Luo Zhao's gaze lingered for a moment on the hand where Lin Qingyan was holding Gu Chengyin's arm.
Then it lingered for a moment on the way Gu Xiaoli was pressed against Gu Chengyin's side.
She suddenly felt her temples throbbing twice.
What was the meaning of this?
She, the Crown Princess, was standing right here, and Gu Chengyin was already embracing one woman on each arm?
Wasn't being forced to serve as a teaching example in the courtyard earlier enough? Now he had to enjoy the pleasures of multiple beauties right in front of her face?
No, wait—in the eyes of the world, wasn't it her and Lin Qingyan who were the pair?
If people found out that Gu Chengyin also had a half-step Nascent Soul catgirl loli, they'd go insane.
So this was a provocation!
This was clearly a provocation!
Luo Zhao's chest began to feel tight again.
That anger she'd barely managed to suppress now felt like it had been doused with a ladle of hot oil, flaring up again in an instant.
Her cheeks flushed slightly, her lips pressed into a thin line, and her gaze cut toward Gu Chengyin like two small daggers.
But Gu Chengyin didn't pay any attention to Luo Zhao's glare. Instead, he raised his hand.
His fingers landed on the imperial edict and tapped it lightly.
The tips of his fingers touched the surface of the bright yellow silk brocade, producing a faint rustling sound that was nonetheless clearly audible throughout the hall.
"Little Aunt, could you become the Grand Harmonizer of the Heavenly Master Manor?"
"Hmm... Hmm!?"
Before Luo Zhao could even react, she was stunned by Gu Chengyin's question.
Her pupils contracted sharply, her mouth fell slightly open, and the expression on her face froze in an instant.
From anger to shock, there was no transition in between.
It was like a lamp being suddenly extinguished, then suddenly relit—but with an entirely different flame.
The Grand Harmonizer of the Heavenly Master Manor?
Lin Qingyan?
Luo Zhao subconsciously repeated the title, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between her teeth.
Her gaze shifted from Gu Chengyin's face to Lin Qingyan's face.
Then back to Gu Chengyin's face, back and forth several times, as if confirming she hadn't misheard.
The current Grand Harmonizer of the Heavenly Master Manor—wasn't that her father?
The Grand Harmonizer of the Heavenly Master Manor was the supreme authority of the Heavenly Master Manor, and also the symbol of the orthodox lineage of the Great Luo cultivation world.
Since the founding of Great Luo, this position had always been held concurrently by the emperor.
And by the generation of Emperor Luo, it was naturally no different.
It had almost become an unwritten rule.
The emperor is the Grand Harmonizer; the Grand Harmonizer is the emperor.
Although the Heavenly Master Manor was a transcendent entity, its supreme authority had always remained in the hands of the royal family.
This was one of the crucial foundations for the long-term peace and stability between Great Luo and the cultivation world.
Was Gu Chengyin trying to drag her father down and put Lin Qingyan in his place?
This thought exploded in Luo Zhao's mind like a thunderbolt striking the crown of her head.
She blinked in shock, then blinked again.
Her long eyelashes fluttered up and down like two small fans, unabashedly revealing the shock within her heart.
Luo Zhao could now be certain that Gu Chengyin must have seen something in the edict that she didn't know about.
Otherwise, why would he suddenly ask whether Lin Qingyan could become the Grand Harmonizer of the Heavenly Master Manor?
This meant that Emperor Luo had already posed a tremendous threat to Gu Chengyin, forcing him to overturn the table in self-defense.
When Lin Qingyan heard Gu Chengyin's question, she didn't show any sign of shock on her face.
She simply tilted her head slightly, as if earnestly considering the feasibility of the question.
And Luo Zhao glanced at Lin Qingyan, then looked back at Gu Chengyin.
Gu Chengyin's expression was remarkably calm.
His demeanor hadn't changed in the slightest from before. His fingers were still resting on the edict, lightly tapping the bright yellow brocade.
The rhythm was unhurried, like a chess player who had already thought through his entire plan, merely waiting for a confirming answer.
This calmness made Luo Zhao's heartbeat quicken involuntarily.
Because she knew Gu Chengyin too well.
The more calmly he appeared, the more it meant he had already conceived an extremely bold plan in his mind.
And that plan would always leave everyone who heard it with their jaws on the floor.
Making Lin Qingyan the Grand Harmonizer of the Heavenly Master Manor.
Was he serious?
Gu Chengyin was indeed serious.
His thoughts became exceptionally clear at this moment.
If Emperor Luo hadn't understood the significance of influence to him, then Gu Chengyin could have continued with his original plan.
Step by step, he would have built his power and reputation in the imperial court, eventually entering the Grand Secretariat as a minister through natural progression.
That path was the safest, without any unexpected complications—though it did require a bit of time.
But compared to cultivation, which could take decades or even centuries, it was nothing at all.
With Gu Chengyin's skills and ability, half a year would be more than enough.
But Emperor Luo knew.
Not only did he know, he had already responded with targeted measures.
This edict was just the appetizer, yet it had already caused fluctuations in his cultivation.
If the appetizer was already like this, what would the main course be like?
Gu Chengyin didn't need to think to know that since Emperor Luo had made his move, he wouldn't stop at just one.
This edict was only the first step—both a test and a signal.
Emperor Luo would certainly have follow-up measures.
The next move would strike his weak spot with even greater precision.
It would truly erode his influence and cause his cultivation to regress substantively.
But Gu Chengyin was not a man to sit idly by and wait for death.
He had never been one to watch others attack him without doing anything in response.
That wasn't his style.
Since you want to move against my foundation, don't blame me for flipping your table.
The edict had only just been issued. Everything was still within reach.
The news had begun to spread, but it hadn't yet reached the point where everyone knew.
The world's perception hadn't fully solidified, and those colored glasses hadn't yet been firmly fixed on everyone's nose.
As long as he made a powerful countermove at this moment, he could minimize the impact of this edict.
And the simplest way was to flip the table.
If we can't play by the rules, then nobody plays.
Did Emperor Luo want to use rules to bind him?
Did he want to use the edict to put colored glasses on him?
Did he want to use imperial mind games to gradually erode his influence?
Then Gu Chengyin simply wouldn't play by the rules anymore.
He wouldn't place his pieces on the chessboard Emperor Luo had set up—instead, he'd flip the entire board over.
For Gu Chengyin, what he originally wanted was the position of Grand Secretary.
That was the path he had planned for himself.
The Crown Princess faction was the starting point, the Minister of Rites was the springboard, and the Grand Secretary was the goal.
Once he became the Grand Secretary, he could use the world's recognition carried by that position to break into the Golden Core stage.
The Golden Core stage was a watershed moment—the true threshold where a cultivator entered the path of immortality.
As long as he entered the Golden Core stage, then the skies would be his limit, and the seas would open for him to leap.
By then, the rules of the court could no longer bind him, and Emperor Luo's political schemes could no longer affect him.
Gu Chengyin could calmly step off the chessboard, transforming from a piece on the board to one who watches the game from above.
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
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?"
