Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king - Chapter 595: Goodbyes(3)

He was supposed to be the next big thing.Three years ago, Riku Aoyama was Japan’s rising basketball prodigy…Until a devastating injury and a brutal betrayal shattered everything.Now? He’s just a ghost of his former self—until one empty gym, one dusty court, and one crazy idea reignite the fire.Form a team of nobodies. Start from zero. Take on the monsters ruling the court.With broken players, forgotten schools, and no sponsors backing them—Riku’s team, Kaizen High, isn’t just here to play...They’re here to change the game.No powers. No shortcuts.Just sweat, soul, and skill.In a world where basketball is war—Only the crownless will rise.

Draven is a magic professor in a fantasy world. He is also an earl, notorious for his evil deeds and mistakes since youth. His downfall is due to a curse that hinders his intellectual potential and his talents. Eventually, he becomes a villain, losing everything he holds dear: his siblings, fiancée, house, domain, and more. After a miserable death, he reincarnates in the modern world as Dravis Granger.In his new life, he grows up to be a highly intellectual individual oblivious towards his previous life, becoming a young professor in mechanical engineering and a researcher. However, he harbors a strange obsession with creating a game, fueled by vivid imaginings of another world. This obsession leads him to develop a game that mirrors his previous life. Upon completing his virtual reality world, he regains his past memories. Overwhelmed by intense emotions—rage, sadness, and the realization of his past ugliness—he suffers a fatal heart attack.In his final moments, he hears a voice, seemingly from the world itself, offering him a chance to return to his original fantasy world. However, he would only retain the memories of his modern life, not those of his first life’s mistakes. He agrees and is reincarnated once more, this time with the knowledge of a modern mechanical engineering professor.But one thing about the Dravis Granger, he's not just a mechanical engineer professor. Not just a straight, killer genius professor. He has his ideals, and the world is too full of villains for his great idealism. So he strived, with his great mind, he became a mastermind. But not as a villain, but as a person who has lost hope in police and justice, and decided to help the people by his own hand. Collecting victims and invited those handpicked talents to his side, making several insane stunts, assassinating, trapping, and eradicating the scums from the world.But now in this fantasy world, he has to survive from multiple factions trying to kill him, protect his domain, protect his siblings, protect his fiance, and the most important thing.Protect the world.But he hadn't lost the Dravis from the modern world.As a professor at the morning, an earl at the afternoon, and a dark knight at the night._____________________________“You've hurt my student.” Draven stands still, no mana seems to emit from him, but just a single frown. A frown that is enough to make the room's heavy. “As a teacher, you think I would leave you unpunished?”“You seem to think that I care about your position, Prince Hermit. But believe me,” Draven took a slow step. “Not even your father could protect you from me.”

What are the heavens?

Aloof and solitary, none can measure it’s might. It is law. It is commandment. It is merciless. It is unfeeling.

Overlooking all existence, controlling the winds and clouds, stripping reward and punishment, leisurely yet capable. For these reasons, the Will of Heaven cannot be measured, the firmament cannot be approximated. Obey it and yield to it even though it may not be to one’s benefit. Oppose it and rebel against it, fortune and disaster however are hard to determine.

Heaven, imprisoning the manifold existences like a deep well, the living things of the mortal world as mud.

There existed such a very simple, very resolute frog at the bottom of the well, cautiously guarding his mind there were a few, faint rays of light, bearing the meager convictions to absolutely nibble upon swan meat. Step by step from amidst the mire of the mortal world, struggling to leave, step by step to exit the unseeable depths of the sordid, deep well.

When he opened his great mouth towards the thoughts of nipping the swan, recklessly taking the firmament and swallowing it down in one bite! 　

Chu Tian said, lacking money, demand even more money; lacking life, demand to pay with one’s life.

This is exactly Chu Tian’s determined, most simple and firm principle.　　

This principle is greater than heaven!

- Description from Novelupdates

My wife betrayed me, but little did she know that I awakened the Immortal Emperor's inheritance, and from then on, I embarked on an extraordinary life against the heavens, embracing a top-tier beauty in my arms...