Please Be Patient, Grand Duke - Chapter 1

Facing extinction, humanity seeks salvation in the Astral Verge, a dangerous dimension accessed via portals that threatened to wipe out the entire planet.Few years later, aspiring recruit Daniel Vance enters the Verge for his final assessment, hoping to Awaken a Talent and secure his future. While others gain common abilities, Daniel secretly Awakens the mythical SSS-Grade Talent: [Soul Assimilation]. This allows him to absorb essence, enhancing gear, gaining stats and EXP from slain creatures, and crucially, absorbing attributes and skills from fallen Awakened.Witnessing the swift death of the arrogant Jaxon Rex, Daniel makes a grim choice: he assimilates Jaxon, gaining his first skill, [Kinetic Pulse]. This sets his path: scavenging the aftermath of others’ battles. He enhances gear and, after achieving his first kill on an injured beast, waits patiently to assimilate two more fallen recruits, acquiring [Quick Step] and the invaluable passive [Aura Sense].Starting as average, Daniel rapidly gains power in secret, enhanced gear, multiple skills, and boosted stats , far exceeding his peers while remaining outwardly unremarkable. He navigates the lethal Verge alone, using its inherent dangers to fuel his growth, wrestling with the moral cost of his unique, overwhelming power.

WARNING!!! -Explicit-For years after Livana lost her sight, she lived in the gilded cage of her family’s expectations—engaged to the man chosen for her, confined to the shadows while he managed the empire her mother left behind. But blindness didn’t make her powerless. She heard everything. The whispers in the other room. The treachery in her fiancé’s voice. The betrayal woven into every conversation with her cousin, all caught by the devices she secretly planted.She had a plan to escape—one she’d crafted meticulously. Until her sister proposed something far more dangerous.Involve the Blackwells.Their family’s most hated rivals. The ones Livana had been raised to despise. And the man her sister suggested? *Damon Blackwell.* The arrogant bastard who had tormented her since childhood. The same man she’d once—*against her better judgment*—ended up in bed with after being drugged and set up.The idea was reckless. Madness. But the thought of burning her engagement to Knox to the ground, of watching her father and stepmother’s fury as she tied herself to their enemy? Delicious.What she didn’t expect was Damon’s obsession.He was ruthless. Unhinged. Exactly what she should have anticipated from the heir to the Blackwell mafia. But Livana was no damsel. If he thought he could control her, he was wrong.She had her own games to play.And this time, she wouldn’t be the one losing.

Zaiyila thought she had suffered enough—betrayed by her own mother and sold into marriage with a wealthy, aging man. But on the night of her pre-wedding ceremony, everything takes a dark and unexpected turn. A swarm of deadly snakes descends upon the gathering, killing her groom-to-be and throwing the hall into chaos. Fear spreads as the people recognize the serpents as the servants of the enigmatic and terrifying Snake King, Everett.When Everett himself arrives—a striking, horned man of unmatched beauty and power—Zaiyila finds herself drawn to him in ways she cannot explain. Despite the fear he inspires in others, she feels an unshakable connection to him, one that transcends the realm of logic. The moment she defies the fearful kneeling of the crowd, she unknowingly seals her fate.Taken into Everett’s domain, Zaiyila is forced to confront not only the dangerous, supernatural world she’s been thrust into but also the awakening desires she cannot deny. As she unravels the truth about her past and her connection to the Snake King, she must decide—will she resist the pull of destiny, or will she embrace the darkness and passion that Everett offers?A tale of betrayal, power, and an irresistible bond, Bride of the Serpent King explores the fine line between fear and desire, fate and choice.---

Song Zhiyi is really annoying.
Meng Xi has hated her since she was a student and competed with her.
After a dream, she realized that she was living in a novel.
Song Zhiyi is the heroine and a natural winner.
And she’s just a nasty supporting actress who needs to be brought down.
There’s nothing wrong, the heroine and the supporting actress are not born to deal with each other.
Meng Xi became more and more difficult for her, poured her red wine at the banquet, and asked the bodyguard to send her brother to the hospital…
The worst part is that he kissed her when he was drunk.
I don’t know when, everyone thinks they have a leg.
Meng Xi sneered at them: “Bah!”
But Song Zhiyi himself said, “Meng Xi, what kind of relationship do we have?”
Meng Xi was cold to her… unable to get cold: “…”
The arrogant and domineering young lady and the pitiful black and white lotus.
It’s cookies, it’s a weird two-way crush.

Content tags: The rich and powerful family has a soft spot, sweet text, wears books
Search keywords: Protagonist: Meng Xi, Song Zhiyi ┃ Supporting role: ┃ Others:
One-sentence introduction: It’s also really worthy of love
Concept: true love is to understand each other, respect each other, and make people pursue a better self

- Description from novelbuddy