COTE : There is Something Wrong With Hikigaya - Chapter 44 - : Welcome to the World of Meritocracy

Cheng Mingyi was a little lonely throughout his life.

He only brought trouble for the brother who he grew up with and who always had his back. Through fate, due to an accident he became a second generation rich heir, Tan Feiyang. He thought, this time he could repay his Fifth brother.

Jian Ningzhe, became a first class actor with third rated reputation. One day, the infamous Tan Feiyang gave him an olive branch…

Jian Ningzhe refused to accept the hidden meaning behind it. Tan Feiyang “…Did he just ignore my present for him?”

- Description from Novelupdates

A fickle, decadent, wilful person going through life like it’s a game.

An experienced, logical mind that’s above feelings.

This was a relationship that had started off with “Carpe Diem”, but slowly turned into a bloodless, psychological battle. They shared a mutual distrust, but also mutual attraction. As they suspected and tested each other, challenging each other’s limits, they both fell into the enemy’s hands with their eyes wide open. Sentiments growing amidst ignorance, they finally, were caught in their own traps.

Winner takes all,

Loser stands small.

- Description from Novelupdates

Lan Chang’an has gone through two lifetimes of reincarnations, and in the third life, he aimed for stability until reaching the Nascent Soul Realm in hopes of unraveling the mysteries of the Nine Seal Stele. Consequently, he cultivated the Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique, which wielded modest power in return for greater lifespan.

His approach is not one of fearlessly engaging in battles, but of navigating with steady precision and forging meaningful bonds with others.

Throughout his long cultivation journey, he encountered individuals at various stages of their cultivation, including a Decent Faction Head, a Prodigious Beauty, a Giant Demon Lord, an Evil Cultivator, a Thousand-Year Old Demon, and a Puppet Master Pulling Strings From Behind The Scene.

Observing the ebb and flow of the world, witnessing its ups and downs, he unknowingly became a living fossil in the realm of cultivation, akin to an evergreen tree spanning through eternity.

In the world of mortals, the flow of life is steady, shrouded in the illusion of longevity, yet decisions are made decisively, with a clear sense of morality.

In the year 2090, technology has advanced to the point where Simulation Boxes, (Sim Box for short) are common place, allowing for the user to link up their brain's neural network to a full dive Simulation. While initially used for educational purposes, recently a large gaming company, Averon, released a fully fledged immersive MMORPG simulation where users can become anyone they desire, level up, choose their class, and become a hero or a villain. The name of this simulation is The Shattered World Online.

Eli Winters had no interest in playing it. His father, a jobless bum who spent his entire life playing games in the hope of becoming a famous player or streamer, was able to use the release of The Shattered World Online to gain wealth and fame, quickly becoming the number one player and a household name as the game took the world by storm. He immediately abandoned Eli and his mother in favor of being with someone from his guild, despite his mother having worked two jobs to support them and raise Eli by herself. Eli had nothing but spite for his father and the game.

When Eli's best friend convinces him to try out the game, his father's fame begins to interfere, culminating in him being singled out and shunned by his peers, and his father offering to pay for his university tuition in return for Eli hiding their relationship and quitting the game. Instead of complying with his father's wishes, Eli decides to prove to everyone how useless a guy his father is by challenging him that if Eli is able to surpass him in the game world he must delete his account and quit his streaming career. His father accepts the challenge believing his son to be useless at games - but Eli will soon show him just how ambitious a spiteful person can be.