“Red Egg! I’ll kill you!”
Blood slowly seeped from where the blade met flesh, blooming a startling red stain on the moon-white robe.
The bedchamber fell into utter silence.
Luo Zhao’s hand trembled as she gripped the dagger, its sharp edge already buried nearly an inch into Gu Chengyin’s chest.
Warm blood splattered across her face, trailing slowly down her cheek.
Yet she seemed not to notice, her eyes fixed rigidly on the dagger in her hand.
Fixed on the blade submerged in flesh, fixed on the red stain spreading bit by bit.
She had stabbed him.
Gu Chengyin hadn’t dodged.
This thought exploded in Luo Zhao’s mind like a thunderclap, shattering all the anger, grievance, and hatred she had felt moments ago.
Why?
Why hadn’t he dodged?
The dagger had come from under her pillow; it had lain there for who knew how long.
Originally just a comfort to hold onto, Luo Zhao had never truly thought she would use it one day.
But just now, when the conscious puppet dissolved and she met Gu Chengyin’s smiling eyes,
fear, humiliation, resentment, and grievance—all of it surged into her heart at once.
She had pretended for so long.
Endured for so long.
Cautious, treading on thin ice.
She thought she had fooled Gu Chengyin, thought she could finally stand tall and say he had lost.
But Gu Chengyin had casually undone the hypnosis, crumbling her painstakingly built disguise like a sandcastle.
Nothing was left.
The imperial decree, the oral command, the secret arrangements—the trump cards Luo Zhao thought could turn the tide.
All of them became jokes in front of Gu Chengyin.
He had won again.
She had lost again.
It was always like this, every single time—she could never escape Gu Chengyin’s grasp.
Luo Zhao didn’t know how she had felt in that moment.
Perhaps it was the rage of a cornered beast, perhaps a complete collapse after long suppression.
Or perhaps, just a desire to tear a crack in that ever-calm face.
Luo Zhao remembered shouting out, her voice full of grievance and hatred, so unfamiliar even to herself.
She pulled the dagger from under the pillow, fully channeling her cultivation, rising abruptly from the bed.
The dagger in her hand lifted high, plunging straight toward Gu Chengyin.
In that moment, Luo Zhao thought of nothing.
Nothing about consequences, nothing about costs, nothing about dignity.
All of it thrown to the winds.
She only wanted to stab Gu Chengyin, wanted him to hurt.
Wanted him to know that she, Luo Zhao, was not a puppet to be toyed with.
As the dagger struck, Luo Zhao saw Gu Chengyin’s eyes.
Those eyes were still smiling, with no sign of evasion.
Even carrying a hint of encouragement, a touch of indulgence—like watching a child throw a tantrum.
That light, dismissive gaze fell on her, yet it angered Luo Zhao more than any words could.
This was provocation, pure and simple!
Gu Chengyin was telling her: You cannot hurt me.
Luo Zhao’s teeth ground together audibly, and the dagger’s thrust grew fiercer.
Standing nearby, Gu Xiaoli had noticed something was wrong.
From the moment Gu Chengyin had come before Luo Zhao,
her dark, deep-set eyes had been fixed on Luo Zhao,
alert as a little tiger ready to pounce.
When Gu Xiaoli saw Luo Zhao pull the dagger from under the pillow and lunge at Gu Chengyin, she didn’t stop her.
Because in this bedchamber, Luo Zhao’s cultivation was the lowest.
And Gu Chengyin, at the Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment stage and trained in the Azure Cloud Art, could easily hold his own if it came to a fight.
So, as long as Gu Chengyin didn’t want it, Luo Zhao could never harm him.
Thinking this, Gu Xiaoli didn’t intervene.
She simply stood quietly by, watching the dagger strike toward Gu Chengyin’s chest.
Then, something happened that no one expected.
The dagger in Luo Zhao’s hand met no resistance.
No spiritual light flickered, no protective true qi emerged, not even the slightest evasion.
The blade tore through the robe, through the flesh, sinking inch by inch into his chest as if cutting through tofu.
Blood gushed out, spattering onto Luo Zhao’s hands, face, and clothes.
Gu Xiaoli’s eyes flew wide open.
Shangguan Yunying, who had just stopped channeling the Azure Cloud Art and opened her eyes, saw the blood spray.
Her face instantly turned pale, her lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.
Lin Qingyan was the farthest away, but she saw it most clearly.
Every inch the dagger sank into Gu Chengyin’s chest felt like a stab into her own heart.
Lin Qingyan instinctively moved to rush over.
“Nobody move.”
Gu Chengyin’s voice was very calm. He raised his hand to stop Lin Qingyan and Shangguan Yunying from charging forward.
His gaze never left Luo Zhao before him.
Luo Zhao was frozen in shock.
She clutched the dagger tightly, her eyes unblinkingly fixed on the junction of the hilt and flesh.
The sharp blade was buried nearly an inch deep in Gu Chengyin’s chest, blood gushing from the wound,
running down the hilt and onto her hands—warm, sticky, carrying a metallic smell.
Gu Chengyin hadn’t stopped her?
Why hadn’t he stopped her?
Why had he let her thrust that blade in?
This thought echoed over and over in Luo Zhao’s mind, washing away all the grievance and hatred she had felt moments ago.
Why?
Why hadn’t he dodged?
He could have easily avoided it.
With his cultivation, his skill, even if he stood still,
he had a thousand ways to keep the dagger from even nearing him.
But Gu Chengyin did nothing—just stood there, letting her stab him.
Luo Zhao’s fingers began to tremble.
She wanted to let go of the dagger, but her fingers seemed frozen, stiffly clenching the hilt, unable to release it.
She wanted to speak, but her throat felt blocked, not a single word coming out.
“Big Brother!”
Gu Xiaoli’s cry broke the silence.
Her usually world-weary little face was now filled with panic.
She hadn’t expected things to turn out this way. She had thought Gu Chengyin would dodge,
thought he would at least block it, thought—
But Gu Chengyin hadn’t.
“Chengcheng!”
Lin Qingyan’s voice trembled with emotion.
Though Gu Chengyin had raised a hand to stop her, her feet had already taken half a step forward, ready to rush over at any moment.
Her eyes were locked on the dagger, brows furrowed, expression full of pain and anger.
Shangguan Yunying’s hands shook. She wanted to say something, but her lips quivered for a long time without forming a single word.
Only Gu Chengyin’s expression remained unchanged.
He looked down at the dagger in his chest, then lifted his head to gaze at Luo Zhao, her face smeared with blood.
She still bore the remnants of rage—red-rimmed eyes, tightly pressed lips.
But the anger in her eyes was slowly fading, replaced by confusion and bewilderment.
“Her Highness.”
Gu Chengyin said softly, “This blade was a debt I owed you.”
Luo Zhao’s pupils contracted sharply.
“Now.”
“We are even.”
As his words fell, the bedchamber fell silent.
Luo Zhao stared at him blankly, at that ever-calm face, at that faint smile on his lips.
Suddenly, her nose stung, and something glistened in her eyes.
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!
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.
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
