Soulbound: Dual Cultivation - Chapter 59: No guts...no glory

A conversation with a handsome stranger leaves Ariane chained in a cellar with a strange affliction. She soon discovers that the darkness of the nineteenth century’s Deep South hides many dangers. Mages, wolf shifters and the humans who hunt them play a risky game where to stumble is to die, all under the amused gaze of the apex predators of the supernatural world: vampires.

It is never healthy to attract the gaze of the aristocracy of the night. It takes much to survive in this merciless world, but Ariane will not let that deter her. The southern belle has a bite, and she is willing to learn and to grow in this hostile new world. She will use whatever means necessary to reclaim her freedom, be it guile, charm, or those intriguing new instincts that make blood so delectable.

This is a story of vampires as I believe they should be, with their strengths and weaknesses, with their remnants of humanity and the beast inside. Updates every Friday. Mind the tags.

Cover by Antti Hakosaari: https://www.artstation.com/haco

Special thanks to Svensonsen for getting me started, as well as Omi Nya, Hesketh, Rhaegar, Yaksher, Selkie and Raven for proofreading my stuff. Thanks to my patrons and you dear readers, for the support. I could not do it without you.

Journey is on Amazon, both in ebooks and audio. here is a link to the first one:

https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B08DK6G8Y8

The story probably exists in your local marketplace as well of I can tempt you.

The Sword Emperor’s challenges result in three of the Ten Venerables to be criticially injured. Three of the Seven Absolutes also die.“It wasn’t enough for you to come knocking at my door all alone; now you dare challenge me to a battle to the death? I did not think you to be so dull as to miscalculate others’ strength.””Neither the Ten Venerables nor the Yellow Lotus Temple’s Seven Absolutes of the orthodox sects had the ability to give me an answer. You are the only one left to ask.”Some may call the Sword Emperor old-fashioned, but he only seeks to be stronger as a martial artist.His endeavor eventually leads him to challenge the Heavenly Demon, the generation’s strongest man in murim. The challenge turns out to be the grand finale of his life.However, the Sword Emperor later wakes up as a member of the Cardenas family, the continent’s best swordsman family!

It was a life without regret. My parents were in good health, and I wasn’t homey enough for me to combine my studies and part-time jobs.

I like fantasy, martial arts, games, fiction movies, cartoons… I’m a normal high school student who likes these things.

That was certainly true until ten years ago.

This is not the earth.

A fantasy world dominated by powerful people. Savage utopia. It is a world where you can take anything with you if you have physical strength.

On their wedding night, she gnashed her teeth, yelling, “Your Highness, that’s shameless!”

Set off by the flickering light of red candles, he curved the corner of his mouth into a wicked grin, “Actually, I can be more shameless…”

…

When they met for the first time, he was the young prince who lived in his day of brilliance, while she was the pampered princess of the adjacent state.

When they met again, he became the crippled underdog suffering from frustration, while she became the lackluster hostage stranded in an alien land.

In his mid-life, he was defeated in the fight and had his legs broken; his wife passed away and he didn’t have anything left except his father’s detestation… After constant blows took the edge off his spirit, all he wanted was nothing but serenity.

In her teen-age, her state perished and her home lost; she lapsed into an awkward situation after being abandoned and having her marriage annulled… As endless hardships isolated her from happiness, everything she wished for was no more than peace.

…

“Lu Zhishan, when I first met you, I didn’t think I’d marry you…too old,” after years passed by, one day, she lay on his laps mumbling, with a kind of hazy beauty on her boozy face, “and lame.”

“Mu Nanzhi, you have the wrong memory. At our first meeting, I’m neither old nor limp.”

“…When was that?”

“When people were celebrating your first birthday,” that man assumed all gentleness and joy crept on his eyes and brows, “On that day, you were ‘drawing lots’ in the rear hall. I also sneaked there to have a look. But, out of my expectation, you directly grabbed my true-love knot.”

…

How vivid the red love pea is embedded in the exquisitely carved dice,

Just as my feelings for you deep in my bones.

- Description from Novelupdates