The Girl Who Struggled Through Palace Intrigues to Become the Empress - Chapter 140: The Middle of the Family

“Black Myth: The Destined One” the mobile game, sent Li Ping'an back to the Journey to the West World where deities and Buddhas had perished, demons roamed freely, and the Three Realms had collapsed. The longer he survived, the stronger he became.Cultivation, Divine Skills, Side Techniques, Magical Treasures... and the like were obtained from the game and could even be taken back to the real world.Black Bear Spirit Bodhisattva, Shadowy Moon Demon Lord, Howling Celestial Dog, Hundred Eyes Demon Lord Bodhisattva, King Huang Feng Bodhisattva, Old Buddha Huang Mei... One after another, those claiming to be immortals, Bodhisattvas, and Buddha Ancestors fell beneath his staff.Only after he had acquired wealth and status in the real world through the Cultivation, Divine Skills, Side Techniques, and Magical Treasures obtained from the game, did he realize that the real world was nothing more than the Nineteenth Layer of Hell in the Journey to the West World...With an undying heart, at ease and carefree, the Destined One Li Ping'an embarked on Journey to the West once more!

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.

“Helena if I could be with you every moment of every day, fuck, I’d take that,” Romeo growled as he kissed her neck, sucking and licking along the way as well.“We’ve already lost nine years, Helena, I’m not wasting a moment more,” Romeo hissed as his lips crashed against Helena’s.She let out a moan as Romeo lifted her leg, wrapping it around his waist.“Feel that, love?” Romeo asked as he pushed his cock against her. “Feel what you do to me?”Nine years ago Helena Willow ran and on her first day back she meets an Alpha whom she connected with on a different level. An Alpha that could be her Mate.When she left her pack she left her family and the love of her life, her stepbrother Romeo Blackmoon.What happens when she discovers that the Alpha she's slept with was her stepbrother and that he could be her mate?

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.