Empire Ascension: The Rise of the Fated One - Chapter 40: Checkmate of Destiny

“Who would have thought that one ordinary review could instantly fuck your life? Definitely not me”******Luke was your average teenage boy—with an unhealthy obsession for light novels.After finishing a new read titled “The Hero’s Obsessed Harem,” he jumped online to post a review. His biggest issue? The so-called “hero” kept stealing other men’s love interests, and somehow, the story praised him for it.Right after posting the review, he got an odd reply from the author:“You think my book is flawed? I’ll make you regret that.”Luke brushed it off as a salty writer who couldn’t handle criticism—until everything went dark.The next time he opened his eyes, he was in the body of Riven Von Grave, the fourth son of the low-ranking Grave baron family—an irrelevant extra in The Hero’s Obsessed Harem. Riven was a forgotten character, engaged to three duke’s daughters since childhood, only for all three to abandon him for the so-called hero. And to make matters worse, he was fated to die in a war against demons—utterly forgotten.But Luke isn’t having any of it.Screw fate.Screw the plot.And most of all, screw the author who threw him into this mess.Armed with a mysterious system and pure spite, Riven is going to rewrite his destiny, and win back his fiancées as well.But with every change Riven makes, he changes the story, and pulls a calamity bigger than the demons toward them. What will he do when he realizes the impending doom, will he be able to fix his own mistakes?

After years of exile, Marcus is coming back home. A powerful mage with few equals, Marcus lives in a world full of monsters and powerful adepts, many of which have bad histories with him. But he has not come back to pursue vengeance or start a fight. All Marcus wants to do is reconnect with old friends, build himself a house, and maybe train a successor or two.Alas, the world didn’t stop just because Marcus went into exile, and not everyone is content to let go of old grievances. Strange things are happening in the world at large, too, hinting at a looming disaster of unknown nature. Still, where there is a will, there is a way.If nothing else, Marcus has a lot of magical power to throw at problems.+++Zenith of Sorcery is set in its own original setting and isn’t related to Mother of Learning… beyond being written by the same person, of course. This is a more classical fantasy story than my previous one, with a lower level of technology and stuff like elves and dwarves, but it has a lot of worldbuilding effort put into it and its own complex magical system. The story has significant xianxia influences, but isn’t meant to be a xianxia story.For those of you not familiar with my previous work, I write relatively slowly. I intend to publish chapters at the rate of one chapter every three or four weeks, subject to further delays as life intervenes.

First of all, this is not a story where the cannon fodder chambermaid counterattacks and gives the main wife a beat-down! As a lowly s*ave who had been sold a total of six times, Xiao Hua has long become apathetic to her situation. In her past life, she was a cannon fodder chambermaid who was beaten to death. In this life, she decided to turn over a new leaf and live honestly, yet in the end still ended up being sold off. This prince’s estate seems to have pretty good benefits? She could be released at twenty-five, and they’d arrange a place for her to live under their jurisdiction? They’d even get rid of her s*ave records? Great! That’s great! Xiao Hua thus decided to stay in the Jing Prince Estate and do her job properly. It’s a shame she could never overcome the whims of fate…. The master she serves is a “mute boy”, with several influences above him watching like tigers eyeing their prey. To say she doesn’t want to be pampered is definitely a lie. This is the road to survival of a “discreet girl” who clings on to her master’s leg and is solely pampered, yet feels that he never pampers her. The road from a cannon fodder chambermaid to a beloved imperial consort is a little long….

A young middle school student faces a life-altering choice. Destined for mediocrity and without a War Spiritual Bloodline, he dreams of transcending his ordinary existence and becoming a high-status War Spiritualist. His world is transformed when he becomes bound to the “”Godly Pet Evolution System,”” enabling him to activate his War Spiritual Bloodline and cultivate divine pets, even from the most unlikely sources.Armed with this system, he defies expectations by nurturing underdog spirits into formidable allies. The seemingly weak flower spirit evolves under his care, as does his Lord White Dragon, challenging the mightiest thunder-attribute battle spirits. Even when presented with a Diamond Demonic Spirit Card, he counters with three Epic-Demon Spirit Cards of his own.His journey takes an unexpected turn as powerful entities, including the Six-Tailed Demon Fox, the Phoenix Holy Maiden, and the Queen of the Seas, vie to become his second battle spirit. Faced with a wealth of choices, he refuses to settle for just one and ambitiously aims to harness them all.