Now was the perfect moment.
The system's spiritual energy had already gathered in his eyes, like an arrow nocked on a bowstring.
The bow was drawn to its fullest, waiting only for release.
But in the end, Gu Chengyin did not let go.
Because a question had occurred to him.
A lapse revealed by someone like Emperor Luo—
Could it truly be a lapse?
This question struck him like a bucket of ice water, pouring down from the crown of his head.
It froze the thoughts rising from the depths of his mind.
The system's spiritual energy halted, like an arrow drawn to the full but never fired.
The string still quivered, the arrow remained on the string, but Gu Chengyin's fingers no longer pressed forward.
What kind of man was Emperor Luo?
He had sat on the dragon throne for decades, weathered countless court intrigues, palace coups, and power struggles.
Ancient noble families could not topple him; the sects of the immortal cultivation world could not overthrow him.
Even Gu Chengyin himself considered Emperor Luo unfathomable.
Would a man like that be unprepared?
Would a man like that reveal a weakness at the most critical moment?
No.
Emperor Luo would not.
This moment of total focus was not a lapse—it was a trap.
This height of concentration was not an opportunity—it was a test.
Emperor Luo sat there, using those eyes that had seen through countless schemes and deceptions to stare unblinkingly at him.
What the emperor was watching was not his answer, but his intent.
He was watching to see if Gu Chengyin harbored any improper thoughts.
Was there guilt? Evasion? Uncertainty?
Or perhaps the subtle shifts in gaze that would accompany hypnosis.
Whichever appeared—
That was what Emperor Luo truly wanted to see.
The system's spiritual energy slowly receded from his eyes.
Like a retreating tide, quietly, soundlessly, leaving no trace as it returned to his dantian.
The arrow nocked on the string was taken down and placed back into the quiver.
The bow remained a bow, the string remained a string, but it no longer aimed.
Gu Chengyin chose not to shoot.
Not because he couldn't hit the target, but because the target was a decoy.
The warm chamber fell silent for a long time.
Emperor Luo's gaze never wavered, and Gu Chengyin's gaze never faltered.
The two men stared at each other like two swords crossed at the hilt.
Blade pressed against blade. Neither retreated, neither advanced.
They simply pressed against each other quietly, feeling the cold gleam of the other's edge just an inch from their own eyes.
Finally, Emperor Luo withdrew his gaze.
His eyelids lowered slowly, then lifted again. In the brief motion of lowering and raising, the scrutiny in his eyes vanished.
A soft exhale through his nose escaped, like a breath pushed from the deepest part of his cavity, carrying a meaning that could not be defined.
Lyu Fang's eyelid twitched, but he suppressed it almost immediately.
He had served Emperor Luo for decades and had heard that sound countless times.
Never once could he divine the emperor's true thoughts from that single sound.
Sometimes it preceded rewards, sometimes demotions, sometimes nothing at all.
It was as if the sound itself were the entire answer.
Emperor Luo withdrew his hand from the chessboard and rested it on the armrest of his chair.
His fingers tapped twice lightly on the armrest.
Two crisp yet muffled knocks, as if putting a full stop to the silent confrontation just concluded.
Then he spoke slowly:
"I am aware."
Only four simple words.
But Gu Chengyin understood.
These four words meant: Your answer has been heard. Your eyes have been seen.
As for how to judge, how to decide, and how to act—
That is my affair. You need not know.
Gu Chengyin bowed respectfully, his expression unchanged.
His face was calm, his posture correct, as if nothing had happened.
Inwardly, he breathed a silent sigh of relief. Just moments ago—
When the arrow was on the string, he had almost released it.
Almost.
And that nearly was what showed Gu Chengyin the truth.
Emperor Luo.
He was truly formidable.
No.
He was—extremely, extremely, extremely formidable.
Sitting on the dragon throne for decades was not based on luck, nor on the unfathomable cards hidden up his sleeve.
It was Emperor Luo himself.
His perception, his judgment, his insight into the human heart—
All had been etched into his very bones, becoming instincts that required no thought.
As natural as breathing, as effortless as a heartbeat.
If Gu Chengyin had actually initiated hypnosis, Emperor Luo would likely have detected it in the very first breath.
This was not an exaggeration, nor was it the sort of intuition Lin Qingyan possessed.
It was the most fundamental kind of discernment.
Because Gu Chengyin could do it himself.
Politicians and ordinary people were two different species.
Emperor Luo's gaze fell upon the chessboard.
The incomplete game still lay there, black and white locked in battle, deadly traps lurking everywhere.
The white stone he had placed at the very center moments ago seemed especially jarring in the shifting light.
It was too new, too white, too deliberate.
Like something that had been forced into the game and did not belong.
"Lyu Fang."
Emperor Luo spoke suddenly.
Lyu Fang immediately bowed: "Your servant is here."
"The appointment for Minister of Rites."
Emperor Luo gently flicked that white stone aside with his finger and continued:
"Have the Grand Secretariat draft a list for me."
"I approve Cui Zhenji's resignation."
"Your servant obeys the decree."
Emperor Luo said nothing more.
He picked up a black stone, turning it slowly between his fingers.
His gaze returned to the board, as if he had already forgotten Gu Chengyin was still standing nearby.
Gu Chengyin remained there, waiting quietly.
After confirming that Emperor Luo had no further instructions, he bowed once more:
"Your Majesty, this servant takes his leave."
Emperor Luo did not raise his head. He merely gave a slight nod.
His motion so small it was almost imperceptible—but Gu Chengyin saw it.
He turned and walked toward the door.
His steps were calm and steady, exactly as when he had entered.
Each step fell onto the golden brick floor. Neither hasty nor slow. Unhurried, unrushed.
In the warm light of the chamber, his silhouette appeared particularly lean and tall, shoulders sharp, waist taut and narrow.
Lyu Fang held up the door curtain for him.
As the curtain lifted, a flood of light poured in from outside, splashing a bright patch across the floor of the warm chamber.
Gu Chengyin stepped out, and the patch of light slowly narrowed behind him until it became a thin thread of gold.
The warm chamber was once again quiet.
Emperor Luo's fingers stilled on the chessboard.
He held the black stone in his palm, warm, imprinted with the heat from his hand.
His gaze returned to the half-finished game, to the white stone he had just pushed aside.
"Lyu Fang."
"Your servant is here."
"Do you think…"
Emperor Luo's voice dropped, so low it might have been talking to himself:
"Did Gu Chengyin, just now, contemplate that thought?"
Lyu Fang's body stiffened for a moment.
He, of course, knew exactly which thought the emperor meant.
He had served the throne for decades, had seen many people entertain that thought in Emperor Luo's presence.
Some out of fear, some out of greed, some out of self-preservation.
But none who had entertained that thought had ever walked out of this palace alive.
Neither had their entire clans.
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.
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
