NOVEL NEXT Ch. 120
Chapter 120: Holy Crap, Heige?!
[Extreme Black and White? No, it’s Extreme Razor Blades.]
1L OP
Pulled up by a prophet in despair and muck, but that person never truly cared about him.
The love he felt was fake, revenge was futile, and family was a fantasy that never existed.
In the end, he had to bear the guilt of patricide and bury the truth alone.
He didn’t cry, but I cried for him.
I cried an entire ocean, waaaah!
2L
Nice, I know who you’re talking about without you saying the name.
It’s my male god, my razor-blade male god.
3L
I’m so sad.
I thought the last chapter was painful enough, but I didn’t expect to cry even harder.
Manga artist! Are you just targeting one person to stab?!
4L
Bigshot Heige is a razor blade incarnate, and we readers are chopping boards incarnate.
Rounding it off, we’re a perfect match.
Enough, let me hug my battered, blade-scarred body and cry.
5L
These two chapters obliterated me, waaaah! I thought I was stanning an overpowered bigshot, and yes, he is.
But beneath his reckless abandon is a razor-sharp blade—he is the blade itself!
6L
A whole new definition of blade incarnate.
...
23L
I can’t trust you.
I want to trust you.
I once trusted you.
Yu Xiao, did you ever feel moved by that child you never looked at?
24L
That black cat was killed by Yu Xiao, and he still wanted to tear off the bird’s wings, letting him sink to the ocean floor.
25L Original Poster
Hahaha, sister upstairs, what a sharp blade!
I was still thinking before, the Prophet came, he could give Heige, this awkward kid, a hug.
I was so naive, so foolish.
How could Bigshot Heige be unable to accept reality just because of the Prophet? What he couldn’t accept was that Sang Feiling’s persistence was futile, that the free-spirited wind had its legs broken by one person’s malice.
It was Tang Zeng, bearing the stigma of a traitor for six years until his death, a loyal man who never cleared his name.
It was the deaths of the Former Ability Guild’s higher-ups being a mere joke, the betrayal Shen Qingqing, Shi Quan, and Xuan Ying suffered not from the nobles or the Empire, but from the leader they looked up to.
It was Yiming, full of kindness, like the rising sun wanting to bring light to the world.
But his father, his friend, wanted to see him destroy this world with his own hands, utterly despairing.
I’m crying my eyes out while masochistically rewatching Heige’s earlier scenes. I can’t hold it together, I really can’t. Looking back, it’s all blades!
Prophet! To hell with your petty tantrums! You still want to deceive him! Trick him with fake displays!
How could you show up, Heige asked twice.
He must have planned this entire patricide process, so he asked, how could you show up.
Yu Xiao’s arrival told him the truth he saw was real, the past was fake, and the person before him was fake too.
How could he say it, leave? Leave to where?
Wasn’t the warmth that belonged to him already shattered to pieces by you?
26L
What’s even worse is Yu Xiao saying he didn’t even remember Heige? And that his stone-faced demeanor was boring.
27L
Stop it, the moment you mention it, I think of that line, “There wasn’t much lifespan left anyway.”
That was fake too, right! Just the Prophet’s wordplay, right!
Waaah, why treat my male god like this!
28L
Test subject... short lifespan... multiple-ability user...
Anorexia, insomnia.
How did I not think of this?
29L
No! I don’t believe it!
Covering my ears!
As long as I don’t listen, my male god can live to a hundred!
...
50L
Waaah, I’m also rereading the earlier parts for pain.
I can’t tell what mood Heige was in when he drank that glass of hypocritical milk, whether it was his anorexia acting up or his clear mind telling him
It was all fake.
51L
I’m a chopping board, I’m a chopping board incarnate.
I shouldn’t have clicked this post, or I wouldn’t be crying like an idiot.
52L
Are tragic, strong, beautiful second male leads this competitive these days? You can’t even qualify without being a blade incarnate?
53L
Still calling him a tragic, strong, beautiful second male lead? This is straight-up the dark-line protagonist!
The main line is hot-blooded adventure and friendship, the dark line is pain, betrayal, and the irredeemable truth of the world.
...
62L
I want Yiming to know, I can’t accept this, but if Yiming knew, Bigshot Heige’s scapegoating and vilification would be for nothing.
I don’t want Bigshot Heige to bear the blame, but I also don’t want his efforts to go to waste.
63L
The Prophet was the spiritual leader of the Former Ability Guild; his prophecies gave Tide its cohesion.
He can’t be a villain; he must be the saint who fell before the dawn.
