Chapter 1: The First Mission After Debuting – Seduction…

Today was just another ordinary day.

In Blood Night City on the border of the Demon Realm, tall red maple trees dotted the city everywhere. With their green tiles, red leaves, and tinkling wind chimes, they undoubtedly added a touch of elegance to the place.

If one could ignore the occasional poisonous insects crawling over the red maple branches, it was undeniably an excellent place to live. After all, that was how the Demon Clan always was—beauty and danger coexisted.

Changyou Street was as lively as ever, bustling with people coming and going. Suddenly, a nine-headed snake demon would slither onto the street, blocking passersby in a twisted manner as it sought a mate.

Gu Changhuai remained calm and composed. Without hesitation, he stepped on one of the nine-headed snake demon’s heads amid the sudden situation, his emotions utterly unaffected.

Regardless of whether the nine-headed snake demon wailed in agony, he strode past without a sideways glance, his tone eerie. “You’ll scare the pretty ladies nearby like that. It’s rude. Now scram.”

The women of the Demon Realm were bold, but they also hated disgusting things. Unfortunately, the nine-headed snake demon’s habit of blocking the street to court mates was particularly repulsive. It grossed out the women walking on the street, sending them fleeing to the roadside. They weren’t afraid—who in the Demon Realm didn’t have a few lives to spare while making a living? It was pure disgust.

The nine-headed snake demon lost one head but didn’t dare make trouble. It slunk away dejectedly.

Gu Changhuai was in a good mood. Humming a little tune, he adjusted the ferocious and frightening mask on his face and continued walking forward, two wine jugs swinging in his hand. He strolled leisurely, the ring-handled long saber at his waist swaying gently with his steps.

A red maple leaf drifted down with the wind.

“Help! Help! Great Lord Gu, save me!!” A woman’s frail and delicate cry came hurtling from behind him.

Gu Changhuai’s eyes sharpened. His long saber instantly left its sheath, its blade slicing the falling red maple leaf in two right before his eyes. A graceful and alluring figure rushed toward him. The woman seemed to be chased by a great demon, her face full of panic and helplessness. Upon seeing him, she lit up with joy and shouted, “Great Lord Gu!”

Gu Changhuai’s expression remained impassive as he reached out and pulled the woman. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled the long saber, embedding it in front of the demon pursuing her. It radiated killing intent, forcing the pursuer to halt.

The great demon in front of him panted heavily, his gaze as if he wanted to tear Gu Changhuai apart. “Gu Changhuai, are you going to side with this little wench?”

Gu Changhuai recognized this demon. In the Demon Realm, he was known as Shi Ying, who most enjoyed devouring the brains of infants. His favorite dish was porridge made from the brains of a hundred newborns not yet full-term. Shi Ying’s cultivation method was exceptionally cruel; he often didn’t distinguish between friend or foe. Not only was he wanted by the Cultivation World, but he was also despised by everyone in the Demon Realm.

“Of course.” Gu Changhuai’s tone was casual. “If you’re unhappy, come at me.”

With that, he raised his hand and summoned the long saber embedded before Shi Ying’s feet back into his grasp.

In an instant, the atmosphere froze. The wind stilled, and an invisible chill of killing intent permeated the heavens and earth, pressing against their vital points. He simply stood there holding his saber, the pair of cold eyes visible through his mask staring at Shi Ying, sending chills down anyone’s spine.

“I wouldn’t dare… I wouldn’t dare…” After a long moment, Shi Ying gritted his teeth and swallowed his anger. “Just make sure you hold onto that top spot, Shadow Head Gu. Otherwise, if you fall, who knows how many people will trample you to death.”

The woman hiding behind Gu Changhuai poked her head out. “Don’t worry. Even if Great Lord Gu isn’t the top of the Shadow Clan anymore, plenty of people will like him. Unlike you! A toad lusting after swan’s meat!”

“You!” Shi Ying sneered. “Little wench, you’d better hide behind him for life. If you ever fall into my hands, I’ll make you wish for death but unable to die!”

With those words, he flicked his sleeve and turned into a puff of black smoke, vanishing from the spot.

