The system voice that rang in Ye Qingyi’s mind, Ye Chu also heard.
Reacting, he laughed.
“666! I was wondering why my soul strength at the Mahayana stage couldn’t control Ye Qingyi’s body. Turns out it’s because you, this crappy system, were in the way!”
“And who’s the demon? Who are you calling a demon? Someone as righteous as me, and you call me a demon?!”
“Look at this face, look at this aura—where do I look like a demon?!”
“I’m the number one body cultivator in the cultivation world! A Mahayana stage cultivator! A genius only one step away from ascension! And you call this a demon?!”
Ye Chu accepted the system’s appearance instantly.
He had no choice—if such a bizarre relationship between him and Ye Qingyi could happen, another system wasn’t strange to him.
…
The assassins holding Ye Qingyi’s arms suddenly felt an immense force from her hands.
Before they could react, both were sent flying, crashing heavily into a huge rock dozens of meters away.
“Bang—!”
“Bang—!”
Two dull thuds sounded almost simultaneously.
Skulls shattered, red and white splattering across the rock surface, slowly sliding down the stone wall.
The remaining six assassins’ pupils shrank sharply.
Some backed away instinctively, others moved to strike, and a few turned to flee.
But Ye Chu gave them no chance.
He continued controlling Ye Qingyi’s body, killing, killing, killing!
In an instant, all eight assassins had their heads blown apart, leaving only Zhao Yuan, paralyzed with terror, collapsed to the ground.
The corner of Ye Chu’s mouth beneath the mask lifted slightly as he looked down at him.
“I’ve wanted to hit you for a long time, you little punk.”
“In this world, you need strength to survive!”
The voice was still Ye Qingyi’s—crisp and lively.
But the tone had completely changed.
It was no longer Ye Qingyi’s gentle restraint, but filled with arrogance and dominance, carrying a condescending mockery.
It was like a completely different person!
“Any last words? Say something to entertain me.”
“If you can amuse me enough, I’ll give you a quick death.”
Zhao Yuan’s expression changed completely.
His lips trembled, his legs shook, and his pupils reflected the purple-black mask with its dark gold patterns, as if he were staring at death itself.
He wanted to run, but his legs wouldn’t obey.
“You… what the hell are you?”
Ye Chu directly kicked him.
He’d initially thought of slapping him, but such a cheap ending for Zhao Yuan?
A single slap to death was too merciful—and having his cheek caressed by a beautiful girl’s soft hand before dying?
No way!
Eat the mud-stained sole of my shoe, you bastard!
“What status do you have to question me?!”
Zhao Yuan was knocked to the ground, teeth chattering.
He couldn’t utter a complete sentence.
Only boundless fear clutched his heart, squeezing his organs into a tight knot.
Perhaps out of final stubbornness, or not wanting to show weakness before an enemy, he forced a sneer through gritted teeth.
“Do what you want. Kill me or torture me. I only regret not being merciless enough to finish you off sooner!”
Ye Chu’s amusement gradually cooled, his killing intent clear.
“Does this guy have a complete misunderstanding of the word ‘mercy’?”
And still so stubborn even at death’s door—he wouldn’t waste more words.
Watch me punch you into dust!
“Should we kill him?”
Ye Qingyi’s voice echoed in his mind, tinged with complex emotions.
After all, before today, Zhao Yuan had been at least a gentle, caring, and endearing little brother to her.
Though she had rejected his marriage proposal, though she felt no romantic love for him, over a decade of friendship wasn’t fake.
Watching the boy who used to call her “Sister Qingyi” about to die before her—it was hard not to feel conflicted.
“Tch—”
Ye Chu clicked his tongue.
“What else? Let him keep scheming against you, against the Ye family? If you don’t root out the weeds, the spring breeze will bring them back.”
His answer was without hesitation.
“If not for me, you’d be forced to marry him in the near future, and the Ye family would be absorbed sooner or later.”
“What do you think happens to a beautiful woman who falls into the hands of a malicious man?”
“Defeat CG, R-rated scenes, waiting in line at the back…”
“Or do you think you’d have a passionate, anguished romance? That his love for you is real? That he’d finally see the light and you’d get a happy ending?”
