Xie Ran, the original host of the body, registered the account of “God Fade in the early days of the “Bright Moon River Lake” game and quickly became recognized as the top player in the community. He later founded the Wind and Rain guild and led it to become the top guild on the server.

God Fade ad many followers in the game, and countless players joined the Wind and Rain guild including ambitious individuals like Yunru. These people admired God Fade strength and wholeheartedly hoped that he would lead them to dominate the server.

Unable to bear the disturbance, God Fade finally decided to start anew with a new account. Before doing so, he passed the position of Wind and Rain guild leader to Bancheng Yanyu, whom he believed could truly safeguard the guild.

Afterward, when God Fade was about to delete his account outside Illuminated City, he happened to encounter the Green Shirt Guest who was passing by. On a whim, they engaged in a battle.

God Fade won against the Green Shirt Guest and according to the procedure, the Green Shirt Guest should have passed on the sword to God Fade and activated the name of the Cang Hai Bright Moon Sword, making a server-wide announcement.

However, God Fade did not accept the sword and directly deleted his account, disappearing.

Later on, the original host created a new account and became an unknown casual player named Xie Dafang. He encountered Jian Jingsheng and started a romantic relationship with him.

Meanwhile, the Green Shirt Guest continued searching in the “Bright Moon River Lake, looking for the owner of the Cang Hai Bright Moon Sword.

God Fade account deletion meant that his data was erased, resembling a sudden loss of memory for the Green-shirted Guest. He vaguely remembered that someone had defeated him, but that person no longer existed in the Bright Moon River Lake.

In the Bright Moon River Lake game, real-name registration was implemented, so even though God Fade was gone, Xie Dafang and God Fade used the same registration information.

This was the tenuous connection between Xie Dafang and God Fade in the vast sea of data, similar to the past and present lives of one person.

Although Xie Dafang didn’t pursue martial arts or seek rankings, his behavior patterns remained unchanged. As he continued his activities in the game, his behavior data gradually approached that of God Fade.

That’s why the Green-shirted Guest initially believed that Xie Dafang was the owner of the Cang Hai Bright Moon Sword.

When Meng Feixuan initially entered the game, he chose the Cang Hai Bright Moon Sword due to the connection between the data and Xie Ran.

However, in the original host’s memory, the passing of the sword did not occur because at that time, he smoothly married Jian Jingsheng and became his immortal companion in the “Bright Moon River Lake”. The patterns of behavior changed significantly due to being deeply in love. The Green-shirted Guest ultimately failed to find him, and later, he and Jian Jingsheng were involved in a car accident while eloping, leading to their true departure from the game.

This time, Meng Feixuan’s appearance catalyzed the process, prompting the Green Shirt Guest to choose Xie Dafang data earlier.

At this moment, during the Material Art Conference, Yang Xianyun’s repeated inquiries forced the Green-shirted Guest to recall the events of that day.

Why did he believe that Xie Dafang was the owner of the Cang Hai Bright Moon Sword?

Tracing back through all the data, amidst the vast ocean of information, they found that faint connection. Data doesn’t lie, and thus, the Green-shirted Guest finally pieced together the past and present of God Fade

Under the eyes of all, Xie Ran stood tall on the arena stage, upright and elegant like a pine tree, with his clothes fluttering even though there was no wind. His eyes looked forward indifferently. He was so calm and composed that the rifle slung over one shoulder—an otherwise out-of-place weapon—seemed strangely natural.

He revealed his sharp edge without a single word.

Casually, he replied to the Green-shirted Guest: “Yes.”

The entire venue was in an uproar.

“Wait—wait, is he really God Fade???”

“Ahhhh—idol!!! He’s my idol!!!”

“No wonder Green-shirted Guest tried to pass the sword to him. He really is the top martial artist in Jianghu!”

“Now everything makes sense!”

“Wait a minute, calm down! Nothing’s been proven yet! Didn’t God Fade delete his account? How did Green-shirted Guest recognize him?”

“He pulled out an AKM! Even if he isn’t God Fade, he’s still my idol!!!”

