Supreme Emptiness - Chapter 953: The Buddha’s Trial

Can't a man maintain his dignity while preparing for the end of the world? Is that too much to ask?

The Tower was all I knew... all any of us knew, and just like that, it was gone. Monsters the likes of which I'd never seen ravaged the land of my ancestors. They burst through the outer walls and stormed the city. No one could have been ready for that. But now... Now I have a second chance.

After the collapse of the known world, I woke up to find myself on the First Floor of the Tower. I was young and healthy, 18 again, and sitting in the same classroom that marked the worst days of my life. Confused and excited, I accepted this gift, deciding to use my vast knowledge of the future to climb the Tower in preparation for the end of the world.

Maybe I'll help some folks along the way? Who knows. Survival comes first.

The clock is ticking, and I'm left with only a century to build a Deck powerful enough to survive the end. Things to do... What's first? I need Essence, and I need power. I'll have to climb the Tower to acquire both of these. Some of the zealots will try to stop me, need to look out for those. What if-

“Hey, kid! Hand over the pouch or-”

Stab

Sorry, where was I? Ah... there's a spot of blood on my suit. What a lousy morning.

In this world of blood and fantasy, century-old Rowan Wilder has to not only survive, but thrive as he powers his way to the top of the Tower. The Demonic Plague that has twisted the creatures on the upper Floors is the least of his worries. Cane in hand and Summons by his side, he'll have to tear his way through the monsters, as well as the humans who want to stop his ascent. Of course, he can maintain a sense of decorum while he faces these trials, right?

When Zhou Shu woke up, he learned that he had become a Forging Apprentice at a workshop in the Forging Division of the Great Xia empire.

Chu Ning transmigrated into a novel as a fake young lady who was switched at birth. The real young lady, Ye Ting, was supposedly in Chu Ning’s original poor family, and was forced to drop out of school to work and raise Chu Ning’s seven brothers. In the original story, once the real young lady was reclaimed by the Ye family, the fake young lady’s life fell apart. She started going against the real young lady without knowing that the real young lady was the female lead. The latter even had seven brothers to support her, and she eventually made a comeback with her overwhelming advantage. Meanwhile, the fake young lady had resorted to every scheme she could, even faking suicide, only to end up tragically with everyone hating on her. Chu Ning transmigrated over at the crucial time when the real young lady just returned, and the fake young lady was fighting to stay at the Ye family by threatening suicide. Outside the door, her foster mother spoke in an icy tone, “I don’t care. She has to return to the slums. I get annoyed whenever I look at her now. Why does she get to live a lavish life while my biological daughter had to suffer in the slums? She even had to stop schooling to work and raise her brothers!” Her foster father said, “Still, we’ve raised her all her life, and our family can afford to feed another. Now that she’s threatening suicide, let’s just let her stay.” Chu Ning rushed out of the ward. “I’ll leave! I’ll discharge today and go back at once. I’m not a member of the Ye family, so I have no reason to insist on staying.” Her foster mother was surprised, and her foster father was puzzled. Chu Ning ignored them. After knowing how the original plot went, she set three goals for herself. One, to stay away from the female lead! Two, to stay away from the male lead! Three, to live a good life in the slums! Yet, to her surprise, after being successfully abandoned by the Ye family, her biological brothers all became tycoons in their respective industries. Chu Ning effortlessly made a comeback all of a sudden! Even the male lead who had called off their marriage now forced her into a corner, saying, “Ningning, be mine!”

It was in the middle of the night that the woman who would be the Duchess came to see me.

She said my father and mother died, and my kind uncle became king.

She said it’s not worth it for me, the crown prince, to be living in hiding, too.

“A while ago, Your Highness had been hiding from me. With all due respect, is that for the sake of survival? Just because your parents died doesn’t mean you have no reason to survive. Actually, that fact alone made it all the more reason why you should live. If you die now…”

If I died now?

When I asked her while looking at her eyes, the woman eventually brought out the harsh truth with empathetic eyes.

“It’s like a dog’s death.”

“That’s rude….”

It’s been a long time since I said that. In a short while, he has been treated as a madman and beaten to death just by saying similar things. She loosened her arms that held me and I suddenly stiffened up due to it. Because I thought she might have loosened her arm to hit me. But she didn’t.

She knelt down with one knee in front of me, just like a knight.

“Hastred’s Sarian raised her salutations. May you accept it gladly.”

My first knight is beautiful and kind.

“Are you on my side?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

It was all a lie.