A Sorcerer’s Journey - Chapter 9: So-Called Rules

In the third year of the Kaihuang era, as the Great Sui began to unfold between the fall of the Northern Dynasties and the rise of the glorious Tang Dynasty, Emperor Yang Jian created the House of Blades – an intelligence agency for strategies and conspiracies – in preparation to unify the world.

On a snowy night, a convoy of tribute from the Kingdom of Khotan was raided. Not one soul survived the attack. Feng Xiao, Second Commandant of the House of Blades, was ordered by the Emperor to investigate the matter in person.

On the distant border, a storm brewed as major forces gathered from all sides in Liugong Town. The strong rubbed shoulders with the strong; the skilled crossed paths with the skilled.

Here, the ever-successful Second Commandant Feng ran into a wall for the first time – all because of a feeble Taoist priest with ailing health.

Some things would never be known if no fights were ever picked. Only through their skirmishes did Feng Xiao realise that this sick bastard seemed to have way more aliases and personas than he himself ever did.

- Description from Novelupdates

Nine Characters, all bound to the whims of a 'Deranged Entity.'All the clues they have are the vast differences they have with those that bore them.His Madness has seeped into them, crowning them with Glory. They shall come to know the price of Sin & Virtue by Sacrilege & Madness:Krael _My Pride can overturn Creation, drowning it in the madness of an unwilling. And yet I have to offer servitude to one who will always be beneath me, in the twisted guise of learning Humility - If only she knew how I long to grind her bones, she would know to control her tongueBorn to Pride, servitude to Humility.:Kaelan_My Hunger can consume the very foundations of existence leaving behind an abyss born from my will. And yet I have to exercise temperance lest I lose meaning. Why do the gods mock me so...to give me all I can ever eat, and yet never to touch any satiate my growing hunger. I have seen the cruelty of the divineBorn to Gluttony, raised by Temperance:Zaen_My Envy stalks the might of existence, wishing for its grandeur to be mine. And yet, my envy is never allowed to fester for Kindness plagues me like a curse. Compassion that was never mine, empathy I could care less about, heavens know I would rather drown in my own spit than to share goodwillBorn of Envy, chained by Kindness:Xaelan_My Greed clouds the hearts of even gods, from the mortal coils to the vastness of the cosmos chaining the 'Old Ones to sin. I feel the sickening embrace of her love, and yet I can never have it, for whatever is mine, I must give. To know Charity—that bustard—is the punishment I was accordedBorn in Greed, defiled by Charity: ...My Wrath burns the Heavens and fuels the pits of hell, bringing the end to all, as I ride my mount to Herald the storm. -Oops, this is not my stage. Sorry, but worry not my progeny will carry the mantle on my behalf. As they unleash the wrath stocked in their blood. But soon they will learn just how deep my Lord intends to go and that only Patience is the key to his games...hahaha...poor children, if only I could march alongside you in misery.Born to Wrath, burial by Patience:Thaen_My Sloth... uhm mm... well, I am too exhausted to think of a monologue.But Yah, blah blah...something Diligence... All I know is that I am more hard working than all of them combined... that 'guy was truly not fair when dishing them out_Born to Sloth, death by Diligence:Laen_My Lust fuels the passion of Creation, all beings lost in the throes of my splendor, indulging in desires so dark, and yet I am the purest of them all, abstinence is second nature. I weep for desires unfulfilled and yet Chastity that horrendous bi*** mocks me with laughter. Yet it seems only I suffer this cruelty; others are free in indulgence only I am a slave to virtue_Born in the flames of Lust, sustained by Chastity:Haelan_My Hatred runs so deep that the abyss is flooded; the rivers of the underworld are mere streams to my Hatred. I hold nothing but hate in my heart and yet 'he wishes I hold onto compassion. In 'his twisted form of madness, 'he has left me with no other choice. I shall let 'it fester until the day I make 'him pay_Born in the depths of Hate, Compassion my Love and my Death:Raelin_My Despair has seeped into the cracks of existence, corrupting the Light' of the 'Creator. All I feel is the despair and sorrow of all those born and chained in the embrace of 'the sisters' misery.'Unlike them, I search for her, elusive like the wind. I despair for the sight of her, and yet she will always elude me, shunning my pleas_Born in Despair, mourning for Hope...I feel the twisted love 'he holds for us all and yet they do not see it, blinded by Sin and Virtue:>Long but necessary:) what is the story about? Simply it's about the interplay of Sin and Virtue with a hint of Madness and Malevolence. Complicatedly, what makes sense may not actually make sense.

Han Yang never thought he would one day sell himself into a marriage with another man. He believed his life would be mundane but that man, named HeLian Qing, broke his pre-planned life. Parental debt, a child’s compensation, he had no chance whatsoever to resist, he has no ability to resist.

Ling Ran, a med school senior, begins to see the world like a game UI. He uses it to pave his way towards graduation, a residency, becoming the greatest doctor in the world… And finally getting a Transformer from his newbie packs? Maybe. We don’t know yet.