The scene descended into chaos, with many players frozen in shock.

Bancheng Yanyu stood still for a moment, then finally snapped out of it and screamed with his hands cupping his face: “Senior Brother!!!! So it was you! I knew you were the strongest! Awooo——”

Even more agitated was Yunru, who stared at Xie Ran with widened eyes, his face full of resentment and unwillingness. He shouted sharply: “God Fade, it’s you!! It was actually you!!”

“Why did you delete your account back then? Even as casual player you could make weapons like this! If you hadn’t quit, Wind and Rain Guild would have already dominated Jianghu—how did things end up like this——”

His screams were nearly heart-wrenching and drew glances from many nearby players.

“Damn… Yunru really turned love into hate, huh…”

“So heartbreaking… I’m getting emotional here!”

“I heard God Fade was very sentimental. Yunru’s breakdown… I wonder how God Fade feels…”

God Fade himself heard Yunru’s shouting. Following the voice, he saw a burly man staring at him, his eyes red with emotion.

Then, without a word, Xie Ran raised his rifle expressionlessly and—“Bang!”—shot Yunru in the head before anyone could react. The shot was accurate and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

It wasn’t a duel on the arena platform, so Yunru couldn’t revive on the spot. He turned into white light and was sent back to the respawn point.

“So noisy,” Xie Ran muttered softly.

The crowd: “……”

Damn! That was cold!!

Meng Feixuan held a chicken in his arms and clicked his tongue, shaking his head in confusion: “Getting this serious over a game… no wonder AI can’t understand humans.”

Of all the spectators, Jian Jingsheng was the most shocked. He had just been headshotted by Xie Ran and revived on the spot. Now he stared at the man on the arena, eyes bloodshot and mind reeling.

Xie Dufang was God Fade!

The person he had always thought was just a stand-in for Yin Luoyan turned out to be God Fade.

His mind echoed with voices from Jianghu:

[They all say Bancheng Yanyu is the one most like God Fade, which is why God Fade entrusted Wind and Rain Guild to him, believing he wouldn’t mess things up.]

[Everyone in Wind and Rain Guild worships God Fade and tries to imitate him, but Bancheng Yanyu does it best—they’re said to know each other in real life.]

[Too bad… no matter how much Bancheng Yanyu resembles God Fade, he’s still not God Fade…]

Even Yin Luoyan had once said: “My senior brother is amazing! If I could learn half of his essence, I’d be satisfied!”

He had just told Yunru: “You think it’s easy to be like God Fade? You have to observe his subtleties in real life. My relationship with God Fade—can you even compare?”

“How ridiculous. This is all too ridiculous.” Jian Jingsheng murmured to himself.

All this time, he had seen Xie Dufang as a substitute for Yin Luoyan because Xie Dufang resembled him so much. But in truth, it wasn’t that Xie Dufang resembled Yin Luoyan—it was Yin Luoyan who resembled Xie Dufang.

The one he had looked down on as a mere placeholder was the real thing.

Ever since Xie Dufang publicly dumped him, he had comforted himself by thinking Xie Dufang was just a stand-in. It didn’t matter that he left—he hadn’t been important anyway.

But that was all self-deception. He didn’t care about Xie Dufang the person—it was the shame of being cheated on and humiliated in front of the entire Jianghu. The more he tried to console himself, the more obsessed he became with Xie Dufang.

As Xie Dufang grew more brilliant and untouchable, Jian Jingsheng’s frustration became a poisonous vine growing wildly in his heart. It drove him to desperately approach and flatter Yin Luoyan—not just out of longing for someone unattainable over the years, but also to prove to himself that Yin Luoyan was better, and Xie Dufang didn’t matter.

But now that the truth was revealed—God Fade stood proudly on the stage, spotless and peerless.

Jian Jingsheng suddenly realized that everything he had tried to prove and every lie he had told himself was a joke.

He had once held a pearl in his hand and mistaken it for a glass bead.

And what was sadder—was that the pearl’s brilliance had never been for him.

