Within a Hollow Heart - Chapter 45: Volume 1, : "Through Fraying Threads"

Long Chen, a crippled youth who cannot cultivate, is constantly targeted and bullied by his fellow noble heirs. After a particularly vicious beating, he wakes up and realizes a Pill God’s soul has somehow merged with him, giving him some additional memories. Within those memories is the mysterious Nine Star Hegemon Body Art, a cultivation technique that even he can train in, but whose secrets and origin are still a mystery to him. Relying on his improved instincts as he finally begins to cultivate, he realizes a huge conspiracy is underfoot within the Phoenix Cry Empire, one involving his father, members of the imperial family, and even the Emperor himself.

A seemingly ordinary training exercise led Chen Jian and his squad into a completely different time and space.In the post-apocalyptic world, monsters run rampant, and the surviving humans struggle to live under their terrifying claws.To fight the monsters, the living have abandoned everything.Human nature no longer exists; beastliness is the mainstream.To defeat them, one must first become them.-----------------Chen Jian was supposed to be like the others here, pursuing the maddening evolution.But, when the tungsten-core armor-piercing round first penetrated the Kui Niu's keratin armor, he suddenly discovered...Perhaps there is another way to stay alive?

As the daughter chosen by the Heavens, she was already extraordinary from birth. However, with her talents concealed, she was treated like tr*sh and mercilessly betrayed. So, she decided to let her supreme capabilities shine!

From then on, her bloodline had been awoken. Everything was possible—refining antidotes and weapons through alchemy, taming the dragons and phoenixes, and even being the ultimate ruler of the world. Since then, millions of people admired her and she lived up to her name as the strongest concubine in the world!

Only that cold, evil and immensely domineering Ice Emperor, whom she had accidentally provoked, loved, protected and helped her everywhere…

“Oh dear, after he has treated me like that, how can I ever like someone else? This man is really cunning!”

Nile Santos lived a life of sacrifice — always stepping aside, always giving others the best gear, always following orders without question. In the end, none of it mattered. His comrades fell, his body was broken, and he died a meaningless death in the final battle against an unstoppable force.But fate isn’t finished with him.Offered a second chance by the very beings who led him to ruin, he’s thrust back in time with all his memories intact. This time, though, he’s not playing the role of a noble shield. No more selflessness. No more obedience. No more being a pawn.Armed with future knowledge and a will forged in failure, he vows to rewrite his story — to take everything for himself. Skills, loot, allies, power… all of it. It’s time for one man to climb to the top, no matter what it takes.Author's other storiesThe Unrivaled Holder: Rise of the Dragon Monarch - 3rd Season OngoingI Ascend Alone - Ongoing