Academic gathering with a lich - Chapter 881 - 818: In Dire Straits

Far in the eastern corner of the world lies a city covered in chaos, Aetherpolis. A city that is far more different than any other, a ruin where law and order are mere fantasies. This place isn’t governed by the government nor military powers. This city….. belongs to the gangs.And at the top of the food chain stand those with terrifying strength. The Awakened Users.These are individuals who have unlocked their Drive Core, a latent force within every human that responds not just to strength or talent, but to pain, trauma, and intense emotions. Only by facing these can the Drive Core bloom.Into this brutal world steps Ren Asakura, a quiet teenage swordsman with his Tempest Drive. On a quest to find his lost brother, he joins the well known gang ZEAL, determined to dismantle the corrupt and violent gangs that rule Aetherpolis.But every turf war brings him closer to a chilling realization, the true enemy has yet to reveal themselves, and the battle for the soul of the city is only just beginning.In a world where power is earned through suffering and only the ruthless survive…You either DRIVE forward or you BREAK.

Wang Xiao was compelled to descend from the mountain by his master, with his intrinsic energy cloistered, and a lovely woman erroneously believing him to be her betrothed. In a bid to safeguard his mistakenly assigned fiancée, he resolved to remain in the school teeming with enchanting beauties. With the same intent to defend his intended, he managed to transform the currents of power within the city.

Humbra bleeds, devastated by an unrelenting race for survival against the Leirions—powerful monsters intoxicated by their bloodlust. Amidst this chaos, a young orphan, haunted by his brutal past, discovers he is the catalyst to a greater future—a future far darker than he could ever imagine.This is Leonard, a boy whose destiny entwines with ancient secrets, betrayals beyond reckoning, and a world-shattering rage.Humanity already struggles on the edge of the abyss. The light of hope has long been extinguished, ushering in the darkness and heralding echoes of lament... But from this despair, a new hope flickers: the Neumonds, wielders of powers that transcend life and death. Are they saviors... or harbingers of a final, devastating curse?Will Leonard save them all... or will his desire for vengeance end in a valiant death?

Angel Johnson was a waitress struggling to make ends meet when an unexpected contract with Tryson Bliss, one of City Y's most powerful and ruthless billionaires, changed everything.Tryson needed a fiancée to appease his demanding family, and Angel, desperate for money and a way out of her humdrum life, agreed to play the part.What began as a calculated arrangement soon evolved into something neither of them expected—an intense and forbidden connection.But when Tryson's family uncovers Angel's true motives, they cast her out with venomous disdain.Humiliated and heartbroken, Angel's last hope is confronting Tryson. But instead of an apology or a chance at redemption, she finds herself shattered when he declares that he has chosen his first love, Riley, the woman he was preparing to marry.Devastated and with only her pride left, Angel walks away, determined to rebuild her life alone.Two months later, Angel is lost in the pulse of the music at a dark, crowded bar, seeking refuge in anonymity.A hand seizes her from behind, and her breath catches as she turns to face the man she can't forget—Tryson.His eyes, once cold and calculating, are now stormy with raw emotion, and he pulls her into his orbit, holding out the contract she once signed. “We haven't finished our work, Angel. The contract says you have a year left to be my fiancée. Don't tell me you're planning on breaching it now.”With no choice but to comply, Angel moves back into the house that once rejected her.But to her surprise, the family she once loathed now welcomes her with unexpected warmth and kindness.As she navigates this unsettling shift, Angel is left to wonder—what has changed, and why?What secrets do they hide that could alter everything she thought she knew about Tryson and his family?And as Angel's heart begins to thaw, she's confronted with the hardest question of all: Can she keep the secrets she's hidden from Tryson?And will Tryson fight for her love a second time, despite everything that has come between them?