold me however you want, but please don't ignore me.
Shangguan Yunying was utterly dumbfounded.
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.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
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!
