The improved female villains regained their memories.

Shi Guijia looked at her: "What do you mean?"

Zhi Zixun said, "Literally, you are unwilling to accept that the '95' of your past life was just an experiment by Yang Pingsheng. At that time, Yang Pingsheng's feelings were initially on Ye Buxin, and later on Jiang Mochang. Only we were his experiment, a deception he set up."

Shi Guijia didn't want to listen, so she covered her ears and looked away.

Zhi Zixun moved closer, forcefully grabbed her hand, and pulled it away, saying, "We're all equally pitiful. Whether we're pawns or villains, it seems we've all been manipulated by him. And him? When he wasn't a pawn, he was sincere towards Ye Buxin and Jiang Mochang. After becoming a pawn, he also channeled his emotions into other villains. Only we are..."

"Enough, enough!"

Shi Guijia flung her hand away and roared angrily at her, "Yes, that's exactly what I'm unhappy about!"

"Of all the villains, I was the first one to encounter him. I was trapped as a pawn, and then I was trapped as a villain. Why wasn't he trapped? I'm just jealous, twisted, and perverted. Are you satisfied now that I've said that?!"

Shi Guijia's chest heaved violently as she glared at Zhi Zixun, her anger and embarrassment palpable.

Zhi Zixun lowered her hands and bowed her head slightly.

"Indeed, you are me. Whether in the past life or this life, our essence has not changed."

She murmured to herself.

"I......"

-------------

"That demon king will eventually descend and destroy the entire world. If that happens, everything in the world will disappear, including your favorite gardenia."

-------------

"The so-called villain is the Demon King." The ball of light floated in front of the seven-year-old girl and said, "Many people will die because of him. As long as he exists, he will cause the greatest destruction to the world."

"No one could do something so terrifying, could they?" Zhi Zixun retorted.

"You child, I haven't even finished speaking. Didn't your grandmother teach you not to interrupt others?"

"I'm sorry, please."

"First, we need to define the villain. The so-called villain is..."

The sphere of light launched into a long explanation of the concepts related to the Way of Heaven and the Way of Humanity, and finally asked, "That's about it. Do you understand?"

Zhi Zixun nodded blankly: "I think I understand. In short, Heaven supports the protagonist, but the protagonist can't defeat the villain, so I'm needed to restrain them, right?"

"correct."

"Isn't it possible for the protagonist to pose a threat to the world?"

"If Heaven supports the protagonist, how could the protagonist cause harm to the world?"

Is it possible for the Heavenly Dao to pose a threat to the world?

"...You have a lot of questions, kid."

The system went on and on, but no matter what, Zhi Zixun still had questions.

Finally, the system got annoyed.

"In short, your task is to take care of the villains, understand?"

"understood."

"Okay, then I'll take that as you accepting this task."

"Then I'd like to ask..."

"No questions allowed!"

-------------

Like Yang Pingsheng, Zhi Zixun had never met her parents.

At that time, she wasn't called Zhi Zi Xun yet, but Zhi Zi.

Because the old woman who adopted her found her in a gardenia bush, she was named Gardenia.

The moving ball of light in front of her called itself a system, saying that it had chosen her.

It told Gardenia that as long as she protected the world and defeated the Demon King, the system would give her a brand new life.

Without Grandma's gardenias, that was the most confusing time of my life.

Alone and helpless, she saw the system that suddenly appeared as her lifeline.

Guilt, regret... Zhi Zi didn't think that way at all back then.

She thought that being able to live peacefully would be the best thing.

-------------

So, she met Jiuwu.

That's how she met Yang Pingsheng.

Chapter 698 The Story of Human Chess

The mission will only begin after I turn twenty.

This means that the system has a long time to train the girl in front of it into a qualified human chess player.

So, before the girl turned twenty, the system worked on her smile, posture, and so on, shaping her into a gentle person.

On Lingxue Peak, there is a religion called the Heavenly Dao, which built a divine palace. The system sent her there, making her the new generation of saintess.

At the wishing well beside Shenlong Lake, every now and then, the Holy Maiden will come down from the mountain to listen to everyone's wishes.

At that time, Zhi Zixun did not yet have the character "Xun" in her name. At the age of seven, she went up the mountain with the system, and everyone in the sect and the system were surrounding her.

They tacitly waited for the girl to turn twenty, when the mission would begin.

The snow on Lingxue Peak never melts, and a gentle girl stands there, quietly waiting for the arrival of the villainous demon king.

-----------------

Lingxue Peak, a majestic mountain that soars into the clouds and is covered in snow all year round, is a famous mountain in the Sixth World.

