Sunlight illuminated her brows and eyes, illuminated her contours, illuminated every inch of her skin.
That face remained stunningly beautiful, that figure remained uniquely transcendent.
But upon that stunning beauty lay an endless lifelessness.
Like an object without life.
Caring about nothing, and cared about by no one.
Watching this scene, Gu Chengyin said nothing, calmly stepped forward, and walked toward the door.
Morning light fell upon him, enveloping him entirely.
The light was warm and bright, shining on Gu Chengyin’s face, softening his features.
Gu Chengyin stopped, turned his head, and looked back.
Lin Qingyan was right behind him.
A single step away, neither close nor far.
She stood in the light, she stood behind him, like a shadow.
A shadow that couldn’t speak, had no warmth, and no presence at all.
Looking at Lin Qingyan like this, Gu Chengyin suddenly recalled the first time he met her.
Back then, she was cold and otherworldly like an immortal.
Her eyes still held light, still held spirit, still held an aloof detachment from on high.
She looked at him like he was an ant—though scornful, at least she was willing to look.
Now, she looked at him like he was a rock.
Not scorn, but genuine indifference.
Whether he existed or didn’t, made no difference to Lin Qingyan.
Gu Chengyin withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward.
Behind him, the shadow followed closely, silent and soundless.
The venue for the Three-Section Tribunal was in the Censorate, not too far from the Celestial Masters’ Residence, but not close either.
Along the way, they passed several streets and lanes, crossed several market wards, before reaching their destination.
Gu Chengyin did not take a carriage; instead, he walked ahead on foot, with Lin Qingyan following behind.
The two moved in single file, passing through the bamboo grove outside Still Heart Tower and stepping onto the blue-stone road leading to the Imperial City.
The capital at dawn was already bustling.
Vendors selling breakfast had set up their stalls, steaming buns came out of the baskets, their fragrance wafting far into the distance.
Hawkers carrying loads on poles peddled their goods along the streets, their voices high-pitched and drawn out.
People heading to the early market strolled in twos and threes, some carrying baskets, some bearing bundles on their backs, their faces marked with the unique weariness and anticipation of the early morning.
Gu Chengyin walked among the crowd, his steps unhurried, his expression calm.
No one noticed him. No one noticed Lin Qingyan following behind her.
Lin Qingyan was like a true shadow—clearly standing there, yet drawing no one’s attention.
Among those who passed by her, not a single person turned to look, as if she simply didn’t exist.
Gu Chengyin knew why.
Because the aura of absolute indifference she exuded had grown strong enough to influence those around her.
She cared for no one, so no one noticed her.
It was a strange law: the more you disregard the world, the more the world disregards you.
Like a rock. A rock sits there, but no one spares it a second glance.
From the Celestial Masters’ Residence to the Censorate, Gu Chengyin thought the whole way.
He didn’t walk fast; in fact, his pace was slow.
Slow enough for every passerby to see his face clearly.
Slow enough for every hidden pair of eyes to keep up with his steps.
But the path Gu Chengyin treaded wasn’t merely a street—it was a journey through a person’s heart.
The shadow behind him followed steadily, always a single step away, no more, no less—as accurate as if measured by a ruler.
Gu Chengyin didn’t look back, but he sensed her.
Her Golden Core stage pressure was reined in completely, like a sword returned to its sheath, its edge hidden.
But the sword was there, the hilt in her hand, the blade in the sheath, ready to be drawn at any moment.
Gu Chengyin was observing her.
Observing this new Lin Qingyan.
Back in Still Heart Tower, he had only made a deal with her, only confirmed that she would protect him.
But that wasn’t enough.
Gu Chengyin needed to know more, needed to see how she would react to different circumstances.
To know her limits, to know her weaknesses.
That was why he chose to walk.
Through streets and lanes, through markets, through bustling, noisy places full of the mortal world’s liveliness.
He noticed how, passing the breakfast stalls, she paid no attention to the fragrant buns.
How, passing children at play, those innocent giggles fell on deaf ears.
How, passing couples arguing, those heated debates provoked no reaction.
This Lin Qingyan had no interest in this world.
Those people, those happenings, the noise and commotion—they settled upon her sight like wind leaves no trace, water passes without sound.
She looked at all of them the same way she looked at a rock, a tree, a fallen leaf.
Gu Chengyin silently took notes: this was a Lin Qingyan he had never seen before.
The previous Lin Qingyan, though cold and aloof, still chose to look.
But this one wouldn’t even look.
Her eyes were closed.
Not physically closed, but rather she had refused to connect with the world any further.
It was as if she didn’t belong to this world, like a fading afterimage waiting to disappear.
Gu Chengyin didn’t know how this Lin Qingyan had become like this.
Didn’t know what she had gone through to seal herself to such an extent.
Didn’t know how heavy those pains were to make her prefer becoming a rock over touching the world.
But there was one thing Gu Chengyin knew.
He needed to understand her.
Deeply, thoroughly, completely, from the inside out.
Only that way could he be certain she wouldn’t fall through at a critical moment, wouldn’t lose control like before.
But all that would have to wait for now.
Gu Chengyin collected his thoughts and looked ahead.
They had arrived.
An imposing government building stood before him, with vermillion gates, high walls, soaring eaves, and interlocking brackets.
Above the lintel hung a plaque bearing the emperor’s personal calligraphy, three gold characters gleaming in the morning light.
The Censorate.
Gu Chengyin stopped at the entrance. He would first get through today’s Three-Section Tribunal before dealing with anything else.
He looked back once.
Lin Qingyan stood behind him, still in that state.
Her blood-red eyes, her detached expression, her infinite emptiness toward everything in existence.
Sunlight fell upon her, but could not reach her eyes.
But as long as she was present, Gu Chengyin would never come to harm.
On the contrary, this very session of the Three-Section Tribunal would further expand his influence.
Gu Chengyin never forgot that his level of cultivation was tied to his status and influence.
That was the nature of his technique, the foundation of his survival.
The greater his influence, the higher his cultivation.
The higher his cultivation, the greater his influence.
They depended on each other, each serving as the other’s cause and effect.
Thus Gu Chengyin never avoided anything, and the Three-Section Tribunal before him was no exception.
Letting Lin Qingyan tear the place down would be simple and easy.
If the Celestial Masters’ Residence’s Jingzhe acted, who could stop it?
But that would mean the influence fell on Lin Qingyan, with little connection to him.
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
