Warm sunlight spilled in through the window.

Luo Qingchuan finally managed to stop the two little lolis from arguing.

“Thank god neither of you manifested physically, or I’d be ready to jump off a building!”

[Wuwu, you were mean to me...]

[Please don’t hate me. I’ll be quiet...]

“This is killing me.”

Luo Qingchuan thought it through calmly and slowly sorted out what the two systems did.

One wanted him to do good deeds. The other wanted him to do bad deeds. But if he did good, the Fate Defiance System would deduct points. If he did bad, the Sage System would deduct points too.

“That’s even more deadly!”

Right now, both of Luo Qingchuan’s point totals were at “1000.”

He’d gotten them because he’d stolen the protagonist’s woman. Then, after realizing the error of his ways, he’d stopped his criminal behavior. And when Su Yingsnow was lonely and heartbroken, he’d comforted the girl’s empty body and soul.

If getting one system meant Luo Qingchuan could take off on the spot, then getting two meant blasting straight into space on a rocket.

But when the two clashed with each other, Luo Qingchuan became someone chained in place, unable to move.

[Fate Defiance System: Host, don’t forget your daily mission. And don’t get tricked by bad women! The two of us can absolutely crush everything and transcend karma!]

[Sage System: Host, you need only remember your true heart and do one good deed a day. As long as you do not stray from the right path, you will surely attain the supreme Great Dao and master all laws.]

Luo Qingchuan twisted open a can of sparkling water, took a long drink, and sighed.

“You two are like two companies feeding me empty promises at the same time. Both trying to trick me into working myself to death with overtime.”

He started checking his phone and organizing the information.

WeChat group: Silver City High School, Class 2-5.

Homeroom teacher: The Pathseeker Class officially starts tomorrow. Students who qualified, don’t forget to report in.

Homeroom teacher: Don’t stay up late tonight. There’ll be an entry assessment after registration. Classes will be assigned by aptitude. The best is Grade A, the worst is Grade C.

Below that was a pile of chat logs from Class 5, full of envy, jealousy, and resentment.

After testing, Luo Qingchuan was found to have a water spiritual root. His talent was rated “C Grade, Second Class,” and his cultivation was zero.

The worst of the worst...

As for the Child of Destiny, Zuo Tian, his all-attribute spiritual root was the Primordial Limitless Dao Body.

The reason he still couldn’t cultivate was simple. For now, there was no top-tier cultivation art that matched Zuo Tian’s monstrous talent.

But Luo Qingchuan knew.

Zuo Tian would have one very soon...

Suddenly, Luo Qingchuan’s phone rang.

Caller: Li Yuting.

Mom?

Luo Qingchuan panicked a little.

After hesitating for a moment, he answered.

A few seconds of silence.

The other side clearly hadn’t expected him to pick up.

Then he heard a gentle voice, full of worry, speaking carefully.

“Qingchuan, did you read all the messages Mom sent you?”

Luo Qingchuan didn’t answer right away. He glanced through their WeChat chat history first.

It was all concern for him, asking if he was warm enough, fed enough, doing well enough. There were also reminders to study hard.

There was even more advice on how to conduct himself and deal with people. Patient, gentle, and earnest.

Luo Qingchuan himself had rarely replied. And even when he did, it was usually things like “Stop bothering me” or “You’ve got too much free time.”

The last message read: [Son, I heard you got into the Pathseeker Class?]

Luo Qingchuan thought for a moment, then answered, “Mom, yeah, that happened. What about it?”

In his previous life, Luo Qingchuan had never gotten the chance to experience a mother’s love. He’d grown up in an orphanage, thrown himself into studying, and fought his way into a big company through sheer hard work.

Then, thanks to the blessings of 996, he’d dropped dead in front of his computer while still young.

A real blessing, all right. He got a second life as a villain.

The kind that dies without even a burial place...

“Qingchuan, Mom’s friends all say the cultivation world is dangerous. Those superhumans start fighting and killing at the drop of a hat...

“I’m not trying to stop you. But you really need to change your personality a little. Don’t think Mom’s nagging. Once you’re in the cultivation world, the family won’t be able to help you.

“Mom just wants you to be a good child. Be polite to everyone. Be kind.

“And toward those superhuman classmates of yours, you need to be even more well-meaning. Buy some gifts, build good relationships, and absolutely don’t offend anyone.

“Your brother told me your tested talent is very poor. He said even the first step, drawing qi into your body, will take half a year of hard training.

“If you can’t keep going and want to give up, that’s fine too.

