It Turns Out, They Are the Protagonists

Late at night, the old village was quiet, with only the occasional bark of a dog.

Entertainment was scarce in this world, and most mortals would be asleep by now.

However, a slightly dilapidated house in the village was quite lively.

A young woman in a black dress and high heels looked at the unconscious young man on the bed, frowning slightly, seemingly displeased.

Several elderly people stood beside Huang Manting. A closer look revealed that they all had some sort of physical ailment, said to be the result of past injuries sustained while being pursued by enemies. They had come to this village to live out their remaining years in peace.

Huang Manting, feeling sympathy for them, had asked her father to have the Morning Glory Chamber of Commerce send supplies every month to prevent these elderly and disabled villagers from starving.

The village had been peaceful until now.

But with Huang Weifeng’s arrival, this peace might be shattered.

“Manting, don’t be angry. Weifeng grew up in this village. It’s only right for him to recuperate here after being injured.”

The elders tried to comfort Huang Manting.

Two days ago, after finishing her cultivation at the Two Polarities Sect, Huang Manting had overheard some disciples talking about a young man who had offended the Lan family and been rescued by a mysterious expert.

Curious, she had inquired further, and after hearing the description of his appearance, she was almost certain it was Huang Weifeng.

She had rushed back to the village and confirmed her suspicions.

Huang Manting had grown up in this village, and Huang Weifeng, having lost his parents, had been cared for by the elderly villagers.

The children in the village had been close, but after Huang Manting’s father became successful in business, they moved out of the village, and her relationship with the other children gradually faded.

However, the Morning Glory Chamber of Commerce had always taken care of the village, and the elderly villagers treated Huang Manting like their own granddaughter.

But now, Huang Weifeng had not only offended the Lan family, but he had also returned to the village.

If the Lan family found out… it would cause trouble for the village.

“It’s not Weifeng’s fault. An immortal saved him and brought him back to the village,” an old woman said slowly, glancing at the crippled old man beside her.

Huang Manting’s eyes flickered. She had heard about this and asked, “I heard he was surrounded by the Lan family, and a mysterious expert rescued him?”

The old man with white hair and a crippled leg hummed in response. “I don’t know who that immortal was, but he brought him back to the village.”

Huang Manting frowned slightly. “He also offended Mu Zhian, didn’t he?”

“Who’s Mu Zhian?” a young villager asked, puzzled.

“He’s the one who married the Jade Empress a while ago. Huang Weifeng offended him at the Lan family. It might cause trouble—”

Huang Manting suddenly heard a groan.

She glanced over and saw Huang Weifeng, awakened from his unconscious state, sitting up abruptly, gasping for breath.

Then, confusion and anger filled his eyes. “Where am I? How did I get here?”

“Where’s Mu Zhian?!”

Hearing Huang Weifeng’s words, several young villagers chuckled mockingly.

“He offended the Lan family of all people. What if he brings trouble to our village?”

“He’s always been useless in his cultivation, causing trouble for the village…”

Huang Manting also frowned, a surge of anger rising within her.

After causing such a big incident, he’s still acting so nonchalantly… If it weren’t for the elderly villagers present, she would have already taught him a lesson.

“So… I was in danger, and a mysterious expert saved me?”

“Mu Zhian… he also seems to have the protection of a powerful consciousness.”

Huang Weifeng recalled the events of a few days ago, a sharp glint flickering in his eyes.

He was a Chosen One, the protagonist of this world. He wouldn’t die so easily.

But who was this Mu Zhian…? To be able to unleash such power… As expected of the initial ‘villain.’

“You’re safe in the village. The Lan family won’t find you here. Just focus on your cultivation,” Dao Initial Celestial Venerable said gently. Although many villagers didn’t want Huang Weifeng to stay, he still wanted to protect him.

After all, he had been friends with Huang Weifeng’s parents and had promised to look after him.

“I understand,” Huang Weifeng nodded slightly, not apologizing for causing trouble for the village.

Firstly, they weren’t worthy of his apology. Secondly, he didn’t intend to stay here.

Could he achieve anything by cultivating in this village?

Without venturing out and experiencing the world, staying in this desolate village would only hinder his progress.

“Young Master Huang, you’ve caused so much trouble for the village. Don’t you have anything to say?”