So Heige had to be the villain.
He couldn’t let Tide know the truth, destroying the force that finally coalesced after six years of hardship.
Aaaaah, I’m gonna kill the manga artist! Do you know what you’re drawing?!
Why make a dying man carry so much! Are you in love with bad-ending aesthetics?!
64L
Reasonable guess: this secret will never see the light of day :)
After all, a bearer crawling through a blizzard, only to be extinguished by the cold wind of the masses after lighting the fire, fits Extreme Black’s script perfectly.
65L
Waaah, my tears are worthless...
...
87L
Corgi, think carefully, waaah, think about it!
You saw that face! You even asked why he wasn’t wearing a skirt!
What reason did Heige have to kill a C-rank Yu Xiao!
88L
Why?
What why.
Corgi said, I don’t know anything.
Heige said, not knowing is the best.
I can’t take it anymore, folks, he’s a good bro, just a bit tear-inducing.
89L
Yiming, hahaha, Corgi, his dad and bro faked their deaths.
One stayed by his side, accompanying him, but wanted him to collapse in despair in the end.
The other left him, abandoned him, but appeared in his moment of crisis, and bore the despairing truth for him.
What’s good, what’s bad? Yiming said he didn’t know, and I don’t either.
But my male god is definitely good, waaah!
Male god, don’t die, aaaaah!
90L
The fish pulled the bird into the water, but the bird still wanted to soar to the sky.
No regrets diving into Extreme Black, willing to be the wings for Li’s flight.
...
[Let’s Discuss, Is Bigshot Heige Still the Power Ceiling?]
1L Original Poster
Uh... how is he not?
2L
Absolute rationality, unswayed by emotions, able to use everything, the mastermind who ended an era with a kill.
Bigshot Heige, I’m loving him more and more, he’s so unhinged.
But his misery is real misery.
I’ve never seen anyone as tragic as him.
Others’ tragedies involve losing friends or family; Heige’s different—he doesn’t just lose them, he kills them himself.
Killing them is bad enough, but then he has to take the blame...
Taking the blame is bad enough, but the emotions were fake.
If it were me, I wouldn’t have Heige’s composure to find a chance to strike back.
I’d just break down on the spot, like the character stans next door bawling their eyes out.
Being the power ceiling isn’t easy either.
3L
Who doesn’t grow step by step, especially in Extreme Black’s worldview?
Ugh, killing his own past, killing his own father with his own hands—tragic, sure, but I love Heige’s ruthless resolve.
4L
Little Corgi’s still too green.
He saw Heige use Li’s face, and despite Heige’s long rap sheet, his first reaction was about no skirt.
Tch, that said, I also love Sister Shura!
5L
Weren’t we discussing power rankings? Discuss! Why’re we talking about the beautiful Sister Shura?
Flipping Fish was really low-key, and the manga artist’s flashback kills later were intriguing. Who’s the true prophet in the false prophet’s words?
Could it be another boss? Flipping Fish went offline too early to be the final big boss.
Feels like Extreme Black’s plot will shift from resisting nobles to resisting nobles plus saving the world.
6L
Flipping Fish Yu Xiao, he really flipped in that last wave.
The forum bigshots’ nickname is so fitting, damn.
I’m curious why Bigshot Heige took the Imperial Princess with him.
He did want to hide that Yu Xiao was Shuang Buyan, but that doesn’t mean he had to join the Imperial side.
And he went straight to being a prophet, completely cementing his traitor label.
7L
Later, the protagonist group—Cat Tang seemed to realize something.
Not sure if it’s because Heige used Rewind at Four-Way’s Twinborn to save Momo and Youyou.
Sigh, Little Corgi, grow up faster...
And Crying Bird, you’re so quick to suspect Heige.
Wait till you find out he’s your beloved Li Baige you keep calling White Song. I wanna see your face then.
8L
Tch, with Heige’s intent to take secrets to the grave, could the final villain be him too?
Heige’s done it before, didn’t he? Wasn’t Yue Shan taken out like that?
Quietly killing the boss and taking their place...
The final boss won’t be Heige, right? I can even guess his reasoning, like, “I’m dying anyway.”
9L
Upstairs, spare Corgi!
This would be Corgi’s lifelong nightmare, though it’s not much better now.
10L
This is brotherly love.jpg
11L
No, this is love from brother and daddy.jpg
12L
Corgi: Then I’m leaving the group?
...
[PBC Doujin, Heige, The World Kisses Me with Pain, Yet I Respond with Song]
1L Original Poster
Hahahahaha let’s all get stabbed to death together!
