52: Playing the old man in the ring 1

The Original Owner, Ye Huohuo, was the destined protagonist of a power fantasy novel. He was a Trash-tier talent but carried an old grandpa in a ring.

He was just waiting for his fiancée, Liu Yanran, to come and break off their engagement.

Then he could shout the iconic line, "Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west, do not bully a youth for being poor!"

From then on, he would rely on the old grandpa to change his fate against the heavens, making Liu Yanran regret it to her core, and eventually reaching the peak of the world.

But the plot took a sudden turn!

Liu Yanran turned out to be a Rebirth-er, and she had even activated the Strongest Villain System.

Using the engagement annulment as a catalyst, she designed a step-by-step plan to harvest Ye Huohuo's destiny.

Because of this, the old grandpa fell into a deep sleep, and his cultivation hit constant roadblocks. That grand declaration eventually became a joke.

From "do not bully a youth for being poor," it dragged on to "do not bully a middle-aged man for being poor," and wasted away until "do not bully an old man for being poor."

Until his lamp ran dry and he died, leaving only the desolate ending of "respecting the dead"... [Current World Mission: Play the old grandpa in Ye Huohuo's ring]

[Help Ye Huohuo reach the peak of the world and ruthlessly slap Liu Yanran's Face]

"Oh, this is quite interesting. Let's begin."

Qin Jiuge said with deep interest... Ye Huohuo knelt on the ground, his fists clenched tightly, nails digging deep into his palms.

Liu Yanran stood before him in a red dress, her features like a painting, her aura cold and elegant.

The engagement contract in her hand drifted down, landing right on top of Ye Huohuo's head.

"Ye Huohuo, today I, Liu Yanran, officially dissolve our engagement."

Her voice was crisp but cold, her eyes filled with undisguised contempt.

"I am already at the Ninth Heaven of Qi Gathering, and I will be able to reach Foundation Establishment soon."

"As for you, you can't even manage the most basic Qi Drawing; you'll only drag down the Liu Family's reputation."

The hall was crowded with clansmen from both the Liu and Ye Families.

The Ye Family members looked grim, while the Liu Family members mostly gloated.

Ye Huohuo's father, the Ye Family Head Ye Tiannan, clenched his fists until they cracked.

But facing the pressure of the Liu Family Old Ancestor's Early Stage Foundation Establishment, he didn't dare to act rashly.

"Liu Yanran! You've gone too far!"

Ye Huohuo looked up abruptly, his eyes bloodshot.

"This marriage was set by my grandfather and Grandpa Liu. You're humiliating me in public like this?"

A faint blue light flashed in Liu Yanran's eyes.

That was the feedback from her System interface reading Ye Huohuo's current destiny.

[Target destiny: 1032 (Initial value 10000, 8968 has been harvested)]

[Suggestion: Continue to provoke the target to harvest an additional 200-500 Luck points]

Liu Yanran sneered in her heart.

In her past life, she had been counter-attacked and Face-slapped by this "Trash," watching him reach the peak of the world while she ended up dead and her Dao vanished.

In this life, she had returned through Rebirth with the Strongest Villain System, vowing to harvest all of Ye Huohuo's Luck and ensure he never rises again!

"Humiliation?"

Liu Yanran chuckled.

"I'm just stating facts."

"Ye Huohuo, you're sixteen years old and can't even reach the First Layer of Qi Gathering. If that's not being a waste, what is?"

"Do you expect me, Liu Yanran, to marry a waste and ruin my own immortal path?"

She paused, her voice suddenly rising:

"If you truly had any backbone, you should have taken the initiative to dissolve the engagement instead of waiting for me to come to your door!"

"Today, I'll give you some Face. As long as you say publicly, 'I, Ye Huohuo, am not worthy of Liu Yanran,'"

"'and voluntarily dissolve the engagement,' I won't hold you accountable for wasting three years of my time."

Ye Huohuo trembled all over.

Beside him, the Ye Family Elders turned their heads away, unwilling to watch this shameful scene.

Ye Tiannan wanted to step forward but was forced back by a single glance from the Liu Family Old Ancestor.

Despair flooded Ye Huohuo's heart like ice water.

Just then—

"Little guy, do you want to make a deal with me?"

A lazy voice sounded directly in Ye Huohuo's mind.

Ye Huohuo was startled and instinctively looked around, but saw that no one else reacted.

"Don't bother looking, I'm in your ring."

Ye Huohuo looked down at the dusty, ancient ring on his finger.

It was the only heirloom his mother had left him before she passed away.

"Who are you?"

