Empress Running Away with the Ball - Chapter 976 - A fatal disaster

Reborn into a fantasy world of magic and aura, Rowan is the second son of a ranch family living boringly in a backwater village, with no magic and no inheritance.To avoid rotting away in the countryside, he becomes a mercenary instead. Better to die fighting than waste away.After his first kill, the Black Dream awakens: a power that lets him plunder abilities from everything he defeats.But it's more than that. When he fights alongside others, their techniques become his: a master archer's deadly precision, a hunter's supernatural tracking, an assassin's shadow-step…Every ally becomes his arsenal.Ascension awaits! From the lowly dirt to the throne of the gods.

A mysterious youth who came from a mysterious village, didn’t have the Heart of Tao. Nor did he have the Tao Spirituality nor an unblocked Tao Physique.

However, even in such a situation, he had his heart set on Tao and submitted himself to the Seeking-Tao Sect as a disciple and stepped on his way, an unusual and unique way to Tao cultivation!

A world full of magic and wonders, where dragons stand for metals, sprites stand for farming, knights cultivate qi, mysterious wizards dwell. In this world, a man who had transmigrated into the body of a baron, follows the prompts of mysterious symbols to change his destiny.

- Description from Novelupdates

Ethan Cross was just an ordinary college student in his past life—until he died trying to save a banker playing hero. Now, he finds himself reincarnated in “New World”, a realm plagued by Dread Beasts, where only those who awaken Aethermarks can become Heroes.But there’s a problem.Ethan has awakened as an E-rank Hero, the weakest tier, cursed with only one ability slot—a death sentence for any aspiring warrior. With no powerful clans willing to recruit him and the world already looking down on him, his future seems bleak.Until he discovers his Innate Talent: Sanctum of Beasts.This mysterious power grants him access to a personal dimension, where he can hunt endless waves of Dread Beasts. Unlike the real world, slaying them in this space drops Ability Fragments, which he can combine to gain abilities without slot restrictions. Even better? Time flows differently—he can train for days, yet only an instant passes in reality.Determined to rise from nothing, Ethan embarks on a secret journey to accumulate power. But as he completes missions and unravels the truth about the Black Pits, he realizes there’s something far more sinister lurking beneath the surface.The Hero Association hides dark secrets. Villains roam freely in the shadows. And Dread Beasts may not be the mindless creatures everyone believes them to be.With powerful enemies watching his every move, Ethan must play a dangerous game—remain unnoticed or become the hunter of both beasts and men.But one thing is certain:In this world, strength is everything. And Ethan Cross will carve his own path to the top—no matter the cost.