[Following your instructions, Liu Ruyue was brought in.]

[She looked at you with a mix of shyness, honesty, and complexity. After all, you had already been open with each other five days ago.]

[Though the situation had been unusual at the time and you had taken advantage of it, Liu Ruyue—the destined heroine—had clearly accepted her fate.]

["Lu Shen, I don't know how Ye Chen offended you, but he is no longer my Liu family's bodyguard."]

["I can be your woman. I hope you will let the Liu family go."]

[Standing before you, the destined heroine offered herself willingly. You now clearly understood what it meant to be a villain. Ye Chen, the destined protagonist, had been beaten and crippled by Lu Zhong and driven away by you. For her family, Liu Ruyue was willing to bow.]

["Take your time, let me think about it."]

[You didn't immediately agree, instead choosing to inquire about Ye Chen's origins. You were intrigued by the destined protagonist and wanted to uncover the secrets behind him.]

[Liu Ruyue was surprised. Why weren't you taking advantage of a beautiful woman coming to your door? Did you have some special fetish for male bodyguards? After a moment's hesitation, she explained.]

["Ye Chen was originally a security guard for the Liu Group. I noticed his skills and hired him as a bodyguard. However, he seemed to have an odd personality. He liked to dress in ragged clothes, pretending to be a beggar. He would get into fights, often saying something about how to die..."]

["I once used the Liu family's connections to investigate his past, but found nothing. However, he once mentioned that his hometown was a mountain village in the south of Daxia, and there were people waiting for him there..."]

[Liu Ruyue tried to recall and shared everything she knew about Ye Chen's origins.]

[As you listened to her description, you couldn't help but laugh. This guy seemed straight out of an old online novel.]

[Born in a mountain village, possessing unique skills, the remnant soul of a strong man, a beautiful schoolgirl, and a loyal bodyguard—it was a story that had all the hallmarks of a protagonist.]

[Over the past few days, people in the entire Demon City had been searching for Ye Chen, but they hadn't found a trace. Clearly, this destined protagonist had some tricks up his sleeve.]

[After learning about Ye Chen, you instructed your protector, Lu Zhong, to use the Lu family's resources to investigate and prepare to capture Ye Chen's family and force him to hand over any valuable opportunities.]

[You were transformed by the pills and elixirs left in a storage bag dropped by Ye Chen. He must have other treasures on him.]

[Among these treasures, the remnants of the mysterious old grandfather's soul were particularly valuable.]

[However, all of this depended on capturing Ye Chen alive.]

[Of course, Liu Ruyue, the destined heroine, couldn't be overlooked either.]

["Liu Ruyue, I can see your sincerity, but it's still not enough."]

[With your playful smile, Liu Ruyue instantly understood and silently nodded.]

[The two of you walked into the house—one ahead and the other behind—ready to discuss the terms of sincerity. After all, letting the Liu family go was no small matter.]

[...Three days later, Liu Ruyue had used enough reasoning and sincerity to make you reluctantly agree to let the Liu family go. The condition was that she would become your personal secretary and offer her luck services at all times.]

[...Five days later, rumors spread that Liu Ruyue had become your woman, and the Liu family was now under the protection of the Lu family. The news caused quite a stir, and many young men wept upon hearing that the goddess was taken.]

[...Seven days later, because you had sent Lu Zhong to assist the Li family, the Zhao family in Magic City could no longer bear it. The head of the Zhao family brought his son, Zhao Kun, to you to apologize, saying they didn't know Liu Ruyue was your woman and asked for forgiveness.]

[You knew the Zhao family's head was referring to Liu Ruyue's drunkenness, but you didn't care about that.]

[What you were more concerned about was whether Zhao Kun was involved with the mastermind behind the scenes. After all, everything at the beginning had been far too coincidental.]

[You told them you wanted to investigate Zhao Kun.]

[The Zhao family patriarch agreed, knowing that the safety of his family outweighed his son.]

[You instructed Lu Zhong to search Zhao Kun's soul, but surprisingly, Zhao Kun turned out to be innocent. Everything seemed to have been just a coincidence.]

"Could I have made a mistake? The Zhao family has nothing to do with the mastermind?" Lu Shen thought, squinting as he fell into brief contemplation.

[In his mind, he had assumed the Zhao family was somehow connected to the initial assassination attempt. If Zhao Kun hadn't been filled with selfish desires, Liu Ruyue wouldn't have ended up in front of him.]

[This was the reason he had targeted the Zhao family in the simulator.]

[But now, with the soul search revealing no guilt, he began to question his approach.]

["Zhao Kun is dead," Lu Zhong reported, after searching his soul. Zhao Kun had become a demented fool and was eventually slapped to death by the Zhao family patriarch.]

[You realized that the Zhao family was innocent and wondered if you had made a mistake.]

["Young Master Lu, Quan Zi is dead, have all the grudges been settled?"]

[You glanced at the calm-looking head of the Zhao family and noticed a subtle trace of hatred in his eyes—he had clearly been deeply affected by the loss of his son.]

["Master Zhao, I don't recall any promises I made!"] you sneered, hugging Liu Ruyue and waving your hand, signaling Lu Zhong and the strongmen of the Li family to take action.]

[Since you had made a mistake, you intended to see it through to the end. Letting the Zhao family go now would only create trouble for yourself.]

[The Zhao family patriarch wanted to scold you for being shameless, but he was killed by Lu Zhong's palm and turned into ashes.]

["The four major families in the Demon City are too many; three will suffice. The Zhao family's territory and industry now belong to the Li family, but I, Lu Shen, want their accumulated elixirs and treasures."]

[You set a price, driven by profit, demanding that the Li family destroy the Zhao family completely, with you taking the largest share.]

[With the help of the Li family's saintly ancestor and Lu Zhong, the Zhao family's demise was all but guaranteed.]

[In just one day, the Zhao family was nearly destroyed by the combined effort of the three families, suffering heavy losses and falling into a desperate situation.]

[You sat back, watching the destruction unfold.]

[Meanwhile, the Lin family and the Wu family remained neutral, not participating.]

[Soon, the Zhao family was no more. However, the head of the Li family reported that the Zhao family's saint-level ancestor had mysteriously disappeared…]

[When you heard the news, you scolded the Li family for leaving such a dangerous hidden threat.]

[An unrestrained, saint-level strongman was undoubtedly a massive threat to you.]

[Nonetheless, you had successfully obtained the Zhao family's centuries-old resources, and now you planned to retreat and refine them, devouring the Zhao family's "corpse" to break through to a new realm.]

[Just as you were about to withdraw, Liu Ruyue approached you, saying that a "secret realm" had appeared in the sea near Magic City. Many powerful people had gone there, asking if you were interested.]

[You frowned, suspecting the mastermind behind the scenes or the missing Zhao family ancestor might be involved, so you initially decided not to participate.]

[On the first day, you chose to practice the [Ancient Dragon Elephant Sutra], swallowing a hundred spiritual energy pills, preparing to break through to the fourth level of magical power.]

[...On the third day, you successfully broke through to the fourth level, gaining the new magical talent: "Dragon Elephant Tyrant Body," with the power of a dragon elephant.]

[...On the fifth day, you felt the "strong luck" within you begin to fade. Just before it fully dissipated, you sensed a chill. Your luck and fate began to signal a warning, and the breath of death drew near...]

[You were awakened...]