What a Ruthless Man—The Self-Injury Scheme Works Pretty Well
What a Ruthless Man—The Self-Injury Scheme Works Pretty Well
Why didn’t Gu Changge dodge?
What on earth was he thinking? Taking this blade first—was it to repay the bone-digging debt from back then?
Yue Mingkong’s mind went blank. At this moment, she had no idea what to do.
The instant she watched that blade cleave into Gu Changge, she froze, and then her heart involuntarily clenched, as if something had seized it.
She did hate Gu Changge—hated his cold indifference, his ruthless cruelty—but she still couldn’t bear to watch this scene.
What ordinary person could endure such pain?
Yet Gu Changge’s expression was calm to the extreme; he didn’t even furrow his brow.
“Sigh...”
Yue Mingkong’s heart was thrown into chaos by this blade strike. She sighed, unable to keep watching, and turned her head away.
This was a grudge between Gu Changge and Gu Xianer. She couldn’t interfere, nor did she have the right to.
“Gu Changge, what exactly are you thinking? In this life, I understand you less and less. Have you truly had a change of heart and want to make amends, or is this self-injury scheme hiding some other agenda...”
“But how did he know Gu Xianer would suddenly pull back? What if he’d guessed wrong? That blade would have meant death. Was he gambling with his life...”
“Or is he simply repaying that bone-digging debt...”
Yue Mingkong’s slender hand gripped her sleeve, a trace of melancholy on her picturesque, immortal-like face. Her usual cold majesty had long since vanished completely.
She felt she needed to calm down and think carefully about recent events.
“Sss!”
“What a ruthless man...”
In the void, the various Elders watching all this couldn’t help but feel their brows twitch as they sucked in cold breaths. Their gazes toward Gu Changge were filled with shock and disbelief.
In any case, they admitted they could never be that ruthless—Gu Changge hadn’t dodged at all, taking the blade head-on.
If Gu Xianer hadn’t withdrawn most of her magic power at the critical moment, that strike would probably have shaved the entire peak of Supreme Peak into ruins!
“Gu Changge, it seems this old man still underestimated you.”
In the void, the Great Elder watching all this sighed.
Although he had no good expression or good impression of Gu Changge, he had to admit he held some admiration for him.
In terms of methods and the like, this was absolutely someone destined for great things—who knew how far he could go in the future.
Looking across the entire younger generation, there truly was no one who could match him.
Even he couldn’t see through him!
“Gu Changge, you...”
Before the palace.
Gu Xianer was completely stunned, her eyes wide with disbelief. Gu Changge clearly could have dodged, and she had clearly already withdrawn most of her magic power.
So why didn’t he dodge...
Why didn’t he resist?
And he said this blade was repaying her first?
If she hadn’t pulled back just now, wouldn’t he have died right here?
Why? What was the reason behind all of this?
Or perhaps... was this his true goal all along?
Her mind was a complete mess.
Gu Changge’s calm gaze made Gu Xianer’s heart panic; she couldn’t calm down at all.
He could have cursed her, glared at her furiously, called her despicable and shameless for striking while he was off guard.
But Gu Changge said nothing and did nothing.
That only made Gu Xianer more uneasy, as if she had done something wrong.
Had she almost accidentally killed Gu Changge just now?
Right now, Gu Xianer’s head was filled with buzzing noises as she stood there in a daze.
She didn’t even know when Gu Changge had pulled the blade out of his body, or when he had left without a word.
Gu Xianer suddenly felt somewhat lost and dispirited, her frost-cold little face utterly bewildered.
Seeing this, Yue Mingkong sighed and went over, intending to comfort her.
But today’s events had actually left her own heart in turmoil too—she had never imagined this, and simply couldn’t figure it out.
...
The moment he returned to the palace, the calm expression on Gu Changge’s face vanished.
The horrifying pain made his brow furrow slightly as various thoughts flashed through his mind.
Finally, he revealed a strange smile.
The reason he had done that just now was naturally to stage a self-injury scheme. After all, if he wanted Gu Xianer to fully trust him, this blade was one he had to take.
Otherwise, with his abilities, dodging it completely unscathed would actually have been quite simple.
