Film and Television: The Villain's Life Begins with Joy of Life

The online sensation "Film and Television: The Villain's Life Begins with Joy of Life," a heartfelt work by author Liu Yuzhijian, is now available.

"It seems that you have achieved your wish, sir."

Seeing Zhou Cheng walking from the direction of the dungeon, Chen Pingping, sitting in her wheelchair, cupped her hands in greeting.

Just now, after sending Zhu Ge away, he inquired more about Zhou Cheng from Fan Xian.

Knowing that Zhou Cheng possessed strength comparable to Wu Zhu, he naturally confirmed that the man in black robes was indeed a Grandmaster, and the fifth Grandmaster in the world.

But after confirmation, there were even more doubts.

This grandmaster's origins are unknown, his identity is obscure, and there is not a traceable past to be found. There is very little useful information, and it is difficult to say whether he will be a friend or foe in the future.

Even with his high position and power, having been in charge of the Observation Bureau for decades, he could not immediately discern the impact of the emergence of the fifth Grandmaster on the overall situation of the world.

Compared to Chen Pingping's concerns, Shadow's reaction was much simpler.

excited.

From the moment he confirmed Zhou Cheng's Grandmaster strength until the moment he saw him again, his gaze never left him.

Although their contact was brief, judging from his behavior along the way, he felt that this "Great Sage" was actually quite easy to talk to.

He wanted to fight a Grandmaster.

I dream about it.

He is Si Gu Jian's younger brother, but he has a blood feud with Si Gu Jian.

After Si Gu Jian became a Grandmaster, he severed ties and massacred his entire clan, wiping out the entire city lord's mansion.

He was the only one who survived the carnage, hiding his identity and living with the sole purpose of seeking revenge against Si Gu Jian.

In the past, he had fought against Wu Zhu, and his assassination skills and weapons were even modeled after Wu Zhu.

Although Wu Zhu possesses the strength of a Grandmaster, he lacks true qi, unlike a normal Grandmaster.

Furthermore, Wu Zhu wouldn't kill him, which meant he still lacked a true understanding of Grandmasters and couldn't comprehend the gap between himself and a Grandmaster.

Now, the unexpected appearance of Zhou Cheng as the fifth Grandmaster has given him an opportunity.

The shadow's gaze was so intense that it made Zhou Cheng feel uneasy.

However, Zhou Cheng didn't respond to him immediately, but simply nodded slightly to Chen Pingping.

"I did get what I wanted. Thank you, Dean Chen, for your help."

Chen Pingping gently shook her head.

"It's just a fair trade."

After saying this, he summoned his men and ordered them to go to the dungeon to clean up the corpses.

Fan Xian was still somewhat annoyed that his fellow villager had used him to scheme against Chen Pingping.

Hearing from Zhou Cheng that he had obtained what he wanted, driven by curiosity and somewhat displeasure, he asked directly:

"Stable Boy, what is it that even a grandmaster like you could scheme against? Can you tell us and satisfy our curiosity?"

Zhou Cheng glanced at him sideways.

Raise your hand.

Startled, Fan Xian jumped back two steps and retreated a great distance.

Seeing Fan Xian's comical appearance, Zhou Cheng chuckled and didn't mind satisfying their curiosity.

"I only wanted Sean's martial arts techniques."

Fan Xian patted his chest to calm himself down. Seeing that Zhou Cheng didn't seem to care, he boldly approached again.

"You, a grandmaster, are actually curious about other people's cultivation techniques? What's so special about Sean's technique?"

Zhou Cheng naturally wouldn't reveal the main purpose of asking Xiao En for the cultivation technique.

He simply said, "There are indeed magical aspects to it, but I won't tell you. If you want to know, go ask Sean yourself."

Fan Xian pursed his lips helplessly. Chen Pingping had just asked him about Xiao En in detail.

Sean had been tormented and kept in the dark for twenty years without revealing anything, so he didn't think he could get anything out of him.

As the two were talking, the shadow beside them could no longer contain itself.

He stepped forward, staring intently at Zhou Cheng.