Chaos broke out at the Martial Arts Tournament. The fact that Xie Dufang had crafted an AKM that broke all of the game’s design rules and that Green-shirted Guest identified him as the legendary first-generation God Fade pushed the atmosphere to its peak.

In such a situation, it was clearly inappropriate to proceed with the award ceremony. The game company had too much to explain to the players, so it had to suspend the event and promised to announce the final results after a full investigation of the data.

The crowd understood it was impossible to clear up everything immediately and reluctantly accepted the decision.

But everyone knew—regardless of what the game company eventually declared, and despite Yang Xianyun’s earlier claim that the match result between Jian Jingsheng and Xie Dufang wouldn’t affect the final ranking—

In the public eye, Jian Jingsheng had already lost.

After the match, Xie Ran logged off. The crowd dispersed.

Meanwhile, the world channel and game forums exploded with chatter. Social media was flooded with discussions.

This tournament had left players with far too much to talk about.

And the focus of it all was Xie Ran.

Everyone was amazed that Xie Dufang turned out to be God Fade—and that he had already defeated Green-shirted Guest before deleting his account. If he hadn’t quit, Green-shirted Guest might have passed the sword to him much earlier, completely changing the power structure of Bright Moon River Lake.

But even more shocking was the AKM Xie Dufang revealed during the tournament. It was so stunning, so unexpected, it completely shattered the game’s tone and design.

Everyone was asking: Was this really crafted using the custom equipment system? Did Xie Dufang really not use cheats?

If it was legitimately made, would it change the entire game forever?

But before the official investigation results were out, a system announcement stunned the whole server:

[System]: All things come to an end, reunion awaits someday. Jianghu master “Fu Guang” has exited the Dynasty Smoke Pavilion.

Major members of large guilds with over a thousand members had their activity publicly announced. Fu Guang, as deputy leader of the largest guild Dynasty Smoke Pavilion, naturally made headlines with his departure.

As soon as the notice dropped, the server erupted:

【What’s going on? Why did Fu Guang leave the guild?】

【Not just him—lots of others left too. I checked, and they’re all close to Fu Guang.】

【I did some digging—Fu Guang and Jian Jingsheng broke up!】

【Why? Weren’t Fu Guang and Jian Jingsheng very close? Weren’t they a real-life couple? How did they fall out like this?】

【Could it be because Jian Jingsheng lost the duel to Xie Dufang? No way, right…】

【There’s an exposé thread on the forum—everyone, go check it out!】

Game Forum

Title: Jian Jingsheng—The Ultimate Scumbag! Cheated money and love, turned his back after getting what he wanted, and still thought he was devoted! Ugh!!!

Content: I’m Fu Guang’s friend. You’ve probably all seen the news about Fu Guang leaving Dynasty Smoke Pavilion. Let me tell you what really happened.

Fu Guang and Jian Jingsheng were a real-life couple. Knowing that Jian Jingsheng wanted to grow Dynasty Smoke Pavilion, Fu Guang helped him wholeheartedly. Before the guild took over the Blade God Family, Fu Guang stockpiled supplies, recruited external support, and paid for everything. Without Fu Guang, Jian Jingsheng couldn’t have pulled off half of it.

Fu Guang was foolish too, thinking his devotion would move this scumbag. But guess what? That bastard already had a white moonlight in his heart—and it wasn’t his ex Xie Dufang, but Bancheng Yanyu!

Even when he dated Xie Dufang before, it was because he thought Xie Dufang resembled Bancheng Yanyu. He treated Xie Dufang as a substitute!

Now that the scumbag probably felt he had made it, he started desperately trying to please Bancheng Yanyu. During the Martial Arts Tournament, he deliberately avoided the mic, thinking no one could hear—but Fu Guang was listening closely and caught everything!! And this jerk still thought he was being romantic—blegh!!!

1L: Whoa, hot gossip!

4L: I’m shocked! Isn’t this exactly what they call a phoenix man? Con a rich girl to get ahead, then dump her when he’s successful?

8L: Wait, what? Jian Jingsheng likes Bancheng Yanyu? Damn, isn’t Bancheng Yanyu straight?