“You’ve got trouble now.” Gu Changhuai sheathed his saber and handed one jug of wine to Hua Mei.

The way she took the jug, soft and boneless, grossed him out again. “Change back.”

Hua Mei clicked her tongue and cursed, “You have no appreciation for romance.” With that, she twisted her body, and a series of crackling sounds came from her bones.

Gu Changhuai ignored her and walked forward. “Why did you go and provoke Shi Ying?”

“Who told him to steal children where I could see? How could I just watch him eat those newborns alive?”

In the span of that one sentence, Hua Mei’s voice shifted from a delicate woman’s to a low, magnetic male voice.

Gu Changhuai glanced sideways and still found Hua Mei’s male form more pleasing to the eye. Demons of the Mei clan could take on both male and female appearances, naturally able to transform into either.

Hua Mei’s male form wasn’t as bonelessly alluring as his female one. His male face was handsome, though the charm in his brows and eyes remained undiminished. Even when he spoke or blinked, it carried a soul-stealing allure.

Hua Mei continued proudly, “So I transformed into my female form, bewitched Shi Ying until he was dizzy with lust, then sneaked into his lair and freed all the children.”

Gu Changhuai tsked. “No wonder he chased you relentlessly.” She’d wiped out his lair—that was ruthless.

The wind in Blood Night City was strong, so the two entered a tavern to shelter from it while talking. Gu Changhuai and Hua Mei casually found a spot in the main hall and sat down. He asked Hua Mei, “So what are you planning to do next? I’m about to leave the Demon Realm soon. From the look of Shi Ying, he won’t let you off easily.”

At those words, Hua Mei’s voice changed. “Where to? Take me with you! Don’t make me beg on my knees!”

Gu Changhuai sighed, his expression hard to read. “The Demon Venerable assigned me a task.”

Hua Mei got excited. “That’s great! You fought tooth and nail to climb to the top of the Shadow Clan and became the number one assassin. For your first mission, the Demon Venerable values you highly—your status is self-evident!”

He patted Gu Changhuai’s shoulder righteously. “When you get rich, don’t forget your bro!”

Gu Changhuai chuckled. “From the sound of it, you’re really willing to go handle this with your brother?”

“Our brotherhood goes without saying.” Hua Mei laughed too, looking kindly. “It’s not like I’m doing it to dodge Shi Ying or anything.”

From the moment they sat down, Gu Changhuai had set up a soundproof barrier around their seats to prevent eavesdropping. Such methods were common in both the Cultivation World and Demon Realm. Unless a cultivator far stronger than him deliberately probed with their divine sense, no one would know what they discussed inside.

Even though the chat involved secrets, Hua Mei still cautiously glanced around before lowering his voice. “So, what exactly did the Demon Venerable send you to do?”

Gu Changhuai sighed again and subconsciously rubbed his belly, whispering back, “…He told me to kill the Qing Lian Immortal Lord.”

“What?!” Hua Mei let out a strange yelp. After staring at him with trembling lips for a long while, he couldn’t utter a word.

The name Qing Lian Immortal Lord Rong Ye resounded throughout the Cultivation World—and the Demon Realm as well. In the Cultivation World, it was for his reputation as the leader of the righteous path, his sword revealing the might of heaven and earth. Of course, that sword had cut down invading demons from the Demon Realm.

Thus, in the Demon Clan, it rang with infamy—utterly loathsome at first mention.

At first, Gu Changhuai thought it was just an ordinary transmigration.

The Shadow Clan was brutal and fiercely competitive internally. When he transmigrated, the original body’s hand had just ripped out an opponent’s heart, and he still vividly remembered the warm blood splattering on his face.

Afraid others would rip out his heart too, from the moment he arrived in this world, he trained diligently day and night, fearing he might die in a foreign land at any second.

Shadow demons of the Shadow Clan usually had no personal names; each batch was numbered, and they chose their own surnames. He was Gu Sanbai in the clan, and his greatest threat came from a shadow demon named Xue Lao Er.

Just two days ago was the day their batch of shadow demons fought to determine the assassin rankings.

