Cultivation Begins From The Desert - Chapter 872 - 17: Disappointment and Gain

Birth rates are decreasing. Hope is vanishing. The world has gone gray.Humanity, drifting in quiet collapse, receives an email.Every person on Earth. Simultaneously.The Aegis Mandate.Disguised as a cosmic aptitude test, it triggers The Incident of Separation—a global psychic cataclysm that erases identities, wipes memories, and divides all survivors into three factions: Law, Neutral, and Chaos. Overnight, cities become battlegrounds. Apartments become dungeons. Ordinary people become monsters—or the ones who hunt them.Ragnar Vhagar was just a loner university student. Now, thanks to a system he didn’t ask for, he’s a newly minted Demon King, locked in a crumbling apartment with goblins under his sofa and a glowing soul crystal next to his frozen peas. His new job? Build a deadly domain, defend it from invading “Heroes,” and somehow level up fast enough to not die.Alongside him is Isabelle Thorne, a razor-sharp warrior of few words and one very sharp sword. Their reluctant alliance, born in blood and snark, evolves into trust—and maybe something dangerously close to affection—as they rise together through the layers of the game-like world they’re trapped in.With each conquered domain and defeated boss, Ragnar realizes the truth: the dungeons aren’t meant to crown a winner. They’re meant to break the players. The Law faction wants control. The Chaos faction craves destruction. But Ragnar? He wants something they’re all too afraid to say out loud:Freedom.In the ruins of Kanta’s ogre stronghold, Ragnar and his misfit warband take their biggest step yet—claiming a kingdom, unifying a fractured system, and preparing for what comes next. The Heroes are watching. The gods are stirring. The world is watching a war.And somewhere deep beneath it all... Ragnar is rewriting the rules.

“Verily, after sorrow shall come great joy.And after this pitiless winter shall come a gentle spring.Be patient my child, you only need wait to receive its soft rains.”There wasn't much good that could be said about Leon or his life in general.He'd been raised by his single mother in the bad parts of town, Neither he nor his sister knew their fathers, He'd dropped out of school early on to make ends meet, something he'd barely done even with him and his mom working their asses off.To top it all off, the useless son of a gun that was apparently his father had genes that were susceptible to cancer. So at the ripe age of 18, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer.Such suffering would've almost been comical, if it wasn't his life.Having lost his physical ability, he finds work writing novels online to help with the bills.And then the world took his family from him.Left in a hospital with terminal cancer, american healthcare and his novel as his only companions, Leon decides to end it all.Only to wake up as Victor, an extra in the brutal world of his novel. His troubles were only just starting.Soft rains be damned.

Carn wakes up from a vivid dream where he spent a thousand years as a gargoyle, guarding a demon lord's tomb.In this dream, he possessed supernatural powers, including the ability to teleport and instantly kill anyone within range who broke eye contact with him. Heroes, saintesses, adventurers, all fell before him.When he returns to his normal life, things take a strange turn. Carn realizes he still has the gargoyle’s powers, and the world he has woken up to seems different.But adjusting to the new reality is not the real issue. Carn brings back something nobody in this world has imagined. Not only he imports his powers to this alternate Earth, but he also carries over his gargoyle instinct and his hobby. He loves snapping human necks.Whether it's ordinary humans, explorers, super soldiers, cyborgs, mutated beasts, monsters, or mysterious entities from other dimensions, Carn eagerly anticipates snapping their necks, one neck at a time...In secret, of course.

“....She was his drug, he was her water...”.............Arissa had always been an avid fan of freedom. She hated nothing more than being tied down to a relationship, especially when she was still in her early twenties. Yet, her parents had come up with an ultimatum marriage proposal.Strong-willed, confident, independent, and wild Arissa was forced to be humble to her parents and grant their wish of doing something extreme to her to save the life of someone she loves to a fault...And let's not forget, she lives for that person.Fast forwarding to Nicklaus Wyatt, we have a successful, cold-hearted, and Dominant CEO. On the outside, he is the most successful man on planet Earth and the most eligible bachelor but on the inside, he is an extremely damaged and broken soul of no repairs.His mysterious Aura also made it extremely hard for anyone to come close so, they just admired him from a distance.He only has one wish and that is to expand his empire more and not some stupid marriage proposal. So, do we think he would accept the marriage deal??.......“I'm your wife and yet, we live like strangers do!” Arissa seethed, gripping his tie in her fist as she tried to support herself. “Of course, it would eventually result in something as ridiculous as a cheating scandal. We aren't even acting like a normal couple should!” She emphasized lowly.Bringing her hand to wrap around his neck, she suddenly missed her footing again and then, she braced herself for the fall about to come but surprisingly, a strong arm for the second time in a night, held her waist firmly.Arissa smiled drunkenly as she made herself comfortable in his strong arms. Bringing her both hands to his checks, she gave them a pinch.“You were scared I would fall?” she asked him with a drunken smile. Yet, that smile was quickly replaced with a frown when she met with nothing but a cold gaze in reply.She pouted and brought her hand to his mouth. Tracing his lips with her slender fingers, “We don't even kiss” she complained with a smile, and at the same time, unknown tears slipped from her eyes.Nicklaus stared at her tears and down at her plump-tinted red lips. He stared at her face again and at her eyes that are already fully stocked with tears and without a second thought, he bent slightly and gave her a light kiss on her lips.SPOILER ALERT::Don't expect a fast romance. Romance would come late because both ML and FL are hard to tame.Their relationship would also go through numerous ups and downs, including occasional break-ups, aggressive ex-girlfriends, attempted murderers, and more.But, would their love strive through all the obstacles or would a few blows and manipulation crumble themDisclaimer: cover is not mine.Daily update, 14 chapters a week. Bonus chapters when pleased.I need all the support I can get from you all I also promise to put in my best.Thank you for reading and supporting sweethearts.....