Lin Luxi opened his eyes and found himself standing in an unfamiliar room.
Strange, wasn’t he supposed to be dead?
The afternoon sunlight streamed through the window, making the boy’s silver hair gleam brilliantly. His eyes were large and round, a soft shade of gray, gentle and calm. His face was small and pale, his lips a vivid red, like a single red plum blossom blooming on a pure white snowy field. His lightly colored eyebrows and features were neither dull nor overly striking, but exuded a kind of tender warmth.
Yet at this moment, he widened his eyes slightly, frozen for a second.
Anyone who had been at the center of an explosion one moment and then appeared in a strange room the next would be shocked. And to make matters worse, a corpse lay on the floor, an exact copy of himself!
A hallucination? A clone?
What on earth was going on?
Even someone as experienced and knowledgeable as Lin Luxi couldn’t make sense of it right away.
The corpse had a hole in its chest; its eyes were wide like copper bells, its expression a mixture of shock and fear, as if it didn’t expect to be killed, or perhaps what shocked it most was the identity of the person who killed it.
The room wasn’t large, somewhat like a dorm from his student days: a single bed, a desk, a wardrobe, everything clearly in its place.
Lin Luxi was about to search the room, hoping to find some clue, when he suddenly froze and turned toward the door.
The next second, there was a knock.
“Lin Luxi, are you ready yet? It’s getting late! Hurry up, everyone’s here and we’re just waiting for you, do you have any shame?!”
Lin Luxi?
The person on the floor was also named Lin Luxi?
Knock knock knock!
“Lin Luxi! Are you in there or not?!”
Lin Luxi glanced at the corpse, then suddenly crouched down and stripped its clothes to put them on himself. He took off what looked like a high-tech watch from the corpse’s wrist and put it on his own. Even the shoes, he changed from head to toe into the corpse’s outfit.
Outside, the people waiting were getting anxious. The room had been silent for a long time, and they worried something had gone wrong.
“Damn it, Lin Luxi! Say something! If you don’t speak, I’m breaking the door down!”
Then the door was slammed hard. “Hiss, why does the school make doors so sturdy?”
Another voice joined in.
“What’s going on? He’s not ready yet? If we don’t hurry, we’ll be late. You know being late will cost credit.”
“He should still be inside. I saw him go in after lunch, and he hasn’t come out since.”
After a moment of silence:
“Move aside. With your tiny frame, you’ll just break yourself. I’ll do it!”
Inside the room, Lin Luxi lightly flicked his fingernail. A seed, no bigger than a sesame seed, landed perfectly on the corpse’s chest. It sprouted instantly; its roots and stem grew at lightning speed, as if accelerated a hundred times. Within seconds, it bloomed into a massive, vibrant titan arum.
The corpse’s nutrients were quickly absorbed, then shredded into powder by the roots.
Once the titan arum completed its task of destroying the body and erasing all traces, it withered and vanished, leaving no sign of its existence.
Just then, the door was finally forced open. A huge man, towering like an iron tower at two meters tall, rushed in, followed closely by a petite, delicate figure.
“You alright?”
Lin Luxi didn’t respond; he was still struggling to process the flood of information that had suddenly poured into his mind the moment the corpse vanished.
The boy’s silver eyebrows lifted slightly, like a thin mist hovering over them, a sorrow that almost stirred pity.
But Chris knew his nature, any sorrow was fake. This person was selfish, cowardly; if luck hadn’t favored him in earlier years, he wouldn’t even have the chance to be on the same team as her now.
“You’ve got issues, huh? Why didn’t you say anything earlier? Let’s go, hurry up, don’t waste time.”
Lin Luxi followed them downstairs, all the while sorting through the information in his mind without missing a beat.
He had transmigrated into a book he had read countless times before, a harem-style novel.
The novel was called Proudly Supreme in the World. The first half was a typical overpowered protagonist story.
It told of a male lead who breezed through every obstacle, defeated countless enemies, and became one of the world’s top fighters.
The plot was cliché; the female characters that appeared along the way were either beautiful or stunning, and almost all fell in love with the male lead at first sight, with unwavering devotion.
What made it slightly less clichéd was the male lead’s personality, kind, gentle, considerate, like the warmth of the sun, yet firm when needed. He wasn’t a saintly figure; when action was required, he could act decisively. Even after seeing much of the world’s darkness, he still maintained a compassionate and gentle heart.
As for why only the first half was considered cliché, that was because in the latter half, the author finally couldn’t take the pressure from their editor, so they let the story go dark, turning the novel into a bitter, twisted version.
By the time the novel reached the midpoint, the male lead still showed no romantic feelings, his focus was entirely on advancing his career and cultivating himself into a top-tier fighter. As a result, the female supporting characters, who had once been deeply in love with him, turned their love into hatred. Some plotted to kill him out of “if I can’t have him, no one else will”; others wanted to capture him for some twisted imprisonment play.
