The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era - Chapter 877 - 876: The Death of Shen Hao

A conversation with a handsome stranger leaves Ariane chained in a cellar with a strange affliction. She soon discovers that the darkness of the nineteenth century’s Deep South hides many dangers. Mages, wolf shifters and the humans who hunt them play a risky game where to stumble is to die, all under the amused gaze of the apex predators of the supernatural world: vampires.

It is never healthy to attract the gaze of the aristocracy of the night. It takes much to survive in this merciless world, but Ariane will not let that deter her. The southern belle has a bite, and she is willing to learn and to grow in this hostile new world. She will use whatever means necessary to reclaim her freedom, be it guile, charm, or those intriguing new instincts that make blood so delectable.

This is a story of vampires as I believe they should be, with their strengths and weaknesses, with their remnants of humanity and the beast inside. Updates every Friday. Mind the tags.

Cover by Antti Hakosaari: https://www.artstation.com/haco

Special thanks to Svensonsen for getting me started, as well as Omi Nya, Hesketh, Rhaegar, Yaksher, Selkie and Raven for proofreading my stuff. Thanks to my patrons and you dear readers, for the support. I could not do it without you.

Journey is on Amazon, both in ebooks and audio. here is a link to the first one:

https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B08DK6G8Y8

The story probably exists in your local marketplace as well of I can tempt you.

Five years, Nan Xia devotedly cared for her husband who was in a vegetative state. After finally waiting for the man to wake up, what she got was: “She's pregnant now, wanting a divorce is a bit difficult, just throw her into the lake and let her fend for herself.”Five years later, Nan Xia changed her name and identity, with three adorable children, she sets out to punish the scumbag man, trample on the white lotus, and vows to make the scum man and the vile woman pay in blood!Yet the man pulls her into his arms, softly coaxing, “Honey, be good, let's not divorce.”Nan Xia's expression is icy: “Sorry! I don't know you at all!”

The abyss has breached the real world, placing humanity in grave peril as the shadow of death looms over every individual.Only the Supreme Being can lead humanity to ultimate victory.For too long, humanity has awaited the arrival of the fourth Supreme Being!To become a Supreme Being, one must possess the highest level of talent. An “SSS-tier” talent, representing the pinnacle of power, is capable of advancing an entire era.Finally, a hundred years later, a young man named Mike awakened to an SSS-tier talent called the “Eyes of Truth.”These eyes can reveal hidden information and entries of anything, while also providing some bizarre hints.With the help of his SSS-tier talent, Mike, adopting the alias Thor in the Tower of Truth, continued to create miracles for humanity.As a newly risen Supreme Being, Mike had to conceal his identity before he fully matured. Thus, everyone considered him just an ordinary student, and no one knew that Mike was the legendary Thor.It wasn't until many years later, after humanity had defeated the invaders and restored order, that Mike could finally proudly say to those around him,“Just call me Thor.”

Tigers beget tigers, and lions beget lions. But not in this case.Mao Jin, the only son of the Dust Valley Sect Master, became the laughingstock of the sect due to his trashy talent.At eighteen, he was still stuck in the Mortal Rank-1 realm, with no hope of breaking through to the next stage.Even his parents had given up on him as a cultivator, wishing only for him to live a mortal life.However, everything changed when Mao Jin earned his first income. That was when he realized—what he truly needed wasn’t talent, but money.With money comes unparalleled talents.From a nobody to a visionary, watch as Mao Jin transforms the Dust Valley Sect into a thriving business hub while rising to power!