Tales of the Endless Empire - Chapter 45: Blood and Shadow

In this world, there are people who, despite having both talent and luck, always fall a step short of happiness, and Lin Xiaoguai, unfortunately yet fortunately, is among them.Born in the sixties as the beloved youngest daughter in her family, Lin Xiaoguai was both beautiful and intelligent. However, she was burdened with four mediocre and weak older brothers and four formidable sisters-in-law. Her family background was initially poor, dimming her prospects, but just at the right age, she encountered the restoration of the college entrance examination and succeeded in entering university. Her father, overjoyed by the occasion, went to sleep never to wake again, leaving Lin Xiaoguai devastated and ill. During her high fever and delirium, her greedy in-laws married her off. Fortunately, she met a decent man, but his family proved to be a relentless headache, ultimately costing her the ability to become a mother.Disheartened, she divorced and moved far away. On her own, she carved out a new world in the city, living comfortably and leisurely with money and leisure, but unexpectedly, in her later years, she suddenly acquired a powerful ability that should have appeared decades earlier. Thankfully, her broad-mindedness prevented her from succumbing to depression.When calamity struck, she thought her end had come but woke to find herself back at the beginning.Considering her past, Lin Xiaoguai realized that if she wasted this second chance, she would truly be foolish.

After his first college party, Dallion woke up in a small room without doors or windows. Next thing he knew, he woke up as an “awakened” in a small medieval village in the middle of nowhere. Now all he needs to do is figure what the heck is going on. And what’s the big deal with being awakened anyway?!

A mysterious VR game company has unleashed a revolutionary MMORPG, Ascension of Souls, a game so advanced it threatens to blur the line between reality and fiction. Marketed as a groundbreaking innovation, it promised to change the world—but for Leo, it’s far more than just a game.It’s his only hope for survival.Thrown into an expansive, ever-shifting world, Leo fights alongside a growing circle of powerful allies—each with their own ambitions, rivalries, and hidden pasts. Like them, he can level up, grow stronger, and carve his path through a world where strength is everything. But unlike anyone else, he possesses a pair of mysterious bracelets, a power seemingly tied to him alone, unlocking fragmented memories of a past he doesn’t remember.As whispers of forgotten legends surface and unseen forces pull the strings behind the game’s mechanics, Leo realizes that survival isn’t just about leveling up—it’s about unraveling a truth buried deep within the game itself.But uncovering the truth comes at a cost—one that could rewrite everything he knows