Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king - Chapter 32: Looking for employment(1)

⚠️ WARNING ⚠️THIS NOVEL PARTICIPATED IN WSA 2025!---Nero Vaelheim. A name etched in history as that of a fleeting antagonist, a mere stepping stone for the heroes.But what if the pawn refused to be sacrificed?When a devoted reader is reborn in the body of this doomed villain, he has only one goal: to break the script, rewrite his fate… and bend this world to his own rules.After all, why settle for being an obstacle when you can become the ultimate threat?

Ye Feng was transported to a cultivation world, but unfortunately had no hope of cultivating immortality and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life.Yet he didn’t know—The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king.The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it.The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him.Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds.Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along…

Living in a world of cultivators is like walking on the edge of a knife. If you slip, the best result is a deep cut, but the likely result is death. Su Fang is brought into this world completely unprepared, knowing nothing, and lacking any skills to help him. This means only one thing. He is destined to die.Fortunately, Su Fang is immortal. Not because he cannot die, but because when he does, he un-dies.In this world, everyone is born with a Golden Finger to help them survive. Su Fang’s blessing is to return to the beginning of his journey after every death. His System provides him credits upon death with which he can purchase absolutely anything, but he is only rewarded enough credits to help him return to the point he died. To advance further, he must rely on himself.This is both a time loop story and a xianxia story. At different points, one element is more pronounced than the other, but it is always a combination of both.This can also be considered a slice-of-life story. It isn’t about saving the world or defeating a big bad guy. It is about living life in an unfamiliar world where it can sometimes seem like everyone is out to kill or enslave you.Expectations:-Detailed cultivation and crafting.-Limited fighting scenes through most of the story.-Slow cultivation progression. Each level will be explored in detail.-Somewhat unreliable narrator. Cultivation affects the mind, and it will affect the MC’s perceptions of the world. Facts can generally be trusted, but many times there are layers beyond what the narrator sees.-Xianxia tropes with a world built around them so they make sense. Why do young masters go crazy shouting “You dare!”? Why do their guards willing throw themselves to their death against someone with significantly higher cultivation? All that and more is explained.-This is a story of cultivation. It has cultivation in the xianxia sense, working to gain strength and power, but, more importantly, it is a story about cultivating the self. Finding ways to make yourself a better version of you.New chapters drop 5 days a week, M-F, at 7:00AM Central Time (US)

[Wsa entry.]James Dohan, a famous author working for the government, suddenly died after an accident occurred at his workplace.Nothing could have prepared him for the events to come.[You have reincarnated.]James soon found himself reincarnated into the body of Jared, the son of the village's elder in a demon-infested wasteland.The North, abandoned by a cowardly kingdom after a brutal war, crawled with monsters and desperate survivors. Jared left to save his father with a miracle cure, but James arrived too late—the Elder was dead, the village was starving, and the title of Elder fell on his unprepared shoulders.Luckily, he had a cheat code to rely on.[You have awakened your Infinite Item Shop System.][Current balance: 0 Sp. Buy everything, Sell anything.]Jared found a way to save the people of his village from dying from their own weakness and the horrors of the world.[You have gained 50 Sp.][You have purchased a pistol.][13 Sp has been deducted.][You killed a Dire Wolf.][150 Sp has been added to your account.][The villagers' loyalty to you has risen.][You have earned 300 Sp.][You can now convert this world's money into Sp.]With this system, Jared was more than ready to conquer the North, money, power and women.