MTL - Awakening - ~ 165-Investigation

On his 32nd birthday, Jeff, along with all of his friends, confesses how they are dissatisfied with their lives.If only I didn't suppress my desires.If only I didn't ignore my feelings for her.If only I confess my love to her.If only I had chosen a different path from the start.If only...At the end of his 32nd birthday, the next morning, Jeff wakes up a decade back to the past. And as if all of his friends have trusted all of their regrets to him, Jeff remembers them all.With his regression that gave him a mysterious system known as Returner Fantasy, Jeff will do everything to change the future, not only for himself but for his friends and the ones he loves.[Warning: Contains Mature and Sexual content.]This book will have a lot of mature and sexual content. But those will not be the main focus of story.This book will show characters trying their best to redeem themselves from their failures and regrets.

One sunny day, Shen Jingwei, a Z-list actor, received an opportunity to attend an open-call audition the very next day.It was for the role of an antagonist in a new BL C-Drama, “Dance Of The Dragons”, which was adapted from a novel of the same title.He agreed to join the audition due to several factors, among which his manager's threat to jump off the 20th floor, his dire need for money, and also the fact that his rank in the film industry could not go any lower.One look at the panel of judges made him want to turn on his heel to leave, but it was all too late.Because who would expect the poor Z-List actor to meet his mortal enemy/ex-boyfriend, Yan Renzhong, the A-List Actor responsible for his decline long before he even learned how to fly?------------------“You and I... are playing a couple of lovers, who will go on to get married and have children with each other.”Shen Jingwei could sense blood coming up his throat.What was the point of saying it out loud, again?“Yes,” he forced himself to agree nonetheless.Yan Renzhong pinned him with a stare.“We have unresolved issues from the past. I hope you won't let them affect your and my performance in the drama. Act the professional you are supposed to be.”“...”“And don't call me 'Emperor Yan' anymore.”Yan Renzhong left after delivering one blow after another, not even waiting to see if Shen Jingwei succumbed to his injuries or not.What?Whattt?Whattttttttt?

In the world of cultivation, countless tales follow righteous protagonists, fated heroes blessed by destiny, or those chosen by heaven to walk the path of immortality.But what of those who stand in their way?What of the villains? The so-called obstacles to the hero’s journey—do they not bleed, dream, and struggle as well?Xiao Ning was never meant to succeed.From the very beginning, the Grand Dao wove him as a stepping stone—a necessary sacrifice to elevate another. His path, like that of all designated ‘villains,’ was doomed to failure by design.But what happens when that design is defied?After death, Xiao Ning awakens—not in the cycle of reincarnation, but in the cold silence beyond it. There, he is offered the Eternal Paradox Codex—a forbidden artifact containing the hidden truths of the Grand Dao System itself.Rules. Loopholes. Vulnerabilities.Knowledge not meant for those like him.With this power, Xiao Ning is granted a single, impossible choice: accept oblivion, or step outside the Grand Dao entirely—to abandon fate, sever karma, and cultivate a path unbound by heaven or law.It is Xiao Ning’s journey, from ashes to something beyond comprehension.Not to become an Immortal among men.But something even the heavens dare not bind.If fate is a chain…Then let him forge his own path in the void beyond.Welcome to this humble tale.The cultivation world is vast and unkind.Let us begin again—on our terms.

He had four disobedient disciples, who now achieved success, won recognition and established their own sects.

The embarrassing thing is that it was him who drove those four out of his sect to make them independent.

But one day he had an incident and lost his cultivation. His life was hanging by a thread. Wandering around, he walked into his third disciple’s territory.

What should I do?

Mountains and seas can be tamed, days and nights can disappear.

Only you, the exceptional you, refuse to give up.

——

A man blessed with fortune, the best in his generation, had an accident and started anew; broken in body but firm in spirit, he now uses his wisdom to guide his evil disciples back to the right path.

Notes :
The title 参商 (Shēnshāng) has two meanings:
1) Constellations Shen (ch. “Three Stars mansion”, eu. Orion) and Shang (ch. “Heart mansion”, eu. Antares), which never appear at the same time.
2) Two friends/relatives who are separated/estranged and irreconcilable.

- Description from Novelupdates