It Turns Out, They Are the Protagonists
Chapter 580: World Reboot, The True ‘God’

Half an hour later.

Inside the ice hut Lan Shihuai had conjured, the beauty let out a soft, satisfied moan, a sweet and languid sound.

Her thick, curled eyelashes fluttered slightly as she slowly opened her eyes.

Mu Zhian’s handsome side profile came into view.

His aura was stable as he sat beside her, an arm around her waist, gazing at the sky as if pondering life.

A Transcendence Realm Innate Celestial Furnace is truly amazing. Just once, and my previously depleted spiritual sense feels completely replenished, like a withered plant brought back to life by a spring of pure water.

Compared to her earlier paleness, a faint blush now colored Lan Shihuai’s cheeks, her eyes bright with renewed energy, her mature beauty even more captivating.

“Are you… not satisfied yet?” Sensing Lan Shihuai’s gaze, Mu Zhian couldn’t help but turn and ask with a smile.

Lan Shihuai shook her head gently, “I’ve been wondering why Lian’er and Feiying are so infatuated with you, and now I understand a little better.”

It wasn’t just because of the Innate Celestial Furnace, but also because Mu Zhian knew how to make a girl happy… Although some of his sweet nothings seemed childish to Lan Shihuai, they still brought a certain joy.

This was something the Lan Clan ancestor had never experienced before.

“I was just thinking about what to do if someone came by, so I wasn’t completely… focused,” Mu Zhian said.

“You mean, if we weren’t outside, you would be more… engaged?”

Lan Shihuai chuckled softly, toying with a strand of hair, her beautiful eyes glancing up at him playfully, “Should we go back then?”

Her voice was soft and melodious, her eyes gazing at Mu Zhian, a hint of longing in her gaze, her cheeks still flushed from their earlier activities.

“Senior finally left Immortal Emperor Mountain, shouldn’t we enjoy the fresh air a bit longer?” Mu Zhian shook his head and smiled. “And you brought me to Primordial Lake, didn’t you have something you wanted to show me?”

The smile on Lan Shihuai’s face faded slightly, and she gave Mu Zhian a meaningful look, “You’re quite perceptive.”

“I brought you here for more than just a stroll.”

As she spoke, she placed a hand on her full bosom, her flawless skin hidden beneath her crystal-blue dress, concealing her graceful figure.

At the same time, the ice hut she had conjured earlier melted away, revealing the calm lake before them.

The sky was slightly gloomy. Mu Zhian suddenly sensed a faint black mist silently approaching from the distance.

The black mist quickly spread over Primordial Lake, and Mu Zhian frowned slightly, as if recalling something.

The last time he and Senior Sister came to Primordial Lake for a boat ride, something similar happened, and then they found themselves on a mysterious ancient ship.

“What is this?” Mu Zhian asked subconsciously.

“Go inside and see,” Lan Shihuai said calmly, her tone serene.

The black mist by the lake was like nightfall. A pleasure boat with red lanterns appeared on Primordial Lake, drifting slowly.

“Is this also the Second Ark?” Mu Zhian asked instinctively.

He could sense a familiar aura from the ship, incredibly similar to the Second Ark he boarded before.

“Let’s go inside,” Lan Shihuai said with a smile.

Although he still felt uneasy about this pleasure boat, since Lan Shihuai didn’t explain directly, Mu Zhian could only suppress his thoughts and follow her into a small cabin within the boat.

The cabin’s decor was quite elegant, unlike the gloomy atmosphere he had imagined.

“Senior, why did you bring me here?” Mu Zhian looked up at Lan Shihuai.

“Don’t rush. The atmosphere here is so nice, why don’t we have some tea and relax before discussing these things?”

Lan Shihuai smiled faintly, gracefully carrying a tray of tea over to Mu Zhian and sitting down beside him. Her graceful figure and ice-crystal-colored dress gave her a cold and alluring aura.

“If I remember correctly, you and Lian’er were… intimate here last time, right?” Lan Shihuai continued.

“Pfft!”

Mu Zhian almost choked on his tea, glancing at Lan Shihuai strangely. Sensing the playful glint in her eyes, he said helplessly, “Don’t tease me, Senior.”

Lan Shihuai chuckled softly, “I was just reminiscing, not deliberately teasing you.”

“Last time, you were strolling along Primordial Lake with Lian’er, and now, you’re strolling with me, and we even…”

Before Lan Shihuai could finish, Mu Zhian gently placed his hand on hers and said softly, “Senior, since we’re enjoying this rare moment together, let’s not talk about Senior Sister for now… And there’s no need for you to feel guilty, I think Senior Sister will understand.”