"Are you a Grandmaster?"

Zhou Cheng guessed that Fan Xian and the others would tell Chen Pingping about his information while he was in the dungeon. Therefore, he wasn't surprised by the question about the shadow, and simply nodded.

The shadow's eyes instantly flashed with an irrepressible light.

"Great Sage! I challenge you! I want to know just how big the difference is between a Ninth Rank cultivator and a Grandmaster!"

Zhou Cheng glanced at him.

That gaze was completely calm, yet it inexplicably made Shadow's heart tighten.

"The challenge is fine," Zhou Cheng said slowly, "but after the challenge, you have to do me a small favor."

The shadow did not hesitate.

"Sure! I'll kill anyone I can, as long as it's within my power!"

Zhou Cheng wore a half-smile behind his mask, his gaze falling on Chen Pingping and Fan Xian.

The shadow froze instantly.

Zhou Cheng didn't tease him, but simply said, "Don't worry, you don't need to kill anyone. Just help me frame someone in the future."

Shadow no longer hesitated.

"good!"

Fan Xian, who was standing to the side, rolled his eyes.

This person's actions involve both coercion and extortion, as well as framing and slander!

This fellow villager seems to be playing the villain; he doesn't look like a good guy at all!

"I'll go to the backyard and clear them out. We'll fight in the backyard!"

Shadow couldn't wait any longer and started to walk out.

"No need for all that trouble," Zhou Cheng called out to him. "We're fine here."

"Here?" Shadow hesitated as he looked around the council chamber.

"Right here." Zhou Cheng stood with his hands behind his back. "Don't worry, just give it your all, don't worry about anything else."

Since Zhou Cheng had said so, Shadow naturally didn't hesitate any longer.

A ninth-rank master versus a grandmaster!

Fan Xian's eyes lit up, and he quickly pushed Chen Pingping back to the corner, giving the middle area to the two of them.

Zhou Cheng looked at the shadow and said calmly:

"You only have one chance. Don't hesitate. Let me see what you, the world's number one assassin, are capable of."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shadow took a deep breath and instantly cast aside all distracting thoughts.

His gaze was fixed on Zhou Cheng, the figure reflected in his pupils, faintly overlapping with another figure in his mind—the figure he had wanted to kill countless times in his dreams.

An overwhelming hatred surged forth from the shadow.

The true energy of the ninth rank surged and churned within his body, yet it did not leak out in the slightest; it was all condensed and compressed, held back without being released.

The surrounding air seemed to freeze, and the light seemed to dim.

The barely contained killing intent made both Fan Xian and Chen Pingping, the two spectators, instinctively feel a sense of suffocation, as if something heavy was pressing on their hearts.

Zhou Cheng remained motionless, his hands still behind his back.

They didn't even glance at the shadow.

The next second—

Fan Xian felt a blur before his eyes.

He tried his best but barely managed to catch the shadow's movements.

The shadow suddenly sprang up from its crouch.

A cold light suddenly flashed, like a thunderbolt, tearing through the void.

The speed was so fast that it exceeded the limits of what ordinary people could see, like a shooting star streaking across the night sky, leaving only a scorching afterimage.

Just as Fan Xian held his breath, watching the cold light fall straight towards Zhou Cheng—

It unexpectedly twisted in mid-air, turning from front to side.

In the blink of an eye, time seemed to slow down.

The shadow seemed to appear out of thin air from the shadows, suddenly appearing beside Zhou Cheng.

With an unwavering, do-or-die determination, he thrust the short sword in his hand toward Zhou Cheng's waist.

That sword strike embodied his life's cultivation, his twenty years of hatred, and all his will and spirit.

Zhou Cheng turned his head to look at him.

Time seemed to stand still around us.

Just as the cold light slowly moved and was about to get close, he finally loosened his arms, letting one hand hang down naturally, while the other hand casually reached out to his side.

The movement seemed slow but was actually fast; it was clearly a simple reaching out, yet it gave people a contradictory illusion.

It's so slow it's like a slow-motion video, yet so fast it's impossible to react.

