The moonlight was like water, pouring down the long corridor of the Crown Prince’s palace.
It cast two entwined shadows onto the cold stone tiles, lingering and passionate.
But Gu Chengyin’s thoughts were far gentler than the moonlight at that moment.
Because the system’s hypnosis had failed.
The moment he saw the cold notification, his pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.
Gu Chengyin had no idea what had happened.
Nor did he understand why the system’s hypnosis had failed.
Was it because of Lin Qingyan’s inner demon?
Or had some error occurred within the system itself?
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but none offered a definite answer.
Yet Gu Chengyin knew one thing: now was not the time to dwell on it.
Because Lin Qingyan was looking at him.
Her clear, cold eyes were full of affection, fixed on him without blinking.
His earlier words still echoed in her ears; her heart had not yet calmed, and her cheeks still held a faint blush.
If he showed even the slightest hint of a flaw…
Given Lin Qingyan’s razor-sharp intuition, she might well uncover his true intentions.
So Gu Chengyin did not hesitate for a moment.
The instant he saw the hypnosis fail, he lowered his head again and kissed Lin Qingyan directly.
This kiss was even more forceful than before, more irresistible.
One arm wrapped around her waist, the other hand cradled the back of her head.
He pressed her against the corridor pillar, kissing her until she could barely breathe.
At this, Lin Qingyan could no longer entertain any suspicion.
Her mind went completely blank.
All thoughts of hypnosis and Luo Zhao were cast to the winds.
She could only passively endure the kiss, her fingers clutching his lapels.
After a long while, Gu Chengyin finally released Lin Qingyan.
In the moonlight, the invincible golden-core immortal was no longer the cool and aloof figure she had been moments before.
She leaned against the pillar, breathing softly, her cheeks flushed.
All she could do was rest in Gu Chengyin’s arms, unable to speak a word.
Gu Chengyin looked at her like this and breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
He had managed to cover it up, thanks to his quick reaction.
He had not hesitated or agonized in the slightest after the hypnosis failed.
Otherwise, with Lin Qingyan’s terrifying intuition, even a fleeting pause would have led her straight to the truth.
And this was even after his Dao heart had broken through its limitations.
Gu Chengyin gently patted Lin Qingyan’s back and said softly:
“Little Aunt, we should go back.”
Lin Qingyan buried herself in his arms and hummed softly in acknowledgment, utterly unable to lift her head.
Her face burned intensely; her heart raced as if it might leap from her chest.
Her mind was a fog, incapable of any clear thought.
And Lin Qingyan knew that if she returned looking like this, she would be found out.
She had come out to discuss serious matters with Gu Chengyin—to tell him to stop hypnotizing Luo Zhao, and to relay the plan the three of them had agreed upon.
But now?
The serious matter had been addressed, yet they had also wasted half the evening in the corridor.
If Shangguan Yunying and Gu Xiaoli saw them like this, who knew what they would think.
Lin Qingyan took a deep breath, steeling herself to calm down.
With a wave of her hand, spiritual energy swirled around her body, flowing like water.
In an instant, her disheveled clothes were restored, her slightly messy hair tidied, and the blush on her face gradually faded.
If not for her eyes, still glistening with traces of moisture, one could hardly tell what had just happened.
After confirming everything was in order, Lin Qingyan couldn’t help but cast a glance at Gu Chengyin—a look of reproach, shyness, and unmistakable tenderness.
Then she turned, pushed open the door, and re-entered the bedchamber.
Gu Chengyin followed her, watching Lin Qingyan’s back, but his brows were tightly furrowed.
This was the first time he had encountered a failed hypnosis.
In the past, no matter how flawed the system was, it had at least succeeded—even if the effect later broke, it had worked first.
Or it had been evaded by other means, such as Lin Qingyan using her inner demon as a shield, or Luo Zhao using puppets to stage a scene.
But this time, it failed outright, skipping even the success stage.
What the hell was going on?
Gu Chengyin rapidly weighed various possibilities in his mind.
Was it because he had already hypnotized Lin Qingyan’s inner demon, so the system deemed Lin Qingyan herself as already hypnotized and could not be targeted again?
Or was it unrelated to the inner demon—simply a probabilistic failure?
After all, even though the system’s hypnosis claimed to be foolproof, there was still an infinitesimally small chance of failure.
But whichever it was, Gu Chengyin had to find the cause.
If it was a probabilistic failure, then it was fine—he could just hypnotize her multiple times until it worked.
But if the hypnosis failed because he had already hypnotized the inner demon, then the implication was entirely different.
It would mean he could never fully control Lin Qingyan.
And given her cultivation level and mastery over her inner demon, she could easily make the hypnosis land on the demon every single time, while remaining unharmed herself.
Gu Chengyin’s brow furrowed even deeper.
The reason he wanted to completely control Lin Qingyan was actually quite simple.
Lin Qingyan indeed loved him deeply and was currently very obedient.
But this was a conscious obedience, not an unconditional one.
This was clear from the outcome of their earlier discussion.
Lin Qingyan did not want him to continue hypnotizing Luo Zhao.
From her personal perspective, it was because she believed she could protect Gu Chengyin.
But from Gu Chengyin’s perspective, this was a hidden danger.
A problem that now seemed trivial, barely worth mentioning—
Yet it could very well become a fatal blow on some future day.
Loyalty that is not absolute equals absolute disloyalty.
This was different from the system’s unreliability.
Although this damn system’s hypnosis was indeed frustratingly flawed,
Gu Chengyin had always believed it was because he hadn’t fully understood it yet.
Once he completely grasped and mastered the traits and rules of hypnosis,
He would truly possess a divine skill that ignored differences in cultivation and realms.
By then, even if a celestial being descended, Gu Chengyin would dare to challenge it head-on.
That was why he used hypnosis again and again, tirelessly.
Because every failure and every pitfall increased his understanding of the skill.
A true expert would not abandon a tool just because of a few setbacks, dismissing it as worthless.
Instead, through repeated use and growth, they would become more proficient, until they reached the level of perfection.
A true master always holds the heart of a novice.
And a system capable of enhancing cultivation with such fierce efficiency—
How could its hypnosis possibly be so trashy?
The fact that it could bypass realms to control Lin Qingyan’s inner demon already proved it was far from weak.
Therefore, the fault must lie in his own method of use. He simply didn’t understand hypnosis well enough.
Gu Chengyin reaffirmed this belief.
There are no useless skills—only incompetent users.
He took a deep breath, temporarily suppressing his chaotic thoughts,
And followed Lin Qingyan back into the bedchamber.
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!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
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?!
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