Ye Huohuo asked in his heart.

"An existence that can make those who look down on you kneel and beg for mercy."

The voice carried a hint of playfulness.

"But for now, you need to handle the situation in front of you."

"Do as I say, and I guarantee you'll feel incredibly satisfied today."

Ye Huohuo's heart pounded wildly.

He didn't know if the voice was real or fake.

But at this moment, he was at his wit's end; he would grasp at even a straw!

"What should I do?"

He asked urgently in his heart.

"Stand up first."

The voice commanded.

Ye Huohuo took a deep breath and slowly stood up from the ground.

This action took everyone present by surprise.

Liu Yanran narrowed her eyes, and the System notification sounded:

[Warning: Target's emotional fluctuations are abnormal; destiny shows signs of rebounding]

"Interesting."

Liu Yanran snorted coldly in her heart.

"Just a deathbed struggle."

"Now, take that scrap of paper off your head and slowly tear it up."

The mysterious voice continued to guide him.

Ye Huohuo reached up, took off the engagement contract covering his head, and under the stunned gazes of both families' clansmen, slowly tore it into halves, then quarters, until it was in shreds.

"Ye Huohuo! You!"

Liu Yanran's Face darkened.

"Liu Yanran."

Ye Huohuo looked up, his eyes shining with an unusual light.

"Do you think that I, Ye Huohuo, am destined to be a waste for my entire life?"

"What else?"

Liu Yanran sneered.

"Being unable to gather Qi at sixteen makes you a useless person in the Cultivation World!"

"Then listen well."

Ye Huohuo's voice suddenly rose, as if it wasn't his own.

"Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west—"

Liu Yanran's heart suddenly tightened!

This was the line!

In her past life, it was this sentence that started Ye Huohuo's Heaven-Defying path!

She almost moved to interrupt him immediately, but the System prompt stopped her:

[Classic iconic scene detected, optimal timing to harvest destiny! Estimated harvest: 3000 points!]

"Let him finish!"

Greed flashed in Liu Yanran's eyes.

"Wait until he finishes this line and his destiny reaches its peak before harvesting!"

Ye Huohuo continued to shout:

"Do not—"

"Stop!"

The voice in his head suddenly interrupted him.

"Too cliché. Change it."

"Huh?"

Ye Huohuo was stunned.

"Listen to me."

The voice was indisputable.

"Repeat after me."

Ye Huohuo swallowed and spoke again:

"Liu Yanran, listen well—"

Everyone pricked up their ears, waiting for that classic "do not bully a youth for being poor."

Then they heard:

"Today you ignore me, tomorrow I'll be someone you can't hope to reach!"

"Three years! In just three years, I, Ye Huohuo, will surely come to your Liu Family's ancestral hall and crush your Family's plaques!"

"If I break this oath, may heaven and earth destroy me!"

The entire hall fell into a deathly silence.

The expression on Liu Yanran's Face froze.

System prompts flashed frantically:

[Warning! Warning! Target has made a Heavenly Dao oath, destiny locked! Currently unable to harvest!]

[Warning! The oath has triggered a resonance with heaven and earth, target's destiny rebounded by +5000!]

[Current Target destiny: 6032 (continuing to rise)]

"How is this possible?!"

Liu Yanran was horrified in her heart.

"A Heavenly Dao oath requires at least a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation to trigger resonance with heaven and earth,"

"How can a waste who can't even gather Qi trigger it?!"

She didn't know that the existence in Ye Huohuo's ring was the Devil King Qin Jiuge, who ruled over trillions of Universes.

For an existence that could casually create a Small World, triggering the Heavenly Dao resonance of this mere Lower Realm wasn't even worth a breath.

Ye Huohuo himself was also stunned.

The moment he shouted the oath, he felt a certain power from heaven and earth bless his body, as if his entire being had been reborn!

"Satisfying?"

Qin Jiuge asked lazily.

"Satisfying... it's incredibly satisfying!"

Ye Huohuo responded excitedly in his heart.

"This is just the beginning."

Qin Jiuge chuckled.

"Now, do as I say for the second step."

"Second step?"

Ye Huohuo was puzzled.

"Yes."

Qin Jiuge's voice carried a hint of mischief.

"Now walk up to that woman and give her a slap."

Ye Huohuo's legs went weak:

"W-what? Slap Liu Yanran? She's at the Ninth Heaven of Qi Gathering, and I haven't even..."

"What are you afraid of? I'm here."

Qin Jiuge said impatiently.

"Hurry up, don't miss this opportunity."