Huang Manting, unable to endure it any longer, raised an eyebrow and glanced at him.

As a merchant’s daughter, she rarely offended anyone directly, but Huang Weifeng’s attitude was infuriating.

Seeing Huang Manting’s beauty, Huang Weifeng’s eyes lit up, but then he noticed her cold gaze and said indifferently, “I won’t stay in the village for long. I’ll leave after I recover.”

Huang Manting glanced at him coldly. “I hope so.”

If it weren’t for the elderly villagers present, she would have already exploded.

Dao Initial Celestial Venerable watched the scene unfold, sighing softly.

The young people in the room looked at Huang Weifeng with disdain.

Not only was he arrogant, but he didn’t even show any gratitude after the village helped him. He was hopeless.

Huang Weifeng, however, remained indifferent to their gazes.

After all, he was a transmigrator with a powerful backer. He didn’t need to care about these people.

With his ‘golden finger’ and the Holy Light Qilin’s protection, reaching the peak of this world was only a matter of time.

As for these people mocking him… he would make them regret it later.

Dao Initial Celestial Venerable looked at the boy’s arrogant demeanor, sighing inwardly. As someone who had experienced much, he could see that Huang Weifeng hadn’t heeded his advice at all.

But he had done what he could. The rest was up to Huang Weifeng.

This girl is much kinder than him… He looked at Huang Manting with a sigh.

She had remained respectful even without knowing their identities, even sending supplies every month… The elderly villagers appreciated her kindness.

After lecturing Huang Weifeng a bit more, they left the room, and the elders gathered to chat.

Hum!

Suddenly, they heard a humming sound, and the elderly villagers instinctively looked towards the south.

Dao Initial Celestial Venerable’s eyes narrowed. He whispered, “The Ocean God has perished.”

The old woman beside him said slowly, “He should have expected this after offending the Jade Empress so many times.”

“With the Ocean God’s death, the Southern Wilderness will be in chaos,” another elder said.

“If that’s the case, the Jade Empress will probably return to the Eastern Continent.”

“The first Transcendence Realm Human Emperor… I wonder what her next move will be after eliminating her external enemies,” Dao Initial Celestial Venerable murmured.

He believed that after ascending, the Jade Empress would be ambitious, expanding the Jade Pool’s influence, perhaps even unifying the Eastern Continent.

“Regardless, it has nothing to do with us old geezers,” a raspy voice came from beside him. “Don’t forget why we chose to live in seclusion.”

“Even so, we can’t completely ignore the outside world. Otherwise, if someone discovers this village, we’ll be in trouble,” another elder said.

“I think we should choose a young person to venture out and learn about the situation in the outside world,” Dao Initial Celestial Venerable said.

“If that’s the case, we must choose a kind-hearted child… I think Manting is a good choice,” the old woman said.

The elders were silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

“Let’s observe her for a while. If there are no problems, we’ll choose her.”

…

Lan Family.

“I’m so stupid… Really…”

Mu Zhian stared blankly at the ceiling, murmuring to himself.

He knew that Sister Lin Ling was an innocent, gluttonous girl, but he hadn’t expected her to be a completely different person under the influence of the karmic fire.

When Lin Ling didn’t want to cultivate: Mu Zhian will be free from desire.

When she wanted to cultivate: Mu Zhian will be completely enamored with me.

She’s a hypocrite!

Mu Zhian was furious.

He turned to look at the silver-haired beauty beside him.

“Aaa~”

She was holding his arm, nuzzling against it like a cat seeking a comfortable spot.

Her eyes were closed, her long eyelashes fluttering, her beautiful face filled with contentment.

The Heavenly Court spiritual energy within her, combined with the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox’s charm, was an irresistible temptation, even for someone like Lin Ling, who wasn’t interested in cultivation.

She wouldn’t even trade it for Eight Treasures Crane!

“…”

Mu Zhian looked at her, speechless, then sighed softly and pinched her waist lightly, gently caressing the seemingly ‘dormant’ Lin Ling.

While suppressing the karmic fire, Lin Ling often entered this dormant state, during which it was difficult for others to approach her, as she would instinctively use her word spirit ability to push them away.

Mu Zhian looked at the sleeping beauty, gently covering her with the blanket, concealing her fair skin, and sat down cross-legged nearby to meditate.

