「Looking for Liu Yue? Isn't that her standing right behind you?」
At your words, Ye Fan scoffed, dismissing it as another one of your cheap tricks to toy with him. But out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a figure that hadn't been there a moment ago—standing on the ground directly behind him...
Whoosh!
He spun around violently. There, bathed in the dim light, stood Liu Yue, clad in a flowing white dress.
The once-famous campus beauty of Magic City University, who'd vanished without a trace days ago, had appeared out of thin air.
But compared to her usual demeanor, there was now an otherworldly aloofness about her—an aura befitting a Heavenly Realm powerhouse.
Yet Ye Fan, overcome with joy rather than shock, failed to notice the subtle change in her. His face lit up with excitement, and he instinctively lunged forward, arms outstretched to embrace her. 「Yue'er! I finally found you...」
Slap!
Liu Yue's expression remained cold and impassive. She flicked her palm casually.
Ye Fan went flying like a cannonball, slamming hard into a boulder, his head crammed deep into the rock face.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Chosen One - King of Simps - Legendary Unkillable Tank - Ye Fan's body twitched violently. Streaks of blood oozed from the cracks in the stone, his fate unknown...
From start to finish, Liu Yue didn't spare him so much as a glance. Her cool, unblinking eyes were fixed solely on you.
As for Ye Fan? He was nothing more than a irrelevant nobody.
「You knew I've been following you this whole time, didn't you? Using me as a pawn to take care of that simp Ye Fan.」 Liu Yue stated your scheme flatly, her voice devoid of emotion.
「Just a little side errand.」 Lying in Su Mei's arms, you didn't bother to deny it, admitting it outright.
Ye Fan, the Chosen One, was a double-edged sword—deadly against enemies, but equally dangerous to wield. Without a failsafe to keep him in check, he was bound to backfire sooner or later.
And Liu Yue was that failsafe. She would never let you die—not yet.
「You deliberately exposed yourself to lure that eunuch out, spread rumors to bait this fool Ye Fan into the trap, and even dragged me into your little game. You're far more dangerous than I gave you credit for...」
「It seems the Sun Family and the others never truly saw through you. They had no idea how deeply you were hiding your cards—how you could even kill a Heavenly Realm powerhouse.」
「Everyone underestimated you...」
Liu Yue's voice was cool and detached, but her brows furrowed slightly. Her gaze on you was laced with a hint of wariness.
「Truly worthy of being his bloodline. The most reckless, the most sinister, the most unhinged blood runs through your veins.」
「You've hidden yourself too well. If that fool back in the Imperial Capital had hesitated even a little longer, he would've ended up dead at your hands sooner or later...」
「That fool—does she mean the mastermind from the Qianyuan Imperial Family?!」
「From the way she's talking, she clearly knows his true identity. She might even know him personally!」
「And his bloodline? Who is she referring to...?」
Sun Qian's pupils constricted sharply. He'd never expected this simulation to yield so many unexpected surprises.
First, he'd killed the Ghost Physician Venerable, learning the mastermind's identity from the old eunuch's dying screams.
Now, Liu Yue, this mysterious Heavenly Realm powerhouse, was casually spilling even more secrets.
Even if the simulation ended in failure now, it would've been more than worth it.
But of course, the "you" inside the simulator wasn't an idiot. He would definitely pry for more information.
And as Sun Qian had predicted, the simulation unfolded exactly as he'd thought.
「The Sun Family must've kept you in the dark about so many things all these years. It seems you've pieced together the truth of that year through bits and pieces of clues.」
「But it's a shame. You won't get the chance to grow into your full potential. That mysterious secret technique you used earlier has burned through all your lifespan and essence. You don't have much time left.」
Liu Yue's eyes were sharp with wisdom as she stared at your silent form, piecing together the puzzle on her own.
Combining your sudden burst of power with everything that had happened before, she'd naturally concluded that you were a master manipulator—someone who'd hidden his true colors for years, biding his time.
How else could she explain it? How could a spoiled, arrogant playboy suddenly erupt and kill a Heavenly Realm powerhouse like the Ghost Physician Venerable?
Cultivation wasn't something that could be gained overnight; it required years of painstaking effort.
Watching you on the verge of death, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret—as if witnessing the tragic end of a would-be tyrant, cut down before he even had a chance to rise.
But little did she know, you possessed the most broken cheat code of all—the Villain Simulator.
Hearing Liu Yue's soliloquy, your heart skipped a beat. You knew she held the key to all the answers—the full truth of everything that had happened.
And this foolish woman was so full of herself, so convinced of her own deductions, that she'd walked right into your trap.
This was the perfect opportunity.
A chance to uncover the truth through someone else's words.
Cough! Cough! Cough!!!
You erupted into a fit of violent coughing, spitting up blood flecked with frost. Lying in Su Mei's arms, your face was etched with loneliness and despair. Your eyes drooped slightly, your gaze filled with a complex mix of emotions as you muttered to yourself. 「After all these years... I just wanted to live. Did you really have to go this far?」
Sigh.
Liu Yue's eyes softened slightly. She let out a long, weary sigh, murmuring to herself. 「Succession struggles have always been this way.」
Sun Qian's pupils shrank to pinpricks. His mind exploded with a deafening roar as he stared at the Villain Simulator interface, his hands trembling.
It worked! He'd actually tricked it out of her!
At that moment, the thick fog shrouding his past began to lift, clearing away to reveal the truth he'd been searching for all along.
Succession struggles have always been this way.
So that's why! That's why it all made sense now!
No wonder the mastermind from the Qianyuan Imperial Family was so desperate to kill him.
No wonder the Sun Family and the others were so determined to protect him.
No wonder Liu Yue, this mysterious Heavenly Realm powerhouse, had been eyeing him so covetously.
No wonder his mere existence had dragged so many people into the fray.
No wonder he possessed a divine treasure like the Supreme Emperor Bone!
He wasn't of the Sun Family's bloodline at all.
He was of the most noble bloodline in the entire Qianyuan Empire—the imperial bloodline.
The Qianyuan Imperial Family stood at the very top of the nine-tiered clan hierarchy, the first and most revered rank.
They were a colossal power boasting a Ninth-Rank Earth Immortal among their ranks.
And he wasn't just any ordinary imperial scion. He was a member of the core bloodline—one with a legitimate claim to the throne of the Qianyuan Empire.
That was why the mastermind in the Imperial Capital was so crazed about killing him. It all came down to one word: struggle.
Lying on the bed, Sun Qian's mind went completely blank. It was equal parts expected and utterly shocking, a whirlwind of surprise and elation as he muttered to himself.
The Qianyuan Empire had stood for a thousand years, with the imperial surname Chen.
If he wasn't Sun Qian... if his surname was Chen... then his real name should be...
At that moment, what was supposed to be a silent thought in his mind spilled from his lips unconsciously. He spoke the name aloud, his voice trembling with realization.
「Chen Qian!」
Whoosh!
On the carpet beside the bed, Liu Yue—who'd been sound asleep moments earlier—suddenly felt a sharp jolt of alarm shoot through her heart. Her eyes flew open wide, filled with absolute shock and disbelief.