Beginning with the Ubume Bird - Chapter 316 - 42: The Trace of Yu Shu

Welcome! If you want to jump in without any spoilers, feel free. Otherwise, here's a story primer, with a list of more specifics on what to expect from my work further below.Our story follows a fallen knight haunted by his past, in a world afflicted by war and supernatural wounds. Alken is the Headsman of Seydis, an executioner tasked by the divine powers of his homeland to hunt dark sorcerers, warlords, and traitors of all varieties, lest they drag the world into calamity.Once a paladin, this role ill suits him. Forced to cross lines that shake his beliefs, tempted by dark forces, and seen as an ill omen wherever he wanders, his path is often a bloody one. The longer he spends in the shadows of his world, the more he comes to realize just how many have been disenfranchised by the existent order. During his lonely battles through a land haunted by the restless dead and ancient magics, his journey becomes increasingly strange and personal.Enter a realm where the dead stir in every shadow and brooding demigods wage a millennia long war for a ruined heaven, where blessed knights wield gilded flames and sorcerers battle with weapons forged of their own souls. Enter a world of faustian alchemists, of saintly demons, and of time-weary elves.From Oathbreaker you can expect— A setting heavily inspired by Forgotten Realms, Planescape, Fromsoft games, and authors such as Michael Moorcock and Kentauro Miura. — A first person POV from an older protagonist who already knows a lot about his world’s history and cultures, who shares this information with the reader as it becomes relevant.— A mix of action adventure and quieter moments where the focus is on character development. Lore is shared piecemeal, usually only as it relates to a particular arc or character beat.— A heavy focus on mystery, both with the setting and the protagonist. The main character’s backstory isn’t shared up front, and a lot of the narrative involves learning about him a bit at a time, either from his own narration or other characters interacting with him.— A semi-soft magic system where many mages manifest unique powers tied to their own soul, or gain unique powers through eldritch pacts.— Romantic elements. These don’t crop up much until later in the story.— A variety of supernatural beings, such as elves, vampires, gargoyles, chimera, and trolls. Many are familiar, some are not, and most of the familiar ones have my own twists put on them.—Nobledark fantasy. This means that the world is often themed around tragedy and horror, but it’s not dedicated to being gritty. There are elements of high fantasy intermixed with the scarier stuff.—Episodic arcs. Each story arc usually has a specific locale and antagonist or set of antagonists, but certain overarching plots tie them together.— A long running narrative. I don’t have a specific projection of how long or how many arcs or books, but you should expect this to be equivalent to a long running serialized work.This is my first web serial! I hope everyone enjoys it. For trigger warnings, readers should beware that there are some heavy topics in here. When I think something might upset certain readers, I’ll put a warning in the author notes above a chapter. If I miss or overlook anything, feel free to let me know in the comments! I am currently publishing the same story on my wordpress, which is linked below and in my profile. I release three chapters a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Thanks for reading!(I originally had a link to a wordpress, but I'm in the process of overhauling that space. It's not a priority since my readership is all here, but just in case anyone noticed and was wondering)

The boundless universe is full of many wonders.

I, Chen Ping, only have one sword!

I can move mountains, overturn the seas upside down, suppress demons, slap the face of gods, pluck the stars, break rivers, destroy cities, and… open the heavenly abode!

***

The Midland world was full of wonders.

In the center of the world, there was a scholar who had once used a sword to slash out a waterfall of the Milky Way. This was the person he was the most proud of.

At the edge of East Sea’s cliffs, there was a nameless Daoist who was unwilling to ascend to the peak of a mountain. He only wished for a cool breeze to brush against his face.

In the Western Pure Land, there was an old monk who liked to treat people to chicken soup and tell stories.

In the southern border of the Wilderness, there was a blind painter who controlled golden-armored puppets that were as tall as mountains to move the hundred thousand mountains, creating an embroidered picture.

A impoverished youth who grew up in the north. One day, he saw tens of thousands of Sword Kinesis Immortals above him, like a swarm of locusts crossing the border.

He wanted to see for himself the scholar that the storyteller had mentioned, the surging tides of the East Sea, the vast swamps of sand in the west, and the majestic mountains of the Southern Wasteland.

Thus, one day, the youth picked up the wooden sword and began to descend south.

- Description from novelupdates

Veyne came from the life of sewer rats.The world saw him as a failure. He called it belief. Others called it stupidity. Either way, it was the only thing he had left.Even at rock bottom, Veyne never stopped believing in himself.Betrayed by his lover and brother, treated as a burden, and forced to slave endlessly in the game to chase his dream—he endured it all.Though late, his obsession was finally rewarded with an opportunity. But the sewer rat in him was too weak to hold onto it. He had fought the world and lost.Actions have consequences. And when he failed in the game, those consequences caught up to him, leading to his death.But the universe wasn’t done with him yet.Given a second chance, he returned to a time when the game had already been out for two years. This time, he rushed to obtain the Template Wilder class—the very class that led to his downfall.One of the game’s rarest hidden classes, the Wilder class, allowed him to switch into different forms based on the monster templates he possessed. An overpowered ability—but it came with a fatal catch.A hidden template forced him into the form of an ancient baby creature, one so cursed that players, monsters, and even NPCs would hunt him down. If he died in that form, his character would be permanently deleted.In his past life, he underestimated the class’s dangers. And the world tore him apart for it.This time, it wouldn’t be just hollow belief.This time, he’s not here to survive—he’s here to dominate.No emotional ties.No second chances.The entire game is his enemy, and he will crush anyone who stands in his way.He failed once. He suffered. He died. He was erased.Not this time.This is the beginning of his legend. The era of Veyne Draven.

Kubei was just an ordinary pencil and button pusher working a day job, hating his boss and making horrible speeches when one day he fell asleep after pushing an all-nighter. When he woke up, he was bound to a chair, facing three creepy robed women and in a body way too young and way too weak to be his own. As he slowly came to, he realized that he was no longer in the same universe as he was before. He had teleported to the Kingdom of Helius, where an all-powerful church rules its lands and wages war against the elusive group known only as Mages. Armed with an incredibly cocky neural interface that just won’t shut up and his own sheer wit, our MC will find himself not just fighting to survive, but maybe even something bigger than himself.