The First Order - Chapter 180 - They’re all guilty

In the world of cultivation, countless tales follow righteous protagonists, fated heroes blessed by destiny, or those chosen by heaven to walk the path of immortality.But what of those who stand in their way?What of the villains? The so-called obstacles to the hero’s journey—do they not bleed, dream, and struggle as well?Xiao Ning was never meant to succeed.From the very beginning, the Grand Dao wove him as a stepping stone—a necessary sacrifice to elevate another. His path, like that of all designated ‘villains,’ was doomed to failure by design.But what happens when that design is defied?After death, Xiao Ning awakens—not in the cycle of reincarnation, but in the cold silence beyond it. There, he is offered the Eternal Paradox Codex—a forbidden artifact containing the hidden truths of the Grand Dao System itself.Rules. Loopholes. Vulnerabilities.Knowledge not meant for those like him.With this power, Xiao Ning is granted a single, impossible choice: accept oblivion, or step outside the Grand Dao entirely—to abandon fate, sever karma, and cultivate a path unbound by heaven or law.It is Xiao Ning’s journey, from ashes to something beyond comprehension.Not to become an Immortal among men.But something even the heavens dare not bind.If fate is a chain…Then let him forge his own path in the void beyond.Welcome to this humble tale.The cultivation world is vast and unkind.Let us begin again—on our terms.

“If he’s being badass, I’m gonna plant my own crops. If he messes with me, he will not live past next year.”

Homebody Zhao Hai brought ‘QQ Farm’ along in his traversal to another world and resided within the body of a fallen noble. His fief was a black land which nothing could be planted, and more importantly, he even had a peerlessly powerful fiancee, who was actually the successor of a duchy and future Grand Duchess!

Even more importantly, he is a magical and martial cripple who could not learn magic and martial arts. His crippling was very thorough.

“I can’t learn magic, but I have the farm. You dare attack me? I’ll release bugs to eat up your rations and crops, and put pesticides and weed agents into your water sources to make your lands grow weeds. See if you dare to attack me. What? You wanna hire killers to assassinate me? Hehehe. I’ll hide inside the little house in my farm and see how you can attack me. When you leave, I’m gonna terminate your country’s crop productions, and then all of your people will revolt. See if you dare to kill me.”

Watch how this somewhat black hearted hobo uses his QQ Farm in the world of swords and magic to become a globally known nightmarish existence.

- Description from novelupdates

Ren thought getting sacrificed and becoming a holy spirit was rock bottom—until he discovered his divine wife, the Goddess of Magic, is completely broke on faith power. That means his remaining soul would completely disappear.Turns out magicians are the worst believers ever!Ren has a crazy idea: if magicians won't pray willingly, make them pray to access the internet.Starting with a simple magic forum, Ren introduces this fantasy world to the addictive power of online connectivity. Want Q&A sessions on spell theory? Pray first. Need to livestream your dragon research? That'll be one prayer, please. E-commerce shopping for rare magical components? Prayer required for checkout.The moment Ren becomes the God of Technology, this world's whole vibe goes haywire.What begins as a desperate faith-farming scheme spirals into something far bigger. Soon dragons are running delivery services, apprentices are binge-watching magical tutorials, and even gods are competing for subscriber counts. Magic cars cruise the streets, magic trains thunder across continents, and when apprentices start wielding magic ray guns against seasoned magicians, everyone realizes this world has changed forever.From a simple forum to consciousness uploading and biological immortality—when technology crashes into magic, the explosion reshapes reality itself.After all, why choose between science and magic when you can have both?

When Simon dies, it turns out there's more to combat than lightning reflexes with his controller, and the path to becoming a hero is more brutal than he can imagine as he descends into The Pit. Death after Death is a dark, time loop/Isesaki story with roguelike elements, that explores some of the common tropes in a different light.