Phoenix Rise: XieRong - Chapter 40 - The Duchess in the Shadows

Xiang Xiaoyuan transmigrated to a book with a male lead, becoming the male lead’s stepmother.

However, being seventeen and in the middle of his adolescent phase, the male lead virtually ignored his stepmother, and while his father was thirty-nine and a gorgeous man carrying maturity and elegance, he was enigmatic, with no one capable of knowing what he’s thinking.

Xiang Xiaoyuan: The first rule of transmigration, value your life and stay away from the male lead! Being self-conscious, Xiang Xiaoyuan decided to focus on making money, and her business was booming… but before her hopes to get rich were fulfilled, she somehow dealt with her husband and stepson?

The male lead said gingerly, “I won’t think of you as my real mother, but don’t worry—I’ll be a good son and you won’t live out your final years tragically.

Xiang Xiaoyuan: “…Thanks.”

Some other day, her husband stood at the doorway, stopping her and growling, “I heard about something you mentioned outside, that men only care more when they’re older? So? Are you complaining that I’m old now?”

Xiang Xiaoyuan said, “…Wait, listen to me!”

Lu Wanggui was a cold person, which led to her ex-wife divorcing him, and he was not particularly close to his son. Later, to give his son a ‘home’ and to avoid his parent’s ramblings, he married another wife—a docile, dutiful wife.

But unbeknownst to him, that docile, dutiful wife had changed, and she even had the guts to scold him now. Pursing his lips in displeasure, Lu Wanggui was about to remind her of their prenuptial agreement when his son suddenly popped up to defend her!

Lu Wanggui: “???”

What’s going on? Weren’t things cold between these two?

The son: “Ahem. Father, Stepmother… isn’t that bad.”

Leon was a robotics engineer with a bright future—until he was run over by a military truck and killed on the spot. But death wasn’t the end. Thanks to a cosmic glitch and to an idiot, Leon wakes up in a new world, reincarnated as the son of a minor noble family guarding the wild frontier of a massive Empire. With his intact mind, enhanced brain, and a world begging for progress, Leon sees opportunity everywhere—one that he will grab for sure.But not everything will go smoothly. Monsters come over in the winter, the Empire monopolizes magic and technology, and society clings to barbaric ways. Refusing to accept the status quo, Leon decides to reshape his family’s backwater territory into a land he would enjoy living in. Armed with knowledge from his old life, modern problem-solving, and an irreverent attitude, he plans to revolutionize his territory. But in a land where magic is rare and unknown to ordinary people, he knows he’ll need more than blueprints to succeed. He will need his own wizards and witches...Hey-ho! Welcome! I thought I need to add some information to those who want to know if they should just skip it or not: First, I ain't planning to introduce world-changing, thought-provoking ideas here. It is all for the plain and simple reason of having some fun. What you need to be aware of if you need more details:- Yes, this is an isekai story. No, there are no 'cheats' or systems involved with gaining skills. He is just a guy reincarnating with a gene-modified brain, so it explains why he can remember things and be smart. That is it. Think of it as him having a perfect memory. If you perceive confidence as arrogance, you may very well dislike the MC right off the bat. He is not someone who will lay low and try to blend in when his territory is the most backward and abandoned place in a vast Empire. Where the throne is so far away, messages take months to go back and forth.- The story mostly focuses on kingdom-building stuff and slice-of-life elements, not on conquest or curb stomping others. The main conflict will be centered around wars, yes, but it won't be one guy vs. the world or something like that. Magic is going to play a big role in building up the territory, as I plan to branch out into magic technology later on. I am going to rely heavily on magic because I am mostly a fantasy writer and not an engineer.- The MC's main goal is to enjoy himself. This also means girls. So there will be a harem. Those who are familiar with my works, how I do groups, and how my characters act will know I don't like doing cardboard cutouts of characters. Most of my stories have more than one character accompanying the MC. The same will be true here, with the extra caveat that they will also be involved romantically with the MC. - The story plays out in a 1st person POV. There won't be jumping around multiple POVs; I don't like that. Only when the story requires it and the MC can’t be present by himself for some story parts.- Don't take this story seriously nor look for scientifically 100% real and codex-like solutions for problems. This is a fantasy world, a totally different culture, and with history, that is NOT OUR world! There is magic here, and the MC has a supercomputer for a brain. I think that says it all. - My main goal is to enjoy writing some whacky but real-sounding scenarios. They will be based upon feasible ideas, but I am not writing a damned textbook about thermodynamics. Laws will be bent and broken when the story needs it.- Regarding smut, there are some chapters with erotic scenes, but not every other chapter. So expect it when the mood is there in the story and not because I must cram as much snu-snu in as possible... That won't happen.- No guns. Why? Every similar story has guns. This doesn't. This has mechs and power swords. Why? Because I said so.

So, apparently I'm Albedo now...And to make things worse, I'm in the Marvel universe, which one exactly, I've got no fucking clue.Fuck man! Why do I have to be in the body of a inverted person! Do you know how attention drawing white hair and red eyes look like in the real world?! It's been like what, the 4th person who asked me if they were natural?!...I gotta dye this shit black, like my original hair was...

Zhou Mu finds himself remaining in a single-player VR game despite having decided to quit after platinum-ing the entire game. However, he realizes that the world has completely changed. Realizing life in the game is better, he continues on with his in-game name, William Kane.

“Why is the world united under my name? And what’s with the religion that honors me as their god? The royals are claiming to be my descendants? Was there ever such a function in the game? What have they done for the past 1000 years when I was gone?”

Zhou Mu was completely lost.

“Are you calling me a traitor? Aren’t you guys the ones who have been doing evil deeds in my name? Behold, for you shall witness this lost forbidden spell!”