Then--

That chilling glint, sharp enough to pierce everything, was deftly held between two fingers.

Two fingers.

Just two fingers.

The shadow gripped the sword hilt, desperately unleashing its true energy, but the short sword seemed to have taken root out of thin air, remaining motionless and unable to move forward even an inch.

The momentum and power of a full-force strike from a ninth-rank master were effortlessly grasped between two fingers.

Not a sound was made, not even the slightest ripple was stirred in the air.

All his energy and spirit, his strongest strike of his life, seemed to pierce the boundless starry sky, without making a sound.

The shadow gripped the sword hilt in a daze, as if frozen in place.

Zhou Chengsong let go.

He remained motionless, still in the stance of drawing his sword.

"How is that possible...?"

Shadow's thoughts were almost completely blank.

He knew that there was an insurmountable chasm between the Ninth Rank and the Grandmaster.

But he never imagined that not only could he not cross that chasm, but he couldn't even see the other side.

Zhou Cheng looked at the shadow and nodded slightly:

"Your strike, with its refined essence, energy, and spirit, is quite remarkable even among the upper ranks of the ninth grade. You truly deserve the title of the world's number one assassin. My assessment of you is—not bad."

Not bad?

A bitter smile appeared beneath the shadow mask.

His pride and joy were no match for the Grandmaster's two fingers.

Moreover, judging from Zhou Cheng's relaxed demeanor, he clearly wasn't taking it seriously at all.

This enormous gap made him utterly desperate.

The Grandmaster is no longer human.

Only now did he truly understand the meaning of those words and realize what kind of power he needed to take revenge!

At this moment, his desire for the Grandmaster realm reached its peak!

If he wants revenge, he can't be a human being. He must become a Grandmaster to have even a sliver of a chance to take revenge!

He looked up at Zhou Cheng, his voice hoarse and dry:

"Great Sage, I want revenge. I want to become a Grandmaster. Do I have a chance?"

Zhou Cheng looked at him.

The shadow looked at him too, its eyes filled with longing, pleading, and a deep-seated despair.

The two stared at each other for a few moments.

Zhou Cheng shook his head.

Shadow's heart sank suddenly.

He wanted to ask something, but his throat felt blocked, and he couldn't utter a single word.

However, Zhou Cheng didn't need him to speak.

"To break through to the Grandmaster level in martial arts cultivation, the three core elements are talent, opportunity, and state of mind," Zhou Cheng said calmly. "To become a Ninth Rank Upper Master, you naturally have talent. As for opportunity, your acquaintance with Wu Zhu is barely enough."

He paused.

"It's just a matter of mindset; you have almost no chance of breaking through."

The shadow froze.

"State of mind? Why?"

He felt that he was determined, indomitable, and had endured for decades to seek revenge; what he had in abundance was his state of mind.

Zhou Cheng looked at him, his gaze carrying an indescribable meaning.

"The state of mind of a great master does not lie in the intensity of their attachment, but in the act of giving and receiving. One must first give up before one can receive."

He asked, "Tell me, what is your strongest desire? Why do you want to break through to the Grandmaster level?"

The shadow did not hesitate:

"My wish is naturally revenge! I will become a Grandmaster, solely for revenge!"

Zhou Cheng nodded.

"You see, your obsession has already doomed your mindset to never reach the Grandmaster level."

He sighed softly.

"To break through to the Grandmaster level, you must relinquish your strongest obsessions. To become a Grandmaster, you must relinquish the thought of revenge. Without the thought of revenge, you lose the motivation to become a Grandmaster."

He paused.

"This is the deadlock. Therefore, I can almost conclude that you have no hope of breaking through to the Grandmaster level in your lifetime."

Zhou Cheng's words were like a divine judgment, striking Shadow's heart hard.

He staggered a step, and his once straight figure visibly hunched over.

In just a moment, he seemed to have all his energy drained away.

As the world's number one assassin, he couldn't even hold onto his short sword, which he never parted with, and it fell to the ground with a "clang".

"..."

