The Heavenly Martial Empress Returns: An OP Xianxia Returnee LitRPG - Chapter 165: Evenly Matched

Cairn is a prince who is already tired of ruling. Faced with an imminent coronation and an overbearing father, he wants nothing more than to drown his responsibilities in cheap liquor and poor decisions. With the help of his sister, he hatches a plan to escape the clutches of the throne once and for all. It all goes terribly wrong, and Cairn finds his priorities shifting in the face of unimaginable tragedy. The change of heart comes too late, however, and Cairn dies. He reawakens to find himself transported ten years in the past. He immediately begins to plan for the future, only to discover his killer has somehow followed him. To succeed, Cairn must unite the kingdom and discover the motivation of his killer, using as many tries as it takes. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++I exhausted pretty much every time loop story ever written and decided to write my own. You'll see a few similarities here between this story and some existing stories, at least initially. There's a lot of inspiration drawn from both MoL and Re:Zero, though in terms of pathos and darkness, this story leans more towards the latter. Be warned, it is something of a slow burn. The main character will grow and become powerful, but a theme of this story is that power comes slowly and often at great cost.

Jian Huan found herself transported into a xianxia novel as the fiancee of the main antagonist.Feeling her empty wallet, she recalled the pitiful fate of the original owner of the body who stubbornly refused to annul the marriage. Without hesitation, she took the marriage contract and went to the antagonist for a friendly negotiation.At this moment, Shen Jizhi, the future scourge of the cultivation world, was still a righteous disciple. He silently looked at the marriage contract with a cold expression, asking, “How can I get you to annul this marriage?”“One hundred thousand spirit stones,” Jian Huan held up ten fingers, “as long as you pay one hundred thousand spirit stones, our marriage will be void.”Shen Jizhi fell into silence for a moment. “Is there nothing else you want me to do?”Jian Huan shook her head. “None.”Shen Jizhi asked sternly, “You will only accept this condition?”Without hesitation, Jian Huan replied, “Yes.”Shen Jizhi’s tone turned harsh. “Then there’s no annulment.”Jian Huan was confused. “?”Shen Jizhi looked at her and said, “I won’t annul the marriage. We can get married whenever you want.”He bid farewell. “I have other matters to attend to. Goodbye.”Jian Huan exclaimed, “???”

Jung Sunwoo was an average man. He had just taken his first job at W&U, a celebrity management company, as a manager. He could finally achieve his dream of being the manager of a world-famous actor or actress. On his way to work, he fell into what appeared to be a lucid dream about his future. As he went on with his day, he realized it may not have simply been a lucid dream.

Aurora Waters was overwhelmed with despair when she faced the truth about her family.She had been born into a family of villains.Even worse, her family had an unhealthy obsession with faking their identities.They took “Fake it till you make it” so seriously that it usually ended with them getting killed!Her oldest brother pretended to be a CEO just to mess with the female lead, but that backfired when the male lead showed up and threw him out.Her second brother? He was an obsessive lover who pretended to be a wealthy second-generation heir—until the real heir ended his life.Her third sister? She faked being an heiress to manipulate the second male lead but ended up being killed by him.Her fourth sister? She faked an illness to attract the third male lead’s attention, only to die from a real one.Her mother? She put on a facade of being a kind and loving mom but ultimately met her end at the hands of the male lead.Her father? He pretended to be a powerful tycoon but lost his job and was drowned by the second male lead.And Aurora? She planned to impersonate the daughter of the richest man alive, but if things went the way they always did in her family, she’d probably meet her end by accidentally falling down the stairs.However, there was one glimmer of hope in this nightmare: she had a 100% rebate system that rewarded her for spending money on her family![Beep! You bought an eraser worth 1 dollar for your eldest brother! 2 dollars have been credited to your bank account!][Beep! You bought a candy worth 1 dollar for your second brother! 2 dollars have been credited to your bank account!]Aurora’s eyes sparkled as an idea took shape. She began spending on her family like crazy to rake in cash.She even wished her family were greedier so she could earn more! Just as she was brainstorming new ways to splurge on her family, she unexpectedly ran into her childhood crush.[Beep! You gave a bun worth 20 dollars to your childhood crush! 100 dollars has been credited to your bank account!]Aurora: …! That’s walking money!