Otherworldly Desert Dust - Chapter 217 - 173: Innate Martial Arts

As a golden dragon raised by a human family from a young age, Noah has no particular hobbies except for cultivating kings.Though some ignorant scholars misunderstand him, labeling him as a mentor of king slayers and trampler of royal authority, over the millennia, there are also wise men who praise him as the imperial dragon and holy dragon.Moreover, the vast empire's many races regard him as the pioneer of the golden age, an immortal radiance of the empire, eagerly desiring his regency and control over the empire's authority.

A mysterious VR game company has unleashed a revolutionary MMORPG, Ascension of Souls, a game so advanced it threatens to blur the line between reality and fiction. Marketed as a groundbreaking innovation, it promised to change the world—but for Leo, it’s far more than just a game.It’s his only hope for survival.Thrown into an expansive, ever-shifting world, Leo fights alongside a growing circle of powerful allies—each with their own ambitions, rivalries, and hidden pasts. Like them, he can level up, grow stronger, and carve his path through a world where strength is everything. But unlike anyone else, he possesses a pair of mysterious bracelets, a power seemingly tied to him alone, unlocking fragmented memories of a past he doesn’t remember.As whispers of forgotten legends surface and unseen forces pull the strings behind the game’s mechanics, Leo realizes that survival isn’t just about leveling up—it’s about unraveling a truth buried deep within the game itself.But uncovering the truth comes at a cost—one that could rewrite everything he knows

Xiao Feng, the protagonist of the story was an ace at online games. By accident, he knew a game called Mystery which can reduce human’s energy consumption and improve the space-allocation on the earth. In this game, he hit monsters, increased his levels and met a lot of friends. However, at the same time, he was inevitably drawn into the struggle within and outside the labor union. What should he do? And what difficulties would he face? The following are his inner monologues.

I was killed in the game and asked him/her to fight offline only to find that she was a girl. What should I do?

I wanted to be a support and carry my team-mates only to find that all of them were newbies, what should I do?

Please don’t court death and let me kill the boss with the hammer!

To conclude, this story is about a support who would have liked to carry all his team-mates. However, after realizing that support could not save the world, he resolutely picked up the hammer and killed the boss in the game.

“Block him.”“He's technically still my boss.”“Then block him with dignity.”The call ended again.And then started again.I let out a sound somewhere between a growl and a sob, then finally answered with the enthusiasm of a snail crawling through salt.“Yes, Mr. Walton?”“Have you changed your mind yet?”I collapsed onto the towel and gazed at the sky as though it might consume me entirely if I pleaded sweetly enough.“Do you ever take a break?” I asked, shielding my eyes with one hand.“You're avoiding the question.”“Because it's a dumb question.”He exhaled, the sound sharp and irritated even over phone. “It's not a dumb question. It's a business offer.”“It's a weird offer-one that I already said no to.”There was a brief pause, and I could practically hear him clenching his jaw through the speaker.“You are acting unreasonably.”“ Unreasonable?” I sat up. “I'm not the one drafting fake girlfriend contracts like it's a normal Tuesday.”“Isabella-”“Certainly not, Mr. Walton.” I mimicked his tone perfectly. “I told you I'm not doing it. You need to find someone else to play pretend with.”SYNOPSISIsabella Miller thought saying no to her boss’s fake dating offer was the end of the story.But Adrien Walton doesn’t take no—especially not when he’s convinced she’s a gold digger.Suddenly, her student loans are piling up, her father’s vet clinic is on the brink of eviction and her brother is about to be kicked out of college. Coincidence? She thinks not.Adrien Walton is calm, calculating—and he's just pulled every string to corner Isabella into the perfect position.Now she’s stuck choosing between pride and survival.So she agrees to his offer: be his fake girlfriend.No feelings attached. No drama. Just business.Or so she thought.“Conference Room B. Fifteen minutes,” he said, passing by without a glance.The folder he pushed across the table landed with a thud.I opened it. The contract. All of it.---Enemies to lovers? Check.Slow burn? Hmmnyea.Banter so sharp it might file your nails? Yes.Delicious workplace tension? Of course.Tension that could melt steel?Absolutely.Smut?? Wanna find out?Welcome to corporate romance warfare. There’s no escaping this contract.