Early the next morning, at the breakfast stall across from Shen Lang’s rented room.
“Same as usual,” Shen Lang said as he strode into the stall.
With a shout to the waiter, two fried dough cakes, eight fried sticks, and two bowls of soy milk were quickly brought to his table.
He had just finished one fried stick when Gui Yingzi arrived, panting heavily.
Before he could even sit or take a sip of water, Shen Lang asked, “Is it done?”
“Yes, Hundred-Man Commander, everything’s been investigated clearly.”
Shen Lang slid one of the bowls of soy milk toward him and said expressionlessly, “Tell me the important parts.”
Gui Yingzi downed the soy milk in one go before slowly explaining, “Qingyi Tower sent fifteen people this time. Seven are at the Early Stage of the Postnatal Realm, five at the Mid Stage, two at the Late Stage, and one at the Peak Stage.”
Shen Lang didn’t look up, continuing to bite into his fried dough stick.
Gui Yingzi continued, “Especially that one at the Peak Stage—he’s the new disciple of the Qingyi Tower Master, named Yang Fan. His Thirteen Flowing Blood Swords technique is said to be unparalleled, almost—”
“Where are they now?” Shen Lang interrupted, not interested in the boasting.
“They arrived outside the Jinling Secret Realm early this morning. I estimate they’ll start entering around afternoon.”
“So soon?” Shen Lang frowned, muttering softly, “Wasn’t it supposed to be three days later?”
“Hundred-Man Commander, what did you say?”
“Nothing. Continue.”
Gui Yingzi tore a fried dough stick in half and said, “All of Qingyi Tower’s people are strong—it’s clear they came prepared. But I did notice something strange.”
“What strange thing?”
“That Yang Fan… whenever he’s alone, he keeps mumbling to himself—something about systems, rewards, mission points, whatever that means. I couldn’t understand a word of it.”
Shen Lang froze mid-motion, his hand stopping halfway through tearing his dough cake.
“A system?”
He knew that word all too well. When he first crossed into the River of Time and Space, he’d faced countless systems—thousands of them, each more absurd than the last.
There were all sorts: the Slacker System, Cultivation System, Trash Collector System, Fertility System, Bandit System, Villain System, Heavenly Bank System… even one called the Ten Trillion Simp Points System that actually rewarded people with knives! Fortunately, he’d never bound himself to it, or in a world like this Xuanhuan World, anyone with ten trillion knives’ worth of “happiness” would’ve long since died crying.
Every single system tried to tempt, threaten, and trap him.
Even back then, Shen Lang had wondered—had the systems themselves started competing with each other for victims?
If he hadn’t discovered the truth—that these systems devoured their host’s souls—he would have fallen for their schemes.
He remembered one poor soul with the same surname as him, forced by his system to fawn over a female emperor for nine lifetimes, only to be killed and reborn again and again until he was neither man nor ghost. Just thinking about it made Shen Lang shiver.
That experience had convinced him that these systems were nothing but soul-harvesting parasites, no different from scammers in those hellish industrial zones.
After all, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
He had thought he’d escaped the systems when he fled the dimensional cluster and arrived on this continent.
But now, it seemed those bastards had followed him here too.
His abilities were forged through countless battles against the systems themselves.
In this world, systems were destined to be hunted.
“Alright, I understand. Thank you for the information. Give my regards to your boss, Chen Ba.”
Shen Lang patted Gui Yingzi’s shoulder and stood to leave for the outskirts of the city.
Gui Yingzi let out a long breath of relief. Watching Shen Lang walk away, he grabbed the remaining three fried sticks on the plate and started eating them.
Just then, the waiter walked up with a smile. “Sir, that’ll be twenty-four copper coins, please.”
Gui Yingzi almost choked. “What do you mean, what money?”
“For breakfast, of course. Eight fried sticks, two dough cakes, and two bowls of soy milk—twenty-four coins total.”
“Wha—he…” Gui Yingzi was dumbfounded, pointing toward where Shen Lang had gone, wanting to protest.
But when he met the waiter’s unfriendly gaze and saw him slowly rubbing the handle of his kitchen knife, he sighed and slapped his thigh.
