The players disregarded everything and rushed into the Imperial Treasury. Inside, the gold, silver, and jewelry were dazzling. Various precious paintings hung on the walls, and countless treasures were arrayed.

The Imperial Guard stayed outside, not daring to enter. They were utterly terrified. It was the Celestial Punishment, and then there was that kick from the Seventh Prince. The most terrifying, however, were the Disciples of the Profound Yellow Sect. There were supposedly only about three hundred of them, all of whom Li Futu had allegedly killed. But what happened? In the blink of an eye, another three hundred appeared. Their names seemed to have hardly changed. This meant these people weren't actually being killed. Invincible?!

If the enemy couldn't be killed, yet the Imperial Guard and the Brocade Guard *could* die, how were they supposed to fight? No wonder there were rumors in Jianghu that the people from the Profound Yellow Sect killed themselves after every fight. They didn't care about dying at all!

"Search quickly, Abbess! Give it everything you've got!"

"Yeah, brothers, we're all depending on you to strike it rich! Success is all up to you now!"

"Three thousand Contribution Points! That would directly let me reach a comfortable standard of living!"

"Abbess, hurry up with the search, and you'll get a bonus of 100 Contribution Points once it's done!"

"..."

The vast Imperial Treasury made finding the Historical Text no easy task. But there was a certain probability of success. For Abbess, Don't Love Me, probability was a piece of cake. The players crowded behind, clearing out the entire Imperial Treasury to leave space for Abbess, Don't Love Me, to search.

Abbess, Don't Love Me thought, So in your eyes, I'm pretty much a detector dog?

Seeing the wronged look in Abbess, Don't Love Me's eyes, the players all burst out laughing.

Sister Zhou comforted him from the side, "You've got it good. Think about how these animals treat me; they don't see me as a human at all!"

Indeed. If anyone had it worst in this task, it was undoubtedly her. Used by Old Mo as a tool, she had triggered Celestial Punishment twice. By the end, she was numb from being struck. Compared to her, Abbess, Don't Love Me's treatment was pretty good.

Abbess, Don't Love Me took a deep breath and walked step by step inside the Imperial Treasury. Within less than five minutes, he had unearthed the Historical Text from beneath a pile of gold and jewelry.

"I found it!" Abbess, Don't Love Me turned to look at the players.

"Awesome! I said this kind of thing would depend on the Abbess."

"A majestic European Emperor being treated like a detector dog. If it were me, I couldn't stand it."

"Abbess, aren't you going to say something? You should at least slap those troublemakers a few times! This can't be tolerated!"

"Exactly, exactly! Abbess, you can't be deceived by their sweet talk."

"..."

Facing the players' words, Abbess, Don't Love Me just rolled his eyes. Whatever. I'm tired.

The players crowded forward, lifted the Historical Text, and started heading out. The Imperial Guard members who saw this couldn't help but grow curious. With so many treasures around, were the people from the Profound Yellow Sect blind? Why did they only take a stone stele?

Sun Buwei, the Commander of the Brocade Guard, frowned and stepped forward. "You stormed the Imperial Palace with so many people just for this stone stele?"

"Yeah, what else?" Dung Beetle nodded. "What did you think we were doing?"

I thought you were staging a rebellion! Sun Buwei almost couldn't catch his breath. So many members of the Brocade Guard and Imperial Guard had died, even Cao Zhisheng and Li Futu. And all for what? A useless stone stele? Are you kidding me?!

He would never have guessed that the people from the Profound Yellow Sect, with their fierce Celestial Punishments and mass killings, were merely there to move a stone stele. If he had known this was the case, why would they have tried to stop them? If only they had made things clear, all these deaths wouldn't have happened! Sun Buwei took a deep breath. Looking at the corpses scattered outside, he was at a loss as to who was at fault.

"Hey, by the way, Old Xu, go to Li Mansion and bring back Li Baiyang," Dung Beetle suddenly spoke up. "He can translate the text on this, saving us another trip."

Originally, they had caused an overnight commotion at Li Mansion just to catch Li Baiyang, even alerting the Brocade Guard. Imagine how scary that was. For an interpreter, the Brocade Guard had surrounded them twice. They couldn't afford any more issues this time; bringing him back early was wise.

"Could there be a task?" a player asked curiously.

Dung Beetle turned his head. "Forget it. We already completed Li Baiyang's task. You guys should just give it a rest."

Li Baiyang never imagined that the Profound Yellow Sect would indeed storm the Imperial Palace and even make it back out unscathed. Not only that, but he, the great master physician, had once again been clubbed from behind by Hero Xu Xian. This was the second time. Compared to the previous night's stealthy attack, Hero Xu Xian was even more brazen and reckless this time! He charged straight into Li Mansion, not giving Li Baiyang a chance to speak. With a swing of his cudgel, he knocked him down, hoisted him up, and made a run for it. The people of Li Mansion were stupefied. Could this thief truly be so audacious? This was the Capital City, right under the Crown Prince's nose, with the Brocade Guard patrolling outside!

