Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king - Chapter 123: Sloppy job

Xiang Yu was perfectly content with his mediocre life on Earth—average job, average apartment, average everything. That is, until he woke up in the legendary World of Cultivation, where martial artists fly through the skies and immortals battle over ancient treasures.There's just one problem: Xiang Yu wants absolutely NONE of that action.Armed with only his wits and a peculiar system that doubles his exp every 24 hours, Xiang Yu has one goal: become powerful enough to live in peace without getting involved in those ridiculous “protagonist” situations. No ancient tombs. No tournament arcs. And for heaven's sake, stay FAR away from anyone named Chen Mo, Lin Feng, or Li Yao—those names practically scream “main character who will drag me into deadly situations!”Starting with strength stats so pathetic he can barely lift a cultivation manual, Xiang Yu must somehow survive long enough for his exponential growth to matter. After all, doubling zero cultivation talent still equals zero... at first.Follow Xiang Yu on his hilarious journey from zero to hero as he desperately tries to stay invisible while his power skyrockets beyond control! Watch as he dodges cultivation tournaments, avoids suspicious elders bearing gifts, and runs the other way whenever someone mentions “ancient inheritance” or “chosen one.”Join the adventure of the most reluctant cultivator in history whose only wish is peace and quiet, but whose exponential growth makes him the most terrifying force this cultivation world has ever seen!

I, a mere con artist, was unjustly imprisoned in Tantalus, the Abyssal Prison meant for the most nefarious of criminals, where I met a regressor.

But when I used my ability to read her mind, I found out that I was fated to die in a year…

and that the world would end 10 years later.

What is a genius? Capable of comprehending any battle skill regardless of the skill itself and sweeping away the bottlenecks while cultivating a new technique; this is a true genius! He Yiming was originally an ordinary youngster in the He family’s estate with not too extraordinary aptitude in learning martial arts.

However, after a fortuitous encounter, this ordinary youngster became what people refer to as genius in a single leap. Possessing an aptitude for learning martial arts which would leave people in awe, regardless of whether it’s his clan’s Houtian Scripture of Five Phases or various Xiantian scriptures of legends. Regardless of whether it’s mental techniques or battle skills, he can comprehend them all in their entirety at a frightening speed. Martial God, with martial as its name, using the most simple and direct approach, thrives!

- Description from Novelupdates

❗[Current Writing Contest-WebNovel Spirity Awards 2025 Fantas]❗Flain grew up in a futuristic world. When he was born his parents didn't want him because he didn't live up to their expectations and so he ended up very badly.Flain was employed as a slave. He was forced to mine radioactive iron deep in the mines. It was drilled into his head that he existed only to obey orders.Young Flain was obedient. He doubted some of it but knew nothing else. For years, he never saw a single ray of light; light was only spoken of among the others as a legend.The routine was the same: in the morning, he would take a nutrient tablet and water. Then he would mine all day, sleep eight hours, and repeat.Flain worked like this from childhood until he was ten years old. He even found a friend, but that friend died of radiation poisoning right in front of Flain. Flain couldn't stop mining. He kept mining with tears streaming down his face.Before bed, Flain cried. “I will become the strongest. I will kill you all, and you will become my slaves.”Flain stopped crying, stared blankly at the rocky ceiling, then looked ahead. A manic grin appeared on his face, one that would often adorn it from that moment on.At the age of ten, Flain was assigned to a military camp due to his endurance in the mines and his survival against radiation.In the camp, Flain was trained. The regime was much looser; he even had an hour of free time each day. However, Flain didn't make any more friends. Even during his free time, he trained with a smile. He would achieve his goal at any cost, even if it meant training himself to death.Experiments were conducted on Flain. He lost his hair, two long gray arms grew on his back, and a third red eye appeared. Flain became a mutant.Flain was then sent to war. He fought with sharp katabas. He performed quite well in the war, earning himself command of ten soldiers and becoming a small commander.But one day, everything changed.Flain then dies, is swallowed by darkness, and Flain refuses to die, thus appearing as a skeleton in a fantasy world.