Beyond that, these women constantly clashed with each other in their pursuit of the male lead, today poisoning him, tomorrow stabbing him.
The story’s tone shifted sharply from a light, enjoyable read to one filled with calamity, danger, and a bizarre, unpredictable atmosphere.
When they reached the first floor, Lin Luxi didn’t need to look around deliberately, he spotted the figure immediately.
The man sat on a single sofa, broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted, with impossibly long legs that seemed to have nowhere to rest.
Yet the most striking feature was his long, sunlit golden hair, dazzling and radiant, making him look almost otherworldly. Upon hearing the noise, he tilted his head slightly; his golden eyes, soft and warm, met theirs.
When Lin Luxi had read the novel, he had loved this male lead. Gentle and considerate, always cheerful like sunlight. Most importantly, even though it was a harem-style, power-up story, the male lead remained courteous and refined. Despite being adored and pursued by many, he never grew arrogant or complacent. He was, in Lin Luxi’s view, the most perfectly crafted male protagonist he had ever encountered in a novel.
What made it even more remarkable was that the entire novel didn’t have a single bedroom scene. It was as if the author didn’t want to rely on sexual tension or flirtation to attract readers. The male lead hadn’t even given a first kiss, and he had politely stated that he had no intention of falling in love, a refreshing change in a typical harem power-up story.
The more he restrained himself and kept his distance, the more the female supporting characters wanted to conquer this “mountain.” Each one was unwilling to give up, striving to become his singular, special choice.
Yet the male lead remained unusually steadfast. Poisoning, coercion, threats of death, none of it worked. Eventually, the antagonists manipulated the women into betraying him.
In the end, the male lead turned dark.
And it was the original owner who stabbed him, triggering the male lead’s dark transformation.
All because he believed the male lead’s kindness was never sincere, merely a façade to display false friendliness, build a good reputation, and recruit followers.
The betrayer’s fate was equally grim: the darkened male lead severed the sinews of his hands and feet, destroyed his mental power, and condemned him to a lifetime of endless agony.
But he wasn’t the original owner.
Lin Luxi’s pale gray eyes gleamed faintly as he nodded toward the starry galaxy.
Yue Xinghe smiled, and for a moment it felt as if the surrounding space had brightened several degrees. For this friend he had known since childhood, he always had endless patience. “Ready? Let’s go.”
He didn’t mention the half-hour wait just now.
Gentle and considerate.
So why did the original owner think such a male lead was fake? And then justify betrayal? Didn’t he stop to think how much the male lead had done for him, constantly searching for ways to help him change his talent?
Even in the middle, to save him, the male lead had offended quite a few people, had he already forgotten all that?
Lin Luxi gave a faint smile. “Mm.”
Knowing the plot, Lin Luxi correctly guessed that this was the biennial intra-university martial arts tournament at Capital Star Alliance University, the scene where the male lead first showcased his skill in front of the public.
The competition was held in a vast arena. From the outside, it was silver and shaped like a massive, oval bird egg, covering an enormous area and able to accommodate tens of thousands of people at once.
As the top university in the Earth Alliance, Capital Star Alliance University was always under public scrutiny. In addition to the school’s students, the university opened the event partially to the public. People could apply for tickets through the official website and attend the competition on-site with electronic passes. As a result, the arena was always packed, while the Star Network simultaneously livestreamed the event. People could even place bets on who would win and who would ultimately come out on top.
All the competitors had assigned seats, with four members per team. Lin Luxi and his group walked to their designated spot and sat down, naturally drawing the attention of nearly the entire audience.
Of course, Lin Luxi didn’t think they were staring at him, it was clearly Yue Xinghe who had caught everyone’s eyes. His appearance was simply too extraordinary. Lin Luxi himself stood just over 1.8 meters, but Yue Xinghe was half a head taller, nearly 1.9 meters. Even in a highly advanced interstellar society, that height made him stand out like a crane among chickens.
An outsider asked a nearby student, “Is that team strong? Who are they?”
The girl immediately perked up at the mention of Yue Xinghe’s team and eagerly explained, “This team just entered as freshmen this year. That golden-haired guy, the most handsome one, is the team leader, Yue Xinghe. Mental rank S, physique S, and he’s humble, kind, and gentle. The short girl sitting to his left is Chris; she doesn’t seem to be from Earth. The guy on the far left, who looks like a stone, is Qin Hao—Mental rank B, physique A, and I hear his body is insanely tough.”
“Oh, I see.”
The outsider nodded, then suddenly noticed something amiss. “Hey, what about the guy sitting to Yue Xinghe’s right? Silver hair, looks super cute, soft like a little white rabbit, why didn’t you mention him?”
