Zither Emperor - Volume 3 Chapter 18.1

As a wandering soul trapped in endless cycles of reincarnations, Claus must decide what to do in his current life.

She, has always refused to let go of her childhood pride.Initially, he forced her into submission in the harshest way possible, which made her despise him to the bone.At twenty, she abandoned her husband, followed a man she thought was worthy of her, only to end up being violently mistreated.Yet, it was he who raised her from the rain when she was at her most helpless moment.Fate brought her back to her eighteenth year, for a do-over. She emerged from her cocoon, when hate was replaced by regret, she shed her thorny exterior, but does she still have the right to pursue happiness?But why does he always remind her in the coldest voice, “He Zhilan, I don't want the He Family to raise an ungrateful wretch.”Or menacingly warn her, “He Zhilan, don't force me to take away your freedom!”

Lu Qingyan was once the perfect daughter—an obedient, soft-spoken high school girl known for her academic excellence and fragile health. But the one person she loved the most was her older brother—hentle, dazzling, and far too burdened for his age, he was her everything.. No one noticed his silent suffering… until it was too late. The day he took his own life, she shattered.Months later, while saving a child from an oncoming car, Lu Qingyan dies and awakens inside a familiar story: the school novel “A Thorn in the Crown”, one she read during her lowest days.But she’s no longer just a reader.She’s now Lu Qingyan, the infamous younger sister of Lu Mingxuan—the novel’s violent and cold-hearted villain feared across campus. A notorious delinquent, and ironically, the sworn enemy of her favorite character: Wang Jingyuan, the story’s tragic antagonist turned misunderstood villain.In the novel, Lu Qingyan is little more than cannon fodder—a delusional girl who idolizes her brother, gets caught in the crossfire between Lu Mingxuan and Wang Jingyuan, and ends up being dead.Determined to change the plot, she initially plans to curry favor with Wang Jingyuan—to save him from his doomed fate.But everything shifts the moment she lays eyes on Lu Mingxuan.He has her brother’s face.The same weary eyes.The same lonely back.The same silent cry for help no one else hears.And in that moment, Lu Qingyan’s plan shatters.This isn’t just a story anymore.So Lu Qingyan vowed to protect him this time, even if it means dragging her brother out of gang fights, squaring off against entitled rich kids, or defying the other villain himself—Wang Jingyuan, the school’s cold and brilliant golden boy... and Lu Mingxuan's sworn rival.In the original novel, Wang Jingyuan was one of the big villains—the cunning and miserable friend of the male lead. Now, he’s front and center... and watching her a little too closely....Lu Mingxuan always disliked his bootlicking sister, but one day he discovered that she had stopped following him around.Later, he unexpectedly found his sworn enemy, Wang Jingyuan, trapping his sister against the wall and between his arms. With an ambiguous and languid expression, he coaxed in a soft tone, “Just give up on that useless brother of yours. What Lu Mingxuan can give you, I can too.”Lu Qingyan: ???Wang Jingyuan, you dog!!That’s my sister!! Stop daydreaming!!

“You shall command… Legacy.”Charon thought he would grow up to be a hero, a savior, a shining light for all humans across the galaxy.But humanity is at war.Beset on all sides, their empire is standing only through the combined forces of technology and magic. Massive mechs were constructed, the fabled Colossus Machines, designed to defend the galaxy. The Mages were rallied, bringing forth elemental destruction.Yet it wasn't enough.Planets fell, their people enslaved to the enemies of mankind. Even the Colossus Machines, strong as they were, could not keep up.Charon was one of the orphans caught in the war effort, surviving through determination and courage, earning him the gaze of the God of Death.Gifted with a great and terrible power, the reviled element Soul, the dead around him suddenly become gateways into a realm thought lost to time. Through it, he can chain undead beasts to himself, forcing them to serve in his legions.He is sent into the River Acheron, the realm of the strongest undead, and is made to fight for his release. During this time, he attempts to uncover secret histories and advance his powers to master the undead.With these powers, he learns something new about magic and technology: He can fuse souls into the Colossus Machines, allowing the power of Death to run through their cores. They become warped, twisted machines of vengeance that earn malevolent abilities.They become strong enough to win a war.Magic and machine are mixed to create something more, something darker. An army fit for a master of magic, a general of legions, a conqueror of the stars...An Archon of Death.**WARNING**The story has a lot of nuance and subplots. If you like complex world-building and lore, you'll love this.He gets his power around chapter 5 or 6, and it then develops from there.DISCORD: https://discord.gg/BJ3DTumc29