2L
Another one’s gone mad, drag them away.
Wait, I’m mad too, come on OP, let’s go together XD
...
[If Doujin, Corgi Knows Heige is Li]
1L Original Poster
No way, I can’t accept this! I want Corgi to know! I want a big happy ending!
2L
More, give us more!
3L
It’s supposed to be a wholesome short, why am I crying...
4L
Patting upstairs, probably because this is just our fantasy.
[Doujin, If World]
1L Original Poster
[Sitting on the couch are a few chibi figures.jpg]
[Chibi Li pats chibi Corgi’s head, watching TV. Chibi Corgi’s tail wags like crazy, eyes sparkling. Chibi Dan glares at chibi Corgi from the other side, ready to pounce and bite. Chibi Tang sits on the floor, leaning against chibi Li’s leg, seriously watching TV, holding a pile of candy. Chibi An Huyu cries dramatically on the other side, with a speech bubble yelling “White Song, White Song, listen to me”.jpg]
[Chibi Yu Xiao leans over the couch back, whispering to chibi Li, grinning about finding a fun game. Chibi An Heyu walks over with a teacup, looking exasperated.jpg]
[The scene turns to cotton candy, like little clouds.jpg]
[The clouds disperse.jpg]
[Original manga, Ranmu Arc opening, Heige opens his eyes in the dark night.jpg]
[Original manga scene, Heige walks alone down the street.jpg]
2L
OP and the manga artist’s combo blades sent me to my grave.
3L
OP! Why use such a cute art style for something so painful!
4L
Hahaha let’s all perish together, it’s all fake, all a dream!
...
[Fanwork, The Bird Sinking into the Sea]
[Yu Xiao baby, you died so tragically hahahahaha waaah!]
[Analysis of Extreme Black’s Current Plot and Future Boss Predictions]
[Come! Hurry in! Let’s eat blades together!]
[Dog son, dog father, you killed your father, who’s crying? It’s me.]
[Waaah aaaaah waaaah!]
[Looking back at Heige’s flashback from the last chapter, it hits differently. Man, the hand the Prophet extended was fake.]
[Let’s Discuss, Why Haven’t the Character Stans and Power Ranking Fans Fought?]
[Shuang Buyan’s death was truly aesthetic, by which I mean he died beautifully.]
[Why Haven’t Flipping Fish’s Mommy Brigade Fought Heige’s Character Stans? I Want Drama!]
[Yu Xiao baby waaah, how could you die! But you went too far, Mommy’s too embarrassed to curse Heige, the victim’s family is still crying.]
[Fanwork, Surface Jester vs. True Jester]
[The forum used to be filled with barking dogs whenever Heige was mentioned, but now it’s nonstop waaah crying?]
[Chopping boards! Assemble and check in! When will the black pot fall, when will this end!]
[Thanks for the invite. What’s it like to have a blade-incarnate male god? No need to worry about my mental strength—I’m just a chopping board pierced by ten thousand arrows :)]
...
The next day, Li Li said goodbye to her mom in the morning and left.
“I’m going to meet the manga artist,” she said.
System: [Of course.]
Li Li felt that, regardless of deals or whether the system had issues, at least for now, it was genuinely compliant with her.
The system also knew exactly where the manga artist was.
It gave Li Li a hospital name and a room number.
“The manga artist still hasn’t been discharged?” Li Li felt deep sympathy.
[He has great love and passion for his work,] the system said.
Li Li didn’t comment, even feeling the system’s joke was pretty dark.
Visiting a patient meant bringing something, so Li Li brought a fruit basket for the manga artist, hoping he could get some vitamins.
When she reached the hospital, Li Li knocked on the door and heard a weak voice from inside: “I’m here, come in.”
She pushed the door open and saw a youth hunched over a small table on the hospital bed, an IV in his hand, his pen moving nonstop.
His face was exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes, cheeks gaunt, wearing thick black-framed glasses—a textbook case of malnutrition, irregular hours, and burnout.
Exactly the manga artist image Li Li had pictured.
“Hello,” she said, seeing he was busy.
She placed the fruit basket by the bedside and turned around.
The manga artist was still sketching storyboards. Only then did he look up: “I said I don’t need a hiatus—”
“Holy crap, Li!!!!” He jolted upright, his shock causing the pencil to scratch a long mark across the paper.
Li Li blinked, about to say something, when the manga artist leaped off the bed like a monkey, yanking the IV needle out with surprising strength.
“No, holy crap, Heige!” he shouted, scrambling to get off the bed but falling flat on his face.
