[Ding! Host's beloved Yuan Ziyi has been killed. Favorability reset to zero.]

[Detecting that someone dares oppose the honorable transmigrator host, the system issues a special mission: locate the disrespectful offender and avenge beloved Yuan Ziyi. Reward: cultivation increased by three minor realms.]

Ever since leaving Stone Mountain City, Chen Xuan had been cruising through life with constant cheats. During one chance encounter, he saved a princess from the Great Wind Dynasty who was being pursued. The moment he saw her, he fell in love at first sight. He had been steadily raising her favorability ever since.

Just as things were getting intimate, the system's notification suddenly rang in his mind.

Chen Xuan felt irritated. The alert had ruined the moment.

But then—

"What?!"

Fury surged through him.

Although he had long forgotten his former woman Yuan Ziyi after meeting this 92-point beauty from the Great Wind Dynasty, she had still been his woman. The purple-clad huntress was bold and passionate in a unique way, and he had spared no effort to claim her.

"Young Master Chen… what's wrong?"

Princess Yun Mengyan of the Great Wind Dynasty was startled. The man who had been grinning playfully moments ago suddenly looked like a vengeful ghost.

She had nearly given herself to him earlier in a moment of impulse, but now that she had regained her senses, a wave of lingering fear washed over her.

Chen Xuan quickly composed himself and forced a smile. "It's nothing, Mengyan. I just remembered something unpleasant. Let's continue."

Yun Mengyan cited discomfort and gently refused him.

Chen Xuan's face darkened.

That damned system had ruined everything.

[Ding! Detected that the Liu Family, connected to the transmigrator host, has been annihilated… Confirmed that the perpetrator is the same person who killed beloved Yuan Ziyi. Mission upgraded: slay the enemy. Reward increased to four minor realms of cultivation.]

Chen Xuan paused.

This stingy system was actually offering four minor realms this time. He was currently at the third layer of Spirit Sea. Adding four more layers would bring him straight to the seventh layer.

As for the Liu Family's destruction, he did not care. The system had already confirmed that Liu Yuehong was still alive, and she was the only one in the Liu Family who mattered to him—his white moonlight.

"I need to return to Stone Mountain City," Chen Xuan thought.

There was still one person there he valued more than anyone else in this life—even more than Liu Yuehong. His personal maid, Little Blue.

What Chen Xuan failed to notice was that the princess, whose favorability toward him had reached 80, now looked at him with a faint trace of vigilance in her eyes.

...

On the road back to Stone Mountain City, Chen Xuan remained unaware that Dongfang Yunxing was also heading toward the Four Symbols Mansion.

Dongfang Yunxing's target was the Vermilion Bird Mansion—one of the Four Symbols Mansions—where Liu Yuehong had joined.

"Master, will this really work?" Dongfang Yunxing asked nervously.

Following Su Chen's instructions, he had bribed one of Liu Yuehong's close girlfriends with pills to lure her out of the Vermilion Bird Mansion.

How could a good friend betray her?

If the woman warned Liu Yuehong and the Vermilion Bird Mansion's experts surrounded them, he would have no escape.

The Vermilion Bird Mansion was one of the Four Symbols Martial Mansions, with unfathomable foundations. Legend even claimed its mansion master was a Profound Connection realm king.

Su Chen replied calmly, "She will obey… Sometimes, the most terrifying things in this world are not your great enemies on the path of cultivation, but the people closest to you. Human hearts are far more frightening and complicated than you can imagine."

There seemed to be deeper meaning in his words.

Dongfang Yunxing only half-understood, but he soon spotted two graceful figures walking slowly toward the designated location.

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Everything was proceeding exactly as his master had predicted. The plan… had succeeded!

"Little Qing, are you saying there's Flame Sparrow Grass here?"

Flame Sparrow Grass was a rare spiritual herb. Liu Yuehong had searched for it for a long time. With it, she could refine the spirit vein Chen Xuan had left her and break through to the Spirit Vein realm.

Song Qing was Liu Yuehong's close friend. After learning of her need, she had been helping search for the herb and had finally found some.

Liu Yuehong followed Song Qing to the location, but she saw no sign of the Flame Sparrow Grass. Doubt crept into her heart.

Just as she began to question her friend, the smile vanished from Song Qing's face.

She shouted toward the surroundings, "I've brought the person. What are you waiting for?"

Liu Yuehong sensed danger and tried to retreat, but it was already too late.

A slender youth slowly stepped out from the shadows into the sunlight. The light illuminated the face beneath the black hood—handsome, familiar, yet strangely distant.

"It's you, Dongfang Yunxing!"

Upon recognizing the figure, Liu Yuehong could hardly believe her eyes. She never imagined Dongfang Yunxing would appear here.

Especially not with Song Qing suddenly attacking her without warning.

"Song Qing, what are you doing?!"

Caught off guard by her friend's strike, Liu Yuehong was sent flying. She smashed through several trees in succession.

"Liu Yuehong, you treacherous bitch!" Song Qing cursed. Her once lovely face was now twisted with jealousy and malice. "Ever since you came to the Vermilion Bird Mansion, everyone has favored you. You became the number one beauty here. All of that glory should have been mine, but you stole it! And you still dare ask what I'm doing? You call yourself my best friend, yet you wouldn't even give me the spot as Elder Si's disciple!"

