Reborn As A Villainous Cannon Fodder

Chapter 503: Ch 503 – Value

Holy shit, this one’s a supermodel among the old guard.

So we’ve been waiting all this time, and the real final boss from the game hasn’t even shown up yet…

Watching the vermillion bird descend from the sky, Yino couldn’t help but mutter under his breath.

The sacred golden nine-phoenix hairpin gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight. Her red-and-white ombre hair cascaded over her shoulders, flowing gently in the wind. The black and crimson court dress was embroidered with golden brocade patterns, radiating an aura of nobility and power. Even her phoenix-feather high heels added an extra touch of elegance.

National Advisor Feng Changli, a character with an overwhelming presence in the later parts of the game.

The first time Yino had seen her in the game in his past life, he’d assumed she was the Dragon Emperor’s empress. After all, this stunning beauty possessed both charm and cunning intellect. She often stood beside the dragon throne, exchanging glances and whispered conversations with the Dragon Emperor, the perfect supporting character position for a palace drama’s “empress who shares her lord’s burdens.”

But…

After learning more, Yino discovered she was actually the National Advisor, and even the White Dragon Empress’s master.

And that still wasn’t the full extent of Changli’s true power.

As the game progressed, Yino learned that Nina calling her “Master” was nothing special. even the previous Dragon Emperor had humbly sought Changli’s counsel on governance when he was young.

This showed just how high her status was in the Dragon Palace.

Empress?

That would be selling her short.

She was the Dragon Dynasty’s legendary strategist, the kind of genius whose casual advice could sway the entire fate of the nation.

It was hard to imagine that in the dragon-supremacist Dragon Dynasty, two generations of Dragon rulers had treated this phoenix woman with utmost respect.

“If National Advisor’s appearance marks the end of Chapters sixteen and seventeen…”

“Then what could the final Chapter possibly be about?”

“It can’t really be that the National Advisor came all this way just to kill Dia, right?”

As his form reappeared in the great hall of the Liuli Divine Palace, Yino couldn’t help but cross his arms and speculate.

He recalled the memories he’d seen in the ring earlier, and his previously calm heart grew tense once more.

[National Advisor Changli…]

[She’s one of the Twelve Celestial Venerables of the Heaven-Defying Pavilion. You could also call her the Heaven-Defying Venerable]

From within his sea of consciousness, a certain crimson fox girl who’d been silently observing suddenly spoke up.

At these words, Yino’s ears perked up immediately.

[Jinyue used to attend the Heavenly Divination meetings at the Heaven-Defying Pavilion with the Celestial Master, so she’s definitely seen plenty of behind-the-scenes big shots who don’t normally show their faces.]

Yuebai chimed in at just the right moment.

Yino raised his eyebrow, growing more curious. “Heaven-Defying Venerable, so she’s a rank above the Celestial Master?”

[Yes. If you compare the Celestial Master to a sect elder, then a Celestial Venerable is undoubtedly at the level of a sect ancestor.]

Jinyue spoke flatly, her tone devoid of emotion. But since she was residing in Yino’s sea of consciousness, he could clearly sense the deep hatred emanating from her soul. This was pretty much Jinyue’s signature trait.

Normally, she’d curl up in Yino’s arms like a little cat with barely any presence. But the moment anyone mentioned that organization called the Heaven-Defying Pavilion, Jinyue would immediately seethe with rage, and the abyssal demonic energy within her would gradually swell against its seal.

Since Jinyue refused to be honest about her background and goals, even now Yino’s impression of her character remained shrouded in mystery.

He didn’t know what Jinyue had experienced in the Western Region, nor did he know what life goals she had for following him. Every time he asked, she’d just spout something about destiny and prophecy like some fortune teller.

In a way, Jinyue was truly the character best at hiding her feelings.

She’d been the first to meet Yino at the Wuji Sect, yet now Yino had already slept with Yuyan and shared everything with her, and had even come to Jiangnan Region to reshape Ruoning’s destiny. But when it came to Jinyue’s future plans and past experiences, Yino was still completely in the dark.

This little fox’s lips were truly sealed tight, even when he’d made her gush like a hot spring in bed, she’d remained tight-lipped.

“But…”

“The Liuli Illusion Realm’s timeline is at least a hundred years ago. I wasn’t even born yet, so I don’t know much about National Advisor from back then.”

Seeing Yino analyzing her again, the crimson fox girl in his sea of consciousness puffed out her cheeks defensively.

Jinyue really didn’t want to share her little secrets with Yino.

But she wasn’t worried, because unlike Yuebai and Ruoning, Jinyue had never signed any binding contract with Yino, nor had she ever promised to marry him or spend her life with him…

At the end of the day, Jinyue and Yino just had a mutually beneficial relationship. Neither was indispensable to the other, and there was no hierarchy between them.

When Jinyue was in a good mood, she’d act cute with Yino and even get jealous of other women.

But if she wasn’t in the mood and wanted to fly solo, what could Yino possibly do about it with his meager cultivation against her illusion talents?

“But what if the final Chapter really is National Advisor killing Dia…”

Yino analyzed thoughtfully, then turned to look at the girl in green beside him.

Ruoning froze under his gaze, nervously pressing her lips together.

