I WAS The Rank–1 Hero - Chapter 172: Act 1: Not Enough

"When will people understand.... I'm only half insane?"

Joe finds himself kidnapped by aliens, shot at a planet inside a metal ball with a parachute strapped to it, and dumped on a planet full of people who can't speak with him. Now he has to figure out where he is, who captured him, why he was sent here, and, if possible, how to get back home!Great forces move as a young man finds himself suddenly taken from home by a strange people to explore a strange land. He does not know he is to explore nor does he even know who has taken him or why. Joe struggles to survive in a strange world of unusual peoples and cultures but his experiences prove to the task. Many learn from him just as much as he learns from them.Joe learns of the world, of the strange forces within it, and gains friends and a new family along the way. He will be ground to nothing, but will find himself once more.

Monster Fusion: Rise of the Vice Sect LeaderRay Darkheart was cursed forever unable to cultivate, even after reincarnation. No technique, no bloodline, no divine intervention could change his fate. His body rejected all forms of cultivation, leaving him powerless in a world where strength ruled.But fate was not so absolute.One day, he awakened the Monster Fusion System a power unlike any other. By fusing two monsters of the same rank, he could create something far stronger, evolving them beyond their natural limits. Each fusion carried forward enhanced traits, bloodlines, and abilities, forming creatures that defied logic itself.Yet power came at a price.To advance, to unlock the system’s hidden functions, he needed spiritual stones countless, unending spiritual stones. Every ability, every upgrade, every path forward demanded a fortune. Alchemy, formations, talismans, swordsmanship nothing was beyond his reach, as long as he could afford it.Thus, Ray chose the only path left to him.If the world would not grant him strength, he would take it for himself. As the Vice Sect Leader, he would amass wealth, plunder resources, and rob cultivators blind not for greed, but for survival.A powerless man? No.A schemer, a thief, a legend in the making Ray Darkheart would rise.[sect building] [business empire] [disciple cultivation] [comedy] [alchemist] [formation master] [sword dao] [system] [monster fusion] [resource management] [plundering] [strategic growth] [power progression] [cultivation world]

Unite the Clans? Create an Empire?Atrox Soryu thought he was destined for greatness… until he wasn’t.Born into the smaller Soryu Clan, Atrox was a prodigy, praised for his unparalleled swordsmanship and relentless ambition. He vowed to become Emperor of the Eternal Skies, a title that hadn't been claimed in centuries. But on the day he was to manifest his Order Mark—the source of every knight’s power—everything went wrong.Instead of the revered Holy, Elemental, or Mystic Orders, Atrox was branded with a Forbidden Order: Something twisted and wrong. A death sentence in the eyes of the world. Branded a monster and exiled by his own father, Atrox was cast into a brutal labor camp where the weak are crushed, and the strong are barely tolerated.But exile isn’t the end—it’s the beginning. In the harshest of conditions, Atrox awakens the full potential of his forbidden powers, powers that could rival even the strongest Knights. He will forge alliances with the forgotten, turn his enemies into allies, and rise from the shadows to build an empire from nothing.Betrayed, exiled, and broken? No. Atrox Soryu is building an empire—and the Eternal Skies will bow to him.