Martial Defiance Across Nine Thousand Realms - Chapter 52 – Ye Han Returns

Upon awakening, Lu Xuan found himself as an ordinary spirit plant cultivator, tending to an acre of land merely scraping by in the realm of cultivation.Fortunately, he stumbled upon an unexpected revelation: with each maturing spiritual plant, he received additional rewards.Harvesting a The Firefly Grass yielded a Golden Sword Technique.From the Blood-Devouring Vine, he obtained a Purification Talisman.And the Phantom Spring Flower gifted him a prescription for the elusive Luminous Flame Pill.Henceforth, he contentedly tended to his own spiritual fields, observing the tumultuous tides and shifts in the world of cultivation.“Duels and clashes, expeditions into secret realms, immortal fortunes, obtaining mystical treasures… None of it concerns me!”“I simply wish for peace and quiet to tend to my fields.”

I am currently re-writing the first chapters of this story. They are quite rough and bounce around a lot and I can do better. At some point, I will replace these with the better chapters.Sometime in 2024 Aethon Books will publish the first volume of this story on Amazon, KU, and audible. This will mean the story will be stubbed. I will notify people far in advance of that.In the dystopian world of the future, life is rough when you live at the bottom. Jobs are non-existent. Far too many people live in poverty, crammed into huge buildings called Habitats. With no jobs in the real world, many people can only find work online in VR worlds as servants to the very rich. And it's getting worse. The old internet is unusable and hacked to pieces. The new system needs AI to run things, but all but one of them were destroyed. The last sentient AI is ordered to create a new game world so the rich can have a playground, and the corporations that rule the world can have a new global market place. Everyone wants a piece of the new game. The guilds are competing to be the first to find the dungeons and kill the biggest monster. The corporations are claiming land and putting in their online market places. Ozzy and his friends just want a paycheck.Four friends sign five year contracts as virtual serfs in a small village, and can't go adventuring at all to gain money. They don't have many choices. They can work as a blacksmith, barmaid and shepherd for all those years....or they can cheat and find ways to take advantage of the system and carve out a section of the game world for themselves, and earn a fortune in the real world.When they give you a mop and not a sword, you have to find the loopholes and change the rules.

“Chief, it’s bad; our people are injured! Hurry, take them to the Divine Tree!”“Chief, it’s bad; our people are on the brink of death, about to perish! Quick, to the Divine Tree!”“Chief, it’s bad; our people have just passed away! Quickly, to the Divine Tree, and do not let the body grow cold on the way!”Reincarnated as a frail locust tree, Ji Yang merely wished to bask in the sun each day, gaze upon the moon, and live a leisurely life.Yet, years later, as Ji Yang looked down upon all beings, he suddenly realized that this world lay upon his roots and within his shade.And that initial small clan, unbeknownst to him, had its name resound through the heavens!

In the tenth year after the new era, the world finally came to an end. Zhang Mu truefully waited for his death, but unexpectedly found that he had returned to ten years ago. With his memory about the future, he swore that he would change the calamitous history, saving the earth from being destroyed! Walking dead, zergs, evolvers, and various mutated animals… nothing can stop him! The first step is to retrieve his identity as an era merchant , then find all the treasures he can remember to enhance himself!