Chapter 1: The Chosen One? I wouldn't even be a dog!
It was night.
Yan Yun Dynasty, the mountain behind the Imperial City, Siguo Cliff.
Heavy snow, resembling goose feathers, drifted down and landed on the young man's shoulders.
The young man, dressed only in thin clothes, knelt ramrod straight on the ice. Even amidst the swirling snow, his tall figure did not bend in the slightest.
Moonlight fell upon his handsome and refined face, making him appear exceptionally pure and ethereal. It was worth noting that a plain white silk scarf was wrapped over the young man's eyes; this stunning youth was actually blind!
"Hiss..."
'Did I reincarnate?'
Ning Ye's head throbbed with intense pain as a flood of memories from his past life washed over him.
In his previous life, he was a speedrunner for a game called Against the Nine Heavens, a Xuanhuan game focused on cultivation and conquest.
For an entire year, he had shut himself in his room day and night, determined to be the first speedrunner in the world to successfully complete the challenge. But who would have thought that after just a brief nap, he would wake up to find the entire world changed!
Hmm... It seemed he had reincarnated as a tragic supporting character in Against the Nine Heavens—the Tenth Prince of the Yan Yun Dynasty, Your Highness, Ning Ye!
"Began cultivating at the age of three."
"Reached the peak of Acquired Body Tempering at seven."
"Achieved Innate Great Perfection at ten."
"Reached the Transcendent Peak at seventeen, just one step away from the Star Gathering level, truly entering the ranks of the strong on the Nine Heavens Continent!"
"In that year, he reached the peak of his life, hailed by the people of the Yan Yun Dynasty as the next Emperor of Yan Yun!"
"Also in that year, his cultivation not only failed to advance beyond Transcendent but instead continuously regressed. Now, he isn't even in the Body Tempering realm, having fallen to the level of an ordinary person with no power to even truss a chicken!"
"Furthermore... one day, he even went blind... turning him into a cripple!"
"And three days ago, he was punished by the Emperor of Yan Yun to kneel at Siguo Cliff for defying his imperial decree and refusing marriage!"
Memories kept surfacing.
Ning Ye's face grew paler.
Why did his cultivation regress?
Why did he go blind?
He had the opportunity to become the youngest Emperor of Yan Yun, so why had he fallen to such a state?
All these questions furrowed his brow into a deep frown.
As the memories merged, Ning Ye's expression jolted, and he suddenly awoke. A stunningly beautiful, elegant, and noble face slowly emerged in his mind.
She was his future Tenth Imperial Consort, the Yan Yun Goddess hailed as "Goddess Luo" by billions of people, and also the Eldest Princess of the Imperial Dynasty's wealthiest family—Luo Jia!
"It's a curse!"
"It's a curse cast by Luo Jia!"
"And this curse is called Soul Devour!"
Ning Ye muttered to himself. This curse was extremely malicious; those afflicted would slowly lose their cultivation, become ordinary people, and eventually lose all five senses, becoming cripples.
Over the past year, he had consulted all the best physicians in Yan Yun and even spent a fortune to bring in doctors from Medicine King Valley, yet no cause for his illness was found. He never expected the problem to lie with his "white moonlight," his future Tenth Imperial Consort, Luo Jia!
"How could it be her?"
Ning Ye rubbed his brow, feeling a blockage in his heart.
In his memories, Luo Jia was gentle as water, beautiful and graceful, and exceptionally talented—an existence revered as Goddess Luo in the Yan Yun Dynasty!
Moreover, she had always been exceptionally kind to him. Although they were not yet married, countless people in the Imperial Dynasty already regarded her as his Tenth Imperial Consort!
If he were to become the Emperor of Yan Yun in the future, she would be the Empress!
So, why would she do such a thing?
His thoughts stopped there, and a plotline from Against the Nine Heavens suddenly flashed into his mind:
Three years later, Luo Jia would overthrow the Yan Yun imperial power, execute the nine Imperial Princes of Yan Yun, ascend to the throne, and then begin conquering the world!
And he would become her puppet consort, imprisoned in the Imperial Palace, never to see the light of day again, eventually dying by suicide!
"That's right!"
"This woman has no heart!"
"A complete schemer!"
"She wants to rule the world!"
"And at the same time, she fears that if he, the rising Tenth Prince, grows stronger, he will become her enemy. So, she simply cursed him and crippled him!"
"This way, three years later, both the Imperial Dynasty and he would become her playthings!"