“In the future, you can still help your brother with the family business.

“If you live your life well, you can still be happy.”

She kept talking, one sentence after another.

Luo Qingchuan listened in silence without the slightest impatience. Then a faint smile appeared on his face.

“I understand, Mom. Thank you.”

At that moment, Luo Qingchuan’s voice was unusually gentle.

The woman on the other end seemed to freeze. Then her voice turned a little emotional.

“Good, Qingchuan. Then Mom won’t disturb you anymore. You’re more sensible than before. You can actually listen to what I say now. Mom’s really happy. Seeking immortality really can nurture the heart and temper the self. It’s not just empty talk...”

Even though she was a little reluctant, she still hung up.

Luo Qingchuan let out a breath and smiled helplessly.

Motherly love... really is nice.

If Luo Qingchuan’s villain path kept developing the way it originally did, he would provoke the fated protagonist and bring ruin to the entire Luo family.

That would be a sword strike that shattered heaven and earth.

The Luo family would cease to exist.

They were innocent. But Zuo Tian wouldn’t care. He needed someone to bear his towering rage and the hatred of having his woman stolen.

For a protagonist, wiping out a villain’s whole family was perfectly normal. If you didn’t exterminate a few clans, how could you even show your face outside?

“I can’t let this care go to waste.”

Sitting on the bed, Luo Qingchuan began to cultivate seriously according to the Scripture of Calamitous Chaos in his mind.

Spiritual energy had started reviving in January 2028. More than half a year had passed since then.

During that time, many rare treasures and strange beasts had appeared.

Some people saw withered flowers bloom again, their fragrance overflowing through the air. Anyone who smelled them felt refreshed in both body and mind.

Some small animals carrying the bloodline of ancient demon beasts mutated and attacked people in the streets. Even after taking several bullets, they refused to die, until official cultivators arrived.

Some people awakened powers that let them control lightning, and a short video of it blew up across the internet overnight.

Others loudly proclaimed online that they were forming superhuman groups...

Then they quickly vanished without a trace.

Modern civilized society had been hit by an unprecedented shock, and every country had taken its own measures in response.

Longxia was vast, with immense territory, and its urban regions were highly prosperous.

According to the information in Luo Qingchuan’s mind, after spiritual energy revived, Longxia reacted quickly. It gathered scattered folk inheritances and formed a powerful supernatural force, rapidly stabilizing domestic order.

More than that—

Longxia officially confirmed the existence of the “cultivation world” to the public.

Seven months ago, they announced that the first realm of cultivators was Qi Refining. Two months ago, they announced the second realm: Foundation Establishment.

They said nothing about the later realms. Spiritual energy had only just revived, after all. Most likely, no one on the official side had reached a realm above Foundation Establishment yet.

Online speculation said that the government’s most talented cultivator had taken only five months to go from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment.

That lined up perfectly with the timing of the announcements.

Meanwhile, Luo Qingchuan would need half a year just to draw qi into his body...

So how was he supposed to catch up to that heaven-defying Child of Destiny who advanced a thousand miles in a day?

Luo Qingchuan opened the Fate Defiance System and the Sage System.

Two different interfaces appeared before him.

One was wrapped in black qi, ominous and terrifying, as if linked to some abyssal underworld.

The other shone with holy light, clear and pure, as if it led straight to the heavenly gate of the Great Dao.

The two systems had completely opposite styles.

Luo Qingchuan searched through his memories. He had two cultivation methods in total.

One was the Qi-Devouring Body Entry Art, bought by his family on the black market at great expense. At most, it could cultivate him to the tenth layer of Qi Refining.

The other was the Scripture of Calamitous Chaos, an S-rank system reward he’d obtained by pushing down the future sword immortal, Su Yingsnow.

Its incantations were profound, obscure, and hard to understand. It was as if every single word contained frenzied yet supreme mysterious laws.

Luo Qingchuan silently tapped the Fate Defiance System interface.

“Five hundred Fate Defiance points. Exchange for experience in the Scripture of Calamitous Chaos.”

In an instant—

Luo Qingchuan felt dense, pure spiritual energy flow from the crown of his head through all four limbs and every part of his body, rapidly cleansing him from head to toe.

The emptiness and exhaustion caused by his repeated entanglements with a beautiful girl last night were swept away as well.

His body brimmed with strength. His bones felt solid. Luo Qingchuan felt like he could jump three meters high in a single leap, and savage force lurked inside his muscles.

Luo Qingchuan opened his deep eyes, and even his vision had become much clearer.

