Just let it go like that?
Luo Zhao abruptly sat up straight.
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
Gu Chengyin owed her so much; she had to get it back.
Even if she couldn't reclaim the principal, she'd at least take the interest.
But she couldn't be rash. She needed to find another way.
Luo Zhao closed her eyes and sifted through every piece of information in her mind.
Like assembling a shattered painting, she pieced it together, fragment by fragment, back into its original place.
What was Gu Chengyin's weakness?
What did he want?
What did he need?
Gu Chengyin's weakness... was nearly nonexistent.
Daring to desire her counted as half a weakness at best. And what if he actually succeeded?
Then where would be the satisfaction in that? Wouldn't that just be rewarding Gu Chengyin instead?
What Gu Chengyin craved was... status and power?
No. Not just power.
What he wanted was more fundamental, more grand.
Though Luo Zhao didn't know exactly what it was, she understood this: what Gu Chengyin truly desired was definitely not something so superficial.
But what she could confirm was that, for now, what he needed was to succeed as Minister of Rites.
He needed...
Lin Qingyan!
Luo Zhao's eyes flew open.
She recalled that sentence Gu Chengyin had just said: "I just wanted to completely control Aunt, that's all. There was just a minor accident."
If those words were true...
No, Luo Zhao could be certain. They were true.
Because when Gu Chengyin spoke them, his tone carried that arrogant confidence that wasn't the least bit feigned.
This raised a new question:
Gu Chengyin had been so restrained before, never overstepping. Why did he cross the line this time?
Had he finally seen the light?
Had Aunt finally moved him?
No. Neither.
It was because the hypnosis had failed.
Because he hadn't managed to completely control Lin Qingyan.
That's why he crossed the line, why he was obtained by Lin Qingyan and also obtained her.
Because Gu Chengyin needed Lin Qingyan.
Just like he once needed her, Luo Zhao.
Back then, he needed her because she was the Crown Prince.
Controlling her meant controlling the Crown Prince's faction.
That was the foundation of Gu Chengyin's status and power.
Now he needed Lin Qingyan because she was the Jingzhe of the Celestial Masters' Mansion.
She was the absolute trump card who could hold her ground even against Emperor Luo.
Luo Zhao's eyes grew brighter and brighter, like two polished crystal beads refracting a scorching glow in the sunlight.
This logical chain held together.
From beginning to end, it was seamlessly airtight.
Gu Chengyin needed her, so he controlled her.
Now he didn't need her anymore, so he lifted the hypnosis.
He needed Lin Qingyan, so he tried to control Lin Qingyan.
But the hypnosis failed, so he settled for the next best thing...
In other words, as long as Lin Qingyan stopped being the Jingzhe of the Celestial Masters' Mansion,
everything Gu Chengyin had now would fall apart!
Then, he would have only one choice.
To return to her embrace as the Crown Prince.
And then, through the power of the Crown Prince's faction, obtain whatever Gu Chengyin wanted.
Luo Zhao's breathing quickened. Her fingers trembled faintly on the desk.
Not from tension, but from excitement—a near-rapturous euphoria, as if she had discovered a new continent.
The Golden Core Immortal and the Jingzhe of the Celestial Masters' Mansion represented two completely different meanings.
The Golden Core Immortal stood alone, a matter of personal power.
A Golden Core realm expert, no matter how strong, was still just one person.
Even if she could fight three or five opponents single-handedly, there was ultimately a limit.
But Jingzhe of the Celestial Masters' Mansion was different.
Jingzhe represented the Celestial Masters' Mansion itself.
It was a superpower with thousands of years of heritage, deep foundations, and disciples scattered across the land.
Taihe of the Celestial Masters' Mansion might not be the strongest, but the Celestial Masters' Mansion certainly had the most Golden Core cultivators.
And the name "Celestial Masters' Mansion" itself was a banner.
Anyone who broke the rules made an enemy of the entire Celestial Masters' Mansion.
Lin Qingyan's strength aside—invincible among Golden Cores, capable of fighting three alone—she was ultimately just one person.
No one would actually send a team of Golden Cores to deal with her.
Not because they couldn't beat her, but because it wasn't worth it.
Because the words "Jingzhe of the Celestial Masters' Mansion" were themselves an invisible shield.
No one would deploy a group of Golden Cores against Lin Qingyan. Not because they couldn't defeat her.
But because the Celestial Masters' Mansion could also send a group of Golden Cores to support her.
That was the deterrent power of being the Jingzhe of the Celestial Masters' Mansion.
But without that identity,
Lin Qingyan was just Lin Qingyan.
The Celestial Masters' Mansion wouldn't dispatch a horde of Golden Cores for a former Jingzhe.
The new Jingzhe wouldn't turn against the imperial court for the sake of an already-retired senior sister.
The mansion's elders wouldn't defy Taihe for someone who was no longer part of the Celestial Masters' Mansion.
Lin Qingyan would still be invincible among Golden Cores, still an elite who could fight three at once.
But the backing of the Celestial Masters' Mansion—that was gone.
Luo Zhao squinted.
Her lashes drooped slightly at the corners, half-shielding her pupils.
Only a sliver of deep, flickering light remained.
Her fingers stopped tapping on the desk. She seemed frozen in place.
Sitting motionless, with only her breaths slowly and rhythmically rising and falling.
This was a path she had never considered before.
Previously, Lin Qingyan was her aunt.
She was the one who spoke up for her when she made mistakes, who protected her in danger.
The one who would appear by her side whenever she needed her most, her aunt.
Luo Zhao had never thought to contend for anything with Aunt.
If Lin Qingyan wanted something, Lin Qingyan got it.
That wasn't just empty words; because if her aunt wanted it, even Luo Zhao, as the Crown Prince, would step back.
Aunt was the closest person in the world to her—bar none.
But now?
Luo Zhao's lips tightened slightly.
Now, Lin Qingyan was first Gu Chengyin's woman, and only then her aunt.
This change in order made everything different.
This identity now preceded the status of aunt.
It meant that in Lin Qingyan's heart, Gu Chengyin's weight had already surpassed hers.
It meant that when trouble arose, Lin Qingyan would first stand by Gu Chengyin's side, and only then consider her.
It meant...
She had lost not just Gu Chengyin, but also Aunt.
Luo Zhao's fingers clenched tightly within her sleeve.
If that was the case.
Then don't blame her for cutting off all retreat.
Luo Zhao's gaze left the desk and settled on the window.
The sunlight had shifted from golden to stark white, casting the entire courtyard into sharp focus.
The lanterns under the eaves had been extinguished, leaving only an empty row of racks swaying faintly in the breeze.
In the distance, palace servants were sweeping the grounds. The sound of brooms on bluestone drifted over intermittently.
Carrying that mundane, everyday calm, so utterly at odds with the turmoil raging in her heart.
Luo Zhao lowered her eyes, the lashes casting a fan-like shadow beneath.
Hiding all her emotions in that patch of darkness.
Her lips parted slightly, closed, then parted again.
Finally, she let out a whisper so soft it was barely audible:
"I'm sorry, Aunt."
"It's the only way."
"Only then will Gu Chengyin come back to me."
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?!
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.
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."
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!
