Master saw the future where MC dies, so he uses a part of his soul to act as MC’s system. The plot that MC is forced to go through was his original life trajectorybut because he though he was following a story plot, his perspective changed and he was able to separate his feelings. His master saved his life while risking his life. MC also reconciles with him and they get along well.

He’s just a bear child who didn’t understand how much his actions hurt MC. I forgave him because he understood the consequences of his actions later and did his best to make it up to MC. Honestly, I couldn’t hate him because most of us have made mistakes as kids, and MC also forgives him.

He is MC’s actual brother. He regrets his past actions, but he did truly want to protect MC. He put some sort of life protecting spell which transfers MC’s wounds to himself before realizing his feelings, and MC also does kill him though his subordinates bring him back to life. MC doesn’t forgive him.

He really did love MC and wanted to marry him. He truly did believe MC but was helpless with the given circumstances. He did want to avenge MC and MC ends up forgiving him and falling for him.

He’s actually ML’s true dad, but he was a split soul. I felt bad for him and his wife even more, but I’m glad he was finally recognized by ML.

In the beginning, the protagonist was forced to be "kind and obedient" so he has never really put much heart in most things. This make the dogblood part less "hurting" and easy to go through for anyone who usually can't stand it.

Moreover, his "love interests" who are more than one person have a variety of all cliche backgrounds which make it more exciting.

(They are: master/shizun, lord of evil/demonic sect, one of the most promising youth from righteous faction, and his shidi)

However in the "chasing part" it was more or less the same. Although the protagonist should be more uncaring, it was pretty clear to me that he hold too much grudge for someone who faking their past action. I thought it would be cooler if he's more indifferent, but half of it is just him being dense and ignorance of other's feeling.

Because of Gu Louyin. Don't misunderstand, I know that the ML is good to MC, always take MC feelings in consideration and genuinely care for MC. And I know the reason why he had to take MC's blood for Lin-whatever-his-name-is, but the action was done and we can't do anything about it, I can't just pass that knowing his action still bring harm to MC back then and heck, MC's reaction is too painful for me to read it. So I was a bit disappointed when I know he is the ML. I still feel that this novel is better off without an ML. Though the author doesn't seem to have the same idea. The MC may not, but I hold grudge and am a fickle person😂, I won't deny that I'm a bit biased to MC🤷🏻‍♀️

Context: There are three MLs in this story. The ones mentioned in the synopsis, the demon lord, pavilion master, and junior brother. To be so real with you right now right now I dont even want to call the demon lord and the junior brother "mls", but thats just personal beef I have with them! The pavilion master is endgame.

Basically mistook the MC for his little brother, and when he found out that he wasn't, locked him up and held him captive. Then planted a gu in the mc's body that makes him go into heat once a month purely because he's a sadistic a**hole, and then sent him to basically seduce another man. knowing that he can't retaliate because only thye had the antidote for the gu. The MC couldn't do anything to retaliate because of a system he was bound to forbade him from doing so (he gets unbound to it at the start of the crematorium chasing) and kinda just had to play doll for the demon lord. Main character jumps off a cliff and then plays dead for three years after the system is unbound, and then gets discoverd (kind of) and is forced back into the male leads' lives. The demon lord's suffering literally just consists of him being given the cold shoulder after forcing the MC to stay along by his side again and the MC stabbing his heart at the end. (though he didn't really die. the bit*h actually came back from that.) Oh and before that, the male lead finds out that the MC actually IS his blood brother, and then is basically head over heels.

Firstly, let's talk about how weird this behavior is. Ignoring how this is basically in*est (this fact is glossed over), the demon lord is just obsessed with the fact of having a blood brother. It doesnt matter who the f*ck it is, as long as you're his blood brother. He admits that he was falling for the ML and that he was his weakness, but during that period, he still treated the MC like sh*t just because they weren't blood brothers. ???????? thats so weird...

AND DURING A CERTAIN ARC. The demon lord basically nurtures a younger fragment of the mc's soul to be intimate with him? So, he's into in*est and pe*ophilia...?? erm. I'll stop here for now. I think this is enough to see why I can't even acknowledge him as a male lead.

