Solo Cultivation in The Apocalypse - Chapter 81 The Dreadful Retreat.

Burdened by the crushing debt of his parents, Lex never imagined a life beyond endless work and grief. But fate had other plans.One fateful day, an accident ends his mundane existence—only to thrust him into a world of fantasy. Reincarnated as a side character doomed to fail, Lex now inhabits the body of a so-called teacher—a fraud with no real skills, destined for disgrace.Standing at a crossroads, he faces a choice: follow the canon and flee from his inevitable downfall, or defy fate and carve his own path.Just as he considers running… a voice calls out.[Need some help?]Grasping the talent that his predecessor never realized he had, Adrian decided to defy his fate and become a true Runesmith.However, he never expected that once he would start on the path of becoming a Runesmith, he would start gaining so many connections.[Ding!][Cross-dimension group chat has been activated!][Hero of World Nebula: Old man, when can I get my sword done?][The untamed witch: When will you help me with my staff?][The obsessed one: Darling, when will you do me-I mean, when will you do something about my blades?]....what the heck is all this?°°°°°°°°°A/N:- Read the first few chapters, before deciding to drop it.English won't be perfect, but it will be readable.Additional tags: Cross-world group chat, possessive characters, sudden strength gain, overpowered MC, broken engagement.

A wonder falling down from heaven! A boy possessed by strange blood! Gods tremble! Demons flee! A boy from the land of Dong Zhou. A pink skull as his sworn friend until death. A story of a determined warrior struggling for power. A legend that shakes the galaxy and disturbs the worlds of god, demon and man.

- Description from Novelupdates

Lin Ran was transmigrated to a fantasy world and was the top scorer during the martial arts exam.

He was assigned to protect the empress, but because he did not give presents to the general director in charge of the palace affairs, he was demoted to a guard at Mount Sword.

His only job was to clean the swords stored on the mountain.

[You have cleaned the broken sword, Fire Stream. You have been rewarded with 50% proficiency of the Heaven Fire Sword Will.]

[You have cleaned the heavy sword, Dragon Elephant. You have been rewarded with the inner energy of the Dragon and Elephant Divine Art.]

[You have cleaned the demon sword, Dark Wind. You have been rewarded with the Grade 9 method, Phantom Step.]

[You have cleaned the spirit sword, Heaven’s Chance. You have been rewarded with the Eyes that Peek into Heaven.]

“Isn’t this way better than working as the empress’s guard?” Lin Ran quickly decided to remain on the mountain until he had become invincible.

He spent the next 100 years without leaving Mount Sword until the day the barbaric knights from the north invaded the central plains and started to mercilessly slaughter citizens, hoping to break the peace that was obtained through a lot of sacrifices over 100 years ago.

Lin Ran had no choice but to descend from the mountain.

Facing extinction, humanity seeks salvation in the Astral Verge, a dangerous dimension accessed via portals that threatened to wipe out the entire planet.Few years later, aspiring recruit Daniel Vance enters the Verge for his final assessment, hoping to Awaken a Talent and secure his future. While others gain common abilities, Daniel secretly Awakens the mythical SSS-Grade Talent: [Soul Assimilation]. This allows him to absorb essence, enhancing gear, gaining stats and EXP from slain creatures, and crucially, absorbing attributes and skills from fallen Awakened.Witnessing the swift death of the arrogant Jaxon Rex, Daniel makes a grim choice: he assimilates Jaxon, gaining his first skill, [Kinetic Pulse]. This sets his path: scavenging the aftermath of others’ battles. He enhances gear and, after achieving his first kill on an injured beast, waits patiently to assimilate two more fallen recruits, acquiring [Quick Step] and the invaluable passive [Aura Sense].Starting as average, Daniel rapidly gains power in secret, enhanced gear, multiple skills, and boosted stats , far exceeding his peers while remaining outwardly unremarkable. He navigates the lethal Verge alone, using its inherent dangers to fuel his growth, wrestling with the moral cost of his unique, overwhelming power.