MTL - Ancient One - Chapter 185 Lead

Some crowns are forged in blood. Others are drowned beneath it.In a city strangled by smoke and silence, where children are shackled to machines and shadows rule behind gilded masks, Keiran is just another forgotten soul—until the mark appears.Buried beneath the factory’s foundations lies a world long erased from history. Ancient oaths whisper through stone and water, and something older than memory begins to stir. As Keiran is drawn deeper into the abyss, he uncovers a legacy not meant for mortal hands—a crown shattered in defiance, a flood sealed by sacrifice, and a power that demands a price.Hunted by tyrants, haunted by echoes, and bound to secrets he never asked for, Keiran must choose: drown in the tide of what came before, or rise against the current and reclaim what the world was forced to forget.But the deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels…And beneath it all, something still breathes.

After the final high school exams, Zheng Qing didn't go to the long-desired Imperial University. Instead, he packed his bags, hugged his fox, followed an enigmatic notice, and ventured into an unknown university.Here, there was no advanced math, English, or political philosophy; they were replaced with divination, astronomy, and the philosophy of magic.Extracurriculars here involved demon hunting,And the hobbies were curious and diverse.He would sail the sea of learning and climb the mountain of books.This bewildered young man started his tumultuous journey as a wizard.(Group created: Six Two Three Eight Five Eight Nine Three One, you're welcome to join.)

Within the dream of the dreamer, the one who was dreamed of awoke.

… Borges

“I exist in the sunlight, the wind, between the heavens and the earth, and also in dreams.”

One night, Yu Hao, a college student who was at his wits’ end had an unexpected encounter with a mysterious visitor – “General” – who had dream travelled. He led Yu Hao in solving the countless riddles that abounded in the realm of the conscious, and lit up the fire beacons on the meandering Great Wall.

Thereafter, the darkness retreated, the sun rose, and when the long night was thoroughly lit up, the him who existed in reality was reborn.

The black dragon that roared, the lighthouse and demonic eye on the coastline, the rain forest before Chichén Itzá, the fierce beasts that wreaked havoc in the Colosseum…the bizarre projection of reality in one’s consciousness reflected the hidden place that the sunlight in reality couldn’t touch – the innumerable sins of the human heart.

The journey of seizing dreams continues, and one can only hope that the sun will continue illuminating the human heart.

…

Fire beacons on the Great Wall were lit up to signal a border invasion.

- Description from Novelupdates

“Jiang Fan, I regret it!”When Xu Yining realized that the useless fiancé she would rather die than marry had taken her sister as his wife and transformed her into a powerful empress, she was filled with regret.If she could do it all over again, she definitely wouldn't have petulantly let her sister marry in her stead!