Xiao Yan Must Die? I Fooled the System

"Dou Qi, Third Stage!"

Xiao Fan looked at the three large characters on the Magic Stone Tablet. They gleamed so brightly they hurt his eyes.

"Wasn't I working overtime at the company?"

"I got thirsty and wanted to get some water. The moment I stood up, everything went black and I passed out."

"I should be in a hospital, shouldn't I?"

Xiao Fan's face was blank with confusion when a massive flood of memories surged into his mind, making his head feel as though it would split apart.

It took him a full three minutes to digest the memories in his mind, and his expression turned strange.

It turned out that he had not waited for his coworkers to arrive in the morning and find him before sending him to the hospital.

Instead, he had died after lying on the floor beside his workstation for an hour.

Then, his soul had transmigrated to the Dou Qi Continent and become Xiao Yan.

"Xiao Yan, Dou Qi, Third Stage. Rank: Low!"

At that moment, a cold, indifferent male voice drew Xiao Fan's—no, Xiao Yan's from now on—attention.

Xiao Yan looked at the crowded square. As the middle-aged man announced his test result, a commotion immediately broke out.

Mocking remarks poured into his ears one after another.

"Is this the plot from the first chapter of the novel, 'The Fallen Genius'?"

Xiao Yan gave a bitter smile.

Though he was not truly Xiao Yan, hearing those scornful jeers still made him feel terribly depressed.

He turned around dejectedly and returned to the end of the line.

Then, a "ding" sounded in his mind.

[Transmigrator detected. "Xiao Yan Must Die" System binding...]

[10%...20%...30%...]

[System binding successful!]

[Host: Xiao Fan]

[Realm: Dou Qi, Third Stage]

[Xiao Yan has been detected near the host. Please kill Xiao Yan as soon as possible.]

[System reward: Cultivation raised to Dou Emperor!]

Xiao Yan stared blankly at the blue panel before him.

The system's reward was tempting indeed—his cultivation would be raised directly to Dou Emperor!

But wasn't I Xiao Yan?

Was he supposed to kill himself?

Did the system not know that Xiao Fan had transmigrated into Xiao Yan?

Fortunately, the system did not know. If it had bound itself to someone else, he would have been in real danger.

After all, who could resist the temptation of becoming a Dou Emperor?

[Xiao Yan has been detected near the host. Please kill Xiao Yan as soon as possible.]

The system's urging voice sounded again.

Xiao Yan: ...

This concubine cannot do it!

"System, if I can't complete the mission, will there be any punishment? Will you leave?"

Xiao Yan communicated with the system in his mind.

[Once bound, the system will not unbind until the host completes the mission.]

[There is no punishment if the host fails to complete the mission, but there will be no reward either.]

[Please complete the system mission as soon as possible and obtain the reward.]

Hearing the system's explanation, Xiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

If he never completed the mission, he had truly feared that the system would unbind itself and seek another host.

Then he would have to face endless pursuit and assassination.

Since the system would not unbind itself and there was no punishment, he could simply pretend he had never bound a system at all.

[Xiao Yan has been detected near the host. Please kill Xiao Yan as soon as possible.]

The system's urging voice sounded again.

"System, can you turn off this voice prompt and only give text notifications?"

[No!]

If that voice kept sounding, would he still be able to cultivate properly in the future?

Would he still be able to sleep properly?

Xiao Yan frowned deeply. This could not go on.

"System, if I kill Xiao Yan now, how long will it take for me to receive the reward of raising my cultivation to Dou Emperor?"

[With the host's current cultivation of Dou Qi, Third Stage, it will take at least three years to receive Dou Emperor cultivation.]

"Reasonable, very reasonable. I'll probably need to find a place where no one can disturb me to receive that cultivation, right?"

[The host's understanding is correct.]

"Then let me ask another question. If I fail to kill Xiao Yan and am killed instead, can you bind yourself to another host?"

[Once bound, the system cannot change hosts. If the host dies, the system will disappear.]