Silence, dead silence.

Fan Xian and Chen Pingping wanted to comfort Yingzi, but they didn't know how.

Zhou Cheng's words were too cruel to Shadow.

This was the first time Fan Xian and Chen Pingping had heard of the secrets of breaking through the Grandmaster level.

Before Chen Pingping's legs were crippled, his martial arts skills were quite high. His gaze was deep and thoughtful.

Fan Xian stared wide-eyed, his heart churning with complex emotions.

Before Lin Wan'er appeared in this world, his greatest obsession was to find out the truth about the time travel and to find his kind in this world.

But after meeting Lin Wan'er, his greatest wish became to live a good life with her and return to Danzhou to farm and retire.

If one must give up Lin Wan'er to break through to the Grandmaster level...

He could never do that.

In that case, he, like Shadow, has no chance of breaking through to the Grandmaster level.

As a martial artist, although he felt a little regretful that he might not be able to reach the highest level, Fan Xian quickly accepted it.

He was just really curious:

"Great Sage, you said that to break through to the Grandmaster level, one must relinquish one's strongest obsession. So what did you relinquish back then?"

Zhou Cheng looked at him, a slight smile playing on his lips beneath the mask.

"You think I'd tell you?"

Fan Xian choked.

This fellow villager was really unfriendly to him.

This made him wonder if the other person, like himself back then, had an obsession with Earth.

So after abandoning his obsession and becoming a Grandmaster, he developed a somewhat subtle relationship with his fellow townsman... well, how should I put it?

Zhou Cheng had no idea what Fan Xian was thinking at that moment. He didn't explain, and Fan Xian would never know that his breakthrough to the Grandmaster level was purely due to cheating.

With the system in his possession, he had no obsession with sacrificing anything.

He broke through from the ninth rank to the grandmaster, consuming only a whopping five million negative emotion points.

The idea that castration leads to mental illness is simply a myth!

"The secret to breaking through to Grandmaster level, so that's it... I see!"

Shadow, leaning on the table, suddenly let out a bitter laugh, a laugh filled with misery.

Only now did he understand the true nature of that bloody incident from years ago.

Si Gu Jian was his half-brother.

Si Gu Jian's mother was just a maid.

Because of his poor background and his lack of intelligence from a young age, Si Gu Jian suffered humiliation from his family and servants. He often squatted alone under a tree watching ants for a whole day. He was withdrawn and did not communicate with others, so he was always regarded as an idiot.

He used to think that Si Gu Jian massacred his entire clan because of his childhood experiences, which instilled in him a deep-seated hatred for his family.

Now he realizes how wrong I was!

The older brother who was ridiculed by everyone back then actually longed for family affection and recognition the most.

Only by letting go of one's greatest obsession can one become a grandmaster.

To become a grandmaster, one must personally destroy what one cherishes most.

He never imagined that the truth behind the massacre of his entire clan was like this.

This is... truly ironic...

Chen Pingping looked at the shadow with concern. At this moment, he also understood many things and had a deeper understanding of the past actions of the four grandmasters.

Fan Xian also glanced at Yingzi a few times with concern.

However, many of them kept glancing at Zhou Cheng, wondering what he had given up to break through to the Grandmaster level.

I pondered for a long time, but still couldn't figure it out.

Zhou Cheng glanced at the dejected figure and then ignored him.

He turned to Fan Xian and spoke:

"Your favor was already taken by Chen Pingping. Now, I'd like to make a deal with you."

"Huh?" Fan Xian was startled awake, and Chen Pingping immediately turned his gaze over as well.

Fan Xian grinned, annoyed, and said, "You're not trying to trick me again, are you? It's supposed to be a transaction, but I have a feeling you have ulterior motives."

Zhou Cheng chuckled.

He didn't really trick Fan Xian; at most, he took advantage of the situation and picked up some small benefits.

He didn't dwell on Fan Xian's issue and went straight to the point:

"Ye Qingmei should have left you a box. I know where the key is. I'll tell you where the key is, and after you open the box, let me play with the things inside for two days."