In the Celestial Suite of the Ocean Tower.
"Meng, my dear, be gentle. It still hurts there," a woman cooed, half-naked and perched on Meng Tianlong's lap, her movements and voice both intoxicating.
"No, stop!" Meng Tianlong exclaimed, his eyes snapping open to the surreal scene.
What the hell is going on? Meng Tianlong was utterly bewildered.
Just an hour ago, he had been engrossed in a fantasy novel, the kind that made his heart race with excitement. Suddenly, a golden light erupted from his phone, enveloping him completely. When the light faded, he found himself here.
"Meng, you're such a tease. I'm already making the first move, and you're just sitting there like a statue," the woman teased with a mischievous grin, giving him a playful nudge. "Are you still worried about that Chu Qingyun? Don't be. I've already called off the engagement with him. We can get married soon."
"What?" Meng Tianlong's body jolted as if doused with ice water, his heart sinking with her words.
Just last night, he had been a mere mortal, holed up in his tiny room, lost in the pages of his novels. Overcome by exhaustion, he had drifted off, only to wake up in a world turned upside down. The fragmented memories in his mind told him he was now in a world where martial prowess reigned supreme.
In a twist of fate, he had transformed into the heir of the Pingnan Prince's estate in the Great Xia Kingdom, a position of immense prestige and a future brimming with promise. Even more astonishing, he was renowned as a prodigious talent in martial arts! His father often boasted, "My son, Meng Tianlong, has the makings of an emperor!"
Before him stood Xu Lingxing, the cherished jewel of the Xu family, who had thrown herself into his arms. Though the Xu family was a prominent martial arts clan with considerable influence, it paled in comparison to the might of the prince's estate.
Meng Tianlong had been basking in the joy of holding such a beauty, but her next words sent a chill down his spine. What did she mean by such fierce and alarming words? A useless member of the Chu family? And a broken engagement? Why did this sound so familiar? Wasn't this the kind of plot twist he often encountered in the novels he read before his transmigration? And wasn't such a twist usually the prelude to the protagonist's misfortunes?
"Lingxing," Meng Tianlong forced a calm demeanor as he gently pushed Xu Lingxing aside, guiding her to sit next to him. "Who exactly is this 'useless member of the Chu family' you're talking about?" As he asked, he frantically searched his mind for any fragments of memory related to this matter. Unfortunately, information on this was scarce. Even Xu Lingxing herself seemed to be nothing more than a casual acquaintance from last month, someone he had flirted with a few times and shared a bed with, captivated by her beauty. Who could have guessed that today she would drop such a bombshell?
"Hey, didn’t we have this all figured out the last time we met here?" Xu Lingxing shot Meng Tianlong a coquettish glance, her eyes shimmering with a mix of playfulness and reproach. "That Chu Qingyun is just some guy from the Chu family. Because of our families’ ties, we were betrothed since childhood. But honestly, we’ve barely met, and to make matters worse, three years ago, he inexplicably became a useless martial arts failure."
"When I brought this up with you last time, didn’t you wholeheartedly support me breaking off the engagement? You even said you wanted to marry me instead! The very next day, I ended the betrothal. And now, you’ve already forgotten about it?" As she spoke, Xu Lingxing leaned her delicate, almost boneless body closer to Meng Tianlong.
"..."
Meng Tianlong’s expression stiffened.
Oh no! This feels all too familiar!
The plot was unfolding exactly like the story he had once read, down to the names...
This woman was practically digging her own grave!
Narrowing his eyes, he fixed Xu Lingxing with an intense gaze. "When you broke off the engagement, did he say anything?"
"He did," Xu Lingxing sneered dismissively. "Something about how fortunes change over time, and how one shouldn’t underestimate the poor in their youth. Ha! Big talk for someone who’s a complete failure. As if he could ever compare to a prodigy like you!"
"Gulp..."
Meng Tianlong nearly choked on his tea.
The evidence was undeniable!
Even the words were exactly the same!
In that book, Chu Qingyun was the extraordinary protagonist, the chosen one of destiny.
In the future, he would ascend to the throne of an emperor, his might shaking the heavens—truly a man blessed by the gods.
Now, as for Xu Lingxing, tsk tsk, after breaking off the engagement, she had the misfortune of angering Chu Qingyun, and the consequences were dire. In his fury, Chu Qingyun ensured that her entire family suffered—a classic case of reaping what she sowed. Given the way things were unfolding, it seemed Xu Lingxing was doomed to face her fate.
Meng Tianlong’s mind was in turmoil, the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was off. How could the world align so perfectly with the story he had read? Could it be... that he had actually been transported into the book? His expression shifted unpredictably, one moment startled, the next lost in thought.
