In Naruto with the Flame-Flame Fruit - Chapter 416: Uzumaki Menma

Bei Qingqing was left to fend for herself over eighteen years before the rich Bei Family finally took her back. She found that her identity as a daughter had been replaced by the ‘naive and adorable’ Bei Bei, who was kept in her family.

Affection grows with proximity, and that certainly applied for them — there was just no comparing the affection the Bei Family had towards Bei Bei, to the affection of their biological daughter. They had spoiled Bei Bei for eighteen years.

Using Bei Qingqing’s adopted mother’s illness as leverage, the Bei Family forced Bei Qingqing to substitute Bei Bei’s marriage to a comatose man, Chen Jiazhi.

It seems that Bei Bei was now all that mattered to them.

Even so, Bei Qingqing married Chen Jiazhi, who had been comatose for years and said to have no chance of waking up. By doing so, she earned her two-million-yuan dowry for her adopted mother’s hospital bills.

Though Bei Qingqing believed that she would be widowed for life, she didn’t expect an accidental kiss on their first night to wake Chen Jiazhi!

Everyone in the entire Chen Family — from grandparents to uncles — are now indebted to Bei Qingqing. They all spoiled her, especially her now-awake husband Chen Jiazhi. Naturally, the Chen Family also took care of her adopted mother by providing her with better treatment!

Bei Bei was left red-eyed in fury! She was supposed to be Chen Jiazhi’s fiancee. His enormous wealth and affection were rightfully hers!

Moreover, Bei Qingqing had health problems and couldn’t get pregnant. Bei Bei will do her best and scheme to replace Bei Qingqing!

Unexpectedly, however, Bei Qingqing was having morning sickness just two months after marrying despite rumors of her infertility!

As for the Bei family that abandoned her? They were declining at a visible rate, and soon wouldn’t even deserve to lick Bei Qingqing’s shoes!

Being second best is practically in my DNA. My sister got the love, the attention, the spotlight. And now, even her damn fiancé.Technically, Rhys Granger was my fiancé now—billionaire, devastatingly hot, and a walking Wall Street wet dream. My parents shoved me into the engagement after Catherine disappeared, and honestly? I didn’t mind. I’d crushed on Rhys for years. This was my chance, right? My turn to be the chosen one?Wrong.One night, he slapped me. Over a mug. A stupid, chipped, ugly mug my sister gave him years ago. That’s when it hit me—he didn’t love me. He didn’t even see me. I was just a warm-bodied placeholder for the woman he actually wanted. And apparently, I wasn’t even worth as much as a glorified coffee cup.So I slapped him right back, dumped his ass, and prepared for disaster—my parents losing their minds, Rhys throwing a billionaire tantrum, his terrifying family plotting my untimely demise.Obviously, I needed alcohol. A lot of alcohol.Enter him.Tall, dangerous, unfairly hot. The kind of man who makes you want to sin just by existing. I’d met him only once before, and that night, he just happened to be at the same bar as my drunk, self-pitying self. So I did the only logical thing: I dragged him into a hotel room and ripped off his clothes.It was reckless. It was stupid. It was completely ill-advised.But it was also: Best. Sex. Of. My. Life.And, as it turned out, the best decision I’d ever made.Because my one-night stand isn’t just some random guy. He’s richer than Rhys, more powerful than my entire family, and definitely more dangerous than I should be playing with.And now, he’s not letting me go.

In the world of cultivation, countless tales follow righteous protagonists, fated heroes blessed by destiny, or those chosen by heaven to walk the path of immortality.But what of those who stand in their way?What of the villains? The so-called obstacles to the hero’s journey—do they not bleed, dream, and struggle as well?Xiao Ning was never meant to succeed.From the very beginning, the Grand Dao wove him as a stepping stone—a necessary sacrifice to elevate another. His path, like that of all designated ‘villains,’ was doomed to failure by design.But what happens when that design is defied?After death, Xiao Ning awakens—not in the cycle of reincarnation, but in the cold silence beyond it. There, he is offered the Eternal Paradox Codex—a forbidden artifact containing the hidden truths of the Grand Dao System itself.Rules. Loopholes. Vulnerabilities.Knowledge not meant for those like him.With this power, Xiao Ning is granted a single, impossible choice: accept oblivion, or step outside the Grand Dao entirely—to abandon fate, sever karma, and cultivate a path unbound by heaven or law.It is Xiao Ning’s journey, from ashes to something beyond comprehension.Not to become an Immortal among men.But something even the heavens dare not bind.If fate is a chain…Then let him forge his own path in the void beyond.Welcome to this humble tale.The cultivation world is vast and unkind.Let us begin again—on our terms.

Enter a world of superhuman abilities and mysterious organizations as you follow the story of Jiang Bei, the enigmatic founder of the Infinite Alliance.With the power to extinguish stars and melt anything in his path, he is hailed as a god among men and the torch of the Dark Era.But what secrets lie behind his incredible powers, and what will he do to protect his legacy and extend his life?