11L: Crap, I just remembered! During Jian Jingsheng’s duel with Bancheng Yanyu at the tournament, his voice was kind of muffled, but Bancheng Yanyu’s was clear. I heard him say things like “resemblance” and “why are you treating him like me” or something… So it was about this?

13L: Yeah, yeah! Later, the conversation between Jian Jingsheng and Xie Dufang also sounded weird. After the match, I saw Fu Guang arguing with Jian Jingsheng—maybe it was about this. But Jian Jingsheng only argued for a bit before logging off, and I didn’t see anything after that.

33L: Wait, wasn’t it Xie Dufang who treated Jian Jingsheng as a backup? How did it become Jian Jingsheng treating Xie Dufang as a substitute? Who’s the real jerk here???

OP: Heh. Fu Guang told me Jian Jingsheng approached Xie Dufang because he thought he looked like Bancheng Yanyu. He pursued him on purpose. But he didn’t expect that Xie Dufang was way smarter and never took him seriously. He was just playing along.

And now we all know why Xie Dufang “resembled” Jian Jingsheng’s type. It’s laughable!

42L: Now that you put it that way, it’s kind of hilarious. Xie Dufang is God Fade—as everyone knows, Bancheng Yanyu admired God Fade the most and was said to resemble him the most. So Jian Jingsheng was playing the substitute game, but the real deal turned out to be Xie Dufang!

78L: Chun Di, don’t think no one knows this thread is yours. What does Fu Guang breaking up with the guild leader have to do with you? Who gave you the right to air dirty laundry here? Isn’t Fu Guang ashamed enough?OP: Why couldn’t I post it? What did I say that wasn’t true? What—Fu Guang should just swallow the injustice in silence? Jian Jingsheng had no shame living off others—why should Fu Guang be ashamed?

99L: So it really was Chun Di who posted this? Haha, I’ll just say—well done! If everything Chun Di said was true, the one who should be ashamed is Jian Jingsheng. Why shouldn’t Fu Guang expose him?

122L: I can confirm Chun Di told the truth. Fu Guang covered the finances for Dynasty Smoke Pavilion for a long time. But Jian Jingsheng’s attitude toward him completely changed after he archived success.

133L: Hold on, I just realized something important. Jian Jingsheng’s white moonlight was Bancheng Yanyu, and he named his guild “Dynasty Smoke Pavilion.” Don’t tell me… that’s what it meant?

134L: WTF. That’s gross. If I were in Dynasty Smoke Pavilion, I’d quit right now!

At that time, Jian Jingsheng wasn’t yet the deep and calculating man who had married the original Xie Ran for ten years in the past timeline. He had some scheming, but he couldn’t hold it in. In a moment of impulsiveness, he revealed his true thoughts to Fu Guang.

And Fu Guang wasn’t someone as tolerant as the original owner. He had been spoiled since childhood—definitely not one to back down. So he immediately exposed everything Jian Jingsheng had done.

Jian Jingsheng’s reputation in the game tanked. After losing to Xie Dufang in the Martial Arts Tournament, his momentum had already declined. Fu Guang’s departure took many people with him, weakening Dynasty Smoke Pavilion. Many members couldn’t stand the speculation around the name so they also left.

In just a short time, Dynasty Smoke Pavilion fell into turmoil.

At that moment, the game company announced the results of the investigation:

[Announcement]: After a thorough data check, our company confirmed that player Xie Dufang had not committed any violations. His weapon AKM was designed and developed within the normal mechanism of the custom equipment system and complied with game rules. Meanwhile, it was confirmed that player Jian Jingsheng used external modifications to alter game parameters and create his custom weapon, the Dragon-Patterned Golden Blade, which seriously violated the game’s principles of fairness and integrity. After discussion, we decided to permanently ban his account.

This announcement completely defied everyone’s expectations. The one who looked like a cheater wasn’t cheating, while the one who didn’t seem like a cheater actually was.

The whole server exploded once again.

Author’s Note:
President Xie: “Cheat? How beneath me.”

 

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