To Be a Power in the Shadows! - Chapter 172 - Three Ojisans

Notice: This story contains R18+ themes, including violence, sensual and sexual content, blood-related addiction, and dark psychological elements. Reader discretion advised.I died in a library, crushed under centuries of forgotten knowledge. Fitting.Now I’ve woken up in a coffin, starving, undead, and very much not human.They call me a Fledgling—a bottom-feeder vampire barely above a ghoul. I’m weak, hunted, and tethered to a world straight out of a cursed tabletop campaign. It’s a classic fantasy realm—elves, knights, guilds, and dungeons—but twisted by a dark, rotting magic. The moon shines red, the gods are silent, and every town smells like fear.To make matters worse, I’ve been bound to a LitRPG system called the Blood Codex.Level up by draining blood.Unlock skills by embracing your monstrous nature.Resist Corruption... or don’t.There's no prophecy. No chosen one nonsense. No noble title. Just fangs, rot, and whatever I can steal, trick, or kill to survive.But the deeper I sink into this world’s underbelly, the more I realize something is watching me through the system. The rules are breaking. Dungeon bosses are going mad. Entire towns are disappearing.And I think I’m supposed to fix it… or maybe finish the job.

In the rural northeastern mountainous regions stands a tiny Buddhist temple, named One Finger Temple. It isn’t a large one but it is extremely miraculous.

The temple has rice that emanates an aromatic fragrance.

The temple has sweet and refreshing water that rivals ambrosia.

The temple has Buddhas that grant wishes to the sincere.

The temple isn’t large but it has everything. The temple isn’t large but it has flourishing incense offerings that far exceed all temples. The temple isn’t large but it attracts both citizens and foreigners that line up overnight…

The temple has a bald but handsome monk. Every day, he would bawl, “I want to renounce asceticism! I want to marry a chick that’s not too pretty, have a cute baby, and lead a stable life!”

In the current era, people are either normal or are with ‘special abilities’. Cases related to the latter are managed by the “National Anomaly Prevention and Control and Special Species Management Office”.
Qi Zheng Emperor Sheng Lingyuan was reawakened a thousand years later after he jumped off the fiery Red Lake. Xuan Ji, a newly transferred staff to the Reparations Division of the Deviant Control Office, finds himself having to clean up the mess of a revived tyrannical monarch. The two seemed to share something from the past, but unbeknownst to them, a big conspiracy is stirring right underneath their noses that could destroy the balance of the world.

- Description from Novelupdates

Marrying her best friend was a dream come true for Kelly, but everything truly has a limitation.Pierce is Kelly’s first love, but as his best friend, she knew well there was always another woman deep in his heart.Lexi Gilbert. The woman Pierce could never forget even if he had already been arranged to marry Kelly.***Kelly finally realized their happy marriage of the last three years was just a beautiful dream when Pierce asked for a divorce just because Lexi returned.She could only be his best friend even if she was carrying his baby.***Since their friendship had become a cage, Kelly chose to set him free, as well as the miserable herself.But why then, it was Pierce who became the one who refused to move on?To make matters worse, her devil stepbrother also domineeringly stepped in at the same time, asking her to be his.***Her Prince Charming vs. Her Devil Stepbrother?How could Kelly save her heart in this battle of love and hate?