Yet unexpectedly, at this very moment, Gu Xiaoli suddenly dropped the act.
She didn't need to be pushed or pulled—Gu Xiaoli leapt out on her own.
Like a little tiger with its fur standing on end, she planted herself in front of Lin Qingyan.
Her stance, her aura, the fighting spirit burning in her eyes—it was even better than the best-case scenario he'd imagined.
The corners of Luo Zhao's mouth curled up slightly, then quickly pressed back down.
Her gaze swept back and forth between the golden lightning at Lin Qingyan's fingertips and the spiritual energy aura surrounding Gu Xiaoli.
No matter who Gu Chengyin sided with, pulled aside, or tried to mediate for, he was bound to offend the other party.
A scene of chaos like this—even Gu Chengyin couldn't possibly walk away unscathed.
No matter how flawless his calculations, no matter how ingenious his schemes, at the end of the day, he was still only a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Choosing either side was wrong; choosing neither was also wrong.
Whichever he chose would wound one of their hearts, and whichever path he took would leave behind a rift that would be hard to mend.
And once that rift appeared, it would be her opportunity—Luo Zhao's opportunity.
The more Luo Zhao thought about it, the more her heart surged with excitement; the more she thought about it, the more this scene before her seemed like a gift delivered straight from the heavens.
She had already begun to scheme silently to herself about how, when Lin Qingyan and Gu Xiaoli had fallen into an irreconcilable clash, she should intervene—in what posture, with what words—so as to appear understanding and considerate while simultaneously winning one of them over to her side to the greatest extent possible.
If she played her cards right, she might even be able to drag one of them completely into her camp.
At that point, she would have a trump card in her hand capable of challenging Gu Chengyin.
Just as Luo Zhao was glancing over at Gu Chengyin with some excitement,
wanting to relish the look of frantic vexation that might be spreading across this man's face at this very moment,
her gaze happened to collide with another pair of eyes.
Gu Chengyin was looking at her.
Not a casual, passing glance—no, he was genuinely looking at her.
Luo Zhao's heart gave a sudden lurch at that gaze.
Gu Chengyin was watching her, and he was scheming about something.
What wicked plan was this Red Egg cooking up now?!
And whatever it was, it seemed to be aimed at her.
Gu Chengyin was, indeed, cooking up a wicked plan.
And this plan, he had already thought it through very clearly.
The relationship between Lin Qingyan and Gu Xiaoli—he had always kept it in sight.
Those two—allies, yes, but also rivals; the bond between them was a tangled mess of complexities that defied simple sorting.
They could coordinate with each other flawlessly on some matters, and clash with each other tooth and nail without giving an inch on others.
This delicate relationship normally maintained a fragile equilibrium.
But today, this imperial decree of betrothal had come down like a hammer, smashing right into the heart of that equilibrium.
A battlefield of romantic entanglement had appeared.
No matter whom Gu Chengyin chose, he would be walking straight to his doom.
Choose Lin Qingyan?
Gu Xiaoli had just carved those marriage vows into her Dao heart moments ago—it was precisely when she was at her most sensitive and fragile. If he chose Lin Qingyan right in front of her, it would be the same as personally crushing the heart that had just begun to open to him.
Given Gu Xiaoli's nature, she wouldn't hate him. She'd only blame herself for all of it, then hide away somewhere, crying silently to herself. And after the tears were done, she would begin to distance herself from him, avoid him, retreat back into that shell of hers that no one could reach.
If that happened, all the effort he had poured into her would come to nothing.
Choose Gu Xiaoli?
Lin Qingyan had come bearing an imperial decree.
If he chose Gu Xiaoli right in front of her, it would be like slapping her in the face in public.
Lin Qingyan might not fly into a rage on the spot, but he knew her nature all too well. The more wronged she felt, the less she would speak up; the less she spoke up, the deeper she would carve the grievance into her memory.
And on top of that, the decree had already been issued. Even if he chose Gu Xiaoli, it wouldn't change the fact of the betrothal—it would only sow discord in Lin Qingyan's heart toward him.
With Lin Qingyan's pride, she might still go through with the marriage, but she would be fulfilling the decree, not her true feelings.
So no matter whom he chose, it would severely hurt the one who wasn't chosen.
And those two—they were exactly the ones he could least afford to hurt right now.
So Gu Chengyin wasn't foolish.
Of course he wouldn't be stupid enough to walk headfirst into the fray.
After all, wasn't there still someone else here?
Gu Chengyin pulled his gaze back from Luo Zhao, then swept it between Lin Qingyan and Gu Xiaoli.
The two were still frozen in place, golden lightning and spiritual energy aura locked in opposition, neither willing to back down an inch.
A tension thick enough to ignite filled the air, as if the slightest breath of wind
would blow this standoff into a full-blown conflict.
"Little aunt, Xiaoli, hold on for a moment."
A plain and simple sentence, but when it landed in the ears of Lin Qingyan and Gu Xiaoli,
it was like a gentle breeze passing over a pot of oil on the verge of boiling over.
The string stretched taut between the two of them, nearly snapping at any moment, eased slightly at that instant.
The golden lightning at Lin Qingyan's fingertips receded a few degrees—still shimmering, but no longer as aggressive as it had been just before.
The spiritual energy aura around Gu Xiaoli also shifted from solid to insubstantial, reverting back to that nearly transparent, faint halo.
The two of them remained standing where they were, still five paces apart.
Yet the tense, sword-drawn atmosphere between them had clearly eased quite a bit.
After all, they weren't really going to come to blows.
Lin Qingyan knew perfectly well that no matter how angry she was, she could never actually lay a hand on Gu Xiaoli.
Gu Xiaoli also knew perfectly well that no matter how resistant she felt, she could never really fight Lin Qingyan.
The two of them stood locked in place, both of them waiting, really.
Waiting for Gu Chengyin to make his move.
And now Gu Chengyin had made his move.
Since a way out had been offered, they were certainly going to take it.
Lin Qingyan was the first to withdraw the lightning at her fingertips, the golden light dancing a final two flashes in her palm before utterly dying out.
She tilted her head slightly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
The motion was graceful and composed, as if she hadn't been a moment away from throwing a punch.
Gu Xiaoli likewise retracted her spiritual aura, though she still remained planted in front of Gu Chengyin, showing no sign of stepping aside.
Only the hostility in those big eyes had faded somewhat, replaced by a hint of nervousness and expectation.
They were both waiting for Gu Chengyin to speak, waiting for him to say what came next.
But when Lin Qingyan and Gu Xiaoli turned their gazes toward Gu Chengyin,
they were surprised to find that he wasn't looking at either of them.
He was looking at Luo Zhao.
Luo Zhao's scalp went numb under Gu Chengyin's stare.
She instinctively wanted to step back, but her feet felt as if they were nailed to the ground, utterly immobile.
She could only stand frozen in place, feeling Gu Chengyin's gaze like an invisible net, slowly closing in around her.
Lin Qingyan and Gu Xiaoli followed Gu Chengyin's line of sight, looking at Luo Zhao as well, identical traces of puzzlement surfacing in their eyes.
They couldn't understand why, at such a critical moment,
Gu Chengyin wasn't looking at them, but at Luo Zhao instead.
Then Gu Chengyin spoke:
"Your Highness, would you be willing to be the junior wife?"
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?!
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.
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!
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