I'm going to start off by saying that bro is a victim. Someone free this man. He does not deserve any of this. He did nothing. wrong. He was the one that the Demon Lord sent the MC to seduce, and basically took the MC back to his residence after the MC orchestrated a planned "savior act" to have him indebted to the MC. The MC was the one who asked him to take him back to his place. A few months later (i think?), the MC was framed for poisoning one of the people from his sect. The only cure was a really rare herb, but the MC just so happens to have a gu in his body that was made with this herb. The "bad thing" he did to the MC was draw tons of his blood for ten days straight, to try to cure the poisoned sect member. Actually, not even that. The only reason why the MC held so much resentment towards him was becaus he didn't actually help him prove his innocence when he was framed. WHICH IS HONESTLY SO DUMB? like. This novel advertises the MC as rational and never straying from his morals but. this is just straight up immature, taking in to consideration how much the pavilion master suffered.

The only reason why the pavilion master didn't prove his innocence was because he COULN'T. He already appealed to his father, and his father only gave him two options: to pretty much cut out the mc's heart (which contained the gu), or to draw an insane amount of blood out of him. The pavilion master, of course, not wanting the MC to die, chose the latter. (The MC later complains about him maknig the decision FOR him but like. be so fr. you did not want to die at all. are you telling me you would've let him carve out your heart?) The pavilion master then spent five days hopefully looking for evidence that supports the mc's innocense, and another five to frantially search for the herb that could cure the sect member, so that he wouldn't have to draw out blood from the MC anymore. Right after he thought that everything would be over for now, the MC "commits su*cide", and plays dead for three years.

He then refuses to believe the MC is dead, and starts to aimlessly search for him nonstop. He finally recognizes someone that seems like the MC and is dead set on it being him, and that he is alive. (it was the MC, he had a face changing thing that allowed him to assume differen't identities). After he finally calmed himself down and thought the MC was finally back, they found the (fake) corpse of the MC, causing him to basically lose himself again. His sect tries to use the mc's "ashes" to cure another (because of the gu again, since someone got poisoned again apparently), and the ML does everything to fight back and became demonized, consequently shortening his lifespan by a dangerous amount. He gets disowned, and then went into closed cultivation, trapped in his own delusions and trying to summon the mc's soul to finally let himself go (which he kind of couldn't do, since that wasn't the mc's ashes and the MC was still alive). That's the gist of where I got to.

First, why is he so infatuated with the mc? They met for like a few months. and you're telling me he basically ruined himself for him? Like, just get over it. It really isn't that serious. He's known for being cold to others but in such a short amount of time, he became so head over heels for the mc? Like sure he's pretty and "not like other beauties" but thats a really shallow reason... And I guess he did save him? But thats still..

During this whole situation, the MC just sat watching him drown himself in remorse and going down a path of no return. FOR HIM. Didn't even bat half an eye. All because he didn't prove his innocence or clear his name three years ago and took his blood for ten days out of his own will. okay.

Later in the story, the MC sees himself falling for the pavilion master but is reluctant because he's the blood child of the guy that basically ruined his family. To start, we already established at this point of the story that the pavilion master was treated with neglect his whole life? Because his father hated him for some reason? (I didn't get far enough in the story to know why, but). And he already got disowned? You two basically went against his father directly and you're still basing your feelings off a familial connection. Honestly, the MC is kind of slowly growing to be the person he hates, the demon lord.

The pavilion master did nothing wrong. His character is also extremely moral, and values consent over all. I'll stand by my point. I'll end this here before I get way off track.

Honestly.. he was just really annoying. Other than that, he doesn't really do anything? uhm. That doesn't stop me from hating his character though, he was REALLY annoying.

Demon lord basically crippled him and he can barely use his hands to do basic tasks now. His "suffering" was also just the cold shoulder. In a way, he also suffered the least? MC wasn't really that cold to him either.. his "suffering" was just implimented by the demon lord out of jealousy.

I just have beef with this guy because he throws a fit every minute or two out of absolutely nothing. The MC would talk to someone other than him and he'd be screaming his ass off.