At some unknown time, a group of outsiders responded to the call of Heaven and built a divine palace here.

Their uniform attire consists of long robes made of white silk. Every year, they descend from the mountain and walk to the wishing pool beside Shenlong Lake to listen to the prayers of all beings.

No one knows where they came from; they just gradually got used to their presence.

Gardenia stood on the steps of the shrine, looking at the snow-capped mountain rocks that had remained unchanged for millennia, watching the sunrise rise from there.

The system indeed possessed terrifying power she had never known. So many extraterrestrial visitors had been forcibly integrated into this world in order to help her complete her mission.

"Heaven protects all things and sustains all living beings, but even so, there are still those who defy Heaven and declare war on it. Gardenia, the time for the mission is getting closer and closer. You must be prepared at any time, because the villains may appear at any moment."

The ball of light danced before her eyes, blocking the sunlight of the sunrise. The gentle smile on her face, etched on her face by years of practice, prevented her from retracting it, so she could only nod with a smile and say, "Mm."

"In this world, only royalty can forge weapons. The villain comes from royalty and is a once-in-a-millennium weapon-forging genius, nurtured by the royal family. Your task is to provoke conflict between him and the royal family, causing him to waste his talent because of you."

The repeated admonitions have echoed time and again over the years. Now that the mission is about to begin, the system is still uneasy and asks, "You haven't forgotten, have you?"

Gardenia smiled and nodded: "Yes, a chess player does not think, does not want, does not dwell on things."

"So what should we do with the villains?"

"Desire, thought, and spirit."

"Very good." The system nodded in satisfaction: "Gardenia, you are truly an outstanding human chess player."

The role of the human chess pieces is to become the hindrance of the villains, binding their hands and feet, making them abandon their pure thoughts, or become degenerate or mediocre, wasting their talents, and confining them to a small world, where they can no longer achieve anything.

According to the system, villains are the epitome of humanity, and only those who are also human can trap them.

Gardenia asked, "Were all the villains trapped like this in the past?"

"Yes, it's not just your world, it's the same in other worlds. Whether it's family, friendship, or love... as long as you're human, you have desires, and as long as you have desires, you'll be trapped by obsessions."

The system sighed, "[Heavenly Dao] once told me that even the most powerful person must have emotions that they cannot express within themselves."

"Whether it's this one or that one, as long as we can find the right one, we can find a way to get rid of them. As long as the villains are trapped by their inner obsessions, they will naturally not pose any threat to the Heavenly Dao."

The ball of light floated in front of Zhi Zi, completely blocking out all the sunrise light: "Zhi Zi, the human chess team bears the responsibility of saving all living beings. Whether we can defeat the villains depends on you."

"You wouldn't want the villain to destroy the world because of their own desires, right?"

Thanks to Gardenia, the Wishing Lake has become increasingly famous over the years. In addition to the locals, many people come from far and wide hoping to make a wish.

Gardenia has a great memory; she can remember everyone who comes to make a wish and what they look like.

Startled by the system's words, she froze, even her gentle smile stiffening: "System, isn't there any other way? For example, I could train the villain properly or something..."

The system shook, as if shaking its head: "Impossible. If villains could be properly trained, there would be no need for human chess pieces."

Its tone turned serious: "Don't forget, how should a human chess player behave?"

Gardenia moved her lips and said, "I don't think about it, I don't want to think about it, I don't miss it."

-------------

In a unified country, there is little war or disturbance, and apart from monster invasions, there are no other troubles.

The royal family has a fondness for crafting magical artifacts. Back then, the late emperor used several ninth-grade magical artifacts to establish this kingdom with the appearance of an earth immortal. Therefore, later generations followed the late emperor and also became fond of crafting magical artifacts.

The resources for cultivating immortality in the Sixth World are not plentiful. Other paths to immortality, such as killing techniques, talismans, and formations, are limited, so weapon crafting becomes the best option.

However, the royal family controls the resources for refining weapons, making the process extremely expensive. As a result, very few independent cultivators can make it to the end on this path.

Even if someone is a genius, they won't succeed without resources to support them.

The royal family is generous to its own people, but so far, no descendant has surpassed the talent of the previous emperor.

However, it will be available soon.

Shi Yu Zun.

That once-in-a-millennium cultivation genius, that person destined to surpass the former emperor, that person who will destroy the world in the future.

That so-called villain.

-------------

But Zhi Zi obtained a piece of secret information from the system.

It is said that when Yu Zun was born, he was almost abandoned as a stillborn child because he did not move.