.
"I actually traveled through time?"
"And became Ling Ying, the strongest Dou Huang of the Ancient Clan?"
Ling Ying thought to himself, somewhat shocked after being transported through time.
Meanwhile, his memories were rapidly merging with Ling Ying's.
Simultaneously, the system was binding to him.
"Ding, the Strongest Treasure Chest System has been successfully bound."
"This system can randomly spawn treasure chests around the world. When the host finds a treasure chest and opens it, they can obtain a variety of treasures."
"As the system level increases, the items opened within the treasure chests will become increasingly valuable."
"For the first time binding to the system, I will randomly give you a diamond treasure chest. Do you want to open it now?"
As Ling Ying completed the memory fusion, the system was also successfully bound.
"This world seems a little different, and who is secretly plotting against me?"
Ling Ying pondered inwardly after merging his memories with the system.
"Open the treasure chest!"
After a moment's hesitation, Ling Ying decided to open the treasure chest first. After all, he was now in Liu Xi's hands.
Moreover, this Liu Xi was clearly not normal; he seemed to have exchanged secret signals with him earlier.
Most importantly, this guy's strength was actually at the Dou Zong level—clearly something was amiss.
"Ding, treasure chest opened successfully. Congratulations to the host for receiving the Dou Zun Master's Initiation Inheritance +1 and a Substitute Puppet +1."
Ling Ying, upon seeing the items, immediately opened his tightly closed eyes and said,
"Use the Dou Zun Master's Initiation Inheritance."
Immediately, an aura comparable to that of a prehistoric beast erupted from his body.
Liu Xi, who had been holding him with one hand, was directly sent flying by the aura.
"This guy..."
A look of horror flashed in Liu Xi's eyes as he was sent flying backwards.
Why was Ling Ying, clearly a Dou Huang master, suddenly emitting such an aura?
Was he faking it all?
"Haha—"
"Liu Xi, right?"
"Tell me, were you the one who knocked me unconscious earlier?"
Ling Ying, having received the Dou Zun Master's Initiation, laughed heartily. In
a flash, he was in front of Liu Xi, stepping on his chest and asking.
"It's really...it's really not me, it's really not me!"
Seeing the terrifying Ling Ying, Liu Xi was terrified and denied it repeatedly.
"Oh? Since it's not you, then die!"
"You've been transported to the body of such a scumbag, so you must be no good person either."
"To die at my hands, your spirit in heaven will be filled with joy."
Seeing Liu Xi's categorical denial, Ling Ying mercilessly stomped Liu Xi to death.
If he had kept his original body unconscious, Ling Ying might have thanked him and sent him on his way.
After all, if Ling Ying hadn't been in a coma for so long, he might not have been able to transport himself into Ling Ying's body.
But since it wasn't him, and he was carrying him like a chicken, he was courting death.
A Venerable, do not insult!
He was no longer a mere Dou Huang.
From now on, anyone below the Dou Zun level would address him with the respectful title of Venerable Ling or Venerable Ying.
"This world seems slightly different from what I knew."
"First, there was that strange three-year agreement, then Lin Dong showed up, and even this Liu Xi is a time traveler. This world is definitely not simple."
"Our top priority now is to find Xiao Yan. If there are truly many time travelers in this world, they'll definitely be trying to take advantage of Xiao Yan, the protagonist."
"If I can lend a hand while they're doing it, he'll surely be grateful."
"In that case, I'll be part of Xiao Yan's faction. Following Xiao Yan will not only help me grow stronger faster, but also give me an ally who will one day stand at the pinnacle of the universe." After
crushing Liu Xi to death, Ling Ying pondered for a moment and formed a plan.
...
Shimo City.
Xiao Yan prepared to begin the final round of simulations.
If he died again, it would truly be fate's will.
"Ding! The life simulation begins."
"On the first day, after numerous simulation failures, you learn from your mistakes and resolve to find the mastermind behind everything."
"On the second day, you're clueless, still unsure how to avoid your own death. However, just then, Ling Ying arrives in Shimo City. You're surprised to discover that he possesses Dou Zun-level strength."
"You immediately assume he's a time traveler, and Ling Ying doesn't hide it, expressing his desire to join forces with you to conquer the Dou Qi Continent."
"Faced with a Dou Zun-level traverser, you weren't entirely confident in him, so you asked Yao Di to help you defeat him, easily defeating him and threatening to kill him on the spot."
"Ling Ying appeared fearful, but in reality, with his surrogate puppet, he wasn't afraid of death at all. Even if he died, he would be resurrected somewhere randomly in the Dou Qi Continent."
"You heard his heart's voice and saw hope for survival. You brainwashed Ling Ying, tricking him into joining the mercenary group under the pretext of 'the collective interests of traversers' and 'common strength,' and making him voluntarily contribute his system."