Looking at Liu Yanran's Face, which was filled with shock and anger, a surge of unprecedented courage rose in Ye Huohuo's heart.

Since today had already come to this, he might as well go all out!

He strode toward Liu Yanran.

"You... what do you want to do?"

Liu Yanran instinctively took half a step back, then became annoyed. She was actually frightened by a waste?

"Liu Yanran."

Ye Huohuo stopped in front of her.

"Retiring the engagement is one thing, but today you humiliated my Ye Family and my father. You must pay the price!"

"The price?"

Liu Yanran laughed out of extreme anger.

"With just you, this..."

Before she could finish, Ye Huohuo suddenly raised his hand!

"Slap!"

A crisp and loud slap landed squarely on Liu Yanran's Face!

The entire venue was silent.

The Liu Family was stunned.

The Ye Family was also stunned.

Liu Yanran herself was completely dazed. The burning pain on her Face reminded her that this was not an illusion.

She, the proud daughter of the Liu Family and a Ninth Heaven of Qi Gathering Cultivator,

Had actually been slapped in public by a recognized waste?!

[Warning! Host has suffered major humiliation, System deducts 1000 Villain points as punishment!]

[Warning! Target's destiny has surged by +10000!]

[Current Target destiny: 16032 (broke through the critical point, obtained Elementary 'Son of Heaven's Mandate' halo)]

"No—!"

Liu Yanran screamed. This was not the result she wanted!

In her past life, she had been counter-attacked and Face-slapped by Ye Huohuo.

In this life, she returned with a System; she should be the one crushing Ye Huohuo!

How could this be happening?!

"I'm going to kill you!"

Murderous intent surged in Liu Yanran's eyes. Her Ninth Heaven of Qi Gathering pressure exploded as she struck toward Ye Huohuo's crown with her palm!

If this palm strike connected, Ye Huohuo would surely die!

"Yanran, stop!"

The Liu Family Old Ancestor cried out, but it was too late to stop her.

Ye Tiannan's eyes nearly split from anger:

"Huohuo!"

At this critical moment—

"Freeze."

A faint word sounded in Ye Huohuo's mind.

Time seemed to freeze.

Liu Yanran's palm stopped three inches above Ye Huohuo's head, unable to move an inch further.

Her entire body was bound by an invisible force, and she couldn't even move her eyes.

Everyone in the hall remained in their poses from the previous second, like statues.

Only Ye Huohuo could move.

"This, this is..."

Ye Huohuo looked at the eerie scene before him, shocked beyond words.

"Just a small trick."

Qin Jiuge said nonchalantly.

"Time is limited, only thirty breaths."

"Now, go and take the bottle of 'foundation establishment pills' from the Liu Family Old Ancestor's robe."

Ye Huohuo looked toward the Liu Family Old Ancestor and indeed saw a jade bottle faintly showing in his robes.

"Go quickly, don't waste time."

Ye Huohuo gritted his teeth and rushed over, pulling the jade bottle from the Liu Family Old Ancestor's robes.

It felt warm to the touch, and the words "foundation establishment pill" were carved on the bottle.

"Then search Liu Yanran. She has an Incomplete Manual of the 'Nine-Turn Mysterious Art' in her robes. Although its grade isn't high, it's suitable for your initiation."

Ye Huohuo ran to Liu Yanran's side, reached into her robes, and quickly found a thin booklet.

"Alright, go back to your original spot."

Just as Ye Huohuo returned to his spot, time resumed its flow.

"Bang!"

Liu Yanran's palm struck down but hit nothing—Ye Huohuo had somehow stepped back half a pace, narrowly avoiding the strike.

"How is this possible?!"

Liu Yanran's eyes widened.

"Yanran! Stop!"

The Liu Family Old Ancestor finally reacted and shouted sternly:

"Do you want to start a war between our two families?!"

Liu Yanran forcibly suppressed her killing intent, but the resentment in her eyes was almost overflowing.

Suddenly, the Liu Family Old Ancestor's expression changed, and he reached into his robes:

"Where are my foundation establishment pills?!"

"What?"

The Liu Family Elders were all astonished.

The Liu Family Old Ancestor glared at Ye Huohuo, his eyes flashing with cold light:

"Little thief, did you steal my foundation establishment pills?!"

Ye Huohuo was startled but remained calm on the surface:

"Senior Liu, why do you say that? I have been right here; how could I steal a pill from your robes?"

"This..."

The Liu Family Old Ancestor was momentarily speechless.

Indeed, Ye Huohuo had been in everyone's sight and had never even come close to him.