That already-not-so-clear head of hers became even more muddled after being stirred up by Gu Chengyin's twisted logic.
Luo Zhao instinctively wanted to refute him, wanted to say, what kind of nonsense is this.
But when the words reached her lips, she found her tongue tied as if it were knotted, unable to utter a single word.
Because she actually felt that what Gu Chengyin said seemed to make a tiny bit of sense.
Luo Zhao knew the relationship between Lin Qingyan and Gu Chengyin very well.
Even without this imperial decree, Lin Qingyan was already Gu Chengyin's.
Both in body and in heart, she had already taken Gu Chengyin's shape.
From that perspective, her father's betrothal was indeed an unnecessary act.
But the problem was, a betrothal was a form of honor, a favor bestowed by the Son of Heaven upon his subjects.
How could it become, in Gu Chengyin's mouth, something that brought him harm?
And then to compare it with his betrothal to her, as if having both a goddess and a fairy at once.
For Gu Chengyin, it seemed like some kind of heinous crime.
Not only would it bring him no benefit at all, but he would actually suffer a great loss because of it.
Come on!
This was clearly a huge blessing, right?!
"So what do you want then?"
In the end, Luo Zhao asked that question.
The moment it left her lips, she regretted it, because she saw the wicked smile spreading across Gu Chengyin's face.
That smile began at the corners of his mouth and crept upward bit by bit, reaching his eyes, reaching his brows.
It stained his entire face with the smug satisfaction of a hunter who had just hooked his prey.
His gaze started from Luo Zhao's face and traveled downward.
Like a brush dipped in ink, painting from her eyes to the tip of her nose, from the tip of her nose to her lips.
From her lips to her long, slender neck, from her neck to her delicate collarbones, and from her collarbones onward, further down.
Every place Gu Chengyin's gaze landed, that patch of skin would involuntarily flush with a faint tinge of red, as if scorched by his stare.
As if it were silently hinting at something to her.
Luo Zhao became even more flustered under such an invasive look.
Her heart pounded so fast it felt like it would leap out of her chest, her breathing grew short and rapid.
Her fingers unconsciously clenched his lapels, and only one thought kept echoing through her mind.
Was Gu Chengyin trying to get even with her?
Because her father had targeted him and made him suffer, so he wanted to take it out on her?
Her father suppressed Gu Chengyin, so Gu Chengyin came to bully her.
What kind of logic was that?
She was the heir apparent, the future Empress of Daluo, how could she be bullied like this!
Luo Zhao's thoughts churned into a messy stew, because the most terrifying thing was that even so.
She discovered that she still wasn't resistant to it, and was even faintly looking forward to it.
Was this right?
This wasn't right!
She was the heir apparent, not some masochistic weirdo, how could she be looking forward to something like this.
But even so, Luo Zhao still couldn't help but imagine all sorts of scenes.
However, in reality, Gu Chengyin wasn't as twisted as Luo Zhao had imagined.
His plan was very clear: first, to break down Luo Zhao's psychological defenses.
He had a very good understanding of this Highness's true personality by now. On the surface, she appeared cold and aloof.
But in her bones, she was the softest, though only in front of Gu Chengyin.
That bit of heir-apparent airs had never actually been held up.
With just a little bit of intimidation, Luo Zhao's psychological defenses would collapse into a mess.
Just like right now, merely held in his arms.
Luo Zhao had already surrendered on her own.
She wouldn't put up even the slightest resistance, not even a bit of tough talk.
She was very much like the kind who was obnoxiously bold when the distance was positive.
But the moment the distance turned negative, she immediately became as obedient as the most well-behaved puppy.
Doing whatever she was told without encountering a hint of resistance.
Once he reached this point, he could get Luo Zhao to agree to some humiliating terms.
After all, Gu Chengyin's goal wasn't to actually bully Luo Zhao. If he really wanted to bully her, he would have done so long ago.
Rather, it was to use this leverage to counter Emperor Luo.
At the very least, he had to block whatever moves Emperor Luo had planned next.
At this point, it was practically an open game between Gu Chengyin and Emperor Luo.
Through this imperial decree, Emperor Luo had clearly told Gu Chengyin: I know what your weakness is, and I know how to use it against you.
And Gu Chengyin was never one to just take a beating without hitting back.
Emperor Luo had shown his stance and attitude, so it was only natural for Gu Chengyin to make a corresponding countermove to demonstrate his own stance and attitude.
At times like this, whoever showed weakness, whoever backed down, was as good as admitting defeat.
Gu Chengyin acknowledged that Emperor Luo's advantage was indeed significant, but he hadn't fully fallen behind either.
Luo Zhao was right now in his arms, with Gu Xiaoli watching from the side.
You weaken my influence in the court, and I'll work on your soft spot.
And Luo Zhao certainly hadn't let Gu Chengyin down.
Before he even started the intimidation, merely being held in his arms, her psychological defenses had already crumbled.
Her gaze was unsteady, her breathing rapid and flustered, and she looked like a little deer cornered by a hunter against a wall.
Even though she still had an escape route, she was too scared to even know how to run.
Luo Zhao's current state was exactly the state Gu Chengyin needed most.
Reason was still intact, but she could no longer think clearly.
Resistance was still there, but it had become a hollow shell.
Just as Gu Chengyin was about to speak and unleash the carefully prepared speech he had already planned out.
He saw Luo Zhao close her eyes.
Her eyelids slowly closed, and her long lashes cast a small fan-shaped shadow on her eyelids.
Her lashes trembled slightly, like butterfly wings fluttering in a storm, fragile and beautiful.
Her lips were tightly pressed together, her teeth sinking into the soft flesh, leaving a shallow indentation.
Her cheeks were flushed like rosy clouds, spreading from her cheekbones to her ears, and from her ears down to her neck.
Dyeing her entire being in a shade of shyness.
Luo Zhao turned her head aside, exposing that stretch of long, fair neck.
Her lines were graceful and fragile, like fine porcelain, making one want to reach out and touch, yet afraid that a careless hand might shatter it.
Her throat moved slightly, as if she was trying to convince herself of something.
Her face was full of humiliation, yet incomparably submissive—an extremely complex expression.
The humiliation came from Luo Zhao's pride, which wouldn't allow her to bow her head to anyone.
The submissiveness came from the fact that, deep in her subconscious, she could not resist Gu Chengyin.
These two diametrically opposed emotions clashed and intertwine on Luo Zhao's face.
Dyeing her already stunning features with an utterly contradictory kind of allure.
Then Luo Zhao spoke, her voice very soft.
So soft it was like the buzzing of a mosquito, almost missed if one didn't listen carefully.
Every word was squeezed out through her teeth, carrying a tremor.
Carrying suppressed shame, and a resignation that pleaded surrender.
"You... go gently."
Gu Chengyin: “¿”
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 school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