“Just my luck…” he grumbled, tossing a string of coins onto the table.
…
Inside the Imperial Study.
“Junior Sister, I’m sorry. I can’t help you with this matter.”
After finishing the morning court session, Jiang Mengxuan entered the Imperial Study to find her senior sister Liu Qinghuan waiting.
After visiting the Prime Minister’s Residence the night before, Liu Qinghuan had completely lost her resolve. She no longer dared to involve herself in the Jinling Secret Realm issue.
She had come to the palace just to apologize.
Hearing her words, Jiang Mengxuan said nothing. Her elegant face remained calm and expressionless.
Seeing her like this filled Liu Qinghuan with guilt. “Junior Sister, I know I’ve disappointed you, but for the sake of the hundreds of disciples in the Purple Cloud Sect—and to protect our Master—I had no choice. I hope you can understand…”
Jiang Mengxuan smiled faintly. “Senior Sister, I was the one who acted without thinking. I shouldn’t have made things difficult for you.”
“Junior Sister, I—”
“There’s no need to explain. Senior Sister, return to the Purple Cloud Sect. As for the Jinling Secret Realm, you don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
Liu Qinghuan’s guilt deepened. She wanted to say more, but in the end, she said nothing and quietly left the Imperial Study.
“I’m sorry, Junior Sister… I’ve let you down. But the Ye family… is not someone our sect can afford to provoke…”
After she left, Jiang Mengxuan sat weakly before the imperial desk.
For the first time, she wanted to cry.
Since ascending the throne, she had never felt so helpless.
But there was no one by her side to guide her, no one to teach her how to break through the political entrapments surrounding her, no one to help her build a path forward.
Now, just one threat from the Prime Minister’s Residence had made her respected senior sister back down completely.
She couldn’t even imagine how terrifying the Ye family’s power truly was. Could she really defeat them?
Jiang Mengxuan felt lost like never before.
Beneath the crown, she was still just a seventeen-year-old girl.
In the modern world, a girl her age would be a college freshman—able to act spoiled with her parents, spend time with her boyfriend, maybe even fight online for causes she believed in.
But Jiang Mengxuan had to bear the rise and fall of an entire empire, struggle to maintain her power, and face endless threats and challenges—all alone.
She couldn’t tell anyone about the crushing pressure she endured; she could only silently bear it.
In the end, Jiang Mengxuan steadied herself and didn’t cry.
She reminded herself: I am the Empress. I am the ruler of this empire. How can I shed tears over such a small setback?
She resumed reviewing the memorials.
“Your Majesty, Prince Jing requests an audience,” Shu Yue announced softly.
“Let him in.”
Jiang Shangxian hurried in, breathless. “Your Majesty, bad news! We’ve received an urgent report—Qingyi Tower arrived at the Jinling Secret Realm early this morning, two days ahead of schedule!”
Jiang Mengxuan’s face remained calm as she continued reading her documents.
Her indifference surprised Jiang Shangxian. “Your Majesty, what’s wrong?”
Setting down her brush, Jiang Mengxuan shook her head. “There’s no need to concern yourself with Qingyi Tower anymore. I’ve lost this round.”
“What…” Jiang Shangxian stared in disbelief.
Seeing no one else nearby, he lowered his voice. “My dear niece, what happened? Tell your uncle. This isn’t like you.”
Hearing his gentle words, Jiang Mengxuan’s nose stung and her voice trembled.
“Imperial Uncle… do you think I can really overthrow the Ye family?”
A single tear rolled down her cheek.
“The Ye family is like a towering tree, and I… I’m just an ant. Can I truly shake them?”
Seeing his niece cry broke Jiang Shangxian’s heart. He stepped forward and gently embraced her.
“My dear niece, I know you’re under immense pressure. But the late emperor entrusted this empire to you because he believed you could make Great Chu strong again. Don’t be afraid. I’ll support you, no matter what you decide. I’ll always stand by your side. Don’t be afraid, child.”
“Imperial Uncle…”
At that moment, Jiang Mengxuan could no longer hold back her tears. She buried herself in her uncle’s arms and cried.
“My poor child…” Jiang Shangxian sighed softly, stroking her hair with a heart full of pity.