Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty - Chapter 553: Crushing Defeat (Double-Length)

Upon awakening, Lu Xuan found himself as an ordinary spirit plant cultivator, tending to an acre of land merely scraping by in the realm of cultivation.Fortunately, he stumbled upon an unexpected revelation: with each maturing spiritual plant, he received additional rewards.Harvesting a The Firefly Grass yielded a Golden Sword Technique.From the Blood-Devouring Vine, he obtained a Purification Talisman.And the Phantom Spring Flower gifted him a prescription for the elusive Luminous Flame Pill.Henceforth, he contentedly tended to his own spiritual fields, observing the tumultuous tides and shifts in the world of cultivation.“Duels and clashes, expeditions into secret realms, immortal fortunes, obtaining mystical treasures… None of it concerns me!”“I simply wish for peace and quiet to tend to my fields.”

Birth rates are decreasing. Hope is vanishing. The world has gone gray.Humanity, drifting in quiet collapse, receives an email.Every person on Earth. Simultaneously.The Aegis Mandate.Disguised as a cosmic aptitude test, it triggers The Incident of Separation—a global psychic cataclysm that erases identities, wipes memories, and divides all survivors into three factions: Law, Neutral, and Chaos. Overnight, cities become battlegrounds. Apartments become dungeons. Ordinary people become monsters—or the ones who hunt them.Ragnar Vhagar was just a loner university student. Now, thanks to a system he didn’t ask for, he’s a newly minted Demon King, locked in a crumbling apartment with goblins under his sofa and a glowing soul crystal next to his frozen peas. His new job? Build a deadly domain, defend it from invading “Heroes,” and somehow level up fast enough to not die.Alongside him is Isabelle Thorne, a razor-sharp warrior of few words and one very sharp sword. Their reluctant alliance, born in blood and snark, evolves into trust—and maybe something dangerously close to affection—as they rise together through the layers of the game-like world they’re trapped in.With each conquered domain and defeated boss, Ragnar realizes the truth: the dungeons aren’t meant to crown a winner. They’re meant to break the players. The Law faction wants control. The Chaos faction craves destruction. But Ragnar? He wants something they’re all too afraid to say out loud:Freedom.In the ruins of Kanta’s ogre stronghold, Ragnar and his misfit warband take their biggest step yet—claiming a kingdom, unifying a fractured system, and preparing for what comes next. The Heroes are watching. The gods are stirring. The world is watching a war.And somewhere deep beneath it all... Ragnar is rewriting the rules.

Born in the royal family, Yan Shi has too many things that he is helpless toward.

Doesn’t matter whether he is willing or not, he has already been dragged into the battle for the throne.

But above him there’s a father who detests and rejects him, and below him there are brothers watching him like a tiger watches its prey.

Yan Shi’s every step is filled with uncertainty, afraid that with one wrong move, he would lose everything.

But just as he was about to rein in the net, his stomach actually got bigger!

Help: We’re in the midst of fighting for the throne, what should I do with my big stomach? How do I ensure no one discovers it?

- Description from Novelupdates

He was the hunting hound of the Baskerville family.

But at the end, he was branded as a traitor and executed.

— — —

Now, he has returned… after 40 years.

“This time, they will be my prey… and I’ll bite every single one of them to death!”