Rise of the Crusader - Chapter 43

Ethan's head throbbed violently as he opened his eyes, his vision hazy and unfocused. A dull ringing filled his ears, drowning out his thoughts.“What’s happening…?” he thought, his mind sluggish, struggling to catch up with reality. One moment, he was asleep—or at least, he thought he was—and the next, searing pain forced him awake.His vision swam, shapes blurring together in a disorienting mess. But then, muffled noises filtered through the haze—frantic, panicked sounds. Someone was trying to scream, their voice smothered, choked by something.A cold shiver ran down his spine.As his sight gradually sharpened, Ethan's breath hitched.He was on all fours, looming over someone. A girl.Her body twisted and writhed beneath him, ropes biting into her wrists and ankles. Her mouth was gagged, muffling her cries. Her wide brown eyes, brimming with fear and fury, glared up at him.Ethan's body locked in place, his blood running cold.“What the…?” His mind reeled, thoughts slamming into each other in chaotic disarray. “What kind of bizarre dream is this?”Panic clawed at his chest. His breath came in ragged, uneven gasps as he scrambled backward, only to realize his limbs felt sluggish, uncooperative, like they didn’t belong to him.“Is this… is this some kind of twisted fantasy I never knew I had?” A sickening thought slithered through his mind, making his stomach churn.The girl's frantic squirming slowed for a moment, her gaze flickering with confusion as she took in his expression—his trembling hands, his wide, horrified eyes. But the fear returned just as quickly. She struggled harder, her body arching, her muffled screams rising in pitch.Ethan wanted to speak, to say something, anything, but before he could force out a word, a glowing blue window materialized before his eyes.His breath caught.A translucent, hovering screen?“What…?”Lines of glowing text scrolled across its surface.---[System Activated…][Host Confirmed.][Simulating Previous Data…]Ethan awakens in a mysterious world, shackled by a curse that clouds his judgment and drives him toward choices he never wished to make. Burdened by guilt and responsibility, he must navigate the fallout of his actions while unraveling the truth behind the curse—and his place in this enigmatic new reality.

Jeanne was only 18 years old when her stepmother and step sister framed her and caused her to lose everything. She was thrown out of the house by her father for trying to resist.

7 years later, Jeanne came back for vengeance with a mysterious son by her side—George.

People mocked her for being a single mother and called her son a fatherless child.

“Who are you calling a fatherless child? You wouldn’t like me when I’m mad,” George threatened.

“Lay low, George! Don’t ruin the fun! I haven’t had enough,” Jeanne said as she wanted to enjoy her revenge, leaving the boy speechless.

Jeanne later met the infamous Fourth Master Swan at a charity ball. The man with the handsome looks and cold temperament called her to a corner and said, “I like you.”

Everyone was shocked, including Jeanne.

“I’m a single mother and I have a child. Are you sure you like me?” she said.

“I actually… like your child!”

Everyone else was shocked when Fourth Master Swan married Jeanne but only his sly self knew that he had gotten not one, but two, important players to this chess game that he was playing.

Li Rui had lived to to seventy without any cheat or golden finger. Looking back on his life, he had gained nothing and accomplished nothing. Just as he’s been worn down by the years and resigned to his fate, he unexpectedly awakened the Perfect Life System.“Come on, tell me, how is a seventy-year-old man who’s about to kick the bucket supposed to live a perfect life?!”【You are born with the Martial Bone, and from the moment of your birth, you are destined to become the world’s number one. You gain the talent – Martial Bone.】【At the age of ten, you join a renowned sect and shine in the sect’s grand tournament, gaining fame and attracting the attention of an immortal teacher. You acquire the talent – Divine Skill Mastery.】Looking at 【Gains the favor of an immortal maiden, becoming a divine couple】, he fell silent.“Seventy years old is just the right age to start doing things!”…Many years later.Li Rui finally emerges with the supreme innate Dao fetus, slaying ten thousand demons, breaking ten thousand evils, and ruling over the immortal realm for a hundred thousand years. He is hailed by the world as the Evergreen Immortal Venerable.