The Runic Alchemist - Chapter 539: Time & Progress

Anton is a great-grandfather. He is living quite a happy life, despite his advanced age and declining health… until a group of cultivator bandits moves into the area. The nearby guardians of the area, the Order of Ninety-Nine Stars, are unable to track them down as they continue to ravage nearby towns. During one desperate winter Anton is out on a hunt when his family- his entire village- is killed or taken as slaves by the bandits. He lacks the strength to fight them, and he wasn’t even present for their arrival to die with his loved ones. At the pit of his despair, he wonders if he ever had any chance to change things. What could he even do? He cannot even pull his best bow, and his eyesight is failing. If he had been a cultivator… perhaps there might have been a chance, but he was decades- perhaps even most of his life- too late.Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge (2022)Notes on cultivation levels:There are five general stages of cultivation, though the fifth is extremely rare. Each cultivation style might have their own name for the stages.1. Body Tempering2. Spirit Building/ occasionally System Creation (Ninety-Nine Stars)3. Constellation Formation (Ninety-Nine Stars)4. Life Transformation/Galaxy Construction (Ninety-Nine Stars)5. Ascension

In the vast and boundless continent Cangtu, there were ancient sects governing the Ten Old Domains, unworldly immortal clans beyond the Blue Sky, and primordial demon gods dominating the dark abyss that together created a great number of brilliant stories over the long course of the history.

Kael, a reclusive and antisocial man, died alone in his apartment, consumed by frustration and regret. But his tale didn't end in darkness. Reborn in the unforgiving world of Eridoria, where the law of the jungle reigned supreme and apes were eerily absent, Kael found himself in the body of a lion cub with a unique bloodline.This was no ordinary rebirth; he was a lion unlike any other. Thrust into the complex web of pride dynamics and social hierarchy, Kael must navigate treacherous alliances, rivalries, and his own primal instincts. With a fierce determination burning within, he sets his sights on a singular goal: to claim the title of the ultimate King of Beasts.Warning: R18, incest, harem, neutral MC, violence.