Rumors Spread Like Wildfire
The morning after Luo Feng's near-death assassination experience, the entire Verdant Cloud Sect was buzzing with the juiciest gossip in centuries:
"Did you hear? Luo Feng is the Death Queen's secret lover!"
"No way—that trash?!"
"I heard they're engaged! He proposed with a hellhound's skull!"
"Wait, then why is Sword Saint Li Qing chasing him with an ice spear?!"
At the center of it all, perched on the sect's tallest roof and grinning like a maniac, was the Fox Spirit, her nine tails flicking with delight as she watched the chaos unfold.
Luo Feng, meanwhile, was currently running for his life.
Li Qing's ice spear shattered the ground behind him as she roared, "You dare court the Death Queen while—while—!"
"IT'S NOT TRUE!" Luo Feng ducked behind a tree—which immediately froze solid and exploded.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
New Mission: "Survive Li Qing's Wrath (Again)"
Reward: 50 Void Energy (Frost God Resistance)
Failure Penalty: Becoming a human ice sculpture in the sect's garden.
Luo Feng groaned. "System, I swear to the gods—"
Then, like a hellish miracle, the Death Queen herself materialized beside him, draping an arm over his shoulders.
"Aww, is my fiancé being bullied?" she cooed, her smile sharp enough to flay skin.
Li Qing's glare could have extinguished the sun.
From her rooftop perch, the Fox Spirit cackled, twirling a scroll of freshly inked "news" in her hand.
"Let's see…" she mused, reading her own handiwork aloud:
"BREAKING: Luo Feng and the Death Queen's Secret Love Child! Adorable Demon Hybrid Photos Inside!"
She sighed happily. "This is art."
Then, with a flick of her wrist, she released a thousand paper talismans into the wind, each one bearing wildly exaggerated (and entirely fake) "eyewitness accounts" of Luo Feng's nonexistent love life.
[SYSTEM: RUMOR MILL EFFECT ACTIVATED. HOST'S REPUTATION: "Scandalous Heartbreaker of the Century."]
The Sect's Reaction
Elder Zhao: "This is outrageous! How does trash like him attract such women?!" (Secretly envious.)
Young Master Zhao: "First he humiliates me, now he's stealing all the powerful women?! UNFAIR!"
Random Disciples: "Respect. Absolute legend."
Meanwhile, the Demon King's toddler (still trailing behind Luo Feng like a cursed duckling) picked up one of the Fox Spirit's flyers, ate it, and then vomited a small fire demon.
Luo Feng: "WHY IS THIS MY LIFE?!"
Just as the situation couldn't get worse—the Thunder God's voice boomed from the heavens:
"YOU DARE COURT MY INTENDED, MORTAL?!"
A lightning bolt obliterated the courtyard.
Luo Feng: "…Fox Spirit, I will strangle you."
Fox Spirit (already fleeing): "Worth it!"
[To Be Continued!]