“Don’t suffer unnecessarily. Don’t be moved by your own pity. Mercy to an enemy is cruelty to yourself.”
“And this is a cultivation world, not that harmonious society you once knew. You’d better remember that lesson now.”
Ye Qingyi was silent for a moment.
She recalled three years of training to exhaustion every day, watching her spiritual energy dissipate in despair.
She remembered Zhao Yuan’s gentle, soothing presence when her clansmen mocked her.
Now she realized that wasn’t concern—it was the appreciation of a predator watching prey fall into a trap.
And after the fallout, the look in Zhao Yuan’s eyes was filled with brutality and murderous intent… Ye Chu was right.
She shouldn’t be soft-hearted.
“…I understand,” she said softly. “Go ahead.”
Ye Chu clenched his right fist, twisting his body back as every muscle tensed.
With this punch, he wanted to test the maximum output of Ye Qingyi’s body.
Know yourself and know your enemy, and you’ll never be defeated.
“Come—punch—”
“Fatty punch!”
With a sharp yell, Ye Chu’s right fist shot out.
There was no spiritual energy fluctuation—only pure, physical punch wind.
The moment Zhao Yuan’s body touched the punch wind, it turned into a mist of blood and vanished.
The punch wind continued forward, carving a deep trench in the ground stretching dozens of meters, only dissipating after slamming into a small hill and shaving off a third of it.
Looking at the aftermath of his full-power strike, Ye Chu estimated it had the power of a full-force blow from a mid-Golden Core stage body cultivator.
Having such a value at this level was indeed overpowered.
No matter how strong Ye Qingyi’s body cultivation talent or how incredible his own soul-forging method, it was impossible for someone at only the third layer of Qi Condensation to have this kind of attack power.
It had to be a bonus from this “Knight Does Not Die by Hand” system.
Then the drawback of the overpowered value was that Ye Qingyi’s attacks had pathetic accuracy.
So the system brought him in as a cheat?
Attack miss + demon mask?
Worthless female knight Darkness + demon Barney?
Damn, the character archetypes don’t match at all!
He touched the mask on his face.
As a grandmaster of artifact forging, he had absolutely no idea what material it was made of.
“Ye Qingyi, ask your system how long this divine mask can last, and if there are any other usage restrictions.”
Ye Qingyi was stunned, wondering if she misheard.
“Divine mask?”
“Right.”
Ye Chu’s tone was matter-of-fact.
“A mask this cool has to be called a divine mask.”
Ye Qingyi twitched the corner of her mouth.
“I remember the system said demon mask.”
Ye Chu frowned, his voice rising half a notch.
“So… you think I’m a demon too?!”
He was definitely not threatening Ye Qingyi—he just accidentally raised his voice a bit.
Ye Qingyi chuckled awkwardly, decisively choosing not to argue with Ye Chu over this.
“System, how long can this mask last? Are there any other usage restrictions?”
[Demon Mask is an active skill. Duration: 12 hours. Cooldown: 12 hours. No other usage restrictions.]
Ye Chu was furious.
“Where does this damn system get off judging me as a demon? Isn’t this slandering me right in front of you?!”
“I, Ye Chu, walk upright and sit straight. For ten thousand years, I’ve been open and aboveboard. I never bully the weak, never break my promises, never lay a hand on women… except when sparring with you. What right does the system have to call me a demon?!”
Ye Qingyi didn’t reply.
She felt it was a bit strange, but thinking about it carefully… it actually seemed reasonable.
In his past life, Ye Chu had cultivated all the way to Mahayana stage and was eventually hunted down and killed by his enemies.
Although he talked about wanting to go back to Earth, his actions clearly showed he had completely taken on the shape of the cultivation world—decisive in killing, no mercy for enemies.
All eight assassins were killed by headshots, and Zhao Yuan was blasted into dust.
From that perspective, being judged as a demon by the system wasn’t wrong.
Of course, she wouldn’t say that out loud.
There were more pressing matters now.
“We’ve already killed Zhao Yuan. What should we do next?”