Short, Light, Free - Chapter 19: Longevity I

They took his name, stole his life, and fed on his pain. But they made one mistake—they let him live.Betrayed by his own blood and sold into slavery, Prince Oliver Von Rich lost everything—his title, his freedom, and his future. For years, his captors in the Somaran Empire bled him dry, using his Royal bloodline as fuel for their Aether.But when they sought King Solomon’s Staff—a relic said to grant any wish—Oliver rebelled. Left beaten and dying, his blood soaked the ancient artifact… and awakened it.Dragged back in time to the eve of his kingdom’s fall, Oliver is no longer a helpless prince. With the scars of his past and knowledge of what’s to come, he’ll rewrite fate—even if it means becoming a monster.To destroy the empire that broke him, Oliver must embrace the cursed power of the most vile demon known to man.

“Before the towers fell, before everything was consumed by darkness...”Leo Astralis whispered to himself while traversing through the rubble of the ancient structure.His body bore the scars of survival, bite marks that throbbed against the coarse, blood-stiffened fabric of his clothing.“..I wonder what the world was like.”After humanity failed to complete the Tower almost 700 years ago in time, it exploded, spreading monsters all over the word.Even the system, which blessed humans with power, had abandoned them. Or did it?[Run]A singular message urged Leo to escape, yet it was short lived as was he was caught like an animal in a trap.And just like an animal he lashed out until the very end, taking one of the captors to the grave with him.But as darkness closed in, the system spoke again.[One time Regression activated][Congratulations. You've activated the Heart of the System]

Ling Xue traveled through the fantasy world and became the villain.At the beginning of the story, he gained an extraordinary ability linked to the consciousness of the number one heroine.The stronger the heroine imagines him to be (only on the surface), the stronger he becomes (In Reality).The heroine perceived Ling Xue as an enduring force, an invincible golden spear. She believed that Ling Xue has reached the pinnacle of cultivation and can achieve the highest realm.…So far, Ling Xue has only pretended to be imposing, leaving the rest to the heroine’s imagination…

Dual Cultivation is an art. The more you focus on doing the art, the worse it becomes. Only when doing it becomes part of the art itself, does one truly experience it to its fullest.