HALF: Dead nor Alive - Chapter 185 First light in the night.

Destiny splits before me into two unrelated, straight lines:one leading to a palace and city ablaze, the Kingdom overthrown, the Earth bearing suffering, and Life enduring torment in this Fire.And the other leading to the pinnacle of Ancient Kings, where deities in the clouds personally crown me. I don the laurel wreath, basking in the cheers of the mountain. My gaze pierces through the mists of history, my Knights conquer lands for me, my Sword cleaves through obstacles, leading my people to victory.I take up this Scepter, holding the Authority of the World in my hands. I overlook the multitude, altering the course of history.I am Brand, King of Vorn, and this is my Legendary tale..........................Plain version synopsis: This is a story about a Senior Warrior with memories of rebirth, crossing back into the World he once fought for to alter the strands of history and make a mark in the sands of time.

Nine soul pets, nine fetters.

A hall of robbery souls, a bizarre adventure.

I looked down at them and they called me by my name.

I look up to the sky and write my legend.

“My name is Xia Lin, and I am the Lord of the Soul of Myriad Tribulations!”

- Description from novelbuddy

Immortal arts, magic weapons, magical powers*, and the boundless spiritual Qi between heaven and earth vanished into obscurity overnight, and all the exorcists became mere mortals.

300 years later, the Five Barbarians traversed the pass, a prelude to an era of great turmoil in China. They heralded the end of the world, where thousands of drought fiends stalked the night and the collapse of the Divine Land** was imminent.

Fortunately, within this long, dark night*** where silence had fallen on all magic, a lone star still glistened brightly on the horizon.

The Heart Lamp appeared, illuminating the vast expanse around it. A 16-year-old young man, who will end his life on his 20th birthday, embarked on a journey of reclaiming the spiritual Qi of the heavens and earth that had been sealed away — only four years remain.

The road ahead was filled with countless thistles and thorns, and it seemed improbable for him to succeed.

Chen Xing, “The important thing is that I’m the last exorcist in this world, yet the only magic I am capable of is emitting light. What can I do?”

Wait patiently then. When the Dinghai pearl reappears on earth, the uncertain trajectory of everyone’s fates will be completely disrupted before converging once more.

Chen Xing, “Could I be partnered with a more normal Protector martial god?”

Isn’t your Protector really skilled in fighting?

Chen Xing, “He is good at fighting, but when he loses it he’ll hit even me……”

There’s nothing that can be done about that, you can only blame yourself for losing yourself to lust.

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*: Buddhist term: Abhijñā, a mysterious force that surpasses the limits of mortals gained through meditation

**: old name for China

***: figurative meaning: long period of misery and oppression

- Description from Novelupdates

A number of university students are given a simple survey in which they must watch a number of short films and rank them in order of preference. The reader takes the survey along with them with the short films being told as short stories.