Shadow Slave - Chapter 2186 Master of Puppets

The plague of insects descended overnight. As an ordinary person without invincible powers and extraordinary exercises, facing blood and death, what should we do at the critical moment of life and death?

(I am a reasonable party, but the novel needs appropriate YY, please do not excessively investigate the rationality of the background in a razor-sharp way.)

- Description from novelbuddy

Reincarnated as the emperor of the dynasty, Zhou Xuanji, he thought he would be rich and noble for a lifetime, but he was forced to flee the palace due to the grievances of the palace.

What surprised him was that a cheat program invented in his previous life turned out to be a reality!

At the age of two, he obtained the Red Dragon Sword, which contains the soul of the Red Dragon!

At the age of three, he obtained the second Divine Sword!

Every year you grow, there is an extra sword!

A hundred years later, Zhou Xuanji took hundreds of divine swords across the world!

Ten thousand years later, Zhou Xuanji stunned the heavens, Wan Jian volleyed into the sky, and ascended the throne of myth in the name of Sword Emperor!

- Description from novelbuddy

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.

Driven by his need for revenge, Lazarus, the Lore’s most ruthless vampire, plots to seize the throne of Wilyra and rule it along with his betrothed, the fae goddess Maeve who thrives in a borrowed body.

Lazarus has a perfect plan—until he finds Emmalyn, a young mortal who is the daughter of the rebel leader of blood vassals in his kingdom and an integral part of his plan. He captures the young girl to cast her soul out for Maeve.

Emmalyn yearns for a better life to escape from her stepmother and an indifferent father. She never imagined that they would sell her to the royals to save her brother’s life.

But there’s only one problem. Emmalyn tempts Lazarus beyond reason. As the time to cast her soul out draws closer, he must choose between his lust for the throne or his irresistible mortal.

Will Lazarus succumb to lust for power and crown? Or will he risk it all to have a future with her?