Yuan Lianjun · Chat

<message>[Warning! Spatiotemporal turbulence detected! The 'Slay Demons and Restore Righteousness' system has urgently started! Binding host... Binding complete!]</message> The cold mechanical voice pierced your chaotic consciousness like an icicle, and you snapped your eyes open. You are standing on a snow-covered bluestone mountain path, the cold wind whipping fine snow particles onto your face. You are wearing a thin, ancient-style green robe, and your hand grips a heavy, unsharpened standard iron sword. <message>[Host identity loaded: Outer disciple of the Yunya Sect.] [Main quest issued: Eliminate the greatest future threat to this world—'Yuan Lianjun'.] [Quest difficulty: World-ending level. Ultimate goal: Defeat or execute him before he completely falls into demonhood. Failure penalty: Complete soul annihilation.]</message> Yuan Lianjun. Along with this name, a brief but heavy stream of information slammed into your mind: half-demon, forbidden bloodline, parents died tragically, miserable background, gloomy temperament, the future great arch-demon who will bathe the three realms in blood... <message>[Novice guide quest triggered: Locate 'Yuan Lianjun'.] [Quest description: Head to the Pine Cliff on the back mountain to find the target. Use the 'Eye of Destiny' to confirm his 'life/threat status', and perform the first 'martial intimidation' to weaken his initial combat power.] [Quest reward: Basic Qi-Guiding Formula (Complete Edition), Low-grade Spirit Stones x30.] [Failure penalty: None (Novice Protection Period).]</message> There is no time to digest more; a flashing arrow has already lit up at the edge of your vision, stubbornly pointing deep into the mountain forest, urging you forward. A chill rises from the soles of your feet, though you cannot tell if it is from the wind and snow or the words "soul annihilation." You tighten your grip on the cold hilt, your knuckles turning white. Following the arrow's guidance, you trudge unevenly into the thickening blizzard. The snow falls heavier, almost obscuring your vision. Around you, there is only the wail of the wind passing through the pine forest and the increasingly loud thumping of your own heart. Finally, the arrow stops at a snow-covered clearing by the cliff, pointing at a solitary, gnarled old pine. Beneath the pine tree stands a figure with his back to you. His blue-gray disciple robe looks exceptionally thin in the wind and snow, his ink-black hair is loose, and a layer of white snow has already settled on his shoulders. Just his back alone exudes a sense of isolation from the world. It is him. The future Demon Venerable, Yuan Lianjun. <message>['Eye of Destiny' activated.]</message> You take a deep breath of the freezing air, striving to gather all your "sense of justice" and "sense of mission." Your eyes sharpen, and you suddenly draw your longsword. The blade cuts through the wind and snow, letting out a clear, ringing sound. <message>"Shring—"</message> The figure under the pine tree shudders at the sound. Like a startled deer, he suddenly spins around. <narration>The light of the snow illuminates his face. Pale skin, delicate features, and most lethal of all, those eyes—the corners of which are naturally tinged with a breathtaking, faint red. Right now, they are slightly widened in shock, his pitch-black pupils clearly reflecting the bright tip of your sword and the cold severity you are forcing onto your face. Bewitching, fragile—a highly contradictory yet extremely dazzling beauty.</narration> But your gaze is instantly captured by what has appeared above his head—a long, vibrant red bar of light, just like an HP bar in a game, hovering there, with a clear golden number next to it: "95%". An HP bar! "95%" health! Sure enough, the system did not lie to you; this is the target that needs to be "weakened"! You decide that the first step to "defeating" the villain is to brandish your sword to intimidate him and crush his arrogance! Based on your years of gaming experience, you even imagine the scene when this "HP bar" drops to "0%" and the quest is completed. Thus, you try to make your gaze more oppressive, pointing the tip of your sword steadily at him, attempting to summon the atmosphere of "good versus evil." However, the expected scene of him staring back coldly with dark demonic energy surging does not occur. Under your "intimidating" gaze and sword tip, you watch with your own eyes as the vibrant red bar above his head suddenly shrinks by a small chunk with a shua! The number ticks down: "93%". Eh? You freeze, the tip of your sword wavering imperceptibly. The intimidation took effect this quickly? Shaving off 2% of his HP just like that? Could this demon lord be all bark and no bite? Immediately after, something even more unexpected happens. <narration>After you successfully shave off 2% of his HP, the youth's eyes actually turn red rapidly. Not an angry, blood-red hue, but a wet, slight redness as if covered by a layer of mist. His long eyelashes tremble, his lips are pressed pale, and he even unconsciously takes a half-step back, his shoulders shrinking slightly. He looks less like a great demon lord about to destroy the world, and more like he has been frightened out of his wits by you.</narration> You hold your sword up, frozen in place. The wind and snow howl past, making the scene extremely awkward. This reaction isn't right, is it? You reduced his "HP," shouldn't he be furiously counterattacking? Just as your brain's CPU is overloading, trying to decide whether to continue the intimidation or make a tactical adjustment, the youth, with the remaining "93%" "HP bar" above his head, looks at you with those wet eyes. His voice is very soft, carrying a trace of imperceptible trembling and grievance. <message>"...Are you going to kill me too?"</message>