「Inside Xiaoxiang Villa.」

The players brought the Historical Text right to the lakeside and handed it to the recuperating Xu Nian. Meanwhile, Hero Xu Xian tossed Li Baiyang to the side. A basin of cold water later, Li Baiyang was instantly jolted awake. Seeing himself surrounded by members of the Profound Yellow Sect, Li Baiyang swallowed the curses that had reached his lips. I will not stoop to your level!

Xu Nian glanced at Li Baiyang and said, "Mr. Li, I'll have to trouble you to translate this once again."

Li Baiyang didn't look at the Historical Text but stared at Xu Nian. "You had the Profound Yellow Sect storm the Imperial Palace, but not to incite a rebellion?"

Xu Nian gently shook his head. Rebellion? he thought. He was a Sect Leader, perfectly content harvesting 'chives' daily and watching the players enjoy themselves. Wasn't that pleasant enough? Why would he want to be Emperor? That was a position he found completely uninteresting. After resolving matters here, he planned to return to the Profound Yellow Sect. Indeed, being a Sect Leader was more interesting.

Seeing this, Li Baiyang couldn't help but take a deep breath. Could it be that His Majesty knew Xu Nian wasn't plotting a rebellion, which is why he hasn't said anything? But what about the previous two Celestial Punishments? How could he tolerate those? Li Baiyang didn't know what to ask next and turned to look at the Historical Text.

Soon, his expression became extremely grave. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he slumped to the ground, utterly dejected. "So it is indeed so, it really is... like this..." Li Baiyang cried out woefully to the heavens, "The heavens are unjust, so unjust! To live for a hundred years only to find that we were all prisoners, mere tools bred by others. It's a ludicrous existence, utterly ludicrous!"

As he exclaimed, the System Reminder chimed in. The players, upon receiving their reward, were ecstatic. This was exactly what they needed. Three thousand Contribution Points—a fortune had fallen into their hands! But then, a sudden System update alert blared.

[The game will undergo a Version 3.0 update. The new version, "My Destiny is in My Hands, Not in Heaven," will officially launch.]

[This update will last for 12 hours. Details will be posted on the official website.]

[Due to the major changes in this version, all veteran players will be rewarded with an additional game slot. Each veteran player will receive only one invitation slot. Verification codes will be distributed via gaming equipment. These codes can be used for pre-registration on the official website.]

[You will be forcibly logged out in five minutes. Please return to your sects promptly.]

Upon hearing this news, the players went wild.

"Holy shit, is the Third Test finally here? I'm not even prepared yet!"

"Hahaha, I can finally pick on the noobs too! I, Hu Han San, have finally lived to see this day!"

"We get an invite slot? I want to invite my wife to play too! Let's pre-register first!"

"Five minutes left! Brothers, kill yourselves and return to the sect to prepare for logout! I can't wait to see what's in the Third Test!"

"Damn it, this Second Test version is so boring, not even a dog would play it!"

"Goodbye, Second Test!"

"..."

Watching the disciples of the Profound Yellow Sect kill themselves one by one, Xu Nian's expression remained as serene as an ancient well. Li Baiyang, however, paled in fright. This... What in the world is going on? Three hundred people committing suicide before his very eyes—even he, Li Baiyang, had never witnessed such a thing. What a spectacle! But why on earth would they kill themselves for no reason?

Xu Nian spoke slowly, "Don't mind them. First, tell me about the content on this Historical Text."

Regaining his senses, Li Baiyang quickly got up, his expression one of terror. "Seventh Prince, do you know what this world we perceive truly is?"

"A cage?" Xu Nian asked, frowning.

Upon hearing this, Li Baiyang's expression turned knowing. Right, he thought. Xu Nian was so desperate to find the Historical Text; he probably knew some of this already.

"It is indeed a cage." Li Baiyang took a deep breath and said gravely, "And it belongs to a family named Luo. We are both their prisoners and their domesticated kin! The outside world is far broader; even Immortals exist there. The Luo Family offended a powerful figure, making it difficult for their descendants to be born. So, they devised this method of caging and confining people to prolong the Luo bloodline."

Though Xu Nian was prepared, hearing this news still left him somewhat shaken. Such a vast world was merely a cage belonging to the Luo Family, and the world outside was far more expansive. Entities more powerful than the Luo Family existed out there, capable of forcing a majestic family like theirs into such straits. It just went to show how perilous the outside world could be.

Xu Nian squinted, took a deep breath, and said, "Thank you. Please inform the Crown Prince of this news. Also, tell him I have no interest in the Emperor's position. From now on, the mountains are high and the road is long. Farewell, Jianghu!"

With that, he was effectively dismissing him. Li Baiyang, understanding Xu Nian's intent, sighed and turned to leave. At that moment, his silhouette seemed utterly lonely and helpless. Our perceived world, merely a cage—it's truly laughable, he despaired. The world's greatest lie, and it turned out to be this. The Ten Great Clans? The forces of Jianghu? The hegemon of the Imperial Dynasty? All just fleeting clouds... even survival itself is so difficult…

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