In his duel with Xue Lao Er that day, Xue Lao Er deliberately twisted his ankle, claimed injury, and willingly forfeited. Thus, Gu Changhuai smoothly became the top of the Shadow Clan and ascended to the throne of number one assassin.

As if afraid he’d run, on the very day he became number one, the Shadow Head took him to see the Demon Venerable. The Demon Venerable fed him a fat white grub, then assigned his first mission: assassinate the Qing Lian Immortal Lord.

Before this, he’d been too busy surviving to hear the name Qing Lian Immortal Lord.

He was thunderstruck.

The reason was simple—he suddenly realized he hadn’t just transmigrated; he’d transmigrated into a book.

Into a great male protagonist upgrade novel called Breaking Heaven.

The book’s male lead was Zhao Qianlin, and Qing Lian Immortal Lord Rong Ye was the male lead’s golden finger master.

He was an existence even more powerful than the protagonist, nearly invincible throughout the story. By the mid-arc, he broke through the Dao and ascended.

The undisputed number one in the Cultivation World.

The icy, nauseating sensation of the grub sliding down his throat, combined with the sudden realization that he was book-transmigrated and assigned by the Demon Venerable to assassinate the protagonist’s golden finger… all the buffs stacked up…

Gu Changhuai’s mood was complicated.

But what use was that? He couldn’t run. The grub the Demon Venerable fed him was linked to his life.

As he thought about it, Gu Changhuai rubbed his abdomen and frowned, still feeling uncomfortable.

Ugh…

After his shock, Hua Mei’s brain spun rapidly, and he came up with a rotten idea. “The Demon Venerable clearly sent you to die. How about we elope?”

“Elope my ass. I’m not into you.” Gu Changhuai shuddered with goosebumps. “Besides, I can’t run. The Demon Venerable has me pinned down.”

Hua Mei propped his chin, frowning. “Then what? As your bro, I have to pull you out of this. I may lack morals, but I can’t watch you go die.”

Silence fell for a moment.

Suddenly, he slapped the table. “Got it!”

The sudden noise startled Gu Changhuai, spilling some wine from his cup. He glanced sideways at Hua Mei, who had half-undressed to expose a fragrant shoulder, giggling coyly. “What if this slave goes seduce the Qing Lian Immortal Lord? For your mission, this slave is willing to sacrifice~”

Gu Changhuai was unmoved. “Great idea. I’ll use your pig brain for something else.”

Hua Mei impatiently tsked and demanded, “What do you mean? Am I not good-looking? Not beautiful? Not everyone can pull off seduction. Look at you—if you can do it, be my guest!”

As he spoke, while Gu Changhuai was distracted pouring wine without defenses up, Hua Mei’s hand turned into a shadow and swiftly yanked off Gu Changhuai’s mask in a flash.

“…”

Gu Changhuai’s hand paused mid-pour.

Hua Mei’s hand holding the mask also froze. They’d known each other so long, but this was the first time he’d seen Gu Changhuai’s true face. He stared at it, mouth agape in a daze for a long while.

After a beat,

He gently put the mask back on, stammering softly, “You hid it well, kid… For seduction, I think you should go. It’s feasible.”

Gu Changhuai shot him a glance. “Better think of another way.”

As they discussed the feasibility of “seduction” at their table, they had no idea that a cultivator whose cultivation and divine sense surpassed theirs was bored enough to sit right at the next table over, overhearing every word of their conversation.

The two figures wore veiled hats and said nothing. One of them shifted restlessly, heart pounding, occasionally stealing glances at their companion’s reaction with their eyes.

Ah.

Seduction, huh.

Haven’t seen that demon’s looks yet… whether they match with the Immortal Lord… Huh?

The two at that table exchanged silent glances, utterly still, while the table next to them continued plotting loudly. Gu Changhuai had shifted gears and mused thoughtfully, “How about we sneak into the Xinnan Immortal Sect and take a look?”

“Better to find a way to get disciple identities first, enter as Xinnan Immortal Sect disciples, and play it by ear.” Hua Mei said.

Gu Changhuai had a realization. “Good idea. So where do we get identities?”

What a great question.

One question, two people fell silent.