Desolate Devouring Art - Chapter 18 - Slapping Faces

Yuan Xi had been the secretary for Gu Hanchen for five years, working tirelessly without a single day off. Not only was she overworked like a horse, but she was also slandered by Gu Hanchen's fiancee and her friend, Miss Chu, who accused Secretary Yuan of delusionally hoping to turn from a sparrow into a phoenix and become the wife of President Gu. No longer able to tolerate the treatment, Yuan Xi handed in her resignation letter. After resigning, the once overburdened secretary surprisingly turned out to be the legitimate heiress of the wealthiest family in Jiangcheng, the Chu family! Back at the Chu household, Yuan Xi discovered that the family had taken in an adopted daughter, Chu Yan, who had been standing in for her. The false heiress was bright and unrestrained, rightfully considered the unrivaled young mistress of Jiangcheng. Even after the return of the true heiress, Chu Yan remained the celebrated young mistress while Yuan Xi was invariably seen as a mere shadow when compared to Chu Yan's splendid life. Yuan Xi's husband did not even own a house in the center of Jiangcheng. In contrast, the impostor Chu Yan was set to marry into one of Jiangcheng's top four wealthy families, the Bo family. Everyone in Jiangcheng ridiculed Yuan Xi for not having a life as fortunate as the false heiress, nor a discerning eye. That was until the day when Mi Chen was listed on the stock market, and Yuan Xi swiftly rose above her own father to become the new wealthiest person in Jiangcheng. On the day Yuan Xi's child was born, the established noble Huo family from A City announced with great fanfare the joy of welcoming a new grandson... Yuan Xi had always thought that her marriage to Huo Shiyen was merely a shotgun wedding, and that Huo Shiyen had someone else he considered his childhood sweetheart and sweetheart under the moonlight. Only later did she realize that she was, in fact, his cherished childhood love.

Otaku Lin Fei crossed over to a new world…

Rare and exotic medicinal pellets? I eat them like snacks…

Powerful martial art secret instruction manuals? I can sell them like newspaper bundles…

What..You’re an absolute genius? I wreck geniuses like you for a living…

Why am I so powerful?

It’s because I have leveling system version 1.0!

- Description from Novelupdates

# PRETENDTOBEAFOOL

In the empire, both men and women would awaken Beast Essence once they reach the age of eighteen. Beast Essence was hidden in human bones, and the bone is called Beast Bone.

The more important the position of the Beast Bone was in a human body, the better the Beast Essence, and stronger Beasts would hatch from the beast eggs in the future! Kong Rui was going to be eighteen soon. She wanted to awaken, and then escape from this colosseum.

She wanted to escape this deceitful place where she was only entertainment for others, and had to fear her fate in order to survive. However, she was caught.

She was tied up and her sister dug out her entire backbone, because Kong Rui had awakened a Phoenix that had not been seen in a thousand years! She was stripped of all hope and thrown into a ravine filled with demonic energy like a dead dog.

Everyone thought she wouldn’t survive, but they didn’t expect her to have two elements in her body. She found a master under the cliff and even became a pampered princess of the demons there. The demons: “We’ll cut off the head of whoever touches Little Rui!”

Walking out of the abyss, she used her power to defeat the heroes, and no one dared to say the word “genius” in front of her! The Beasts that no one could conquer were as good as babies in her hands!

Countless peerless bosses came out just to accept her as their disciple! The bigshot that everyone feared even hugged her waist and whispered, “Do you want the entire empire? Why don’t I give it to you?”

Long time ago, the world was ruled by the Primordials — an ancient and powerful race who mastered magic and shaped the land with runes and magic. They built bastions that stood as monuments to their greatness, cities protected by powerful enchantments. But their thirst for even greater power led to disaster. They opened gates to another realm… and unleashed demons.What followed was swift and brutal. The Primordials fought back, but they lost. Their civilization crumbled, their names were erased, and only the magical bastions remained — sealed places protected by forgotten runes that even demons could not cross.Now, demons rule the night. Humanity lives in fear, hiding behind rune-marked walls, unaware of their true origins or how close the world stands to its final collapse.Into this broken world falls Alex — a stranger from another reality. Upon his arrival, he awakens a forbidden power within himself: nature magic and the ability to shapeshift. A gift… and a curse.Magic is forbidden. Hunted. Destroyed. If anyone discovers what he is, he could be executed on the spot. But only through his power does Alex stand a chance of surviving… and fighting back. As he journeys across this dark and ruined land, he begins to unravel secrets long buried, truths about the demons’ origin, and the real reason the world fell.This is a dark fantasy tale of blood, survival, ancient knowledge, and inner transformation. Alex must choose what he will become: a monster, a savior… or something in between.Hello and welcome to everyone who decided to read my first writing attempts!The story you are reading is created in my free time, so new chapters will be released approximately 3-4 times a week. I run my own business, which sometimes makes it difficult to find a moment to sit down and fully focus on writing.I'm a fan of brutal, bloody scenes – the kind that stay in your mind long after you've finished reading. I have a vivid imagination, and when I write, I see each of these fights clearly, as if they were happening right in front of me: torn bodies, blood spraying, guts... none of that sugar-coated fighting.I try to transfer these images from my head to the page with as much intensity as possible, so you can feel the same tension and thrill that I do while writing.I also want to build a sense of horror – especially when it comes to monsters. I'm not interested in easy enemies. These are meant to be creatures you feel before you see them. The kind that stir fear and force the characters into desperate decisions.I hope you'll enjoy these scenes too – brutal, emotional, and full of darkness.As for the plot, I already have a general outline in my head, so there’s a lot of writing ahead of me. In the future, the story may include R18 scenes, but before that, I want to build a solid world and well-developed characters.If you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to reach out—I’d love to discuss them, and maybe we can add something interesting to the story!Enjoy the read!