Void Cultivation - Chapter 196- Strange Arts

A weary historian dies and finds himself in a different world awakened in a life as the notorious young Duke of a southern state. His nation is weakened, his army underfed, and his neighbors revolve around his lands menacingly. No one believes his land is going to hold out until winter.But this newfound duke is no naive simpleton his enemies recollect. He carries with him the experience of centuries of war and empire, of starting and ending monarchies. From Caesar to Napoleon, from the Mongols to world wars, he has learned from each of them—and his strategy is to make history his very own arms.He organizes his smashed levies into well-trained formations, rebuilds his castles, and turns his villages into supply centers. Where others see defeat, he senses opportunity. As he triumphs, rumors spread: of a pennant red as winter snow that shall not go to ground, of a bloody duke who writes his name in gore and flame.Is he a savior who's constructing a new empire, or a tyrant who's going to bring the world to endless war?

Tang Hao was an honest man making an honest living, but despite all his honesty and kindness, life often looked the other way. Even when he stood up for a man in the streets, he ended up being beaten to a pulp and the man he stood up for? He disappeared. That left Tang Hao with nothing to prove and a hefty medical bill blowing through his savings. However, while he lay unconscious in the hospital, he could feel a warmth coming from the jade pendent he wore as it began to feed him with a trove of priceless information. Now discharged, and still armed with the same naivety and honesty, what will our village peasant do with this newfound power? Will he go on to conquer the hearts of a hundred women? Will he defeat the mightiest crime lords? Only time will tell, but for now, fate has many whimsical plans for Tang Hao.

Sixteen years after transmigrating into the world of cultivation, Lu Yi’s long-lost cheat finally awakened. The cheat was a simple task panel where one could earn various rewards by accepting and completing tasks. Lu Yi was surprised to find that he could publish tasks for himself and complete them for rewards. So Lu Yi embarked on the path of self-publishing tasks for himself. He published a task for himself to “practice the Divine Sword technique ten times,” and upon completion, his level in the Divine Sword technique increased by one. He published a task for himself to “defeat an outer disciple,” and upon completion, he obtained a precious Perfect Qi Condensation Pill. He published a task for himself to “break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm,” and upon completion, he obtained a top-grade magical weapon. Without realizing it, Lu Yi found that even becoming a saint or ancestor seemed easy with this system.

Elara’s first life crashed hard. Cruel tricks ruined her name, broke her dreams, and turned the whole entertainment world against her. Friends betrayed her. Lovers sold her out. Everyone she trusted stabbed her in the back. The pain piled up until she felt trapped with no way out. One night, she couldn’t take it anymore. She walked to the river and ended it all in the cold, quiet water.Later, proof came out. Messages. Recordings. Everything showed she had been framed. People posted apologies online. But it was too late. She was already gone.The universe, though, clearly has a twisted sense of humor.Because somehow, Elara came back. She woke up in her own past, every awful memory still sharp in her head. Right then she made a promise she would never break: protect her gentle grandfather no matter what, and never let anyone push her to that dark place again.This time she steps into the entertainment world with her head high. She trains harder, sings better, fights smarter. The same people who once crushed her? Now they get to feel the pressure.Love? Not happening. Her heart is locked tight. But why is it that as she rises and shines brighter, handsome, powerful men start circling her—guys who never even glanced at her in her previous life were now hovering around her.The actor smiled at her during a press interview, leaned closer, and said softly, “We should have dinner sometime.”The footballer sent flowers so big they blocked her room door.The surgeon she met at a charity event checked her pulse and then forgot to let go of her wrist.The singer she collaborated with kept calling her name during rehearsals, as if the mic could not hear him well enough.Elara stared at the ceiling that night and sighed.She only wanted to sing. Why did everyone look like they wanted to adopt her, date her, or both?But the worst one came after the concert.The lights had just gone off. Her ears were still ringing. Sweat clung to her neck. She had barely stepped backstage when a shadow blocked her path.She looked up.The CEO of the greatest company in Aurelia stood there. The same man who once said her voice was “not worth investing in.” The same man who did not even know her name before rebirth.Now he held her wrist lightly, but firmly.“Let’s talk,” he said.Elara blinked. “About… sponsorship?”“No,” he replied calmly. “About marriage.”Her brain froze.“…What?”“I will give you everything,” he continued, as if asking for a glass of water. “Resources. Protection. Freedom to sing. Become my wife.”Elara stared at him, her mouth open, her thoughts running in circles.This was not how it was supposed to be.Why was the world now skipping steps?NB:This story takes place in a fictional world. Aurelia is a country. Solmere, Veston, and Starfall City are the three capital cities of Aurelia. Other cities, such as Lorien and Crelou, are smaller cities.