So, what exactly happened that day?
Jiang Ke’er had never expected she’d make it back alive.
At the time, she’d been struck by that strange power and lost consciousness—even her Houtu Divine Sense was tottering on the brink.
She remembered nothing at all of what happened after that.
“You tore down the Ascension Gate.” Luyia walked in, curled her lip, and pointed at the rift in the sky outside the window.
“And you even declared, ‘Today I’ll expose all you black-hearted, dog-faced immortals!’ Then you landed another blow at the Immortal Realm Rift… Tch, you really had some nerve.”
Jiang Ke’er’s cheeks flushed slightly, but she looked at Luyia with anticipation. “So… how many did I kill?”
“Sixty-seven, all a bunch of Ninth Palace Tribulation Immortals—nothing to get worked up about.” Luyia covered her eyes with a lemon.
“Hmph, if I weren’t getting old, I could’ve done it just as easily!”
“…”
“Immortals have different varieties?” Noticing Luyia’s wording, Jiang Ke’er asked in surprise.
Luyia, lemon still in place, nodded.
“Ever since the Collapse of Reincarnation, the Heavenly Dao was seized by the Human Clan. It’s become a hundred times easier for humans to ascend. The tribulation they receive is basically a symbolic bath—no actual danger at all.”
“That’s why the success rate for ascension is a twisted one hundred percent. Even all sorts of useless trash can become immortals… And this group, who never experienced a real heavenly tribulation, are called ‘Ninth Palace Tribulation Immortals.’”
“…”
The waters of this world ran deeper than she’d ever imagined. Jiang Ke’er realized she’d underestimated the strength of the Human Clan.
What sort of existence could actually seize the Heavenly Dao?
“The chaos you stirred even brought out those ancient Golden Immortals who usually stay hidden. Too bad you didn’t manage to lure out that legendary Yu Wen Guoshi before you were beaten down…”
Luyia sighed.
“An Immortal Realm carrying the legacy of tens of thousands of years of the Human Clan isn’t so easy to shake. Even with aid from an outside force, you got overconfident. I told you not to go, but you wouldn’t listen.”
Jiang Ke’er pursed her lips… How could she have known? She’d been completely consumed by rage, and all she could think of was revenge.
“But you still managed to do some good,” Luyia continued.
“Back then, you went mad trying to smash the Ascension Gate—and you did it. Now that the gate is broken, until the Dao repairs it, no more Tribulation Immortals can be born in Shenzhou. To become a Tribulation Immortal, one must pass through that gate to obtain immortal-level power, but you shattered it.”
“Likewise, until the gate is restored, no matter what methods are used, the Tribulation Immortal Hall’s immortal-level power can’t descend to Shenzhou to interfere in its affairs.”
Jiang Ke’er’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.
“Immortals can’t come down anymore?!”
“That’s right,” Luyia said with a smile.
“You’ve bought the Demon Race a slim chance at survival. If you hadn’t smashed the gate, the Demon Race would have already been wiped out.”
Jiang Ke’er clenched her fists and closed her eyes, her body trembling slightly with ecstatic joy.
It was a matchless sense of fulfillment.
For the first time, she realized that her arrival in this world wasn’t meaningless, not some muddled, aimless existence.
Even as a soft and delicate girl, she’d managed to protect the companions she cared about, just like the hot-blooded protagonists in anime.
Now, she deeply loved this troublesome body that so often led her into difficult situations, and also the unyielding soul she’d brought from her previous life.
She believed that with this combination, the day she set foot in the Immortal Realm again, the whole Immortal Realm would fall at her feet, and then… none would be left alive.
Jiang Ke’er held the bell at her neck up to her eyes.
Sunlight passed through the crack in the bell, illuminating the Dark Purple Rhomboid Crystal inside.
“Cultivate well,” Luyia frowned, “this is an ominous thing. This power must never be relied on—even if it means death! Otherwise, you’ll end up killing all the friends and loved ones you worked so hard to protect, and all your efforts will be for nothing!”
Jiang Ke’er was taken aback. “But it saved me. It saved the Demon Race… I don’t think it’s that evil.”
“You don’t have the strength to control it yet. Relying on it will only bring regret. Don’t wait for tragedy before you understand.”
Luyia rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
“Trust me. You must trust me.”
“Mm.” Jiang Ke’er nodded solemnly. “Don’t worry, I’ll never use it—even if I die.”
“You’re smart, and you have your own judgment.”
Luyia sat down by the bed, stroking Jiang Ke’er’s head with a touch of affection.
“I believe you’ll make the right choice… Don’t rush. Everything will get better, because your strength is greater than its.”
Jiang Ke’er nodded.
Luyia yawned, exhausted. “I’m worn out. Wear that Bell Seal properly, and make sure you keep those two swords—Qing Cheng and Shuang Ying—safe, no matter what. Don’t lose them…”
“Why?” Jiang Ke’er had been thinking she might sell Shuang Ying if she ever got short on money.
“You think the seal on your neck was made by me?” Luyia rolled her eyes.
“If I had that kind of skill, I’d have wiped out all those creditors long ago… It’s those two swords doing the sealing. The wheel of karma brought them to your side—maybe just for this moment.”
Jiang Ke’er stared at the two swords in shock.
She’d always known they were extraordinary, of at least seventh-grade quality, but she never imagined they were this powerful…
Even the power of that extraterrestrial crystal could be sealed by them.
Luyia shook her head and left, yawning nonstop as she went out the door, muttering to herself, “Saying the whole universe revolves around you wouldn’t be wrong… Rotten girl, don’t grow up crooked…”
As soon as Luyia left, Jiang Ke’er heard the loli-voiced Protagonist System in her ear.
【Host! I’m reporting! It was that old witch from the Villain System next door! That crystal belongs to her! I know it!】
“…”
The Villain System immediately jumped in to refute: 【Pah! So what if it is? And those two swords belong to you, don’t they? If you hadn’t shown up to stop things, the host would’ve already gotten her revenge! I’m doing my utmost to help the host—what about you? All you do is cause trouble for no reason!】
【You’re full of it! You’re just drooling over the host’s body! And you’ve got the nerve to play the victim first… Let me ask you, why did the difficulty of my Training Ground suddenly go up by tenfold?】
Huh? What Training Ground difficulty?
Jiang Ke’er’s expression froze.
【Like you’re so innocent! If you hadn’t secretly raised the difficulty by ten times first and created a data loophole, could I have seized the chance to double it again?】
“?!”
Jiang Ke’er was completely stunned.
Is there any way to uninstall these two systems? Asking for a friend, urgently.
【Ding~】
A bell chimed softly, drawing Jiang Ke’er’s gaze to the System interface, where she noticed the long-inactive system shop had suddenly changed.
In the lower right corner of the Protagonist System’s shop, where the Mystery Shop slot had always been an empty, dull gray, a strange light suddenly bloomed!
After the light faded, a new item appeared in the slot.
【Veritas Technique: Awai Has Died】
Jiang Ke’er was covered in black lines.
She had no grudge against Awai—why on earth would she curse someone like that to death? This round of Mystery Shop products was really a joke.
Then, looking over to the Villain System’s shop, she saw after a flicker of dark purple light, a new item appeared there as well.
【Veritas Technique: You Are Awai】