Xiao Yan was overjoyed. That was wonderful!

"So, we need to take a long-term approach to the mission of killing Xiao Yan. We can't rush it."

"Or rather, we can break the mission of killing Xiao Yan into several smaller goals and achieve them gradually."

"I'm sure you know that Xiao Yan is the protagonist favored by heaven and earth. To kill him, we must be absolutely certain. Otherwise, if he escapes, what kind of fortuitous opportunity might he obtain?"

[System: ...]

[System execution mechanism updating...]

[Update complete!]

[Main mission unchanged—Kill Xiao Yan!]

[Side mission added—Weaken Xiao Yan. The system will determine the degree of weakening and distribute random rewards.]

Xiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief. He had finally fooled the system.

Sure enough, the system's urging voice did not sound again.

"Next, Xiao Mei!"

At the middle-aged man's call, a girl of fourteen or fifteen quickly stepped forward. Her still-youthful face held both innocence and charm. She would surely grow into another great beauty.

Xiao Mei closed her eyes and lightly placed her small hand against the Magic Stone Tablet...

"Dou Qi: Seventh Stage!"

"Xiao Mei, Dou Qi: Seventh Stage! Rank: High!"

Hearing the tester announce her result, Xiao Mei raised her head with a proud smile.

Xiao Yan looked at Xiao Mei. In his memories, when he had still been a genius, the girl had called him Brother Yan with great affection.

At that moment, Xiao Mei's gaze also fell on Xiao Yan, but she immediately looked away and returned to her group amid wave after wave of envious voices.

Xiao Yan frowned slightly, feeling uncomfortable in his chest.

He had inherited all of Xiao Yan's memories.

Being looked down on by Xiao Mei naturally left him somewhat disappointed.

"Next, Xiao Xun'er!"

At that moment, the tester's voice rang out again.

As soon as that name was called, all the gazes that had been fixed on Xiao Mei abruptly shifted.

Xiao Yan looked over as well.

She was a girl in a purple dress. Her cool, tranquil temperament resembled a lotus just beginning to bloom. Despite her young age, she already possessed an otherworldly air.

When he saw the girl, a smile appeared at the corner of Xiao Yan's lips, his eyes following her figure the entire time.

"Dou Qi: Ninth Stage! Rank: High!"

As the girl's result was announced, everyone's eyes filled with respect, including the tester beside the Magic Stone Tablet.

"Miss Xun'er, in half a year, you should be able to condense a Dou Qi Cyclone and become a true Dou Zhe."

"Thank you!"

The girl nodded politely, then quietly turned around. Under the burning gazes of the crowd, she slowly walked toward the useless boy standing at the very back of the crowd.

She bent slightly, revealing the beginnings of her graceful curves. A refined smile blossomed across her beautiful face.

"Brother Xiao Yan!"

Seeing the girl's pretty face up close for the first time, Xiao Yan was somewhat dazzled.

Facing the girl's respectful manner, Xiao Yan felt slightly moved.

When everyone else mocked him, only she had remained by his side without abandoning him. That affection weighed heavily on his heart.

"Thank you, Xun'er. And congratulations on reaching the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi."

Xiao Yan spoke sincerely.

The girl blinked her beautiful eyes, which curved into shallow crescents as they filled with laughter.

"Brother Xiao Yan, you finally spoke to me. Xun'er is so happy."

Seeing the girl's happy smile, Xiao Yan felt a trace of resentment toward the previous Xiao Yan.

Because he had suffered a setback, he had become dispirited and neglected Xun'er's feelings.

Xiao Yan boldly took the girl's tender, fair little hand. She did not pull away, though a faint blush appeared on her pretty face.

Amid the wolfish howls of jealousy behind them, Xiao Yan led Xiao Xun'er toward the exit of the square.

\n[Ding! The host has become intimate with Xiao Yan's woman, Xiao Xun'er. Weakening Xiao Yan assessed at 3 stars.]\n

Xiao Yan: ...