He was still thinking about the runes he had seen on the Heaven-Measuring Ruler.

For some reason, they seemed familiar, especially the green rune that had glowed last night.

That rune could reverse time… This Dao seemed familiar to Mu Zhian.

He took out the Heavenly Court ring obtained by the First Demon Emperor and his consciousness instantly entered the Heavenly Court.

He closed his eyes, and nine thrones appeared before him.

Each throne was engraved with different runes and patterns. Behind the first throne was a lotus shape, inscribed with the character ‘Imminent.’

Behind the second was an ancient sword, corresponding to ‘Soldier.’

The third was a giant serpent, its appearance quite sinister. Just looking at it made one feel like they were being watched, a strange sense of allure emanating from it.

Besides the four thrones that were currently lit up, the remaining five were obscured by a soft white mist.

“The nine seats correspond to ‘Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Zai, Qian’ (meaning ‘Imminent, Soldier, Fight, All, Array, True, Row, Before, March’), all arrayed before. The ‘Imminent’ rune controlled by Yao Meng can rewrite and even reverse time, weakening others’ cultivation.”

Mu Zhian looked at the four seats before him, lost in thought.

He took out the Heaven-Measuring Ruler, which had recovered its energy. Four runes on the translucent ruler glowed softly.

The remaining five marks were blurry and indistinct.

“‘Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe’—each character contains a different Dao, but I can currently only use ‘Lin.’ Does this mean that because only Yao Meng has resonated with the new Heavenly Dao and ascended, if Ruoxi and Zixuan also ascend, the ‘Bing’ and ‘Dou’ runes will be activated?”

‘Lin’ controlled the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and could rewrite time, while ‘Bing’ possessed immense vitality and life force, and ‘Dou’ could grow stronger with each battle, like stacking buffs, until a single attack could obliterate the enemy.

“I can currently bestow five seats. I have to consider the order…”

Mu Zhian pondered for a while, cultivated in the Heavenly Court for an hour, and exhaled slowly.

He opened his eyes, feeling refreshed.

The spiritual energy in the Heavenly Court was far richer than in the Nine Provinces. Even without cultivating, one could achieve immortality here.

Unfortunately, only his consciousness could enter the Heavenly Court through the ring.

Mu Zhian collected his thoughts, his consciousness returning to reality.

He could only cultivate in the Heavenly Court for an hour each day, and his time was up.

…

Southern Wilderness.

Yao Meng stood in mid-air, toying with an ocean-blue crystal, a rare coldness in her eyes.

It had been almost half a month since she parted ways with Mu Zhian. During this time, she had been busy searching for the Ocean God, unable to check on Mu Zhian.

Dealing with the Ocean God wouldn’t have taken long. After all, his lifespan was nearing its end, and he had severed his connection to the Heavenly Dao, his realm falling to Soul Transformation. Even if he burned his blood essence to temporarily reach Dao Integration, she could still easily defeat him.

But the Ocean God was good at hiding. After searching for so long, she had finally found a clue and killed him.

She wondered how Mu Zhian was doing…

Half a month hadn’t diminished her feelings for Mu Zhian. On the contrary, she couldn’t stop thinking about him… especially his younger form.

She wasn’t worried about his safety, but she wondered how many women he had been intimate with during her absence.

“I’ve wasted so much time on you. If I return and find him being intimate with someone else, I’ll crush your consciousness a thousand times over,” she said to the Ocean God’s consciousness trapped within the crystal, her voice gentle yet menacing.

Then, Yao Meng smiled faintly. “But it’s not just me who misses him. He must be thinking about me too, right?”

Thinking this, Yao Meng pursed her lips, her eyes sparkling with affection, a smile appearing on her face, anticipating their reunion.

Compared to the boredom of cultivation, being with him was much more interesting.

She raised her finger, and a petal of the World Cleansing Green Lotus silently entered the ocean-blue crystal, completely suppressing the Ocean God’s consciousness.

Then, her figure transformed into a streak of green light and vanished from the Southern Wilderness.

…

Feiqin Garden.

Mu Zhian’s consciousness returned from the Heavenly Court. Feeling the soft body in his arms, he instinctively embraced her waist, burying his face in her bosom.

Lin Ling stroked his hair and said, “Aaaaa (Your consciousness wasn’t here just now. Where did you go?)”

