SSS Rank Sword Mage: Awakening Starts with Weakest Mana Affinity - Chapter 72: Tavern 1

Li Guanqi was only six when he killed his abusive uncle to save his mother. Moved by the tragedies that had befallen the tiny child, an old man named Su Xuan adopted Li Guanqi. Eight years later, he left the village and told Li Guanqi to join the Daxia Sword Sect — while it may not be the richest sect, it was virtuous. Then, he gave Li Guanqi a sword coffin and made him promise 2 things: that he would always carry it on his back, and to only tell people it was an ordinary sword box.Will he be able to uncover the mysteries of his sword coffin? Why was there a spirit trapped inside it? Who exactly was his grandfather?His sister was worked to death, his mother was seriously ill, and his gambling-addicted uncle even set his sights on the money meant for his sister’s funeral. Li Guanqi, wielding a knife, killed the man, until he encountered an old man named Su Xuan. Eight years later, the youth had become a swordbearer. Behind him was not a scabbard, but a sword coffin, the coffin for burying swords! From then on, this youth with ambitions as vast as the skies stepped into the blood-soaked world of cultivation!

BOOK TWO OF THE HAMILTON SERIESWARNING: A Regency Era novel. Adult content with detailed smut…Read at you own risk⚠️⛔️Genre: Historical Romance / Smut / Enemies-to-Lovers / Mystery / Comedy[Book Two of the Hamilton Series. Can be read as a standalone, but better enjoyed after Lady Ines’ Scandalous Hobby.]To the world, Duke Rowan Hamilton is the perfect gentleman. But in the bedroom, he is a man possessed.Rowan Hamilton has it all: a Ducal title, the face of a fallen angel, and a smile that makes debutantes faint. He is the “Golden Duke”—charming, responsible, and utterly adored by society.But it’s all a lie.Beneath the coats and polite manners, Rowan is a man haunted by a ghost. For three years, he has remained faithful to the memory of a masked woman who stole a kiss, bested him at a game of chance, and vanished into the night. He doesn't want any one as his wife; he wants her.When his domineering aunt tires of his bachelorhood, she hires London’s most notorious underground matchmaker to force the issue.Enter Miss Delaney Kingsley.She is sharp-tongued, infuriatingly competent, and entirely unimpressed by his title. Her mission? To drag Rowan to the altar with the season’s “Diamond,” Lady Celine, within three months to collect the juicy payment Rowan’s aunt had to offer.Rowan intends to fire the meddlesome woman. But when Delaney looks at him with those hazel, intelligent eyes and orders him around like a young lad, he feels the first spark of life he’s felt in years.He decides to play her game. He will let her “coach” him on how to woo a lady. He will let her teach him how to dance, how to flirt, and how to seduce.But he has no intention of using those lessons on Lady Celine.“You were hired to find me a Duchess, Miss Kingsley. But the only person I want in my duchy and in my bed... is you.”As the lessons turn into forbidden nights and the bickering turns into scorching passion, Rowan begins to suspect that his matchmaker is hiding a secret of her own.She moves like a shadow, handles a rifle like a soldier, and tastes exactly like the ghost he’s been hunting for three years.What to Expect:* The Golden Retriever Duke: Who turns into a possessive Alpha behind closed doors.* The Matchmaker Trope: She’s trying to marry him off; he’s trying to take her clothes off.* High Heat: Slow burn that explodes into intense smut.* Competence Kink: He falls harder every time she bosses him around.* Cameos: Featuring the chaotic domestic life of Duchess Ines and Duke Carcel (and their baby Harry!).Excerpt:“Your Grace, please focus,” Delaney snapped, adjusting his cravat with efficient, gloved hands. “Lady Celine is waiting in the ballroom. You must look at her as if she is the only woman in the world.”Rowan caught her wrist, stopping her movements. He stepped into her space, backing her against the heavy oak door of the study, his “Golden Boy” mask slipping to reveal the hunger beneath.“And how, exactly, does one do that, Miss Kingsley?” he whispered, his voice rough. “Show me.”“I—I cannot show you, I am merely the coach—”“Then teach me,” he growled, lowering his head until his lips brushed the sensitive skin of her neck. “Teach me how to pretend I am not burning alive every time you walk into a room.”

By the year 3029 CE, Earth’s technology has developed rapidly, borders no longer exist, and Earth has been unified, marking the beginning of the era of the Federation.

At that time, a huge sword flew from the heavens, piercing the sun and causing a huge sensation on Earth.

Perhaps because the scabbard of the sword was already in tatters, countless shards have broken off from it following the collision with the sun and spread across the universe. Many of these shards have landed on various places across Earth.

With the arrival of the bronze sword and its shards, a new unlimited energy source has suddenly appeared on Earth. This energy source has since been named Spirit Qi.

Spirit Qi is like air, thick in some places and thin in others. As the Federation and other factions gather more shards, they discover more information on cultivation, pill refinement, Spirit Stone refinement, and other techniques. The words on the shards have an ancient feel to them, making it a trend for people to use ancient language.

The appearance of Spirit Qi rapidly makes the original energy sources obsolete and has completely changed people’s lives. Not only has the Spirit Internet been formed, Spirit Qi has also changed the course of Human Civilization, causing the world to enter a civilization of cultivation. This would later come to be known as the Spirit Inception Era.

- Description from Novelupdates

In every story, there exists the hero and the villain, the protagonist and the antagonist.And like every story, the hero always wins, and always gets the girl.But what happens now that I died and became a villain in the last book I read? Not even a proper villain, but one that the protagonist kills in the early chapters.I don't want to die again, and I don't want that simp of a protagonist to walk all over me. Maybe I should just become a better villain.I've always admired the smart badass villains that took on the protagonist. Maybe I can be one of them, maybe I can win—the first villain to win against the hero.I'll rewrite this story into one where I become the greatest villain. Call me sick or evil, but it's my time to shine.