The ML did nothing wrong!!! He was in a situation where either he had to hurt the MC by taking blood from him or let him die, and of course he didn't want him to die. And even then, he got the medicine to fix the problem as soon as he could! He literally did all he could, there was no other choice. And this was all while the MC was lying to him to steal an artifact from his sect.

Even when the MC found out the truth of why the ML had to take his blood, and the ML told him that he wouldn't do anything to him if he was alive (the MC was pretending to be dead) the MC kept his mouth shut. When the ML went crazy because he thought the MC was dead, the MC didn't do anything. He knew at this point that the ML had done nothing wrong to him, and cared for him, he still did nothing. INFACT he went to use the ML again, pretending to be a spirit and asking the ML to steal the artifact.

And the most questionable thing is, why the f*ck did the ML even love the MC??? Because they spent very little time together. Only about a month. How did he come to love him enough to leave his sect, and go crazy (which also was draining his life).

Loved him initially but gradually began to dislike him since he has everything at his fingertips all the time and gets to be as mean as he likes to anyone. (Seriously he treats some of the side characters like garbage) And when you look at his actions, what do you know, he is just a miniature version of Xiao Du! They are true brothers! He had his cultivation seriously depleted but then somehow still ended up OP too. I stopped liking him completely at around ch. 80 when he suddenly decided he loved GLY after acting clueless about the man's obvious feelings for him for the entire book. And the whole thing where he couldn't be with GLY if GLY was the son of Gu Hang, his mother's mu*derer, was so s*upid because nothing ever stopped Xiao Yuan from doing whatever the hell he wanted before? Why you suddenly care about your family now when all you did was say you don't give a crap about anyone, ah? I'm sorry but that was so dumb. My biggest hang up with Xiao Yuan is the way he treated MYY though. Seriously, he ended up treating Xiao Du, who was the worst to him out of everyone, better than his shidi which is so fcked up I had to laugh. Also, he pretty much admits to just being biased towards GLY at the end when it comes to the crematorium stuff like 'Lol its just because I like him I can forgive him but I cant forgive anyone else bye b*tch.' Normally a protagonist like this would be refreshing, but after everything I just couldn't bring myself to like XY. I really tried to like this kid, but he made it impossible, I don't see why all these men love him when he's just a fcking a*hole with a pretty face.

I don't even know why GLY fell for XY so hard, because they were only together for a month solving one s*upid mystery case before he became unhealthily obsessed with him because of his looks so it’s very shallow. GLY then goes through so many changes physically and mentally that I stopped liking him completely. He became so boring with zero personality outside of loving XY. He's literally a carbon copy of Lan Wangji, and if I had known his character was going to take a nosedive in that direction I wouldn't have bothered to read this. Also, his and XY's relationship felt lackluster and unappealing imo. Yeah they had moments of mutual attraction that led up to it, but there was nothing that made it feel like genuine love as in 'I love this person for who they are, not just their pretty face'. Suddenly they were just two peas in a pod out of nowhere and couldn't be away from each other. Don’t get me wrong, even if I liked the other MLs more, GLY was definitely the best match for XY overall, it’s just that he became boring as hell and only wanted to fck him all the time so it felt like I waited for nothing once they got together. Initially he was trying to respect XY's autonomy which I liked, but then they got together and all of that went out the window when they were boinking; GLY would basically just do it while XY is sleeping too and quote: “whether he wanted to or not” ????? Literally the book seemed to be about the MC choosing the one person that respected his freedom of choice, only for that person to turn around and be exactly like the other MLs, just quieter about it. Smh!!! I just can’t bring myself to ship them I’m sorry dear author!

When he "died" I nearly dropped the book though because I loved him so much lmao. Not much to say other than he dug his own grave so he was lucky that XY forgave his ass in the end. Xiao du just come to me~ This reader will love you~

Xiao Yuan, you already were mean to him as payback so many times, why are you still holding a grudge even after he changed after so long??? And he did nothing remotely bad compared to what the ML and XD did! Taking your blood and implanting parasites is just as bad as having a knife mouth? Sure he’s annoying but come on, he didn't deserve what happened to him over being annoying. Normally I don't even care for tsunderes but I couldn't help loving/empathizing with this poor shidi.