MTL - New Times, New Hell - Chapter 54 Eight views of Yinshan

“CLICK-CLACK.A message notification sound broke the dormitory's silence.The message contained only four characters.Ban Feng, save me!”In order to save a friend's life, Li Banfeng had gone to Platform 96, boarded the 1160 Steam Train, and arrived in Puluo State, which lingered in the steam era.After getting off the train, Li Banfeng felt like he was the most eye-catching man on the platform—truly radiant. He even had the distinct illusion that his body was emitting light.“Mommy, that man has light on him!” said a child behind him.He stood there, frozen.“Sir, what's wrong? Sir? Sir… You haven't been touched by the Heavenly Light, have you?!”

In a world where fate is dictated by prophecy, heroes are chosen by the gods, and Dark Lords are doomed to fall… Lucian Draeven refuses to play along.Once feared as the greatest Dark Lord in history, Lucian had the world under his iron rule—until the so-called Chosen Hero struck him down in a blinding flash of divine justice. The kingdoms cheered. The world rejoiced.Too bad Lucian isn’t actually dead.Having faked his demise and gone into hiding, Lucian watches from the shadows as a new Dark Lord rises, more reckless and incompetent than ever. Worse, the gods have selected another overly enthusiastic, sword-swinging Chosen Hero to bring “peace” once again.The problem? Neither of them have a clue how to actually rule the world.As kingdoms crumble, wars break out, and the balance of power teeters on the edge of collapse, Lucian comes to a horrifying realization:If the world is going to survive, then it’s up to him—the so-called villain—to secretly fix everything from the shadows.But there's just one little catch…Lucian’s legendary Dominions are still sealed, and the only way to regain his strength is by playing the role of a villain once more—spreading fear, manipulating his enemies, and pulling the strings behind the scenes.Now, as the oblivious Hero and foolish new Dark Lord battle it out, neither realizes that the true mastermind is watching their every move.Because if the world wants a villain…Then Lucian will be the greatest villain it has ever seen.

Coming from one of the richest families in the world, everyone wanted something from her, and Cora felt she was never loved in all of her life. Desperate to find true love, Cora got married into a pauper she took a liking to and secretly helped him rise to the top. She pretended to be disabled and poor in order to prove to her family that he was a good man, but on the day she planned to reveal her identity to him, she found him cheating on her on their bed.Filled with so much rage, Cora vowed to crush him piece by pieces.Being this heartbreak. She vowed to never love again as well, but it felt like the world was waiting for her to be single because the moment she became single.Over a Battalion men wanted to marry her.

Anton is a great-grandfather. He is living quite a happy life, despite his advanced age and declining health… until a group of cultivator bandits moves into the area. The nearby guardians of the area, the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars, are unable to track them down as they continue to ravage nearby towns. During one desperate winter Anton is out on a hunt when his family- his entire village- is killed or taken as slaves by the bandits. He lacks the strength to fight them, and he wasn’t even present for their arrival to die with his loved ones. At the pit of his despair, he wonders if he ever had any chance to change things. What could he even do? He cannot even pull his best bow, and his eyesight is failing. If he had been a cultivator… perhaps there might have been a chance, but he was decades- perhaps even most of his life- too late.Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge (2022)Notes on cultivation levels:There are five general stages of cultivation, though the fifth is extremely rare. Each cultivation style might have their own name for the stages.1. Body Tempering2. Spirit Building/ occasionally System Creation (Ninety-Nine Stars)3. Constellation Formation (Ninety-Nine Stars)4. Life Transformation/Galaxy Construction (Ninety-Nine Stars)5. Ascension