He quickly got up, yanked open the hospital room’s curtain, and yelled, “Help, don’t kill me!!!!”
“It’s not me who cursed you or gave you a dad, don’t kill me, aaaaah!”
Li Li stood still, maintaining the pose from placing the fruit basket, silent.
“Libra, what did you do to him?” she asked slowly.
[Just a deal,] the system paused. [But he’s quite timid.]
Li Li: I believe your nonsense.
From outside the room, a nurse’s voice came: “Patient in Room 271, keep it quiet.”
Li Li swore she’d never seen anything like this in her life.
Until today.
“How could I be Heige, Sensei Manga Artist?” She flashed a friendly smile at the youth trembling behind the curtain. “Cosplay, ever heard of it?”
Manga Artist: “Don’t fool me! You look exactly like the Li I imagined!”
His lips quivered: “The last one this spot-on was Libra.”
Li Li felt this trip was absolutely worth it.
The manga artist really had info about the system she didn’t know.
Maintaining her gentle smile, she soothed while asking, “And then?”
“Then it started forcing me to grind out manga!” The manga artist’s tears flowed as he spoke. “Industry veterans do one chapter in three years; I do one in three days. Do you know how I’ve survived these past six months?!”
He raised his hands, showing bandages on both wrists, utterly pitiful.
Li Li: “Pfft.”
Manga Artist: “You’re laughing at me!”
Li Li, serious: “How could I? You misheard.”
After some chaos, the manga artist pressed the call button and reinserted the IV.
Li Li pulled up a stool and sat, saying slowly, “Calmed down now?”
After the commotion, they could finally talk properly.
According to the manga artist, he was a rich second-gen with a dream of making manga.
He’d roughly outlined a story and leisurely drawn a few chapters.
On a fateful night, while browsing his manga’s barely populated forum, a stunning face with white hair and pale pink eyes appeared on his screen.
It was Libra.
“I’ve never heard of anyone saying drawing manga would get you hunted down by the final boss. If I’d known, I’d never have started this!” The manga artist looked miserable. “Libra doesn’t treat me like a person, just a manga printing machine. If I didn’t have money to hire a studio, I’d be done for.”
He was vague about the details of his ‘deal’ with Libra, but the experience was truly a worker’s nightmare.
“Look on the bright side, you don’t have to fight and kill,” Li Li comforted.
“You’re the real badass, actually taking out Yu Xiao,” the manga artist said, opening up. “That was the final boss I set up for Yiming. Per my plan, he’d turn traitor after Yiming’s group stormed the Floating City and toppled the nobles, then reveal the world’s doomed truth!”
“You wanted a bad ending?” Li Li asked.
“If it’s a bad ending, maybe Libra would…” He stopped himself, switching gears. “Bigshot, how’d you take out Yu Xiao? With the final villain gone, I had to push that other guy forward. What if it really comes to kill me?!”
Li Li didn’t think this guy, bold enough to draw a bad-ending manga, was genuinely terrified of Libra.
He was pretty brave when drawing, wasn’t he?
“Then don’t push it,” Li Li said.
She also felt the manga artist didn’t need to bring Libra to the forefront. She was fine being the final villain—it wouldn’t be her first time playing that role.
But the manga artist was adamant: “No way, I have to take responsibility for my manga.”
The system said leisurely: [He’s indeed very responsible.]
Li Li: “Alright, I feel it.”
Though I had no idea what kind of responsibility the manga artist, who wanted to draw a bad-ending manga, was talking about.
“It’s actually pretty good this way. When I made the outline, I hadn’t figured out how to push that guy. After that guy came to me, I settled for making Yu Xiao the boss. Now it’s back to the original plan,” the manga artist said with some exhaustion.
So I didn’t think he was responsible to anyone. Could the final boss just be swapped out like that?
“Your personality is quite different from the interview I read,” I said.
“That, uh…” The manga artist hesitated, then said, “That draft was polished by my editor.”
He pulled out his phone, scrolled a bit, and showed it to me: “This is what I actually said.”
I took the phone, feeling a chill in my hand, and saw the chat interface on the screen.
[Editor]: Why does Heige often cover his left eye when he appears?
[Manga Artist]: Because it’s cool, don’t you think so!
[Editor]: Is Heige’s character really into nurturing?
[Manga Artist]: Bigshot’s business, I don’t dare comment, no clue.
[Editor]: What’s the relationship between Heige and Yue Shan? Did they know each other before?
[Manga Artist]: No idea, I really don’t know, I’m confused too.
…
[Editor]: How do you view Heige as a character?