No matter how strong Gu Xianer’s talent and weapon were, she was currently just a mere Honoured Lord Realm cultivator.
Not to mention that she had softened just now—facing her great enemy, she had actually shown mercy and held back, withdrawing her magic power.
But this was all within Gu Changge’s expectations; otherwise, he wouldn’t have joked around with his own life.
From this, Gu Changge roughly understood why Yue Mingkong would go looking for Gu Xianer.
Presumably, in the timeline she had experienced, Gu Xianer’s ending was tragic. Even with two protagonist templates on her, she probably still couldn’t defeat his demonic-natured self.
With a personality like that, she’ll never accomplish anything great.
“What a silly little girl...”
“How could you ever escape the palm of my hand like this?” Gu Changge then shook his head and examined his current injuries.
At the wound, the gushing blood had already stopped.
His physique was extremely powerful; in just this short while, the wound had already begun to heal.
That black long blade carried an eerie aura that could destroy life force, but under Gu Changge’s Taboo Demonic Arts, this aura was quickly devoured completely by the black Grand Runes that appeared, unable to affect him.
With injuries like these, it wouldn’t take long for him to recover fully.
However... Gu Changge was in no hurry to do so.
Weng!
He secretly channeled his magic power, and the already-healing wound split open once more, blood seeping out again, making it look all the more horrifying.
He made it appear as though some eerie force was preventing the healing process.
Gu Changge nodded in some satisfaction.
Since it was a self-injury scheme, it naturally had to be done thoroughly. He couldn’t waste the great opportunity Gu Xianer had provided him.
He glanced at the horrifying wound on his body—it had nearly been cleaved straight through by that blade just now, with cracks even appearing on many of his bones.
Of course, the Great Dao Bone wasn’t that fragile. Although that black broadsword was quite peculiar, it couldn’t unleash such divine might in Gu Xianer’s hands.
This was merely Gu Changge’s surface-level sleight of hand. Soon, hazy runes flickered across the Great Dao Bone, and the cracks quickly healed and disappeared.
After all, this Great Dao Bone... he was keeping it for another purpose, still waiting for Gu Xianer to dig it out with her own hands.
This move—he was saving it for Gu Xianer.
The many divine wonders and Divine Talents within the Great Dao Bone had long been branded into his heart, encompassed and contained by his Demonic Heart.
For Gu Changge, whether he had this bone or not made no difference.
But thinking of this, Gu Changge felt that although this blade hurt quite a bit, it was still worth it.
Thankfully, his willpower was strong, and his Primordial Spirit was firm and unbreakable, so he hadn’t revealed the slightest flaw.
Then, Gu Changge noticed footsteps coming from outside the palace, and his expression shifted slightly.
It was Yue Mingkong, returning after seeing Gu Xianer off.
“Are you alright?”
Yue Mingkong asked with a complicated expression, along with a trace of concern, no longer as icy and indifferent as usual.
Looking at Gu Changge’s horrifying injuries, she still couldn’t help softening, her tone growing much gentler.
Although she had been living together with Gu Changge on Supreme Peak these past few days, spending every day together,
their relationship hadn’t eased in the slightest.
She had no good expression for Gu Changge; the two had long since torn off all pretenses, so there was no need for false courtesy.
Gu Changge had many matters to handle and couldn’t be bothered with her.
Yan Ji, on the other hand, appeared from time to time, acting as both maid and follower, tending to Gu Changge’s daily needs—which Yue Mingkong found unbearable to watch. Her heart ached with discomfort, and she wished she could cut Yan Ji down with a single sword strike.
Unfortunately, Yan Ji was extremely powerful. Although she looked very young in appearance, she actually possessed Sacred Lord Realm cultivation.
This left Yue Mingkong helpless.
Consequently, she had even less of a good expression for Gu Changge. Some time ago, she had thought he’d changed his ways—but he’d changed into being good to other women?
What was that supposed to mean?
If her mental cultivation weren’t so accomplished, and if her past life’s experiences hadn’t taught her that such things weren’t worth fighting over, she absolutely would have been unable to resist making a move against Yan Ji.