Only the Innate Celestial Furnace could properly nourish one’s spiritual sense. Therefore, as a ‘good boy’ who was filial to his elders, even if Lan Mulian knew about what happened between her ancestor and Mu Zhian, she probably wouldn’t say anything.

That Senior Sister was the typical tsundere, cold on the outside, warm on the inside. She often said he was just her Junior Brother, but in bed, she didn’t call him Junior Brother anymore…

Lan Shihuai’s eyes softened slightly, and she said faintly, “They are truly good children, even if they knew the truth, I don’t think they would be upset…”

After pondering for a moment, as if making up her mind, she raised her hand and conjured an ice mirror, handing it to Mu Zhian.

“What is this…?”

Mu Zhian took the ice mirror and looked at it. It wasn’t his own reflection, but… a map.

“Is this the Nine Provinces?”

Mu Zhian’s eyes flickered slightly. He recognized the map as the current Nine Provinces.

However, this seemed to be the Nine Provinces from the earliest times, the layout somewhat different from now.

“Just keep watching and you’ll understand,” Lan Shihuai said softly.

With a hint of confusion, Mu Zhian continued staring at the map in the ice mirror.

This seemed to be the evolutionary history of the Nine Provinces. The map’s layout changed slightly every few thousand years, and the ice mirror displayed this evolution from the beginning until now.

Gradually, the map in the ice mirror transformed from the original Nine Provinces into the current nine major provinces.

Mu Zhian still couldn’t understand why Lan Shihuai was showing him this map.

Just then, the map in the ice mirror violently shook, as if in an earthquake. Then, the map, which had evolved to the present era, silently reset, returning to the original Nine Provinces.

Mu Zhian’s pupils contracted slightly as he stared at the evolving map and whispered, “What does this mean?”

“Just as you see, the Nine Provinces rebooted,” Lan Shihuai said.

“What do you mean, ‘rebooted’?”

“It means it rebooted,” Lan Shihuai said.

Did you just repeat yourself, Sister…?

Seeing Mu Zhian’s confused expression, Lan Shihuai slowly explained, “To put it bluntly, this world, the entire Nine Provinces, has been rebooted once.”

“What you’re seeing now is the second playthrough.”

“Second playthrough…? That sounds like a video game,” Mu Zhian frowned.

Lan Shihuai thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled brightly, “To the one who rebooted the world, perhaps this is just a game.”

With that, Lan Shihuai revealed a secret that stunned Mu Zhian into silence.

The so-called second playthrough was like restarting a game after reaching a bad ending.

And Lan Shihuai, within the Second Ark, had witnessed this world reboot once.

“Those within the Second Ark aren’t affected by the ‘world reboot’?” Mu Zhian asked.

“The Nine Forbidden Lands, the Second Ark, and those within the Heavenly Court are all unaffected by the reboot.”

Lan Shihuai explained, “The Second Ark is unaffected because of the temporal matter within. Transcendence Realm Human Emperors control the Principles of Time, so they’re also unaffected.”

“So only those who can control the laws of time are immune to the ‘reboot’?”

Lan Shihuai asked, “Have you heard of déjà vu?”

“The so-called déjà vu is when you’ve met someone in a past life, a friend or a lover, and in this life, when you meet them again, you feel a sense of familiarity, as if you’ve met before… But perhaps it’s not just familiarity, but because you truly were friends or lovers in the first playthrough, you just don’t remember each other.”

The Demon Empress seemed to be like this. She had no connection to him in this life, yet she claimed to be his Dao Companion in a past life… At this moment, Mu Zhian suddenly understood.

“Was it the Sect Master who rebooted the world?” Mu Zhian asked.

“I don’t know,” Lan Shihuai shook her head. “After witnessing everything in the Second Ark, someone came to me and told me that if I cooperated with her, she would help me rebuild my physical body and transcend in the future.”

“Was it the Sect Master… What deal did you make with her?” Mu Zhian asked doubtfully.

Lan Shihuai glanced at him and said, “She just asked me to stay on the Second Ark, nothing more specific.”

“Actually, I didn’t believe her promise at first, but she swore to the Great Dao, so I had no choice but to believe her.”

Lan Shihuai looked at Mu Zhian and said faintly, “But it wasn’t until today that I realized she truly didn’t lie to me.”