Song Qing's voice burned with resentment. Without Liu Yuehong, she had been the center of attention at the Vermilion Bird Mansion. Now she was reduced to a mere green leaf beside her. How could she accept it?

Dongfang Yunxing watched Song Qing's expression and sighed inwardly. Just as his master had said, the human heart was truly terrifying.

Liu Yuehong spat out a mouthful of blood after taking the heavy blow. She quickly took out a precious disk. It was a treasure Chen Xuan had given her—the same one that had saved her life from Dongfang Yunxing once before.

A protective barrier formed around her. Even a Spirit Vein realm expert would find it difficult to break. After all, it was crafted by the master artificer Chen Xuan; its quality was guaranteed.

Song Qing's cultivation was weaker than hers, only at the seventh layer of Spirit Gathering. And Dongfang Yunxing appeared even weaker.

Liu Yuehong sneered, "Dongfang Yunxing, you madman. The Dongfang was wiped out by Young Master Chen. A remnant like you will die by his hand sooner or later."

Dongfang Yunxing smiled in return.

"Is this the trump card you're so proud of right now?"

He reached out and tore at the air with sudden force. The supposedly indestructible disk that could withstand Spirit Vein realm attacks shattered instantly.

Liu Yuehong froze in shock.

"Your… your cultivation… Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"

Dongfang Yunxing looked down at the collapsed Liu Yuehong and spoke calmly, "I have already exterminated the entire Liu Family. Your relatives have all been sent to accompany the souls of my Dongfang's dead. Now you are the last remnant of the Liu Family. I don't know whether Chen Xuan can kill me, but you—this last remnant of the Liu Family—will die by my hand first."

Liu Yuehong's eyes widened in disbelief as she died by Dongfang Yunxing's hand. Before her death, her lips moved weakly.

"I'll… be waiting for you… down below…"

Dongfang Yunxing's face remained expressionless.

Although Chen Xuan had carried out the destruction of the Dongfang, Liu Yuehong was the root cause. Dongfang Yunxing did not forget to deliver the final blow. He crushed her bones to powder and scattered her ashes. With this, he had finally given a proper account to the ninety-nine members of his Dongfang.

As if a knot in his heart had been untied, Dongfang Yunxing broke through once more, reaching the third layer of the Spirit Vein realm. Moreover, he discovered that his cultivation speed had become noticeably faster.

This was not the first time he had felt this way. Both his Talent and comprehension were improving. Though the wonderful sensation was tempting, Dongfang Yunxing did not let himself become lost in it.

His gaze turned toward Song Qing. Moments earlier, his master's voice had sounded in his mind: kill her and eliminate all future trouble. Though he did not fully understand why, Dongfang Yunxing did not hesitate. Until her final breath, a vicious smile still clung to Song Qing's face.

Dongfang Yunxing trusted that his master would never harm him.

Su Chen had not misled him.

"That woman will return to the Vermilion Bird Mansion and shift all the blame for Liu Yuehong's death onto you without hesitation," Su Chen had warned. "You will face a full-scale hunt from the mansion. Always finish what you start. Eradicate the roots and leave no future troubles behind."

Dongfang Yunxing firmly remembered his master's principle. He reduced Song Qing's remains to dust as well.

...

Stone Mountain City.

News that the departed number one expert, Chen Xuan, had returned shook the entire city.

Chen Xuan had been investigating the destruction of the Liu Family and the Purple Clothes Hunting Party, but the culprit was cunning and ruthless. Not a single survivor or trace had been left behind, leaving Chen Xuan with nothing.

He began reflecting on all the people he had ever offended.

There were quite a few.

No matter.

"Could it be the last survivor of the Dongfang?" The thought suddenly crossed his mind.

He still remembered that when he wiped out the Dongfang, one survivor had remained. That was why the system mission had stalled at 99% completion, preventing him from claiming the grand prize.

That survivor had disguised himself as a lowly horse groom and tried to assassinate Liu Yuehong. If not for the protective treasure Chen Xuan had given her, the consequences could have been disastrous. In the end, the survivor had still killed Liu Yuehong's younger brother, and Chen Xuan had compensated the Liu Family with resources for it.

After that incident, the Dongfang remnant had vanished without a trace.

As his strength grew, Chen Xuan no longer cared much about the so-called grand prize and had stopped paying attention to the matter.

He quickly shook his head. He was probably overthinking it. Even the Dongfang's top genius, Dongfang Yunhai, had died by his hand. How could an unknown second young master with mediocre talent possibly rise up so quickly in such a short time?

Chen Xuan had only achieved his current heights because of the system. Unless that second young master also had a system—which was impossible—the culprit had to be someone else.

[Ding! Beloved Liu Yuehong, whose favorability toward the honored transmigrator host reached 100, has been killed. The perpetrator is the same person who killed Yuan Ziyi and annihilated the Liu Family. Mission upgraded once more: slay the enemy and uphold the transmigrator's dignity. Reward: cultivation increased by six minor realms.]

Chen Xuan's pupils contracted sharply as a stab of pain pierced his heart.

He had been tricked!