ShadowBound: The Need For Power - Chapter 53: You Better Prove Your Worth

Throughout this current life of mine, I will pay no attention to my past lives, nor will I seek future lives. I wish to live vigorously, to pay back debt of gratitude and fulfill duty to avenge, to defeat valiant heroes from all species, and to proudly laugh at all the Gods and Demons of the Six Path of Reincarnation!

Yu Ziyou and Zhong Wan served different masters.

They had once been the closest of souls, and were the bitterest of enemies.

After losing the fight for the throne, Zhong Wan brought his two young masters with him far toward the borders for the sake of survival. He relied on the little friendship that existed between him and Yu Ziyou when they were young. He borrowed some of his personal belongings while also dropping various hints around which made everyone think that there was something intimate going on between them.

Given the Yu Clan’s powerful authoritative presence in the imperial court, this appearance of a close tie allowed Zhong Wan to live a much better life than before. As such, the stories he cooked up began to carry more and more weight.

As rumors of their lovely romance spread a thousand miles into the horizon, Yu Ziyou, who was located in the distant capital city, eventually caught wind of his deeply moving and epic love affair. In a trance, Yu Ziyou, who had been completely brainwashed for seven years, believed in them. He guessed something special really did happen between them back in those years…

- Description from Novelupdates

He was once the most feared villain in the empire, a master of manipulation who wove chaos from the shadows. Ruthless, untouchable—until the day he was betrayed and executed by the very man he sought to control.But death is not the end.He awakens in the body of Lady Elara Valcrest, a fragile noble girl doomed to be a pawn in political games. Stripped of her former power, she is forced into an arranged marriage with none other than Cairon Everhart—the man who once killed her. He does not recognize her, but she knows him. And she will never forget.To survive, Elara must play a new game. One where deception is her only weapon, and trust is a dangerous illusion. She must outmaneuver her enemies, uncover the truth behind her execution, and reclaim the power she lost. But as she navigates the treacherous world of court intrigue, one question lingers—Was Cairon truly her greatest enemy? Or had she been blind to an even greater threat?Time is running out. The villain has been given one last chance. And this time, she refuses to lose.

Betrayed by his own werewolf clan and left to die in a forbidden vampire crypt, Lucien Drake awakens something ancient—something monstrous.His blood ignites the Crimson System, binding him to a long-lost vampire bloodline rumored to be more powerful than the vampire lords and deadlier than any alpha.Now reborn as a hybrid of vampire and werewolf, Lucien gains powers no being should wield. The System whispers, hungers, and rewards him for one thing: domination—of bloodlines, enemies, and women.With every kill, he evolves. With every seduction, his power multiplies. And with every conquest, the world bends closer to its knees.But ancient forces stir. Vampire princesses, werewolf queens, and dark priestesses all want him… dead, bound, or in their bed.In a world where the strong rule by blood, Lucien is rewriting the laws of nature—and he'll either claim the throne of night...Or drown the world in crimson fire.> “You think I'm a monster? You haven't even seen what I become when I climax with your queen.”