Forging The Path To Godliness - Chapter 179 - Crossing Another Swamp

Ethan Blackwood wasn’t used to being defied. As the CEO of a global empire, he crushed obstacles with a single glance. But when Lily Anderson stood before him, her chin lifted in quiet defiance, and something in him snapped. “Sign the contract,” he said, his voice like ice. “30 days. You’ll obey every command. After that, you’re free.”She hesitated, her fingers trembling as she gripped the pen. “And if I refuse?”His smirk was cold, but his eyes burned. “Then you’ll spend the rest of your life paying off your father’s debts. Your choice.”Trapped, Lily signed. But she vowed one thing: she wouldn’t let him break her.From the first day, their clash was electric. He demanded perfection; she gave him rebellion. “You think you can control me?” she spat, after he criticized her for being late.Ethan stepped closer, his presence overwhelming. “I don’t just control you. Lily, I own you.”But as the days passed, the lines between them blurred. Late nights in his penthouse turned into whispered conversations. His cold demeanor cracked, revealing glimpses of a man haunted by his past. One night, after a heated argument, he pinned her against the wall, his breath hot against her ear. “Why do you fight me so much?”Her voice trembled. “Because I’m afraid if I stop, I’ll lose myself to you.”Their connection deepened, but danger loomed. Secrets from Ethan’s past resurfaced, threatening to destroy everything. When Lily discovered the truth behind his obsession with her, she confronted him. “Was I just a pawn in your game? A way to settle an old score?”His eyes darkened with pain. “You were never just a game, Lily. You’re the only thing that’s ever felt real.”As the final days of their contract approached, their bond was tested like never before. Enemies closed in, and trust hung by a thread. Could they overcome the shadows of their pasts, or would their love crumble under the weight of secrets and pride?

The Strongest Magic meets the Mightiest Mecha.

I have stolen Golden Mechas from the deepest vaults of the most tightly guarded fortresses in the world.

I have personally destroyed more armies than the top three superpowers have in the span of the Absolute War - combined.

I burned down the terrorist megacity of Habon.

I was expelled from the Union of Heroes at a younger age than people are allowed in.

I have talked to Ancient Gods, loved women, and devoured mechas that would make superpowers cringe in fear.

I have faced demons head on in moonless nights others fear to speak of during the day.

I am deified in a thousand cultures, and labelled as the devil incarnate in the rest.

I am the Mecha Emperor.

You may have heard of me.

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Excerpt from Chapter 1

This is where it all began.

A junkyard.

Oh no, this isn't your clean, mechas-only junkyard that was the 'starting point' of many mecha geniuses out there.

I have seen and heard my share of rags-to-riches stories, and many of them claimed that they had started from 'junkyards' and slowly grew to be where they were right now.

From Zero to Hero, they declared.

You can do it too, they said.

As long as you work hard, everything is possible, they claimed.

I call bullshit.

Life doesn't work like that.

Born with a seed of immortality, he rose from the Han tribe at the end of the century, and embarked on the road of immortality, step by step, until he reached the other side of immortality.

Efforts will pay off. For cultivators, what better golden finger is there?

- Description from novelbuddy

Xu Niannian was reborn in the 1980s and became the most beautiful flower in ten miles around.With three younger brothers at home, her sharp-tongued mother loved her as her life; daughters were golden lumps while sons were just a waste of money.She had thought she would encounter a host of troublemakers, but although there were many, they ended up spoiling her rotten.The stingy grandmother, upon meeting her, would always dig out the best things for her.The acerbic mother, who was scolding her sons just a second ago, would instantly change her expression to a blooming chrysanthemum upon seeing her daughter.Thus, Xu Niannian's goal became to work hard to earn money and keep her quirky family well-fed and chubby.Having obtained the Spiritual Spring by chance, Xu Niannian grew more beautiful every day.When Jin Yu first met Xu Niannian, he only felt that the girl was charming and bewitching, beautiful enough to dazzle him.He had another girl in mind, yet was inexplicably captivated by Xu Niannian's allure, unaware that the one he wished to take responsibility for and the one he liked were the same person.