[Manga Artist]: He really wasn’t in my outline, I have no idea what he’s up to. But he’s so awesome, changing the plot like that, bigshot, carry me!
[Editor]: I’m asking seriously! Answer properly!
“The editor said I had to keep it cool, that answering like this wouldn’t do,” the manga artist explained. “So they revised it.”
I read through it with a ‘what is this’ expression, feeling like an idiot for ever suspecting the manga artist.
His editor was impressive, managing to turn it into the coherent yet mysteriously profound tone of the interview.
“By the way, why’s your pen name Manga Artist?” I handed the phone back and asked.
If it weren’t for that pen name, I wouldn’t have suspected he wasn’t human for so long.
The manga artist chuckled: “Because my real name is Jia Huaman, reverse it and it’s Manga Artist. I’m the man who’ll become the god of shonen manga!”
He was pretty proud of it.
I said, “That’s a nice idea.”
But implementing it felt weird.
The manga artist was fun to talk to, the kind of interesting soul you’d pick out of a million.
Since Libra was around, I didn’t ask too much.
After exchanging phone numbers and adding each other online, I got ready to leave.
Before I left, the manga artist said sheepishly, “Bigshot, I’m actually thinking of turning the manga into an anime.”
He asked me, “Since you’re already part of this world, could you, like, voice Li and Heige? It’d be the real deal, right?”
I blinked and said, “If there’s a chance, sure.”
This talk with the manga artist felt like a big harvest.
According to him, Libra approached him after the manga started updating.
Libra’s purpose was unclear, the method to break through the manga world unknown, and in the real world, it always communicated with me through the system’s mechanical voice.
But the first time Libra met the manga artist, it was on his computer, showing its face.
I pondered the information from this conversation.
Plus, the manga artist’s final suggestion did spark some interest. I was kind of looking forward to voicing the characters I played.
If the opportunity came.
…
Because of the manga’s brutal blades, the stage play’s script writer and her best friend were acting unhinged these past two days. When they gathered to rehearse, they clung to me, wailing “male god, waaah.”
Nearby, Lulu, holding her blue-eyed Corgi, said, “Isn’t this a kind of ‘you remind me of her’?”
The others burst into laughter, while only Jiang Lan and Luo Han’s tearful world was born.
In the manga world, Yiming and the others were still working to topple the nobles.
Since that day I went to the Floating City, my contact with the protagonist group had temporarily cut off.
The Floating City was a city suspended in the air, and to me, it felt like a paradise for the ruling class, floating aloof, separated from the commoners and lower classes.
I didn’t really like it there, but with Libra backing me, I was basically running rampant.
Pretty much the top bully in the Floating City right now.
I must say, I loved the nobles’ expressions—hating me but powerless against me.
The manga was currently focused on Yiming’s side, the usual shonen hot-bloodedness.
Tide was advancing toward the Floating City, having already taken Four-Way City, Ranmu City, Tan City, and Zhusheng City.
In the manga, Yiming had even reached A-rank, with Tang and An Huyu close behind.
They were now in the Feng clan’s territory, and An Heyu and Dan were there too.
Because of my instructions, they were still moving with Tide for now, contributing their strength to the cause.
I could see An Heyu and Dan’s situation in the manga.
When I felt the time was right, I left the Floating City to find them.
…
Feng clan’s territory, Thousand Blade City.
“Who’s that guy? He looks so scary!”
“He’s good-looking, but why’s he so fierce…”
“Shh, stop talking, he’s a high-rank ability user! That Dan!”
“That guy under Heige before?!”
“The Empire’s prophet? Didn’t he betray them?”
On the street, a white-haired boy turned his head, his gaze viciously glaring at the gossipers, scattering them with a single look.
Then he turned back, saying dejectedly, “When will Heige come back for us?”
Nearby, An Heyu gave a bittersweet smile and said, “He has his own plans. We just follow his arrangements.”
His golden eyes looked to the sky, then lowered again.
“Something we don’t know about must have happened,” he murmured.
At that moment, he noticed Dan was gone.
Turning his head, he saw Dan standing in front of a milk tea shop, hugging his plushie.
An Heyu had been taking care of the kid for so long that he could tell at a glance Dan definitely wanted to buy something.
He thought for a moment, then walked forward, holding up two fingers and saying, “Boss, two cups.”
At that moment, a hand pressed down his ‘2’ and raised one more finger.
“No, three cups,” Li Li said.
Then she gave a slight smile to the two beside her and said, “I’m back.”
Perfect timing to snag a milk tea, yay!