Hellmode ~A Hardcore Gamer Becomes Peerless in Another World with Retro Game Settings~ - Chapter 604: Giran’s 2nd trial, negotiations

This is the story of a poor young man whose poverty even shreds apart their family willing to climb his way through society and into the top

He is very cold and passionate, Mu Yanwang, who means what he says. He has always regarded women as dirt but she, he has only spoiled her.

At first, he said with overbearing arrogance – “Even you are mine.” Afterwards, he gradually fell for the enemy – “Mine is yours.” Finally, he surrendered obediently, – “Ning Xiaofei, I’m also yours.”

Ning Xiaofei, his little wife. He just wants to put her in the palms of his hand, to love.

- Description from Novelupdates

In the world of cultivation, countless tales follow righteous protagonists, fated heroes blessed by destiny, or those chosen by heaven to walk the path of immortality.But what of those who stand in their way?What of the villains? The so-called obstacles to the hero’s journey—do they not bleed, dream, and struggle as well?Xiao Ning was never meant to succeed.From the very beginning, the Grand Dao wove him as a stepping stone—a necessary sacrifice to elevate another. His path, like that of all designated ‘villains,’ was doomed to failure by design.But what happens when that design is defied?After death, Xiao Ning awakens—not in the cycle of reincarnation, but in the cold silence beyond it. There, he is offered the Eternal Paradox Codex—a forbidden artifact containing the hidden truths of the Grand Dao System itself.Rules. Loopholes. Vulnerabilities.Knowledge not meant for those like him.With this power, Xiao Ning is granted a single, impossible choice: accept oblivion, or step outside the Grand Dao entirely—to abandon fate, sever karma, and cultivate a path unbound by heaven or law.It is Xiao Ning’s journey, from ashes to something beyond comprehension.Not to become an Immortal among men.But something even the heavens dare not bind.If fate is a chain…Then let him forge his own path in the void beyond.Welcome to this humble tale.The cultivation world is vast and unkind.Let us begin again—on our terms.

Logan Mercer, an orphan barely surviving on his own, awakened the Spending System as a child.But as a broke teenager struggling to even pay his rent, how could he possibly use it?Bullied by his classmates and cast aside by society, Logan’s life changed the day he was suddenly surrounded by men in black suits.“Your father has been missing for over a year. As per his will, you are to inherit all his assets,” they said.To his shock, Logan learns that he was the sole heir of the Mercer family fortune — and with it came control of major businesses, unimaginable wealth... and the constant threat of his father’s competitors.“System, redeem one billion dollars,” Logan said.[Redeeming One Billion USD...][Congratulations! Your E-rank fire affinity has evolved into SSS-rank Phoenix Flame Affinity!]Now blessed with talent and wealth, all that's left is training relentlessly, growing his core, and unlocking even more different affinities within it.Follow along as Logan uses wealth and determination to rewrite his fate and grow stronger than anyone ever imagined.