Ashborn Primordial - Chapter Ashborn 405: The Cogs of War

Keith, a regular office worker from Earth, suddenly transmigrates to the world of the novel he had been reading for the past decade. The new world, which was also called Earth, was slightly different. People with various powers existed who were called awakeners, making this world comparatively dangerous and also mysterious. While he was thrown into the novel’s world, he was also given a mystical ability to grant systems to other people. Armed with his special ability, he slowly climbs up the power ladder by taking “taxes” from the people he would give systems to. The only question that remained, was what would a realistic normal man, when faced with a similar minded protagonist, do when their goals opposed each other.

What is martial arts?Martial Arts has nothing to do with musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, painting, treasures or secret manuals, nor is there so much talk about being the best in the world. Martial Arts is a technique, a method that gives the weak a chance to draw their blades against the strong.What is chivalry (xiá)?Chivalry is not about romantic affairs, traditional culture, or being gentle, respectful, frugal, and compliant. Chivalry is violence, it's the bayonet forged by those driven to Mount Liang to use against tyrants.Cao Mo pledged with a dagger, (Returning to) Lu to invade. Zhuan Zhu entered with grilled meat, (Pacifying) Wu to usurp the throne. Brother Zhang cried in the market, avenging his lord by defiling a lavatory. Suicide by cutting one's own throat to seek justice, acting while concealing his sleeve. The tyrant of Qin seized souls, the coward gained courage.This is a martial artist's story.In the 1930s, a group of like-minded young people came together, striving to change the world.Then, two hundred years later, in a garbage landfill, Xiang Shan, the Progenitor of Cyber Martial Arts who had once rebooted heaven and earth, woke up reciting the name of his enemy, having lost all his memories.“Perhaps it's because I lost back then that the world has become what it is...”“So this time, I won't be defeated again!”This is the story of a person changing the world once more!

Earth was supposed to be a safe haven.And for a time—it was.Until one night, golden stars lit up the sky like cosmic flames. The heavens swirled, the winds howled, and the world braced for its end. But just as quickly as it came... the phenomenon vanished.Weeks later, everything changed.Humans began to awaken powers once thought to exist only in fantasy. Skills—mystical, world-shaking abilities. Some used them for good. Others unleashed devastation.What could a gun do against a man who could turn into a living bomb?Portals tore through the sky, connecting Earth to monstrous realms. Beasts, demons, and nightmares poured into the world. Amid the chaos, powerful humans rose to fight back—and won. The survivors called them one thing: Heroes.Among them, one boy was left behind.Han Trystan—orphaned during the Sendok Calamity—carries the burden of rebuilding his parents' legacy, protecting his three younger siblings, and finding a cure for his dying aunt. But all of that hinges on one thing: awakening a powerful Skill.And when his time finally comes…> Name: Han TrystanSkill: Book FormationRank: EThe lowest rank. A joke. Practically powerless. Hope? Shattered.Until Han discovers the truth.His skill isn’t “Book Formation.” It’s something far greater.Creation. Not just of weapons or armors. But artifacts, pills, barriers—even other Skills.The world labeled him weak. But he was never meant to follow their system—he was meant to break it.Years later…> “Did I see that right...?”“Yeah. He just wiped out hundreds S-Rank monsters—alone.”“So the title ‘White-Black-Haired Monster’... it wasn’t exaggerated after all.”In a field of fallen beasts, one man stands untouched. Eyes calm. Power immeasurable.> “Weaklings.” Han mutters.Follow Han Trystan’s journey from the lowest-ranked misfit to one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse—and witness the rise of a legend the system tried to erase.

Lao Chen was just an old, underpaid security guard in a rundown apartment complex, living a miserable life under a stingy, ungrateful boss.His wife left him, his daughter wanted nothing to do with him, and poverty was his only constant companion.In the end, death came in the form of a drunk driver, leaving him broken and forgotten on the cold pavement.But fate wasn’t done with him. In his final moments, he prayed—desperate, pleading to any deity who would listen.And someone did.The God of Wealth and Love took pity on his wasted life and granted him a second chance.Wake up again as Zhao Yiming, a 25-year-old gambler and alcoholic drowning in debt with nothing but a good face and a strong body to his name, he was given the Affinity Money Maker System—a mysterious power that let him gain wealth and influence by forming relationships, whether as lovers, friends, or even enemies.Before he knew it, he had stumbled his way into unimaginable riches.But things never go as planned. One moment of recklessness—one affair with the wrong woman—led to an unexpected murder.Now, the system has thrown him onto a new path: The Villain Route. With a negative perk that keeps the police off his trail but tightens the noose around his future, Zhao Yiming is faced with an impossible choice.Will he claw his way to the top and become the billionaire he was meant to be? Or will his second life end behind bars, just as tragic as his first?