“If Changli wants to kill you, even with a thousand more artifacts, we couldn’t possibly be her match.”

“If it’s a certain-death ending, is there even any point in continuing to the final floor?”

Yino said with mock seriousness.

However, while his words seemed directed at Ruoning, Yino was actually observing the soul of Dia attached to her.

After a moment of silence, Ruoning carefully spoke:

“Sister Dia says…”

“Because we exceeded expectations and killed Wen Ruxiu, the story’s development has already diverged from the original, so the final outcome will definitely change too.”

Yino’s eyebrow twitched slightly, still not satisfied. “But what if something really happens to you?”

[The National Advisor won’t harm Ruoning]

This time, Dia’s soul took the initiative to speak.

“How can you be sure?”

[Because when she came earlier, the way she looked at you was different from how she looked at Jing Chen back then.]

“Different look?”

[I’m not sure… but right now Ruoning hasn’t gone berserk, so the National Advisor has no reason to kill her!]

“What do you mean by ’hasn’t gone berserk’? So why did the National Advisor kill you a hundred years ago?”

[I begged her to kill me…]

[That day, the Divine Abyss Gate led a million demons to destroy the Liuli Sect. Jing Chen was no match for Wen Ruxiu and was critically wounded. Sect Master Jing Cang, Sister Chaerin, and the others were captured by the Divine Abyss Gate and held hostage. I was cornered with no choice, to save everyone, I had no choice but to detonate the primordial power deep within my soul…]

[Activating the primordial power meant my demonic nature would awaken, my human dao-heart would completely collapse, a hundred years of cultivation would be destroyed in an instant, and my beautiful memories with my friends would shatter piece by piece…]

[If I didn’t die, within two hours, the entire Liuli Sect would be destroyed by my primordial power.]

[At the critical moment, the National Advisor arrived just in time and helped me regain consciousness from the primordial demonic energy’s rampage…]

[But that was only a temporary measure.]

[So I begged her to end my life.]

[I was a demon who escaped from the chains of destiny, but Jing Chen was just an ordinary mortal…]

[We were never meant to be together…]

[Those years, being able to spend that beautiful time with everyone at the Liuli Sect was already more than what I could ever hope for.]

[So rather than have my memories shatter bit by bit and become a mindless demon, I’d rather have her kill me, letting me hold onto those beautiful memories forever, frozen in that final second.]

[But…]

[Yino, Ruoning, you two are different.]

[Ruoning isn’t a demon, and she has family who care about her. And Yino is far stronger than Jing Chen! You killed Wen Ruxiu directly, so Ruoning doesn’t need to unleash her primordial power to save Jing Chen like I did. And if she doesn’t go berserk, Ruoning won’t need to beg the National Advisor to kill her.]

[So that historical ending has already changed!]

By the time Dia’s demonic voice finished, besides the tearful pleading, there was also deep envy and jealousy toward the younger generation.

Indeed, They both had the Innate Liuli Body, why was Ruoning reborn into the human Grand Tutor’s family, while Dia’s true form was a Primordial Phantom Butterfly, an ugly demon coveted by various factions?

Even their destined partners, Yino was countless times stronger than Jing Chen.

Their lives were exactly the new version Dia had longed for all these years.

How could she not feel envious…

Still. The past was the past, and Dia was already content with the current outcome.

At least she’d stayed in the mortal world to accompany Jing Chen for another hundred years.

Now… She was truly tired.

She felt her soul needed liberation, and Jing Chen would eventually need to wake from this stagnant illusion realm.

And now, her reincarnated successor who could save her stood right before her.

“Yino…”

“Let’s go. I believe Sister Dia won’t deceive us.”

At some point, Ruoning lifted her face and wiped away the tears welling in her eyes.

Yino took a deep breath and nodded slowly.

“That makes sense, but before we truly break through this Illusion realm, we can’t completely trust Dia’s words. After all, she and Jing Chen, the master of this Liuli Illusion Realm, are lovers.”

“However…”

“I just thought of some other ways to break through. Even if National Advisor is determined to kill you, I’m confident I can prove my value and make her spare your life.”

—

“So what you’re saying, National Advisor…”

“During that battle with the Divine Abyss Gate a hundred years ago, you always had a way to save Dia?”

“And the variable that is Yino is enough to move your heart, so you’re confident that your past self in that illusion will help them?”

At Jinglan Peak, Chaerin asked with growing seriousness.

On the opposite side of her chessboard, the stunning beauty with golden hairpin and crimson hair nodded faintly.

“If I couldn’t even save a single person, then I would have truly wasted these thousand years.”

“After that battle, although Dia had gone berserk and her origin had collapsed… it wasn’t impossible for me to save her. It’s just that the old Dragon Emperor ordered her death, and I had no reason to defy the imperial decree for Jing Chen and Dia, two wastes with no future destined to fail.”

“However…”

“If it’s for Yino, if it’s for a variable piece that might turn the tide in the future.”

“For his sake, even if I defy the imperial decree and save Dia, it wouldn’t be impossible. The risk versus reward would definitely be worth it for me!”

“This is a gamble on the future.”

“Chaerin, you didn’t understand back then.”

“But now, after spending several years in the Heaven-Defying Pavilion, you should clearly understand the value of a piece so special that even Heavenly Divination cannot predict it.”