This woman, Shang Yanfei, was incredibly scheming, her true intentions unfathomable.

Lan Shihuai’s intimacy with Mu Zhian earlier was simply to condense her physical body.

She initially thought she could do it on her own, but now that she thought about it… Mu Zhian’s appearance was perhaps Shang Yanfei fulfilling her promise.

“So you also witnessed the Lan Clan’s rise and fall twice?” Mu Zhian asked subconsciously.

Lan Shihuai nodded gently.

Actually, there was one more thing she found strange.

Why didn’t Shang Yanfei fulfill her promise in the previous playthrough, but waited until this life?

If Shang Yanfei was truly the mastermind behind everything, she could have easily guided Mu Zhian to the Lan Clan Ancestral Land to meet her and help her condense her physical body.

Why wait until this playthrough?

Was there a special reason?

Come to think of it, she hadn’t heard of anyone named ‘Mu Zhian’ in the Nine Provinces in the previous playthrough.

Unlike this life, where rumors about Mu Zhian were everywhere.

Mu Zhian was pondering Lan Shihuai’s words when he noticed her gaze and subconsciously asked, “What’s wrong? Did you think of something?”

Lan Shihuai smiled, “I’ve always wondered why both Lian’er and Feiying would fall for the same man.”

Mu Zhian raised an eyebrow, “You mean you understand now?”

Candlelight flickered in the cabin, the atmosphere quiet and intimate. Lan Shihuai’s shoulder leaned against Mu Zhian’s, her ample bosom pressing against her long dress, her hair cascading lazily over her snow-white shoulder.

She picked up her wine cup, raised her lazy and seductive eyes, and said softly, “I understand. You’re truly good at making women happy.”

Before Mu Zhian could speak, she continued, “And… you can also satisfy me.”

These words were incredibly pleasing to a man’s ears, especially coming from the ancestor of the Lan Clan, who had just scolded her clan members earlier, yet was now nestled against Mu Zhian, acting all docile and obedient…

She was incredibly alluring.

He had thought he was already satisfied today… but now, Mu Zhian suddenly wanted to unlock the ancient ship CG.

“Youth is truly wonderful, so much energy,” sensing the young man’s restlessness beside her, Lan Shihuai couldn’t help but smile, “Are you always like this with other women?”

Mu Zhian gently shook his head, “I think it’s just because Your Highness is too charming… I’m usually quite reserved.”

Lan Shihuai looked at Mu Zhian with a smile, “Too charming? The cultivators of the Nine Provinces all believe the Jade Empress’s beauty is unparalleled. Aren’t you like this with her as well?”

Mu Zhian fell silent.

He didn’t expect this beautiful ancestor to know so much about him…

Actually, it wasn’t just with Yao Meng. In the past, when he was with Nai Xi, he often still felt… unsatisfied afterward.

Of course, this also depended on the person. With beauties like Yao Meng, Nai Xi, and Sister Mengrou, being intimate a few more times wasn’t a problem, after all, their constitutions could handle it.

But with girls like Qian’er and Lingxuan, Mu Zhian couldn’t bear to be so rough… Or rather, their realms were too low at the time, their bodies too frail to fully satisfy him.

But now that Sister Lingxuan had become the Forbidden Zone Empress, even if they were intimate a few more times, she should be able to handle it.

Even if she couldn’t, she could just use the forbidden rules to rewrite her weak state.

He wondered if she could use the forbidden rules to make her chest bigger…?

Thinking of this amusing idea, Mu Zhian couldn’t help but smile.

Ever since learning about his past life connections with Ye Lingxuan, he felt that their reunion in this life was perhaps destined.

He still vaguely remembered some of their experiences together long, long ago.

Perhaps this was the ‘déjà vu’ Lan Shihuai mentioned.

“…”

Just as he thought of this, as if recalling something important, the smile on Mu Zhian’s face faltered.

“Senior, you said earlier that the current Nine Provinces is the second playthrough, right?” Mu Zhian suddenly asked.

Lan Shihuai hummed softly in agreement, thinking he was still doubtful, and said again, “You don’t need to suspect I’m lying. I was in the Second Ark and personally witnessed the reboot of the Nine Provinces. I can swear on this.”

Mu Zhian’s expression twisted slightly, and he murmured, “I’m not doubting you… Or rather, I believe you.”

“I’m just wondering… Are you sure this is only the second playthrough?”

Mu Zhian slowly looked up, “Or rather… are you sure this world has only been rebooted once?”