MTL - Journey To the Heavens Starting From the Night - Chapter 23 dust settled

After years of exile, Marcus is coming back home. A powerful mage with few equals, Marcus lives in a world full of monsters and powerful adepts, many of which have bad histories with him. But he has not come back to pursue vengeance or start a fight. All Marcus wants to do is reconnect with old friends, build himself a house, and maybe train a successor or two.Alas, the world didn’t stop just because Marcus went into exile, and not everyone is content to let go of old grievances. Strange things are happening in the world at large, too, hinting at a looming disaster of unknown nature. Still, where there is a will, there is a way.If nothing else, Marcus has a lot of magical power to throw at problems.+++Zenith of Sorcery is set in its own original setting and isn’t related to Mother of Learning… beyond being written by the same person, of course. This is a more classical fantasy story than my previous one, with a lower level of technology and stuff like elves and dwarves, but it has a lot of worldbuilding effort put into it and its own complex magical system. The story has significant xianxia influences, but isn’t meant to be a xianxia story.For those of you not familiar with my previous work, I write relatively slowly. I intend to publish chapters at the rate of one chapter every three or four weeks, subject to further delays as life intervenes.

Seven billion humans living on the Earth time-traveled together after they had woken up one morning. They all heard a synthesized female voice.

“I’m no angel, baby girl. I’ll make you cry, curse, and scream every night once you’re mine. So think twice before you sign this goddamn contract.”+++Rivana Faye thought nothing could get worse than catching her husband and step-sister making out on their wedding anniversary, only to be shot dead the same day.Instead of the afterlife, Rivana woke up back in the past, on her wedding day, staring right into the eyes of the same bastard who had ruined her life. Fueled by vengeance, she planned to marry him and tear his world apart, just as he had done to her in her previous life.That is, until Azrael Dynar, her supposed husband’s older brother, stepped in with a shocking claim: that they were already married?!“Wifey, are you cheating on me with this tiny loser? Tch, you have poor taste,” Azrael drawled, flashing their marriage certificate to everyone's horror.Azrael was everything Rivana had heard in hushed whispers: cold, cunning, and irresistibly seductive. But to her, he was oddly caring and fiercely protective. He even vowed to destroy everyone who had hurt her as long as she continued to be his side, as his darling wife!And the deeper Rivana sank into Azrael’s world, the more her defenses crumbled, leaving her with nothing but growing desires for him. Little did she know, the man she was falling for was no guardian angel but a devil—one responsible for her death, and the very one who could destroy her all over again.---Excerpt:“You seem to have experience in seducing women, Mr. Dynar,” Rivana joked, licking her ice cream.Azrael smirked at her laugh, and the next moment, he pulled her chair closer, causing Rivana's heart to skip a beat. Before she could catch her breath, he suddenly captured her lips, tasting the sweet chocolate on her lips.Pulling back slightly, Azrael smiled, enjoying her reaction. Tracing her lower lip with his thumb, he declared, “You are the first woman I have ever tried to seduce, Rain. And you will also be the last.”

The scum’s or villain’s long road of transformation was tentatively set to the world:
The abandonment of the educated youth’s wife (Completed)
The hidden marriage of the scum film emperor (Completed)
The best brother in the world (Completed)
The Phoenix male who destroy the bridge after crossing the river (Completed)
The treasonous general (Completed)
I’m an honest man (Completed)
To become the top scorer in the School of Agriculture (Completed)
The soft rice man’s self-cultivation (Completed)
The whole world is reborn (Completed)
I want to survive on a desert island (Completed)
The stallion male who has seized the opportunity (Completed)
The perverted self-salvation (Completed)
The spring of the loafer (Completed)
The misplaced life (Completed)
The miser career (Completed)
The ghost is out of feeling (Completed)
The Queen’s favorite husband (Completed)
The vicious girl with her godfather (Completed)
I want to be a good person (Completed)
I does not tear up the family (Completed)
The perverted common plant (Completed)
The Mary Sue’s men (Completed)
Every time I was reborn, someone wants to kill me (Completed)
The old people’s counterattack path (Completed)
The global evolution (Completed)
When I became a net red (Completed)
For you, good person (Completed)
His heart had white moonlight (Completed)

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