“Fifth layer of Qi Refining.”

For ordinary people, that would take years of bitter cultivation. For someone with Luo Qingchuan’s terrible aptitude, it would probably take ten years just to barely reach it.

Luo Qingchuan muttered to himself, “So this is... defying fate.”

It accumulated power for the host in the most fundamental way, reversing destiny and rebelling against the Heavenly Dao.

Unbelievable.

Terrifying black qi swirled around Luo Qingchuan. Twisted, eerie shadows wove and surged without pattern, making the boy look like some peerless demonic overlord.

[Sage System: Ding. Host has cultivated a heaven-defying demonic art. Sage points -100.]

Luo Qingchuan’s expression didn’t change, but inside, his heart ached badly.

Pain. Too much pain... I need to find a way to make that back...

Falling Immortal Hotel, first-floor lobby.

A silver-haired girl in sunglasses suddenly felt her scalp go numb. The ID card in her hand, which she was using to check in, slipped with a smack onto the glass-like floor.

...What terrifying demonic qi!

The silver-haired girl’s eyelids twitched wildly. Beneath the sunglasses, her holy golden slit pupils narrowed from the sense of danger.

This was way too scary.

Her heart pounded. She crouched down to pick up her ID, her pretty brows drawing together slightly.

Ominous. Frenzied. A sign of calamity and death.

There was definitely a demonic cultivator hiding here, one who practiced an utterly evil art!

Should I strike first and kill him?

...Uh, can I even beat him?

After gaining supernatural power, many people had gone down crooked paths.

Crime rates were rising everywhere in the world.

Even if someone killed in broad daylight, they could still escape without a care. And for superhumans who broke local laws, many countries were willing to offer shelter.

Once all the chaos settled, everyone’s place in society would be reshuffled.

The beautiful girl fell into thought. Beneath her sunglasses, silver lightning seemed to flash through her eyes.

‘Can’t sense it anymore.’

‘If this person is secretly doing evil, I can’t just sit back and ignore it. I’ll launch a righteous sneak attack first, and if I can’t win, I’ll run!’

‘But I can’t sense it anymore.’

After finishing check-in, she didn’t take the elevator.

In the luxurious lobby of the Falling Immortal Hotel, the girl found a single sofa in the lounge area and sat down, planning to wait for her prey for a while.

A server brought her a cup of coffee and couldn’t help staring at her face for two whole seconds.

Could she be some celebrity?

“Miss, wanna add me on WeChat?” the server asked boldly, risking his job.

The girl shot him a glare with her holy eyes beneath the sunglasses. The server immediately felt his mind tremble. Then, as if he’d forgotten something, he walked away in a daze.

At that moment—

Ding.

The elevator doors opened.

Luo Qingchuan stepped out.

He had already decided to accumulate Fate Defiance points first and exchange them for experience in the Scripture of Calamitous Chaos. The higher your cultivation realm went, the harder it became to advance.

If he relied on his own talent to improve, he’d be slower than a crawling turtle.

Mm. Start with the daily mission first: [Snatch a little girl’s lollipop.]

Then the girl in sunglasses, coffee in hand, saw Luo Qingchuan.

Arched brows. Phoenix eyes. Smooth golden hair, bright as sunlight, combed with meticulous care. His steps were light and steady. He was clearly no ordinary person.

The lines of Luo Qingchuan’s face were soft yet wickedly beautiful. His gaze was deep, as if it hid countless stories.

That special aura gave him a mysterious kind of pull.

The girl’s eyes went wide.

It’s him!

Follow him!

It has to be him!

What normal person is this handsome?!

Right, this isn’t me falling for a pretty face. This is for eliminating evil and defending the Dao! That’s how it always goes in dramas!

However—

Even though the girl quickly reined in her scrutiny, Luo Qingchuan had already noticed that someone was watching him from the shadows.

The Scripture of Calamitous Chaos greatly sharpened Luo Qingchuan’s six senses.

Luo Qingchuan raised his arm to check the time, only to find that his watch had turned so green it made his heart pound...

Then he casually glanced toward the direction that gaze was coming from.

Silver-white hair spilled over her shoulders. She was tall, stunningly pretty, and so unreal she looked like she’d stepped straight out of an anime. Graceful as a startled swan, breathtakingly ethereal.

Beneath those pitch-black sunglasses was a pair of sacred, gentle golden eyes.

In that instant, Luo Qingchuan saw through her identity.

Holy crap... one of the heroines, Chen Yanyu!

The white-haired dragon girl!