The Retired Young Mercenary Is Secretly a Billionaire - Chapter 21: The man with authority!

Liu Duo was a young girl whose grandmother sold her to four brothers with the intent to be a bride. Unwilling, she ran away the following night, only to fall unconscious while trying to get away. Unexpectedly, however, she was reborn with the spirit of a 25 year old woman, also named Liu Duo.

- Description from Novelupdates

[You Have Been Chosen.]When the apocalypse started, everything fell apart. I lost my job before they pushed me out into the street. Facing the undead, I became desperate and ran like a coward.Until I heard a voice...At first I couldn't believe the voice, thinking I might be insane and finally lost it... But as I was about to die, I saw a strange game-like panel appear in real life![The Throne System has activated.]This strange system let me gain points by killing zombies and the ability to recruit people as subjects who wouldn't betray me like my previous co-workers.My first subject?Mu Qinglan.The ruthless Ice Queen CEO I once called “Boss.”Cold, untouchable... and now infected.As her bloodthirsty jaws closed around my neck, I barely saved her with the system’s makeshift cure.[Recruitment Available.][Subject: Mu Qinglan (S-Tier)][Press to Confirm.]A glowing button floated before me.I hesitated.Then, slowly, I reached out.[Recruitment Complete.]▼ Mu Qinglan's attributes are now visible.+ 100 Experience.+ Leadership: Level 1+ Random Skill from Mu Qinglan[Rank Up!]▼ Rank: Loser → Partner+ Attributes Increased | Subject Cap: 2Every subject I command strengthens me.Every kill feeds my dominion.In this world of death and chaos...I will build an empire of S-Tier Beauties and ascend as the Apocalypse King.

This hilarious fantasy story mixes mythological figures, cosmic entities, and a wolf babysitter with just too much contracts on his hands.It revolves around a Monstrous—though, gullible—wolf, reduced to a babysitter and a magnet for bad contracts.Ruben—formerly Ravenswood—is a classic “grumpy but good-hearted” reluctant hero. He is powerful and fearsome, but his terrible decision-making and misfortune always puts him in some kind of inconvenient pact.He got captured by a Human, who later tricked him into a lifelong contract of protecting his daughter, Alicia—whose identity is shrouded in mystery—who also turned out to be a psychotic Yandere!In an attempt to flee the suddenly-catastrophic Gihon—which is earth—with the Human’s daughter, Ruben was obstructed by Pluto, who also tricked him into an absurd pact to slay THE Cthulhu, as the ticket to let him through the other world.Ruben urgently sought to escape Gihon, so he unwisely agreed, only to recall who the all-powerful Cthulhu was. It was too late, though.Successfully crossing worlds to Pison—another type of earth—our Fenrir was met with the “Queen of the coast,” also known as Leviathan—a severe pervert.She attacked and defeated him, but when he woke up, she had apparently made a Master-servant pact with him, in his sleep.As they traveled seeking human cities in Pison, our misfortunate wolfie encountered a godman; Jobina, the daughter of Job, the second of the seven mortal powers.Jobina—a masochist with a vendetta against Leviathan, and a tendency to turn everything into a competition—attacked him for being associated with the evil Leviathan, only to be soundly defeated.Shocked by reality, Jobina protested that she also wanted a pact with Ruben, so he’ll coach her to be powerful. And when the time is right, she’ll slay Leviathan!Our easy-to-fool protagonist, and his terrible life choices, agreed, recruiting yet another troublemaker he’d have to babysit.He only wants an easy going life without problems and crisis!The story has a larger plot, where Ruben—and his babies—constantly, “accidentally,” ruin Sarvest—the antagonist—plans.Sarvest is used to dealing with gods and cosmic entities, not an unworthy—yet effective—opponent in a bubbling wolf-turned-human.Ruben later meets what we would call God—a dumb teenager who only cares about entertainment—who also duped Ruben, using his kind-heartedness, into some kind of horrible pact.“The Silent Pact of a Wolf Babysitter” is a story filled with laughs, chaos, and unexpected twists. It follows Ruben’s misadventures as he navigates a world of cosmic powers, absurd pacts, and the challenges of babysitting a group of eccentric and overpowered individuals. With a larger plot involving Satanas’s grand schemes and Ruben’s accidental heroism, this tale promises both humor and a compelling narrative.

The world is a sea of bitterness.

The mortal swims in the sea.

The body is the vessel.

The soul is the mortal on the vessel.

The vessel carries the mortal as it sails endlessly towards the other side of the sea.

Does cultivating the body strengthen the vessel enough to reach the other side of this sea of misery?

Or does cultivating the soul give the mortal on the vessel the ability to master swimming?

Cultivating according to the martial path allows one to become an Earthly Immortal.

Cultivating according to the immortal path allows one to become a Divine Immortal.

Which path should be chosen?

- Description from Novelupdates