When Gu Chengyin emerged from the main hall, the daylight was just right.
The sun was neither harsh nor faint, spilling across the glazed tiles of the Crown Prince's Palace and refracting into a warm, tender gold.
Gu Chengyin stood outside the hall, hands clasped behind his back, squinting slightly as he let the warm sunlight fall upon his face.
He was in no hurry to leave.
In truth, there was nothing at this moment that required his personal involvement.
Shangguan Yunying would handle everything with absolute competence—with her ability and political acumen, this was nothing more than a trivial matter to her.
Those who needed to know would know, and those who shouldn't know would also find out.
The divine capital was a pool of water that had never kept any secrets.
So what remained was simply waiting.
Waiting for Emperor Luo's reaction.
Waiting for the next move from this sovereign.
Gu Chengyin began to walk slowly along the palace corridor.
Given Emperor Luo's grip on power, he should have already received word by now.
Even if he hadn't received the full report, he would have at least caught the scent of unease hanging in the air.
After all, in the imperial court, there was never a wall that didn't let the wind through.
Shangguan Yunying resigning as Chief Female Official.
The Shangguan family making a complete break from the Crown Prince's faction.
Once this news spread, the political landscape of the court would shift dramatically.
Gu Chengyin re-examined the current situation in his mind.
After the Shangguan family severed ties with the Crown Prince's faction, the only person left in that faction who could truly hold up the banner was Gu Chengyin himself.
This wasn't self-praise—it was simply fact.
Luo Zhao was the Crown Prince by title, legitimate in name, but her power to command awe was insufficient.
That kind of commanding presence wasn't something you got just from holding a high position or a prestigious identity.
It had to be forged through real, hard-won victories.
The senior ministers of the court—who among them lacked seniority, who lacked connections?
Every one of them had clawed their way up through countless battles and competitions.
"One general's glory, ten thousand bones."
Beneath the feet of every powerful minister lay an invisible mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
But Luo Zhao's methods were too inexperienced, her thinking too shallow, too easily seen through.
If things followed the plan Gu Chengyin had already laid out—just like when they brought down the Xiao family—Luo Zhao would perform brilliantly.
But if she were left to reason things out herself, to devise her own strategies, to drive the whole plan forward on her own, and to adapt on the fly based on the changing situation—then the outcome was anyone's guess.
So among those she could truly rely on in the court, there were very few.
Most of those so-called members of the Crown Prince's faction were only standing by Luo Zhao's side out of respect for Emperor Luo, or for the Shangguan family's sake.
Once the wind shifted, these people would flee faster than anyone.
But if Gu Chengyin were the one holding the fort, that was an entirely different story.
After all, a commander without a brain was far more terrifying than a comrade without a brain.
Meanwhile, the Prince's faction—bolstered by the support of rising noble families including the Shangguan family—was an entirely different picture.
These nouveau riche in the Luo capital had wealth, connections, ambition, and capability.
They didn't have the deep roots of the old divine capital families, making them hard to uproot.
But they were more agile, more sharp-eyed, and more adept at reading the winds.
Comparing the two sides, the balance was about to shatter.
The Second Prince's momentum would thus overwhelm Luo Zhao's.
In fact, talk of deposing the Crown Prince would soon surface.
This wasn't alarmism—it was an inevitable trend.
The Shangguan family's severance wasn't just a "betrayal"—it was a signal.
It meant that Luo Zhao's position as Crown Prince was not secure.
Once that signal went out, those who were still on the fence, those who were still wavering, would all begin gravitating toward the Prince's faction.
The calls for deposition would grow louder and louder until they became a reality.
"When the wall is falling, everyone gives it a push; when the drum is broken, everyone gives it a beat."
The court had never lacked those who kicked a man when he was down.
If things developed this way, the collapse of the Crown Prince's faction would already be a relatively good outcome.
Because the worst-case scenario was that Luo Zhao couldn't even hold onto her title as Crown Prince.
Securing the position of heir apparent didn't mean you could rest easy.
Today's Crown Prince might be tomorrow's deposed commoner—or even a headless corpse.
Throughout history, how many crown princes had never made it to the dragon throne?
Gu Chengyin knew this all too well.
And the Second Prince, Luo Yanchen—though he wasn't Emperor Luo's blood, though he was merely a "whetstone"—in the imperial family, whoever won became the legitimate one.
So Emperor Luo would definitely act.
This sovereign cared about Luo Zhao, cared about the stability of the great Luo dynasty, cared about the balance of the court.
He wouldn't stand idly by and watch the Crown Prince's faction collapse, wouldn't watch Luo Zhao lose her position as heir.
Because if Luo Zhao fell, the next to fall would be Emperor Luo himself.
That logic was clearer to him than anyone.
So he would definitely make a move.
He would definitely respond to Shangguan Yunying's resignation as Chief Female Official.
It wasn't out of the question that he might even issue a direct imperial edict forbidding it—after all, it was Emperor Luo's original decree that had allowed Shangguan Yunying to become Chief Female Official in the first place.
But long, long before all of this, Gu Chengyin had already foreseen the present situation.
This chess game had begun long ago.
Every move had been made with careful thought, every link repeatedly deliberated and rehearsed.
The best way to make it impossible for Emperor Luo to touch him was to become the only person Luo Zhao could rely on.
To become the sole pillar of the Crown Prince's faction.
That was what true impunity looked like.
Once Luo Zhao had no one else to turn to but him, Emperor Luo would not dare move against him.
Because moving against him would be equivalent to harming Luo Zhao.
And Emperor Luo could not do that.
But Gu Chengyin was not smug about it, nor did he let his guard down.
Precisely at times like this, one had to be extra cautious.
No matter what one did, the greatest taboo was celebrating prematurely.
If he could see this far ahead, Emperor Luo certainly could as well.
The reason he currently held the upper hand was that the most critical factor had fallen into place.
Shangguan Yunying had truly resigned from her position as chief lady-in-waiting.
That was the deadliest move, and also the hardest—truly, extremely hard.
From what Gu Chengyin knew of Emperor Luo, this sovereign had definitely considered that possibility and had even kept a contingency in reserve.
Emperor Luo was just like him—he would never stake everything on a single bet.
He would always leave leeway, always have a backup plan.
But even so, no one could withstand how fast Gu Chengyin moved.
So fast that by the time Luo Zhao had barely returned to the Crown Prince's residence, the counterstrike had already begun.
One step ahead, and the entire board was won.
In court politics and schemes of power, aside from the advantage of information, there was also the factor of speed.
Whoever could make the most correct judgment in the shortest time, whoever could put a plan into action at the fastest pace—
That person would seize the upper hand in this war without gunpowder.
Emperor Luo's only mistake was being one step slow.
Not because his judgment was flawed, but because he had never expected Gu Chengyin to move this quickly.
One step behind, and the entire game was lost.
But Emperor Luo had not lost yet, because his health bar was simply too thick.
Now, what Gu Chengyin had to brace himself for was Emperor Luo's countermove.
] [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!"
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.
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