"On the third day, you arrived in Yancheng, retrieved your shadow clone, transformed your true form into Qing Lin, and went to the Mo Family."
"On the fourth day, taking advantage of Mo Cheng's birthday, when he wanted to adopt you as his adopted daughter, you suddenly attacked and killed Mo Cheng in a single blow."
"On the fifth day, you took over the Mo Family and began integrating the system. That night, you died suddenly. Fortunately, your surrogate puppet helped you ward off disaster and calamity, allowing you to be reborn."
"Ding, since you've already died once in the simulation, this simulation ends. Congratulations on obtaining [Death Substitute Puppet +1]!"
...
"Ling Ying also traveled through time?"
Xiao Yan's eyes grew solemn as his last simulation ran out.
Although he had survived with the help of a death substitute puppet, he still didn't know who had secretly attacked him
, and how they had killed him.
"Third brother, how is it?"
"Brother Xiao, have you found a way to break the impasse?"
Xiao Ding, Xiao Li, and Hai Bodong approached Xiao Yan as he opened his eyes.
"Has it broken halfway?"
Xiao Yan said helplessly as he stood up.
He had died and resurrected, so the calamity within him must have vanished along with it. He'd
wait for the simulation system to cool down, then run another simulation.
See if he'd die again... No, as long as he used this simulation function, he'd definitely die, otherwise the simulation would never end.
It would be better to let Hai Bodong simulate him, keeping a constant eye on him, to see how long he could survive.
"Do we still need to go to Yancheng?"
the three exchanged glances, then asked Xiao Yan.
"Go, but wait until tomorrow,"
Xiao Yan nodded.
Ling Ying wouldn't arrive until tomorrow, so he could trick her into coming over before heading to Yancheng.
...
The next day.
Ling Ying had indeed arrived in Shimo City, quietly slipping into the Desert Iron Mercenary Group and finding Xiao Yan.
Inside the room, sensing Ling Ying's presence, Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes and looked towards the shadows where Ling Ying was hiding.
Although Ling Ying was a Dou Zun, she was still nowhere to hide from Xiao Yan, a talisman master.
"You're here."
"I'm here."
"You didn't need to come find me; you could have hidden somewhere."
"But I came anyway. I want to know what this world is all about."
As they spoke, Xiao Yan slowly stood up and walked to the window.
"It seems you already knew a lot before you came."
The fact that Ling Ying came directly to him spoke volumes.
"I've been to the City Lord's Mansion in Mo City. I heard that Hai Bodong once stayed there with a girl in green, and that a snake-like demonic beast with eight wings also appeared."
"Also, there are many travelers in this world. Someone named Lin Dong actually appeared in Wutan City. The three-year agreement wasn't about breaking off the engagement, but rather you took the initiative to give me the divorce."
"All signs indicate that the Dou Qi Continent isn't what I thought it was,"
Ling Ying said slowly.
With Dou Zun-level strength, he didn't believe anyone could threaten him, even if something unexpected happened in the northwest region.
This gave him the confidence to approach Xiao Yan directly.
"You're right. Even I don't fully understand this world."
"You came to me to seek cooperation, right?"
Xiao Yan nodded slightly, looking at Ling Ying and asking.
"I do have this idea. You are the protagonist of this world. No matter how many people travel through time, the world still revolves around you."
"If you and I form an alliance and help each other, even if there are more travelers in the future, we can definitely suppress them."
"Also, Hai Bodong shouldn't be the same Hai Bodong anymore, right?"
"Since you can coexist peacefully, it shouldn't be a problem to include me."
Ling Ying didn't deny her thoughts. Cooperating with Xiao Yan was definitely the safest option.
[It seems that this Xiao Yan is indeed not the original Xiao Yan, and he's hiding a lot.]
[I've been in the Xiao family for so many years, and I haven't seen any clues. I just don't know what level of power he is now.]
"I'm indeed not the original Xiao Yan. Hai Bodong is, as you thought, a fellow villager of ours."
"We've developed a plan to pool all our resources to first empower one person. Then, that person will inspire the others to become stronger as well."
"I'll be the one who becomes stronger first. If you want to join us, you'll need to follow this plan and contribute your golden finger."
Xiao Yan said, looking at Ling Ying with a smile.
"..." Ling Ying.
[Is Xiao Yan kidding?]
[Why should I give him my golden finger?]
[How can I become stronger without the golden finger?]
"It seems you're not yet fully aware. You're only thinking about yourself, not us as a whole."
"You have to understand, if we don't stick together, what will we do if a stronger traverser arrives and wants to kill us?"
"Only by concentrating all our resources and golden fingers on one person can we create a truly powerful individual who can protect our collective from all odds."
Xiao Yan heard Ling Ying's inner thoughts and shook his head with disappointment.
(End of Chapter)