But Gu Changge’s actions today left Yue Mingkong momentarily wistful, puzzled, confused, and lost.
Many of the things she had experienced in her past life had repeated in this one, yet Gu Changge alone had become the exception.
Did that mean Gu Changge was actually a Variable?
Could she try to change Gu Changge, and thereby change the tragedy of her past life?
Yue Mingkong felt it was worth a try. She understood Gu Changge deeply, yet in truth, she had never truly seen through him.
What had he experienced before?
Why could he face pain that would have long since knocked an ordinary person unconscious, yet remain expressionless, calm to a frightening degree?
Hateful people naturally have their pitiable sides. Perhaps Gu Changge had always been hiding secrets she knew nothing about.
“I’m fine. Mingkong, you actually care about your husband? I’m rather overwhelmed by the favor.”
Gu Changge glanced at Yue Mingkong and said with a casual smile.
As he spoke, he began rummaging through his storage ring for Heavenly Herbs and spirit pills, putting on an appearance of trying to ease his injuries.
His expression was calm and composed—if one didn’t look at his wounds, it would be fine, but combined with such horrifying injuries, deep enough to show bone, it appeared especially jarring and shocking.
Yue Mingkong hadn’t expected Gu Changge to still be teasing her at a time like this. She couldn’t help but fall silent for a moment, then said flatly, “Xianer’s blade contains the Power of Destruction. Ordinary healing pills won’t work.”
The Power of Destruction could destroy life force and prevent wounds from healing. Even those with powerful, vigorous physiques would suffer greatly from this torment.
“Is that so? No wonder it’s so hard to heal.”
Hearing this, Gu Changge looked somewhat enlightened, though he still appeared not to care much.
Weng!
Then, divine radiance began to surge from his body, streaks of rosy light spreading and intertwining. His blood qi transformed into a terrifying True Dragon, emitting rumbling sounds.
Such powerful and fearsome blood qi was like a giant furnace standing between heaven and earth.
Yue Mingkong had to admit that Gu Changge’s strength was truly absurdly great. This blood qi was the result of him hiding his trump cards, yet it was still so vast.
But soon, Gu Changge’s brow furrowed.
Wisps of divine radiance chains hung down, attempting to mend his injuries, but upon contact, they snapped directly.
“It is indeed somewhat strange. These injuries won’t heal anytime soon,” he sighed lightly, seemingly a bit helpless.
At that moment, a faint, elegant fragrance drifted over.
“Stop wasting your effort. Force out the Power of Destruction first, or the wound will never heal.” Yue Mingkong shook her head slightly and walked over.
Her face carried coldness, along with a hidden trace of heartache. Then she took out an embroidered handkerchief and carefully wiped away the blood near Gu Changge’s wound.
“Mingkong, since when have you cared about your husband so much?”
Gu Changge couldn’t help but laugh, as if somewhat surprised that Yue Mingkong would do this.
Yue Mingkong’s expression was cold as she replied casually, “Since when? It’s just that you never felt it before.”
At this, Gu Changge seemed to freeze for a moment, then sighed softly without saying anything.
Yue Mingkong immediately caught this shift in emotion.
Her delicate brows furrowed.
“Gu Changge, why did you sigh?”
“It’s nothing.”
Gu Changge smiled casually. “After all, I’m a man without a heart. It’s normal that I couldn’t feel it.”
It sounded rather chuunibyou, but before this, he truly hadn’t possessed a normal heart.
So there was nothing wrong with saying it this way.
In any case, all the blame got dumped onto the Demonic Heart.
This was the solution Gu Changge had long since planned.
The Demonic Heart was his greatest secret besides the Taboo Demonic Arts, and it seemed Yue Mingkong hadn’t known about it in her past life either.
It seemed... he would have to create an opportunity for her to “accidentally” discover his secret.
Gu Changge’s expression remained unchanged as numerous thoughts flashed through his mind.
“No heart... yes, your heart is made of iron and stone...”
It seemed like an ordinary remark, but Yue Mingkong sensed an indescribable emotion within it.
She fell silent for a moment, remembering many things from her past life, and couldn’t help but sigh softly, carrying a meaning that could not be put into words.