Steel and Mana - Chapter 388 – Winter in Markoth (4)

In the shadowed halls of the Nether Blossom Sect and the treacherous expanse of the cultivation world, mastery is a dance of power, lust, and betrayal.True enlightenment lies not in forcing the path, but in weaving ambition with desire until the cultivator becomes one with their schemes.Only when the line blurs between ally and enemy, pleasure and pain, does one glimpse the ruthless truth of the dao.Lin Fengyang, a spark in a realm of predators, forges his ascent through cunning and will.His enemies plot in whispers, their blades hidden in smiles, but he’ll carve his legend across sects, empires, and heavens, one step, one scheme, one conquest at a time.In this cultivation world, trust is a lie, and every touch is a gambit. He is the schemer of shadows, the breaker of chains, and the bane of those who underestimate him.Read now to witness a tale of dark cultivation, where ambition burns brighter than any flame.

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

When the enigmatic and overpowered Kieran Drayke awakens in a foreign magical world after a sudden transmigration, he brings along a system unlike any this realm has ever known. The “Sovereign Architect System” doesn’t just make him invincible—it gives him the tools to build something far greater.But Kieran isn’t interested in world domination. At least, not in the usual way.Disillusioned by the world's surface-level glimmer and the rot beneath it, Kieran sets his sights on the forsaken—those discarded by society, lost in the shadows of nobility and corruption. From slums, war zones, and forgotten ruins, he gathers orphan girls of various races—elves, beastkin, humans, and more—each with untapped potential and pain behind their eyes.He trains them in secret. Guides them. Empowers them. Not as soldiers, but as a family. A hidden organization that operates behind the curtains, shaping the world while appearing as ordinary students at the prestigious Aetherion Magic Academy.Kieran himself? Just a carefree, slightly lazy transfer student with a penchant for sweets, sarcasm, and sneaking naps between classes—on the surface, at least.With a slow-burning plot that weaves magical worldbuilding, deep friendships, training arcs, casual comedy, and a cast of unforgettable girls who grow into queens of the unseen, Chronicles of the Hidden Crown explores what happens when an OP MC doesn’t conquer the world with brute force…But builds a legacy from its forgotten pieces.No betrayal. No forced drama. Just the steady rise of a secret kingdom in the shadows of a crumbling empire.

Luo Xingchen traveled to the world of Fairy Tail.

Comes with a plug-in magic sublimator.

Since then, Luo Xingchen has embarked on a different path.

Not to mention, you can borrow the magic crystal emblem transformed from the magic power of the wizard to strengthen yourself.

Mainly, you can also use multiple badges to fuse into a new form?

Please, I’m not the debt king Uub.

But after trying it for real, he realized that this thing is really fragrant.

Of course, occasionally there will be some troubles.

That is, what if the other party does not borrow it?

Easy!

As a mage genius, it’s not too much to awaken a magic, right?

Relying on the awakened devouring magic that can forcibly extract the magic power of the wizard.

Combining two by two…

You have to borrow this power if you borrow it, or you have to borrow it if you don’t borrow it!

When a certain day.

Luo Xingchen held the black dragon’s dark magic crystal badge in his hand, and added the shining star’s light magic crystal badge,

The moment they come together,

The ultimate form that surpassed the gods was born…

- Description from novelbuddy