Inside a pitch-dark room—located deep beneath an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Tianhai City—there was an unbearable stench lingering in the air, mixing with the sound of slow, steady breathing. The whole area had clearly been repurposed into some kind of secret base.
"Huang Yu! I'll kill you! I swear it on the Dragon King's name!"
Lying on a damp mat, Xiao Zhan suddenly cried out in his sleep. He had been dreaming—no, reliving—the humiliation he suffered in the van. His emotions surged violently, his face twisted in anger, and then, with a loud roar, he bolted upright.
As soon as he sat up, he realized he was in a completely unfamiliar environment.
Drenched in moisture, the stench that filled the room stabbed into his nostrils with brutal force. He gagged and retched loudly.
"Huang Yu! I, the Dragon King, swear this upon the heavens—we are mortal enemies now. One of us will die! I swear I'll kill you someday!"
It took him a good while to calm down from his dry heaving. Collapsing back onto the ground, his whole body trembled uncontrollably. The shame he'd felt inside that vehicle still clung to his mind like a heavy fog, his eyes now glinting with fury as he looked upward and let out a primal howl.
Just then, a cold and ethereal female voice echoed throughout the room—sacred and commanding, as if no mortal dared to defy it.
"If you can't even endure this little setback, then you might as well crawl back overseas."
The lights flickered on.
A stunning woman in a black robe stood not far away, her aura almost divine. She looked like an immortal descending from the heavens, untouchable and otherworldly. Her presence was impossible to ignore.
Xiao Zhan's blue security uniform was now stained yellow across a large portion of the fabric. The mess had dried and stuck to his clothes and skin alike, giving off a rank odor. His hair was in total disarray, and a suspicious yellow residue clung to the corner of his mouth—courtesy of Huang Yu's lackey, the one called White Hair.
At this moment, Xiao Zhan looked nothing like the Dragon King he once was. He was a complete mess, a total disgrace—especially when standing opposite the woman, whose presence was pure and commanding.
When he heard her voice, his expression changed in an instant. The twisted fury on his face vanished as if it had never existed. Straightening himself, he quickly bowed with immense respect.
"Disciple Xiao Zhan greets his Master!"
If Huang Yu had been present, he would've instantly recognized her—this was the most terrifying existence in the entire Dragon King Hall.
She was Xiao Zhan's master: Yun Yun.
Yun Yun was extraordinarily beautiful. Unlike the typical heroines described in novels, her beauty was ethereal, transcending the mortal realm. Every step she took radiated elegance. The occasional flash of her long, snow-white legs beneath her robe added to her mystique, and the calm, icy aura that surrounded her only intensified the mystery.
Even though her body was wrapped in a long, black robe, her graceful curves were impossible to conceal. Her face remained mostly veiled, yet even so, her allure was enough to drive any man mad.
No one in the Dragon King Hall knew Yun Yun's true origins. It was said she came from a different lineage entirely and was already a formidable force long before the Hall was ever established. Even the original novel never fully revealed her background.
It was as if she had emerged from thin air.
In a standalone martial fantasy world, a master as mysterious and powerful as hers would undoubtedly be considered the peak of the power scale—the ceiling of combat ability.
As Yun Yun approached, she stopped a short distance away from him. Xiao Zhan, completely ignoring the filth covering his body, immediately dropped to one knee beside her, his head bowed low.
"Disciple has shamed Master. I've disappointed you!"
Despite his apologetic words, a crazed glint flickered in his eyes—something bordering on obsession. Deep down, Xiao Zhan harbored a secret, a dark and hidden desire for his master, Yun Yun. But restrained by the vast gap in power between them, he had never dared to act on it.
Yun Yun looked at her filthy disciple with a mix of concern and distaste. Her beautiful eyes glinted, and almost involuntarily, she took a step back, keeping a little distance between them.
Her voice, as cold and airy as before, rang out again:
"With your current cultivation, your body should've reached the stage of pure meridian flow and untainted essence. How did you end up in this state?"
"I don't know either… It was unbearable pain in my stomach, and then I just…"
Xiao Zhan couldn't finish the sentence. His shame burned even brighter, especially now that he stood disgraced in front of the woman he respected—and secretly desired—most.
"System, are you still there?"
"System!"
Something clicked in his mind, and he began to call out silently in his heart.
But the system, which had previously answered all his needs, now offered no response. Since the moment Huang Yu had force-fed him that unspeakable mess, the system had shut down, totally unresponsive—no matter how many times he summoned it.
Panic and confusion overtook Xiao Zhan. After all, the system was his most trusted support, something he had believed to be omnipotent.
Yun Yun's eyes narrowed slightly, and a faint chill ran through them.
"It seems someone highly skilled in the poison arts was among the people you encountered that day."
"To be able to pull off such a silent, undetectable ambush… their skill must be at the absolute peak."
"A master of poison..."
Xiao Zhan froze. Was someone really capable of doing that to him? His first thought was, of course, Huang Yu. But he quickly shook his head, dismissing the idea.
Yes, Huang Yu was a thorn in his side, a disgusting little bootlicker—but thinking back on how cowardly the guy acted around him, Xiao Zhan couldn't believe he was capable of something so subtle and powerful.
Better to assume he'd just eaten something bad…
Thus, the great Dragon King completely disregarded the correct answer!
"Tell me everything that happened today."
Yun Yun's eyebrows furrowed slightly, her voice calm but insistent.
"Yes, Master."
Xiao Zhan then recounted the entire day's events.
From 'saving' Liu Ruyan from the hands of the infamous Tianhai troublemaker Huang Yu, to being thrown into the police van and passing out. Of course, he cast himself as a noble hero, saving a damsel in distress only to fall victim to a sinister ambush due to a brief lapse in judgment.
As for Huang Yu, he was painted as nothing more than a shameless degenerate with no morals or dignity.
"I see. Go wash that stench off yourself,"
Yun Yun said flatly before turning to leave.
However…
She couldn't shake off a strange feeling. Something about Huang Yu didn't add up. Her instincts told her there was more to him than met the eye.
"Looks like I'll have to meet this Huang Yu in person."
Though Xiao Zhan was far from perfect, his strength still represented the face of the Dragon King Hall. To be taken down so effortlessly meant whoever was behind it was a potential threat not to be underestimated.
Meanwhile, inside a hospital room…
Huang Yu lay on the hospital bed, thinking about the moment Xiao Zhan had been hauled away, caked in "Oligive," a twisted concoction of humiliation.
Right before they'd left, that woman… had given him a long, deep look.
There was something hauntingly familiar about her.
Wait a minute…
Suddenly, realization dawned.
He sat bolt upright in bed, eyes wide in disbelief. His voice trembled.
"It's all falling apart! Everything's out of control!"