Shop of the Dead: Shattered Souls - Chapter 20: Echoes Behind the Trees

In the age of Universal Awakening on the Azure Sphere, a myriad of races and gods coexist.

Devils, dark gods, and monsters descend upon the mortal realm, only to be met by the Awakened.

Howard, during his Awakening Ritual, discovers dual talents— F-rank Mana Recovery, and the supreme talent: Supreme Synthesis.

He keeps a low profile, hiding as a 'common magus.'

Through countless acts of synthesis, he forges supreme artifacts, supreme skills, and supreme classes!

Fireball synthesis... Ding! Synthesis successful, attaining D-rank skill— Fire Serpent!

Fire Serpent synthesis... Ding! Synthesis successful, attaining B-rank skill— Fire Python!

Fire Python synthesis... Ding! Synthesis successful, attaining S-rank skill— Dragonfire!

When devils invade and dark gods descend, they are left slack-jawed by the Azure Sphere before them.

“No, this is a trap... a trap disguised as a mere cupcake!”

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Chu Ning transmigrated into a novel as a fake young lady who was switched at birth. The real young lady, Ye Ting, was supposedly in Chu Ning’s original poor family, and was forced to drop out of school to work and raise Chu Ning’s seven brothers. In the original story, once the real young lady was reclaimed by the Ye family, the fake young lady’s life fell apart.

She started going against the real young lady without knowing that the real young lady was the female lead. The latter even had seven brothers to support her, and she eventually made a comeback with her overwhelming advantage. Meanwhile, the fake young lady had resorted to every scheme she could, even faking suicide, only to end up tragically with everyone hating on her. Chu Ning transmigrated over at the crucial time when the real young lady just returned, and the fake young lady was fighting to stay at the Ye family by threatening suicide.

Outside the door, her foster mother spoke in an icy tone, “I don’t care. She has to return to the slums. I get annoyed whenever I look at her now. Why does she get to live a lavish life while my biological daughter had to suffer in the slums? She even had to stop schooling to work and raise her brothers!” Her foster father said, “Still, we’ve raised her all her life, and our family can afford to feed another. Now that she’s threatening suicide, let’s just let her stay.” Chu Ning rushed out of the ward. “I’ll leave! I’ll discharge today and go back at once. I’m not a member of the Ye family, so I have no reason to insist on staying.”

Her foster mother was surprised, and her foster father was puzzled. Chu Ning ignored them. After knowing how the original plot went, she set three goals for herself. One, to stay away from the female lead! Two, to stay away from the male lead! Three, to live a good life in the slums! Yet, to her surprise, after being successfully abandoned by the Ye family, her biological brothers all became tycoons in their respective industries. Chu Ning effortlessly made a comeback all of a sudden! Even the male lead who had called off their marriage now forced her into a corner, saying, “Ningning, be mine!”

The story begins as our female lead wakes up in a strange room and an unfamiliar body. She realizes that she has travelled back in time and her twenty-two year old spirit is now trapped in the body of a six year old girl. This girl child is the third daughter of Ning Guo’s Prime Minister Li and his seventh wife. Her name is Li Qing Luo and because her mother was originally from an entertainment house, Prime Minister Li and his other six wives treated them badly.

Her first day in that world, the whole family gathers to test the talent of the three daughters. Qing Lei, the eldest, is talented at playing the zither while Qing Fei’s calligraphy is incomparable. Everyone anticipates A’Luo’s failure as she had not exhibited any talent before, but that six year old child recites a famous Tang poem. The entire family is surprised that Qing Luo is able to write such a profound poem and her mother later tells her that Prime Minister Li is so harsh on his daughters because he needs to rely on them marrying well to secure his future. Qing Luo begins to study qin, qi, shu, hua (zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting) but hides her skill because she does not want to be sold in marriage to some prince or court official.

Six years later, A’Luo is now twelve and leaves the estate for the first time to participate at a flower viewing banquet. This is a special banquet because the Five Most Eligible Bachlors of Feng Cheng will be in attendance (there’s actually a more elegant name for them). These young men are: Crown Prince Liu Jian, Fourth Prince Liu Fei, the young An Qing Wang Liu Jue, the son of Prime Minister Gu Gu Tian Xiang, and the top scorer of the Imperial Examinations Cheng Si Yue. A’Luo sneaks off and almost falls into a river, but is saved by a handsome young man. Because he glanced at her bare legs a moment too long, A’Luo calls him a pervert, tries to push him into the river and runs off. The young man only laughs and vows to find her again.

- Description from Novelupdates

When a terminally ill young man awakens in the world of his favorite childhood game, he realizes he isn’t the protagonist, the destined hero, or even a major side character. Instead, he has become an extra—a disowned noble barely clinging to relevance in a world where strength determines everything. Worse, his fate in the game was to die an early, meaningless death.Armed with only his knowledge of the game’s storyline and a common system that tracks his stats and skills, he is determined to survive. But mere survival isn’t enough. He remembers a hidden easter egg from a long-forgotten anime collaboration: the Mangekyō Sharingan—a power limited by game mechanics but unrestricted in reality.With Kamui as his trump card, he walks the fine line between fate and freedom, seizing power from the shadows while avoiding suspicion. As the protagonist and his allies battle against demons and unravel the game’s grand destiny, he secretly builds his own strength—manipulating events, mastering forgotten arts, and even forging ties with villainous factions.Will he remain a footnote in history, or will he carve his own legend in a world that was never meant to be his?