MTL - The Rebirth of the Financial Hegemon - Chapter 168 Zhao Jiangchuan's past

The Last Touched is a haunting fantasy of bloodlines, broken fate, and the perilous cost of power.Elsbeth MoonChild is the last of the touched—the final descendant of a cursed lineage bound to the flame. As Alpha of the shattered 12th pack, she bears the ruin left by her father’s crime: the murder of the queen. Branded by his betrayal, hunted by her former chosen mate, and driven into exile with the last of her people, Elsbeth has one desperate path forward—to survive, she must stake her claim in the Rite of Queens, an ancient trial that demands strength, sacrifice, and the will to rule.But the Rite does more than test her body and mind. It pulls her backward in time, submerging her into the forgotten life of her ancestor—the first queen. As memories bleed into dreams and dreams into waking, Elsbeth begins to unravel a long-buried truth: the flame in her blood is not just magic. It is a weapon. A curse. A gift once traded in blood and sacrifice to end an age of chaos.And she is not the only one who carries it.Julia, her estranged sister—exiled, fire-born, and half-mad with hunger—is no hybrid. She is the living echo of the power their bloodline tried to bury. Ruthless, charismatic, and driven by the belief that the throne was stolen from her, Julia is building a gospel of grievance and flame. Her army grows in the shadows, fed by secrets and stolen children. And with each ritual, the ancient seal weakens, waking something that was never meant to rise again.Torn between duty and desire, Elsbeth clings to the one thing that keeps her tethered—Fen, her true mate, a being older than he appears, hiding a divine truth of his own. Their bond runs deeper than fate, but it terrifies her. To surrender to it would mean choosing love over the kingdom. And if she falls too far, the flame inside her might burn her from within… just as it did her father.As old gods stir and the fire in her blood begins to answer the call of something watching from beneath the ice, Elsbeth must decide: will she become the queen her people need? Or the weapon her blood was meant to wield?

Carlos Valois thought dying once was enough—until he woke up as a 10-year-old in the world of “The Dark Era,” a game he'd mastered in his previous life.Born as the last heir of a fallen noble house, Carlos discovers he's destined for a tragic fate: in six years, he'll be manipulated into joining the dark forces and killed by his own childhood friend. But this time, he has the ultimate cheat code—memories of the future.While other kids play with toys, Carlos hunts for divine legacies. Using his game knowledge, he performs an ancient ritual and steals a Demigod Mark from the thousand-year Sacred Oak—a power that should have remained hidden for decades.At 15, Carlos awakens as a Death Herald with broken stats that shouldn't be possible. Most Death Heralds are fragile summoners hiding behind weak skeletons. But Carlos combines his necromancy with stolen divine abilities, creating a hybrid build that turns him into an unstoppable force......[Skeleton Warrior has successfully evolved into Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard!][Purple Thornblade Skeleton Guard has activated Bond: Glory of the Purple Thornblades!][Twelve Purple Thornblade Guards have formed an Undead Armored Knight Legion!].....His skeleton warriors aren't cannon fodder—they're elite undead legions enhanced beyond normal limits through secret evolution paths that took thousands of players years to discover.Every “coincidental” encounter is actually Carlos farming legendary opportunities. While his sister thinks he's just a lucky genius, Carlos systematically raids every hidden treasure, secret technique, and forgotten legacy he remembers from the game. Ancient bloodlines, divine artifacts, mystical cultivation methods—if it exists, he's taking it.With his infinitely evolving undead legion, Carlos set out on a path to rewrite destiny and become the supreme Death Herald legend.

Xue Xi is forced to fall in love at first sight with this dangerous man on their first meeting. With death being the only other option, she makes the first move:

The previous lords have committed as many atrocities as possible to fill their bellies. I, the only daughter of that house, had discovered that my servant and lover was a spy.

And as the people wanted, my life ended with my execution.

However, with the memory of getting beheaded intact, I began a new life. I was planning to shoulder the sins of my past life and become a nun, but by some trick of fate, I came to work as a maid for the current lord.

Under my former lover, whose name, age and even hair colour were all lies.