(Bai Chenxiang illustration)
Dugu Yan covered her mouth.
Her fingers were ice-cold.
[Yu Tianheng lifted his head. There was no struggle in his eyes, no hesitation.]
["Fine."]
["That way... I'll be able to find a man."]
[Her father glanced at him. "...Do as you please."]
Dugu Yan stood frozen in place, trembling all over.
Not from the cold.
From fury.
What a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan!
What a Yu Tianheng!
He pursued her to win over Dugu Bo, wanted to marry her to use her, and when he realized he couldn't keep the truth hidden, he tried to poison her to death!
And he wanted to find a man?
Find a man, my ass!
Dugu Yan abruptly raised her head and looked ahead.
Yu Tianheng was still there, pointing at Lin Jiang and cursing. "Did you hear me? Get lost! Are you deaf?"
Yu Feng was still chiming in. "Exactly! You think our boss's words don't count?"
Osler nodded so hard his head nearly fell off.
And Lin Jiang was still looking at them with an innocent expression.
Dugu Yan drew a deep breath.
The Simulator hadn't ended yet.
She wanted to see what else happened.
[At last, before long...]
[Your poison flared up.]
[You thought it was just your Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison. After all, your Dugu Family had always lived alongside poison.]
[The poison tortured you for days. You lay in bed, your body blackened and your lips purple.]
[Yu Tianheng didn't come to see you even once.]
[As you lay on your sickbed, you even felt guilty—had you become a burden to him? Were you too useless as his new bride?]
Dugu Yan: ???
Was she out of her mind???
[Just as you had only one breath left—]
[The door was pushed open.]
[Dugu Bo rushed in! A young man followed close behind him!]
["Yan Yan! Look who Grandpa brought!" Dugu Bo was beaming. "He cured the old poison that's been building up inside me for years!"]
[Then he froze.]
["Yan Yan??? What happened to you?!"]
[You could no longer speak. You could only force your eyes open.]
[Dugu Bo rushed to your bedside and clasped your hand. "You're this sick, and no one from the Yu residence thought to notify me!"]
[He whipped around and shouted to the young man, "Lin Jiang! Save Yan Yan, quick!"]
[You saw the young man's face—]
[It was Lin Jiang.]
[The child Yu Tianheng and the others had bullied six years ago, at the entrance to Heaven Dou Royal Academy.]
[Now he had grown into a refined young man.]
Dugu Yan's heart skipped a beat.
It was him?
[Lin Jiang stepped forward. He only had to look at you once for his expression to darken.]
["Inside her..." He paused. "There's more than just Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison."]
[Dugu Bo looked as if he'd been struck by lightning. "What?!"]
[You wanted to speak, to ask what he meant, but the poison had already spread through your entire body.]
[You watched helplessly as Lin Jiang's face grew more and more blurred—]
[You died.]
[Your miserable life, spent being used, deceived, and poisoned to death, came to an end.]
[Many years later, Lin Jiang became a god.]
[Dugu Bo clung to his coattails and became a god, too.]
[But you never got to see it.]
[Simulation complete.]
[Congratulations, host. You have received your simulation rewards—]
[Obtained an illustrated guide to common poisonous plants on Douluo Continent]
[Appearance increased by 10%!]
[Poison resistance increased by 10%!]
Dugu Yan's eyes snapped open.
Yu Tianheng was still pointing at Lin Jiang and yelling, "Did you hear me? Get lost!"
Yu Feng: "Exactly!"
Osler: "That's right, that's right!"
Everything was exactly as it had been in the Simulator.
Dugu Yan took a deep breath.
The Simulator had shown her the future.
Without this thing, Yu Tianheng would have pursued her, tricked her into marriage, and poisoned her to death. She would never have known the truth, not even at the very end—
And Lin Jiang, that six-year-old boy, would one day cure Dugu Bo's poison and become a god. He would be her only lifeline!
In this life, she absolutely wouldn't let the tragedy happen again!
Just as Yu Tianheng lifted his foot to kick Lin Jiang—
Dugu Yan moved.
She stepped forward and swung her arm in a wide arc—
"Smack!"
A loud slap landed squarely across Yu Tianheng's face.
Yu Tianheng was completely stunned. Clutching one cheek, he stared at her wide-eyed. "Y-Yan Yan?! What are you doing?!"
Yu Feng and Osler were dumbfounded, too.
"Boss?!"
"Why did you hit him?!"
Dugu Yan lowered her hand and looked at him coldly.
What was she doing?
She remembered what Yu Tianheng had said in the Simulator—"That way, I'll be able to find a man."
Disgusting.
"I'm asking what the hell you think you are!"
She spoke slowly, one word at a time. Her voice wasn't loud, yet all three of them took a step back.
Lin Jiang lifted his head.
He looked at the green-haired girl standing in front of him, and the corner of his mouth curled slightly.
The system panel flashed in his mind—
[ Ding! Dugu Yan's simulation has ended. Subversion Value +21...]
[Total Subversion Value: 99]
[Congratulations, host! Simulation rewards returned a hundredfold!]
[Obtained an illustrated guide to every category of plant on Douluo Continent! (Includes precise coordinates of Immortal Grade Herbs)]
[Appearance increased by 1000%! (Effect still taking hold)]
[Poison resistance increased by 1000%! (Congratulations, host. You are now immune to all poisons)]
Lin Jiang stared at the panel, the corners of his mouth stretching higher and higher.
An illustrated guide to every plant? With coordinates for the Immortal Grade Herbs, too?
Wasn't the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well as good as his now? The Lovesick Heartbroken Red, Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass... They were all his!
A thousand percent poison resistance? Immune to all poisons?
Dugu Bo's poison would be nothing more than a tickle from now on!
And then there was this increase to his appearance—
Wait.
Lin Jiang suddenly felt his face grow hot.
It felt as if something was emerging from within him.
He looked down at his hands.
Well, they were still the hands of a six-year-old boy, but his skin seemed a shade fairer.
He touched his face.
It was still chubby, but his features seemed... No, something was off.
Never mind. He didn't have a mirror, so he'd forget about it.
Lin Jiang looked up.
Then he froze.
Dugu Yan stood in front of him, looking down at him.
Her already pretty face was now staring right at him.
Her eyes were as round as bells, her mouth gaped wide enough to fit an egg, and she looked as if someone had sealed her acupoints.
"You... you..."
Dugu Yan pointed at him, her finger trembling.
Lin Jiang blinked. "What's wrong with me?"
Dugu Yan didn't answer.
After slapping Yu Tianheng, she had turned around—and come face-to-face with Lin Jiang.
And then she had seen—
The ordinary little face that had been there before was, right before her eyes, gradually... getting prettier?
Not in the way someone "grew into their looks," but in a way anyone could see: with every passing second, his features became more refined!
His eyes grew bigger and brighter, his skin glowed as fair as jade, and his features grew so delicate he looked like a porcelain doll—
Yu Tianheng was clutching one cheek. Having finally come to his senses, he looked up and saw Lin Jiang, too.
"Holy crap?!"
The words burst out of him.
Yu Feng and Osler looked over, then both sucked in a sharp breath.
"This kid—"
"How did he suddenly get so handsome?!"
Lin Jiang: "..."
Oh, right. The thousand-percent increase to his appearance hadn't finished yet.
He instinctively reached for his face. Just as he lifted his hand—
Before you continue