【Simulation Year Five, Age 22】
【Aeoca Kingdom, White Raven Tower, Summer】
【Two years had passed since leaving Clawphire. Thanks to your exceptional talent and considerable resources, you had gained some renown within the wizard towers.】
【The White Raven Tower extended an invitation to you】
【Offering you a position as an official member of the tower】
【You declined the invitation. The current tower master expressed regret, assuring you that the tower’s doors would always remain open should you change your mind.】
【Meditating on the soul, purging the undead, refining spell formulas】
【Your life was monotonous and austere, akin to the asceticism of legendary devotees—unyielding in discipline, unmoved by frivolity.】
【Some attempted to court your favor, even sending you fair-faced elves as gifts】
【You shuddered inexplicably five times, sensing an eerie chill creeping up your spine, as if fate itself had taken notice】
【You rejected their overtures, declaring your sole focus on cultivation, unwilling to be distracted by worldly pleasures】
【Ten days later, you heard strange news】
【The wizard who had sent you the elves had recently suffered a streak of misfortune—first besieged by high-tier undead, then hunted by draconic beings】
【You expressed sympathy for his plight】
……
【Simulation Year Five, Summer Fades into Autumn】
【Due to the erosion of the Netherworld, the changing of seasons in the wizarding realm was subtle, yet you could still perceive the desolate shift in the environment】
【Gazing out the window, you felt the surging tides of your soul, nearly impossible to restrain】
【You were ready to break through to Second-Circle Wizard】
White Raven Tower.
Knights stood with metallic lances in hand, bearing the proud banners of the White Raven—azure backgrounds adorned with white ravens in mid-dive.
The black sun’s radiance was veiled by deathly clouds.
On the streets, the figures of passersby flickered like phantoms, fragmented and elusive, swallowed by the silence.
Occasionally, the silhouettes of other races appeared.
Elven archers, orcish sword saints, dwarven warriors—among others.
These professions, much like human knights, shared a common core with wizards: the harnessing of soul energy.
Yet their methods were far less efficient.
Those lacking the talent to become wizards could only merge combat techniques into alternative forms of supernatural prowess.
"Life always finds a way."
"Wizards have their methods, and non-wizards have theirs."
"By my reckoning, next year marks the decade’s resurgence of the Dark Tide, when the undead will multiply exponentially."
"With a Fourth-Circle Wizard Tower standing guard, the Aeoca Kingdom need not fear for its safety."
"As for Servia..."
"Her remote location sees fewer undead. With her swordsmanship and enhanced strength, she should be safe."
Within the training chamber.
Xu Xi’s soul energy rippled outward as he observed the world beyond, contemplating his next steps.
Dimming the lights, he activated the shielding runes.
He was preparing to ascend to Second-Circle Wizard.
"The soul—a bridge between life and death." Xu Xi sat in meditation, a faint yet shimmering luminescence coalescing in his palm.
It was light. It was fire.
His soul, having reached the peak of the First-Circle, blazed with unrestrained intensity, radiating overwhelming power.
"Now, the final step—materializing the soul’s essence."
Xu Xi extinguished the soulfire.
Closing his eyes, he immersed himself in meditation.
Through the lens of a wizard’s perception, he peered into the deepest recesses of his being, where his intangible soul resided.
Xu Xi’s soul was already inscribed with dense networks of spell formulas—each representing a mastered 0th-Circle or 1st-Circle spell.
These patterns served as conduits for channeling soul energy, enabling the casting of corresponding spells.
They also functioned as regulators, allowing him to fine-tune his soul’s structure.
"These past years, studying the White Raven Tower’s knowledge cost me time. Otherwise, with the Soul Harvester’s unique traits, I should have broken through sooner."
"Now, it’s time to reap the rewards."
The spell formulas resonated in unison.
Their collective vibrations crescendoed.
Xu Xi’s will encased his soul like an impenetrable prison, subjecting it to a comprehensive transformation.
The truths of the world he had grasped.
The first innate spell he had engraved.
Under an unending torrent of infusion, his soul finally reached its zenith, catalyzing the melting and evolution of every spell formula.
"Second-Circle Wizard—achieved in an instant."
At this moment.
Xu Xi’s soul seemed to leap free from his body, from the White Raven Tower itself, standing amidst the boundless expanse of the world, witnessing realities previously unseen.
Such as the infinite shadow of the Netherworld, stretching across the skies.
An immeasurable, layered domain ruled by deathless monarchs—the land of finality.
It wasn’t that a Second-Circle Wizard could now perceive the world.
Rather, the world had drawn so near that even a Second-Circle Wizard could glimpse it effortlessly.
Whoosh—
A fierce wind surged.
Guiding his soul back into his body.
"‘Materializing the soul’—such a crude explanation. It literally detached from my body." Within the training chamber, Xu Xi slowly opened his eyes.
His soul pulsed. His consciousness expanded.
The innate spell he had engraved upon becoming a First-Circle Wizard had also undergone a wondrous evolution.
1st-Circle Spell · Life Decay.
Now evolved into: 2nd-Circle Spell · Life Withering.
At first glance, this spell seemed tailored for the living, yet it held equal potency against the dead.
"Stripping vitality, corroding souls."
"Strange—why does this feel like a villain’s power?"
"But... paired with the ‘Life-Death Paradox’ trait, this innate spell seems perfect for delving into the mysteries of life and death."
Xu Xi raised his hand, unleashing an invisible force that rippled outward, stirring violent gusts.
Some of the experimental materials nearby.
Upon contact, withered like dying flowers, shriveling into desiccated husks.
Next.
Xu Xi tested other spells.
Elemental spells, universal spells, transmutation spells, curse spells...
Though he still wielded the same 1st-Circle spells, their potency had markedly increased under the enhanced soul of a Second-Circle Wizard.
Some even showed signs of spontaneous mutation.
"So this is how it feels..."
"Beyond the amplification of supernatural power."
"With each breakthrough in the wizard’s path, the soul naturally comprehends new truths, unveiling fresh knowledge."
Xu Xi marveled, realizing that what had once been inscrutable now lay bare before him.
It was exhilarating. Liberating.
No wonder some wizards had called for the Netherworld’s descent, seeking the key to further ascension.
"Now that I’ve reached Second-Circle, once I master a sufficient array of 2nd-Circle spells and match my realm’s combat prowess, I can leave the White Raven Tower."
Xu Xi rose and exited the training chamber.
On his way back to his quarters, he glanced at the gloomy sky outside—the black sun hung high, its light tainted.
All things were shrouded in despairing darkness.
"Second-Circle Wizard is the White Raven Tower’s limit."
"It can’t provide the resources for advancing to Third-Circle, nor the ideal conditions for soul research. It’s time to move forward..."
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
