"What Is Said Comes to Pass"

"System, oh system..."

Lu Guan lay on the bed in his room, staring up at the light on the ceiling and muttering to himself.

"It's been eighteen years... If you're still alive... give me a sign..."

[Beep! The host has reached the required age!]

[The Strongest Invincible Super Heaven-Defying Conquest System has officially activated!]

"Holy shit?" Lu Guan shot upright. "You're alive?"

Granted, Lu Guan was happy that the system had beaten Master Zhang and Kobe in the resurrection contest, but what he cared about more was the system's name, whose string of prefixes was long enough to shove in an enemy's face.

"What kind of system are you?" Lu Guan asked. "With a string of prefixes that long and ridiculously over-the-top, don't tell me you're from peak Feilu?"

[Beep. Host's preference detected. Modification complete.]

[Hello, the Conquest System is at your service.]

"All right... What functions do you have right now?"

[Functions are as follows: check the favorability of conquerable characters, mark conquerable characters, and view the map.]

[Beep! Eligible characters detected. Add them to the list of conquerable characters?]

"Conquerable characters? Add them!"

[Beep! Character list updated. Please review-]

[Characters added: Changli, Suisui, Yangyang.]

[Changli]

[Current favorability: 4]

[Opinion of host: A colleague's child]

[Suisui]

[Current favorability: 27]

[Opinion of host: A mischievous younger cousin]

[Yangyang]

[Current favorability: -6]

[Opinion of host: A naturally evil demon orb!!]

"Pfft! How could she say that? All I did was pull out a few of her tail feathers!" Lu Guan fumed. "How can a woman hold a grudge for so long?"

[Beep! Conquerable character Suisui's favorability has reached a milestone. Claim reward?]

"Claim it."

[Beep. Reward obtained: Resonance ability development increased by 10%.]

As soon as the system finished speaking, Lu Guan felt the Tacet Mark on his right palm begin to burn, and a primordial power surged within him.

It was as though something in his palm was ready to burst forth.

Since the mood was already set, he went ahead and shouted.

"Great Desolate Imprisoning Heavenly Finger!"

In an instant, the waters around the ship shook violently, the clouds overhead were torn apart, and a gigantic golden finger descended straight from the sky.

The people on deck erupted into commotion, cries for help and shouts ringing out one after another.

Lu Guan had just finished his chuuni act in his room when the noise outside began to annoy him, so he went out to see what was happening. The moment he stepped through the door, he saw a sight he had only ever seen in animation.

"Holy crap? What the hell is that?!!!"

The Ming Court's Pacification Bureau.

"So... you single-handedly caused the shipwreck with your resonance ability?" The Pacification Bureau chiliarch looked at Lu Guan's statement, then at Lu Guan, who was sitting obediently on a stool. His face twitched.

"Uh... I developed my resonance ability on a whim. I didn't expect the result to be so good..." Lu Guan scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "There weren't any serious consequences, were there?"

"No, there weren't..." The chiliarch shook his head. "You should count yourself lucky. The shipwreck happened fairly close to Huanglong, and the rescue arrived in time. So far, there have been no casualties."

"That's good, that's good..." Lu Guan breathed a long sigh of relief.

"You're... the young master of Lord Lu Yi's family, right?" Seeing that Lu Guan was less tense, the chiliarch pressed on. "Can you explain why your development of your resonance ability stagnated for eighteen years, yet you made progress as soon as you left Huanglong?"

"...I don't know."

The chiliarch narrowed his eyes. "You don't know... or you can't say?"

"Both are possible. That's the answer."

"...Forget it. I was only asking." The chiliarch waved a hand and instructed a subordinate to open the interrogation room door. "Lu Guan, someone paid your bail. You can leave."

A young master from a prominent family was a hot potato, and with the Lu family leaning toward the Dragon Lord, the chiliarch naturally had no wish to offend him any further.

Lu Guan didn't leave immediately, however. He leaned forward and asked cautiously, "Um... this won't go on my record, will it?"

"I'm supposed to report to Stardust Academy afterward. What happened today won't affect my admission, right?"

"...No." The chiliarch looked at Lu Guan with a complicated expression.

He had heard about this young master of the Lu family from others, but this was his first time meeting him in the flesh.

Rumor had it that his mind worked differently from ordinary people's. Some said his innate resonance ability was responsible for his strange behavior, while others said Lu Guan was simply a demon orb reincarnated.

Now that he had met him, the rumors certainly lived up to their name.

"Hehe... Thanks, brother chiliarch. I'll send you a commendation banner another day."

"...Just hurry up and leave. Quit dawdling."

The chiliarch urged him on helplessly. This was the first time he had ever seen a suspect come up and try to get on friendly terms with him. It was a real eye-opener.

Lu Guan nodded, and on his way out, he swiped a box of the meals issued to Pacification Bureau staff under the chiliarch's utterly shocked gaze.

"Seriously, man?"

"(￣~￣) Chew! Your stir-fried beef is a little overcooked."

After discussing the Pacification Bureau kitchen's output for ten minutes with the chiliarch, who had lost all will to live, Lu Guan stepped out through the bureau's doors.

To Lu Guan's surprise, his father's sour face, the one he usually saw after making a mistake, wasn't shoved in front of him.

Standing before him was a radiant blonde girl.

She wore a gorgeous, form-fitting white-and-gold qipao with an open back and high slits. Feather patterns were embroidered on it in gold thread, while the hem was decorated with a vivid landscape painting.

A golden hairpin adorned her head, its ornaments swaying with every step she took and making a pleasant sound.

Her hands, clad in red-and-black lace gloves, held a translucent folding fan across which landscapes flowed. Smiling, she studied Lu Guan with molten-gold eyes that were not hidden by the fan.

She was his older cousin, Suisui.

"...Cousin?"

"Mm-hmm~" Suisui lowered the folding fan that hid her face and raised her head, revealing a teasing smile. "What? Surprised it's me?"

"Generally speaking... yes."

"We haven't seen each other in years... Why do you talk like an old man?" Suisui frowned slightly. What Lu Guan had just said made her feel a little uneasy, as though her wallet was about to be emptied.

"It's nothing... Just speaking my mind." Lu Guan shook his head. "Where are my parents? Why didn't they come?"

"...Auntie and my mother went traveling," Suisui explained. "And Uncle... he probably thought it would be embarrassing to come bail you out?"

"As it happened, I also wanted to see how my little cousin was doing~ So... I volunteered to come."

Suisui smiled gracefully, lightly tapping the fan against her hand as she slowly approached Lu Guan. With his keen hearing, Lu Guan could even hear the rustle of the fan rubbing against her lace glove.

"Gulp~" Lu Guan swallowed. A virgin in both lives, he had never faced anything like this. Suisui hadn't been as beautiful a few years ago as she was now; just a hint of expression inadvertently showing on her face was enough to make him blush.

"Oh my~ Why are you so nervous, cousin~?" Suisui laid her folding fan on Lu Guan's shoulder and leaned in to study him. "Tsk, tsk, tsk... We haven't seen each other in a few years, and the handsome boy has grown into a handsome man~"

"Um... cousin, how about we find somewhere else to talk?"

Suisui was far too close. Lu Guan could even smell her fragrance clearly.

"Mm-hmm~ You're right~" Suisui nodded in agreement. "Let's go to the teahouse the Zhaoming Chamber of Commerce just opened here. My treat."