“Nothing. I was just meditating,” Mu Zhian chuckled.

Lin Ling didn’t seem to care about the truth and nodded gently, seemingly enjoying the peaceful morning.

After a while, she seemed to sense something, her face flushing slightly as she fidgeted with her legs. She held up her notebook: Why are you always thinking about bad things?

Mu Zhian smiled, looking at the silver-haired beauty. “Me? Thinking about bad things? My dear Lin Ling, do you remember what you did last night?”

Lin Ling paused, then turned her head away, trying to whistle silently.

Mu Zhian looked at her ample bosom, barely concealed by her white dress. “Speaking of which, we haven’t had breakfast yet, and I’m a bit hungry. Do you want to try my suggestion from last time?”

“Aaa?” Lin Ling made a puzzled sound and followed his gaze, looking down at her chest.

After a brief moment of confusion, she seemed to understand, her face flushing as she glared at Mu Zhian playfully.

Seeing her resentful expression, Mu Zhian’s heart stirred with amusement. He enjoyed seeing Lin Ling’s shy demeanor.

“Just kidding. We can try it again when you’re willing,” Mu Zhian chuckled.

He embraced Lin Ling’s waist, closed his eyes, and gently kissed her on the lips.

At that moment, a faint green light flickered in the room, then vanished instantly.

Mu Zhian deepened the kiss.

Her lips were soft, and a cool, faint fragrance emanated from them, refreshing and pleasant—

Mu Zhian suddenly froze, sensing something amiss.

Although Lin Ling had a faint fragrance, it was different from this… This wasn’t Sister Lin Ling!

Then who was in his arms?

Mu Zhian opened his eyes, his gaze filled with surprise and uncertainty.

He saw Yao Meng’s beautiful face before him, like a snow lotus in the morning mist, exuding an ethereal, cold aura.

“Why are you looking at me like that? You know the ‘Imminent’ rune can reverse time, don’t you?”

Yao Meng smiled, resting her head on his shoulder, and teased, “Or are you disappointed that the person you kissed wasn’t Lin Ling?”

Yao Meng?!

Mu Zhian’s heart pounded in his chest, his mind going blank.

“You want to ask why I’m here?”

Before Mu Zhian could speak, Yao Meng answered for him. “I’ve suppressed the Ocean God, so I used a spatial technique to come back.”

A spatial gate was open behind her.

“I thought you would be missing me, but it seems you’ve found a new… companion.”

Yao Meng smiled, looking at the silver-haired beauty standing beside the bed.

“The Spiritual Dragon is a creature of luck, favored by the heavens. Being intimate with her… even the Great Dao can sense it… You’re quite bold. Aren’t you afraid of being punished?”

“If the Day of Rest arrives because of this, even I might not be able to protect you.”

Mu Zhian finally reacted, coughing lightly. “She was tormented by karmic fire, so…”

“So you needed Heavenly Court spiritual energy to suppress it?”

Yao Meng glanced at the silver-haired beauty thoughtfully and smiled. “Thank you for taking care of my husband. I’ll take over from here.”

Her voice was calm, as if stating a simple fact, as she gently stroked Mu Zhian’s hair, taking Lin Ling’s place.

Lin Ling frowned slightly, holding up her notebook:

He needs my help.

But you can’t help him.

To Yao Meng, these words were a blatant provocation.

She raised an eyebrow and smiled faintly. “Lin Ling, although you’ve been with Shang Yanfei for many years, you’re still a Dao Integration expert. What can you do that I can’t?”

Lin Ling must have charmed Mu Zhian with her innocent, adorable demeanor. Now that she, the ‘rightful wife,’ was here, how could Lin Ling still say ‘You can’t help him’?

Although there wasn’t a difference in strength between the Transcendence Realm and Dao Integration, the Transcendence Realm was still superior in this world.

After all, it wasn’t bound by the rules of heaven and earth.

Lin Ling held up her notebook: Can you give him luck?

Can you give him three portions of Heavenly Dao Energy?

He needs to fake demonic qi during the ancestral worship ceremony. Can you fake Dao Integration level demonic qi?

“…”

Silence fell over the room.

Lin Ling showed the silent Yao Meng her notebook, adding the final blow: You can’t. I can.

So I can help him, but you can’t.

The calm smile on Yao Meng’s face finally faded.