"She never intended to become the Empress of Yan Yun!"
"All she ever wanted was to become the first Female Emperor of the Yan Yun Dynasty!"
The memories became clearer.
Ning Ye's back grew colder.
Currently, Luo Jia's power in the Yan Yun Dynasty had reached a level where she could control everything with a single hand, and he was just a disgraced Prince. How was he supposed to deal with this?
"This is a complete dead end!"
Ning Ye shook his head.
Although he now had a clear understanding of the plotline of Against the Nine Heavens, his current position and lack of power made it truly difficult to reverse the situation.
And just then.
A virtual character interface suddenly appeared in Ning Ye's mind.
Name: Ning Ye Identity: Tenth Prince of Yan Yun Age: Eighteen Cultivation: None Life Status: Afflicted by a curse — Soul Devour
'This is...'
Although Ning Ye was blind, he could see the virtual character interface in his mind with extreme clarity, so he couldn't help but murmur softly.
"System?"
The moment his voice fell, a crisp System prompt sounded in his ears.
[Ding! System loading!]
[Ding! System binding successful!]
[Ding! Given the Host's current environment, the System offers two choices.]
[Choice One: Elopement. The System will automatically update to the Child of Destiny version.]
[Choice Two: Marriage. The System will automatically update to the Great Villain of Destiny version.]
"Indeed!"
"The System might be late, but it will never be absent!"
Ning Ye whispered in surprise, then quickly calmed down to think.
Elopement?
Marriage?
Ning Ye thought for a moment; this mission choice should be related to the woman the Emperor of Yan Yun had bestowed upon him in marriage.
Three days ago, the Emperor of Yan Yun called him to his sleeping quarters and coldly threw a marriage decree in his face, ordering him to travel to the former enemy nation—the Junlin Dynasty—on an appointed day to fulfill the marriage contract.
He had refused without a second thought, as his heart had always been set on Luo Jia, and he paid no attention to any other woman.
However, things were different now.
The awakening of his memories made him realize that Luo Jia, that woman, was not a good person at all, but a wicked woman with a venomous heart!
Legend has it that every world has its own Ruoyan the Great!
And she, Luo Jia... was absolutely the Liu Ruoyan of Against the Nine Heavens!
And he was the unlucky one she had set her sights on!
His thoughts stopped there.
Ning Ye took out the marriage decree from his embrace.
Although he still didn't know who he was about to marry, at this point, it didn't matter who he married!
Now the question was, should he choose Child of Destiny or Great Villain of Destiny?
Or rather, should he elope or get married?
This was a difficult decision to make!
"Hmm!!!"
"How about eloping?"
"After all, who wouldn't want to be the Child of Destiny?"
Ning Ye thought seriously. As a veteran player of Against the Nine Heavens, he was very familiar with the Child of Destiny plotline, and he believed he could do better this time.
Just as Ning Ye was about to subconsciously make his choice, he heard a familiar, tearful voice from the communication jade hanging at his waist.
"Brother!"
"Please agree to this marriage with the Second Young Miss of the Jun Family of the Junlin Dynasty!"
"Otherwise, Imperial Father will exile you to the Southern Border!"
"Xue'er doesn't want you to die!"
"Wuwuwuwu!"
Xue'er!
Listening to that trembling, tearful voice, Ning Ye felt a warmth in his heart.
Ever since his cultivation was crippled and his eyes went blind, in just one short year, he had experienced the harsh realities of life.
He not only lost all his rights as a Prince but was even demoted to the Cold Palace. No one in the entire Yan Capital was willing to be close to him; only his younger sister, Ning Xue'er, remained loyal, even willing to move into the Cold Palace with him.
And it was worth noting that his younger sister, Ning Xue'er, was the Child of Destiny female protagonist in the Eastern Desolate plotline of Against the Nine Heavens!
Wait!!!
Who was he supposed to marry?
Junlin Dynasty?
Jun Family?
Second Miss Jun?
"Jun... Qianyue!!!"
A silhouette of a woman "with her back to all living beings" appeared in Ning Ye's mind.
If he remembered correctly... Jun Qianyue was the ultimate villainous Great BOSS in Against the Nine Heavens!
At this moment, memories about her and being tormented by her thousands of times gradually became clear... He instinctively shivered violently, and a bold idea formed in his mind. Without another word, he quickly made his choice:
"System!"
"I choose two!"
"No dog wants to be the Child of Destiny!"