“That one?”
The girl sneered lightly. “His name’s Lin Luxi. Don’t let that innocent look fool you, his character’s not so great.”
The gossip-heavy tone immediately piqued the outsider’s curiosity. “What do you mean?”
“I really don’t want to talk about him,” the girl sighed. “Look at Yue Xinghe’s team, everyone’s mental and physique are top-notch. Even Chris has a B-rank physique. But him? He’s the only guy with F-rank mental and a D-rank body, like he’s made of glass, so fragile. Yet he’s incredibly lucky. He’s been friends with Yue Xinghe since childhood, and Yue Xinghe even petitioned the school for his admission. The principal, not wanting to lose someone as talented as Yue Xinghe, agreed to a ‘buy one, get one’ deal.”
Since the last century, geniuses with both S-rank mental and physique had become increasingly rare. Their rarity is exactly why the principal granted such a special request.
The girl’s tone was a mix of envy and jealousy. “Ah, same fandom, different fate.”
The outsider had also once tried the university’s entrance test but had been rejected.
Everyone knew how high the standards were at Capital Star Alliance University. Out of millions of applicants each year, only a few tens of thousands, or sometimes just over ten thousand, were admitted. That’s a ratio of over a hundred to one, sometimes several hundred to one.
Immediately, the outsider no longer thought Lin Luxi cute. He looked soft and fragile, yet his luck was infuriatingly extraordinary.
The girl, worried someone might think their school was being unfair, added a clarification: “But he was admitted through an extra enrollment slot, it didn’t take anyone else’s place. The principal also set a condition: if Lin Luxi doesn’t make it to at least the semifinals in the individual tournament, his admission will be revoked.”
Although it was difficult, just having this chance to study at the Alliance University was already something to envy.
The mocking and disdainful glances cast from all around, Lin Luxi pretended not to notice.
Behind him, someone loudly whispered “private chat,” sneering at his abilities and sympathizing with Yue Xinghe for being stuck with such a clingy rogue, trying to provoke Lin Luxi into making a scene.
The original owner had once been enraged by this. His talent was low, his aptitude weak, but his pride was unusually strong. Normally gentle and calm, if he hit a nerve, he would lash out like a crazed rabbit, biting indiscriminately.
The author had introduced this trait in the first few lines, vividly establishing the character.
But that was the original owner.
Lin Luxi had experienced everything, heard every insult imaginable.
He had once been swallowed by a giant spider; when he escaped, half of his face was rotten and disfigured. The pain was something no one who hadn’t experienced it could understand. Yet he hadn’t uttered a word, he just smiled, because he was alive!
The revival of mental energy sounded like a blessing from heaven, but in reality, it marked humanity’s apocalypse.
Magnetic fields were chaotic, rendering many modern weapons useless.
Earth, in its fairness, didn’t discriminate, it treated humans and animals alike.
So humans awakened their abilities, and animals and plants, from whales to ants, weren’t left behind.
Thus came the apocalypse.
Lin Luxi didn’t want to recall that unbearably dark and painful period. He lifted his head, feeling the sun warm his face, and smiled faintly.
No stench of rotting corpses, no smell of smoke or blood.
Being alive felt wonderful.
The students who had made sarcastic remarks didn’t get the reaction they wanted. Lin Luxi didn’t turn red in anger or lose control; instead, he smiled, as if looking down on them. Their frustration surged, and they wanted to say even harsher things.
But Yue Xinghe spoke at that moment. He hadn’t ignored Lin Luxi’s smile. Beneath his narrow, delicate eyelids, his golden eyes briefly glinted with a cold sharpness. Then, raising his eyelids, they were filled with a gentle, warm smile, like spring rain. “What are you thinking about? Why so happy?”
Of course, Lin Luxi couldn’t tell the real reason. He smiled, his large, round eyes forming a crescent shape. “I’m happy because I have such a good friend like you.”
Yue Xinghe paused for a moment. The smile in his eyes deepened, as if he were laughing, yet at the same time hiding something more profound.
He parted his lips slightly, his voice so soft it seemed to float in the air. “Is that so?”
Lin Luxi naturally nodded. “Yes!”
Yue Xinghe smiled but didn’t say anything more.
Just then, stirring music filled the arena. With the host’s appearance, the annual competition’s opening ceremony officially began.
As the host energized the crowd, Lin Luxi noticed a subtle anomaly while reviewing the information in his mind. His smile stiffened.
He didn’t expect that, even at this moment, the original owner was already scheming, secretly colluding with the antagonist.
Truly…
Thinking of the original owner’s tragic fate in the novel, he drew in a quiet breath.
He absolutely had to sever all contact with the antagonist. And above all, the male lead must never find out.
Never!