The black-cloaked powerhouse was dumbfounded. With Zhao Kun dead, there was no scapegoat left. When the time came, who would bear the full fury of the Sun family of Qianyuan?!
That fleeing Sun Zhong would most definitely rush back to deliver the news—and when he did, the entire city of Magic City would be thrown into chaos!
「Damn it!」
The situation was going south fast, but their target "Sun Qian" was already dead. The black-cloaked powerhouse had no choice but to swallow his pride and bite the bullet.
「Who dares to kill my grandson!」
A terrifying Saint Realm aura surged forward at breakneck speed, emanating from none other than Patriarch Zhao.
Clearly, he'd sensed Zhao Kun's demise!
「Crap! Old Man Zhao is stubborn as a mule and holds a grudge like no other. If we cross paths, we're done for!」
Realizing the danger, the black-cloaked powerhouse struck without hesitation. With a single palm strike, he slaughtered every last surviving witness in the manor, then grabbed Li Yang and fled.
Hidden in the shadows, you watched the entire scene unfold.
Thanks to your deliberate meddling and scheming, the Magic City Manor had descended into complete chaos, with all the involved factions dragged into the fray and their plans thrown into disarray.
Now that your "escape plan" had succeeded, the mastermind behind the scenes would no longer be able to focus solely on hunting you down. Instead, they'd be forced to deal with the impending wrath of the Sun family.
This would undoubtedly buy you a precious window of time to rapidly boost your combat strength.
Once Sun Zhong returned and reported the full truth to the clan, the Sun family would certainly learn you were still alive—and they would undoubtedly play along with the ruse, using the incident to their advantage.
Of course, this also meant they would find out about your cultivation progress, but that was an unavoidable consequence.
Right now, you were still far too weak. Every move you made had to rely on the momentum of others, every step carefully calculated and plotted.
You pulled out Ye Fan's severed arm, contemplating whether to use the Soul-Nailing Spell to track him down, ambush him, and force him to hand over the powerful Nine Steps of Treading the Heavens technique.
After Ye Fan's explosive outburst that killed the Thousand Shadows Assassin, he'd clearly suffered some kind of backlash—he was most likely in a severely weakened state.
「A cornered beast is the deadliest of all. It'll definitely fight to the death, taking anyone nearby down with it. Better to let someone else take the lead.」
After a moment's thought, you ultimately decided against chasing Ye Fan directly.
If Ye Fan went all out and unleashed the Nine Steps of Treading the Heavens again, you weren't confident you could withstand it.
Instead, it would be far wiser to let Patriarch Zhao—the Saint Realm powerhouse—take the lead. You'd just hide in the shadows and wait for the perfect opportunity to reap the rewards.
「In this world, brains beat brute strength every time. The foolish only end up being someone else's pawn.」
You couldn't help but smirk, thinking about how you'd manipulated Ye Fan—the so-called fated protagonist—into doing your bidding.
But you quickly regained your composure. Before Patriarch Zhao could arrive, you made a hasty escape. You had no desire to face off against an enraged old monster of his caliber.
Now that "Sun Qian" was dead, you could no longer maintain that identity—it was time for a change.
Your next move was to assume the identity of your double, Su Meng, and live quietly in Magic City, lying low and watching as events unfolded.
On the surface, Su Meng was an orphan who'd grown up in an orphanage with his younger sister, later getting a menial job in the logistics department of Magic City University with the Sun family's subtle influence and settling into a small home.
In secret, however, he was a loyal death warrior of the Sun family.
Before taking on the role of your double, Su Meng had begged you to take care of his sister if anything happened to him—and you'd agreed.
Using your Illusion Shifting Technique, you transformed into Su Meng's likeness and made your way to a small rental apartment near Magic City University. It wasn't long before you laid eyes on the sister he'd spoken of: Su Mei.
The moment you saw her, you were stunned by her beauty. She was an innocent eighteen-year-old girl, yet she carried an innate, effortless charm about her—one that rivaled even Liu Yue's.
The only tragedy was that her eyes were milky white—she was born blind.
You silently lamented her fate, while also feeling a twinge of relief that your disguise would be even easier to maintain. But then, Su Mei spoke up.
「Brother, you're home. I'm hungry.」
「I'll go make dinner.」
You knew she had a quiet, reserved personality, and you were feeling quite hungry yourself. So you slipped into the role of Su Meng and headed for the kitchen.
Having lived a life of luxury and indulgence for so long, you had next to no cooking skills. After fumbling around for ages, you finally managed to fry up two dishes and bring them to the table.
The "siblings" sat down to eat. You took a bite—and immediately frowned. The food was way too salty. But Su Mei ate it without a single change in expression.
After dinner, you washed the dishes, and the two of you retired to your respective rooms to rest.
Back in your room, you pulled out your cultivation resources and began to practice in earnest, desperate to increase your strength and add more aces up your sleeve.
You started cultivating the Ancient Dragon Elephant Scripture—only to suddenly notice that your cultivation speed had skyrocketed, and the spiritual energy around you had become far more active…
The unexpected change jolted you to attention. Your gaze drifted to the wall separating your room from the next—Su Mei's room. It was, without a doubt, the epicenter where the spiritual energy was the densest and most concentrated.
You realized then that Su Mei was no ordinary girl. She possessed some kind of special physique, something extraordinary about her—she was most likely a fated female protagonist, just like Liu Yue.
「Another fated female protagonist!」
You were genuinely surprised. You hadn't expected to encounter another one so soon.
But on second thought, Su Mei's life story had all the makings of a fated protagonist's origin tale: an orphan, blind, relying solely on her older brother for survival. Her brother, a double, had died in her stead, leaving her all alone in the world—yet she possessed a physique that could accelerate cultivation…
If the "you" from the Villain Simulator hadn't taken the initiative to seek her out, her fate after losing her brother's protection would've been unimaginable…
And if a fated protagonist were to appear and save her now, everything would fall perfectly into place.
「So it seems I've managed to steal another opportunity right under the nose of fate.」
The next day, you discovered that your cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, nearly reaching the High Stage of the Arcane Power Realm. Both your Illusion Shifting Technique and Dragon Elephant Overlord Body had grown significantly stronger.
Despite this breakthrough, you didn't do anything out of the ordinary. Instead, you continued to play the part of Su Meng flawlessly: going to work at the university's logistics department every morning to gather information, returning home to cook for Su Mei, and cultivating diligently every night.
Day 1: Your cultivation and physical body reached the High Stage of the Arcane Power Realm. The Ancient Dragon Elephant Scripture underwent a transformation, imbuing your flesh with the strength of an additional dragon.
Day 2: You consumed a massive amount of resources in an attempt to break through your limits. After six hours of intense cultivation, you successfully advanced to the Peak Stage of the Arcane Power Realm.
Day 3: You attempted to break through to the Fifth Realm of Mountain & River, but were met with a formidable barrier. Realizing it would take time, you switched gears decisively, focusing on cultivating the Thousand Shadows Demon Art and True Scripture of Talismans to strengthen your arsenal of abilities.
Day 4: You mastered the Thousand Shadows Demon Art to the Peak of the Fourth Level, gaining a new ability: Shadow Concealment, which allowed you to merge into shadows, move freely within them, and hide your presence completely.
At the same time, your mastery of talismans improved dramatically. You successfully drew your first Second-Tier Thunderlight Talisman, officially becoming a Second-Tier Talisman Master…
.....