Picked up by the Protagonist of a Tormented! MC Novel - Volume 1 Chapter 1

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

The World of Ephesus. A vast world plagued by Breaches containing countless Beasts of Corruption. A World on the brink of ruin as the Four Human Lineages defend the last bastions of Humanity! With the power of Gem Masters standing against the Beasts of Corruption, the flames of Humanity seek to burn ever brighter. In such a world, in the Mortal Branch of the Asmodeus Bloodline, Alexander awakens a Gem Socket that others consider defective. A Variant Gem Socket. Looked down upon by those who do not understand it, this supposed defect may just be the solution that the burning embers of humanity were waiting for. Follow Alexander as he entirely warps the perception of what a Gem Master is- as he embarks on a journey to become...The Empyreal Gem Master!

Feng Xuxu, a 21st-century professor of agriculture and biology, was in secret the mastermind behind a five-star hotel. Running back and forth between the university and the hotel, it's no wonder she worked herself sick. One moment she closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she found herself in the body of a poor village girl who had just lost her mother and then her father.Fortunately, time-travel came with a perk, the almighty space ability. After toying with some seeds, she grew thousands of acres of high-yield grains and spent her leisure time cultivating flowers. Before she knew it, she had created a landscape of thousands of acres of flowers. Munching on fruit, she ended up with thousands of acres of orchards. When she craved some greens in the wintertime, she turned around to discover greenhouses covering thousands of acres. Feng Xuxu counted on her fingers: Spring Garden, Summer Garden, Autumn Garden, Winter Garden—not one more, not one less, four in total. She nodded in satisfaction and said, “This is all one needs in life.” Meanwhile, a certain devilishly charming man approached her with a sly smile, “Little Xuxu, how do you plan to deal with me?”Feng Xuxu was in disarray amidst the wind, realizing she had forgotten about one demon yet to be tamed.In this story, both male and female leads are strong, with the male lead being physically and mentally pure and devoted.

What is it that makes a man fall in love with a woman at first sight? Appearance? Aura? Wealth? NO, when campus prince and gaming expert, student Xiao Nai first saw Bei Wei Wei, what made him fall in love was not her extraordinary beauty; but her slim and slender fingers that were flying across the keyboard and her calm and composed manner!!! Embarrassing, no?

At the same time, gaming expert Bei Wei Wei was on the computer methodically commanding a guild war, and won a perfect and glorious victory despite being at a disadvantage; completely unaware of the fact that cupid is nearby.

Soon after basketball player; swimmer; all-around excellent student; and game company president, Xiao Nai, uses tactics both on- and offline to capture this beauty’s heart. Therefore this romance slowly bloomed.