"Wait a minute!" He suddenly slapped his thigh, "I’m the heir of the Pingnan Royal Estate!" This realization hit him like a thunderbolt. In the book, there was indeed such a character—a blind and foolish antagonist. What was worse, according to the story, this guy had already met his untimely end! His death wasn’t even at the hands of Chu Qingyun, the chosen one, but rather at the hands of another protagonist. That man, named Qin Li, was a son-in-law who married into a family, yet he was a formidable and ruthless figure...
Meanwhile, the young lady of the Song family was blossoming into her prime, her beauty and grace captivating all who laid eyes on her.
For years, this minor antagonist had been obsessively pursuing a marriage proposal, relentlessly pressuring the family until they were forced to take in a son-in-law to fend off his advances. Little did anyone know, Qin Li was a man of extraordinary resilience and cunning. On the surface, he appeared to be a mere liability, but once he entered the Song household, his true capabilities were revealed. He became the driving force behind the Song family's rapid expansion, propelling them to new heights of power. It was he who orchestrated Song Wanqing's rise to the throne as the Empress. In time, Qin Li himself would become a formidable emperor, revered across the land.
Yet, this blind and foolish antagonist remained undeterred, still harboring illicit desires for Qin Li's wife, the eldest daughter of the Song family. Early this morning, while he was secretly meeting with Xu Lingxing, he had the misfortune of running into the couple. True to his role as a villain, he was consumed by jealousy and couldn't resist provoking the son-in-law in public. He even boasted that he would use the influence of the Pingnan Royal House to annihilate the entire Song family.
It was this very threat that sealed his fate. While he waited for Xu Lingxing in the teahouse, Qin Li made sure he met his end quietly and swiftly. With just one hand, Qin Li crushed him utterly, leaving no trace of his former self. The man was dead on the spot.
But then, something unexpected happened. The man who had just died was resurrected by the soul of a modern-day man who had crossed into this world. And so, here we are, witnessing this bizarre turn of events. If not for this twist of fate, Xu Lingxing would now be staring at a cold, lifeless corpse.
"It seems I've truly been transported into this story," Meng Tianlong muttered to himself, his heart pounding with fear. "And compared to Xu Lingxing, I'm the one who's really digging my own grave..."
As he recalled the events of the story, a shiver ran down his spine, leaving him utterly terrified.
In the pages of that book, not only did he have the audacity to seduce Chu Qingyun's fiancée, but he also harbored illicit desires for Qin Li's wife!
Offending these two chosen ones, the future emperors, who else but him deserved to die?!
Even if Qin Li didn't take his life today, he would inevitably fall victim to Chu Qingyun's vengeance in the future!
"No, wait, there are three chosen ones in this book, and it seems I've managed to offend all of them..."
Meng Tianlong's heart skipped a beat as he recalled an incident from the past.
A year ago, he had abused his power, leading a gang of lackeys to a secret location outside the city, where they injured a young man named Ye Zhanyun.
They even snatched his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—a Blue Shadow Herb that could enhance one's cultivation.
Speaking of Ye Zhanyun, he was an even more formidable figure.
Born a supreme being, he was crippled as a child when his bones were extracted, yet he was destined to rise again.
His future achievements would likely surpass even those of the two chosen ones.
Offending such a person could only lead to one outcome—death.
"Damn it, I've managed to offend all three chosen ones! My life is as good as over..."
Meng Tianlong, this minor antagonist, felt his heart pounding with fear.
Provoking any one of them would have been disastrous, but he had managed to provoke all three.
Even if he had been given a second chance at life through transmigration, he couldn't escape the inevitable fate of being utterly crushed in the future...
"What should I do now?" Meng Tianlong's heart was heavy with bitterness. Transmigrating into the role of a villain, and a doomed one at that, was a cruel twist of fate. This cursed beginning seemed to offer no way out. A series of misfortunes had left him disheartened, and for a moment, he considered resigning himself to his fate, lying down to await the inevitable end.
"No, there must still be hope," Meng Tianlong thought, his mind racing. The three protagonists had ascended to the status of emperors through a series of fortuitous encounters. He knew these opportunities like the back of his hand. If he could seize them first, he too could rise to the top. But that alone wasn't enough. According to the ancient texts, there existed an even higher realm of invincibility in this world. And he might be the only one who knew how to reach it. Once he achieved invincibility, what would there be to fear?
"Long-ge, what are you thinking about?" Xu Lingxing gently nudged Meng Tianlong, her shoulder inadvertently slipping out, exuding a seductive charm. "It's late. Shall we retire for the night?"
