Shameless Immortal: Emperor of Ten Thousand Beauties

Chapter 277: Chapter 277: Fairness Is An Illusion

"I am Shen Yu," he said smoothly.

With a silent flex of his spiritual energy, he deactivated all of his cloaking and transformation methods.

The Blood Burning Art that had constricted his skeletal structure and muscles unraveled instantly.

Before her very eyes, his disguise melted away, and he stood tall at his imposing height of 6’5", his broad shoulders and flawless athletic build fully stretching out his dark alchemist robes.

His long, pristine white hair cascaded down his shoulders, framing his true, devastatingly handsome features, while his piercing golden eyes flashed with a charismatic smile.

Ruolan’s breath hitched, a flash of genuine shock rippling through her eyes.

Though her special sight had allowed her to accurately gauge his age and cultivation, the structural physical changes of his techniques had completely masked his true facial features.

Now, staring at the breathtaking man standing before her, a piece of information from her memory clicked into place.

She remembered an intelligence report and an attached visual portrait that had circulated across the major factions just a few months ago.

She slowly stood up from the sofa, gliding over the stone floor until she stood scant inches away from his broad chest.

Reaching out with a delicate, trembling hand, she lightly traced her slender finger along the sharp line of his jaw.

"You are significantly more handsome than your disguise, Golden Paragon of the Silver Moon," she murmured, a trace of breathless awe lacing her words.

Hearing her utter the grand title bestowed upon him by the world, Shen Yu’s charismatic smile widened into a thoroughly amused smirk.

Well, it seemed he was getting quite famous, wasn’t he?

Shen Yu didn’t flinch as her delicate finger trailed along his jaw.

Instead, his smirk widened, his golden pupils locking onto her blue eyes with an intense focus that didn’t care about her superior cultivation realm.

"The world loves to hand out flashy titles," Shen Yu said, his true, deep voice vibrating smoothly through the short distance between them.

"But I must admit, hearing it from the lips of a beautiful lady like you makes it sound far better."

Ruolan let her hand drop slowly from his face, though she didn’t step back a single inch.

She looked him up and down, a fascinated, thoroughly intrigued smile playing on her lips as she took in the sheer contrast between the playful, eccentric alchemist she had spent the entire week with and the towering, white-haired paragon standing right before her.

"The intelligence reports I read said the Golden Paragon of Silver Moon was a righteous prodigy, magnanimous, generous, and entirely noble," Ruolan murmured, walking a slow, deliberate circle around him, her eyes sweeping appreciatively over his broad shoulders and flawless athletic frame.

She stopped directly in front of him again, her gaze locking onto his golden pupils.

"They described a man who played the game of business very fairly. They certainly didn’t mention that you were a master of deception... a man who would gladly unleash chaos and do absolutely everything it takes to get exactly what he wants."

Shen Yu let out a low chuckle that seemed to vibrate through the very floorboards of the room.

He didn’t deny her words.

Instead, he stepped forward, closing the scant few inches of distance between them until his towering 6’5" frame cast a heavy shadow over her, effectively trapping her within his space.

"Fairness is an illusion for the weak, Ruolan," he murmured, his deep voice sliding over her ears like smooth silk.

He reached out, his large, warm hand masterfully catching her chin between his fingers, gently tilting her face up so she had no choice but to drown in his piercing golden gaze.

"And chaos? Chaos is simply the best foundation for a new order. You look at Crimson Iron City and see a stable, functioning society governed by the Union and the clans."

"I look at it and see a stagnant pond. When the water is still, the old fish at the bottom stay fat and untouchable, regardless of how corrupt they are. But when you throw a massive rock into that pond? The water turns muddy, the old order panics, and everything is thrown into flux."

His thumb lightly brushed her bottom lip, his smirk turning into a cold, profound expression that carried the chilling weight of an absolute sovereign.

"In that state of absolute chaos, the rigid rules that protect the incompetent disappear. The playing field is leveled, and those with true strength, vision, and adaptability can seize control of the board while everyone else is blind. Chaos is not the end goal, little alchemist—it is the chisel we use to reshape the world to our liking."

He paused, letting the philosophy settle into her sharp mind before seamlessly tying it back to her own observations of him.

"Righteousness is merely the personality I adopted. In the world of cultivators, everyone is inherently bad. Every person has killed someone, and every person will kill someone else at some point in their lives to survive, protect their secrets, or ascend. There are no saints walking this earth. The very elders you serve would slit the throats of their closest allies if a tier-six recipe was on the line."

He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in before continuing his philosophy.

"But what truly matters to the masses is the reason behind the killing and the morals attached to it."

"Consider an analogy, If a rogue cultivator slaughters an entire corrupt bandit faction to claim their mountain and treasures, the common people and the orthodox sects will cheer. They will label it a righteous act because the morals align with their convenience."

"But... if another man executes the exact same slaughter on a merchant caravan for the exact same treasures, without that convenient guise, the world labels him a demonic beast. He becomes an outcast, and he is ruthlessly hunted down."

Shen Yu’s gaze locked completely onto her deep blue eyes, his grip on her chin remaining firm and undeniably possessive.

"The action is identical, death and plunder. Only the narrative changes. Therefore, in a world governed by hypocrites, maintaining a righteous facade while doing whatever dirty deeds are necessary in the dark is vastly superior for the long run."

"It shields you from unnecessary enemies while you build true, absolute power."

Ruolan listened intently, her breath turning slightly shallow under his intense proximity.

Her sharp mind dissected his dark, unyielding logic, and rather than being repulsed, a deep thrill danced along her spine.

She had spent her life surrounded by fake moralists in the Union, old men who spoke of honor while stabbing their rivals in the back.

Shen Yu’s raw, unapologetic candor was a breath of fresh air.

"So, the Golden Paragon is a wolf in a sheep’s clothing," she whispered, her lips brushing against his thumb as she spoke.

She didn’t pull away from his touch, her submissive dependency subtly overriding her Golden Core instincts.

"A master manipulator who plays the saint to control the sinners."

"I am simply a man who refuses to let arbitrary rules dictate his path," Shen Yu purred, his fingers sliding down to wrap lightly around the back of her neck, bringing her a fraction closer to his chest.

"And right now, my path involves gaining full control over the pill market of the crimson iron city, and to do that..."

"I want you."