Dragon Talisman - Chapter 48: Martial Arts Advancemen

THE LAST MARINE– Series SynopsisThe world ends not with a bang, but with a prayer and a shattered test tube. Marine Quinn Calloway, a man accustomed to the structured chaos of war, finds himself on leave in the deceptively peaceful mid-sized city of New Havenburg when the unthinkable happens. Dr. Lucian Kael, a brilliant and devoutly religious scientist at the prestigious Blackwood Research Institute, driven by a fervent desire to unlock humanity's “divine potential,” makes a catastrophic miscalculation. His experimental “Kael Strain” virus, designed for benign purposes, is accidentally unleashed, and its effects are swift, brutal, and biblical in their apocalyptic scope.

Cultivation is about refining oneself and one's heart.The heavens and earth are the furnace, creation is the work, yin and yang are the carbon, the myriad paths are the copper, and with a steadfast Dao heart, one can refine a Primordial Dao Fruit.Refining pills, refining tools, refining formations, refining talismans, refining swords, refining souls, refining medicine, refining plagues, refining demons, refining devils, refining the heart, refining worlds, refining the Dao...Everything in nature can be refined!This is what Xuan Qing says.If you provoke him, he will even refine the Heavenly Dao to show you!Of course, this all began the day he joined the Jie sect...

Chen Yuan transmigrated and became a Mountain Patrol Military Officer.The eight hundred miles of Langdang Mountain is his pasture.Unfortunately, the Great Qian Dynasty is in its final years, with its fate collapsing.Demonic disasters plague the land, bringing devastation to all living beings. The human world becomes a battleground, entering the mortal realm to face calamities.Monstrous beings and malevolent spirits take the stage, disrupting the martial world.Chen Yuan, armed with the Tiger Talisman for Mountain Moving, patrols on behalf of heaven, cutting down mountains and destroying temples.In the eight hundred miles of Langdang Mountain, demons and monsters shall not appear!

I see dead people.But hey, it’s the zombie apocalypse, everyone is seeing dead people, including a blind girl. It’s not like I am that special.For a while, I thought I was going to be Cinderella, complete with the cruel stepfamily and the little mice for helpers. But instead of mice, I got demons from hell with a taste for chaos.Then again, there is nothing wrong with a little chaos in the middle of the apocalypse. It’s what makes life worth living.Unfortunately for others, they don’t quite see it that way. You see, I have a gift. One that isn’t exactly mine, but I can use it however I see fit.My gift is granting wishes.I'm a genie without a bottle, but it would be nice if people appreciated me more. All the humans ask for is the same thing… more food here, shelter there, kill these people, torture those. And I do it all, for a small price.I don’t ask for money or food, I can get that on my own. No, I want favors, souls, something that means everything for the other person. And they give it to me. Their momentary desire worth their long term happiness.But by the time they discover that, I’m long gone, already moved on to my next… client.I know I look young, starvation and abuse will do that to a girl. Humans tell me that I shouldn’t be wandering out there alone. Some try to help me… most don’t. But whoever said I was by myself? Just because others couldn’t see them didn’t mean my demons ever left. I still hear their voices in my head, whispering words of encouragement and love. For them, I’d do anything. Kill anyone. Destroy anything.After all, life is just a game, right? Those still alive at the end of the day were the lucky ones. Those who died were not. Everything is just a game of chance, all a human has to do is roll the dice.My only word of advice is to be careful what you wish for… you just might get it.My name is Hattie, welcome to my world.Would you like a cup of tea?