MTL - Technological Empire Starts From Shanzhai System - Chapter 491 fearful western world

As Mingguang Sect’s esteemed Immortal Master, Yi Ning had never experienced much heartbreak and suffering. He had always expected his life to be smooth-sailing, and was only waiting to ascend before marrying his disciple with whom he shared mutual affection.

However, he had never expected that on a rainy night, his disciple brought back a childhood friend.

They were close and intimate, to the point… of sharing a bed.

Standing before the bed where they were entwined, Yi Ning’s heart was as cold as sunken ice. He had wanted to end it all cleanly and straightforwardly, yet had never expected that his disciple not only wanted his childhood friend, but wanted his Shizun too.

His disciple shattered his spiritual core and laid down a hex, throwing him into the main hall to await nightfall to consummate their relationship.

Just as he had fallen into despair and wanted to end his life, he unexpectedly discovered a strange book. The book detailed his life, and the him it described, from beginning to end, was nothing more than a tool used to satisfy his disciple’s desire to conquer, lowly and wretched as a cultivation furnace.

Yi Ning’s head spun, and his heart gave birth to a strong hatred. He dragged his wrecked body to the back of the mountain and released the Demon Venerable Yan Xuan, who he had personally sealed nine years ago.

In return for undoing the seal, Yan Xuan would aid him in escaping.

After the man heard the reason why, he leaned against the wall and smiled with a hint of mockery. Yi Ning had thought he was going to ridicule him for having deserved it, being betrayed by an ingrate who bit the hand that fed him.

Yet, what he never expected was for Yan Xuan to reach out and tug him into his embrace, and the words that left his mouth were instead:

“You fool, I’ll help you take revenge.”

After this, he killed all those who wronged him, and cradled him close to his heart.

He wants to shatter your cultivation and mangle your limbs, to turn you into a bird in a cage, free for him to humiliate.

Yet, with this lowly and dirty heart of mine, I want to pull you from the swamp and cut down the heavens for you.

- Description from Novelupdates

Akashi was a boy so beautiful it seemed the gods had sculpted him with a touch of mischief and a dash of fragility. He wasn’t handsome in the rugged, masculine way of knights or warriors. No—his beauty was softer, captivating in its innocence. His frame was small, almost delicate, and his pale skin looked as if it had never known hardship, kissed only by the gentle sunlight of his village fields.With wide, striking black eyes that shimmered like obsidian under moonlight, and hair the color of a calm, endless ocean, Akashi possessed a charm that defied age, status, or reason. He didn’t know it, but his very existence pulled at the hearts of those who saw him—like an untouched gem waiting to be claimed.And yet, he had been untouched for a reason. Akashi had never known life beyond the boundaries of his village. He grew up surrounded by warm smiles and familiar voices. Every elder knew his name. Every child wanted to play by his side. His days were simple, his heart untouched by cruelty.But peace is a fragile thing.One night, it shattered.The sky turned crimson. Screams tore through the quiet air. Fires devoured homes. Demons—twisted beasts of shadow and rage—descended without warning. They killed with a hunger that could not be reasoned with.By morning, the village was gone.Ashes, corpses, and silence were all that remained.And Akashi… Akashi was alone.The last heartbeat in a graveyard of memories.He wandered for days, hollow and dazed, until rough hands seized him. Chains replaced freedom. Smiles were replaced by cold appraisals. And so, the boy once adored by all became something else—something to be sold.A slave.At the capital's grand auction house, he was stripped, washed, and displayed like merchandise. His beauty caused a stir. Whispers spread like wildfire.“Look at those eyes...”“That hair... Is it dyed? No, it’s real...”“So delicate... Is he even human?”To them, he was no longer a boy with a heart, but a prize to possess. A fantasy in fragile form.He stood on the stage, trembling slightly, barely able to process what was happening. The voices of the crowd blurred together—hungry, leering, filled with desire and greed. The auctioneer’s booming voice called out the bids as if Akashi were nothing more than a fine vase or a rare jewel.The numbers climbed quickly. Too quickly. Akashi’s knees weakened beneath the weight of invisible eyes drinking him in. He stared at the marble floor, trying not to cry.Then, suddenly, the room fell silent.A voice—deep, commanding, and heartbreakingly beautiful—cut through the air like silk over steel.“Fifteen thousand gold.”Time seemed to pause.Every head turned.At the back of the room, standing beneath the golden chandelier, was a woman unlike any other.She wore a flowing red gown that hugged her form like it was crafted by the gods themselves. Her long, golden hair shimmered like strands of sunlight, cascading over her shoulders with effortless grace. Her eyes, cold and blue as a glacier’s heart, stared ahead with quiet power.Even the nobles drew back. This was no ordinary bidder.It was one of the Princesses of the Three Great Kingdoms.Whispers erupted anew—but no one dared challenge her offer.Who would?She stood like royalty incarnate, a goddess who walked among mortals, and she had just claimed Akashi as her own.The boy raised his head slowly, unsure of whether to feel fear or relief. His eyes met hers—just for a second—and something in his chest shifted. She didn’t smile. She didn’t leer. Her gaze was unreadable.But it was powerful. Absolute.And it made his knees weak for an entirely new reason.He didn’t know her name. Not yet.But she had bought him.And somewhere deep inside, something told him—his life was never going to be the same.

Shi Jin was a desperate woman and just a pretty face in her past life. She was swapped at birth and brought up in a rich family, only to eventually die a horrible death.

Everyone told Wei Yingluo that her sister had taken her own life. But the mark left on the corpse told a different story. To unearth the truth, she entered the Forbidden City during Emperor Qianlong’s 6th year of reign.

After investigation, she found her sister’s death related to Prince Hongzhou, and became determined to avenge her. The kind Empress Fucha, worried that Yingluo would stray onto the wrong path, took her under her wing. With the help of the Empress, Wei Yingluo grew to be an honest and strong female official in the palace, letting go of her resentment and living her life seriously from then on.

Yet the Empress passed away unfortunately, causing Yingluo to misunderstand Emperor Qianlong. Hostile against each other, could they understand and support each other in the end?

- Description from Novelupdates