in a school where there the first five people on the position list get a scholarship to the same college and the other five,another college,a group of teens came together to create a hidden reading group. reading day and night to be the best. will they be able to win even with the challenges they face?

Closing his eyes Jian Shen held the sword as he started trying to understand the Heavenly Dragon Technique first. This was because he needed to increase his cultivation first. He could learn fighting techniques later on as well. 

Looking through the cultivation techniques details, Jian Shen who prides himself on his comprehension felt that he was embarrassingly lacking to learn the whole Heavenly Dragon Technique at once. 

Therefore he decided to only learn the part he needed for now. 

Luckily it seemed like his body which had cultivated automatically used the same technique, due to which he didn't need to worry about having a week foundation. 

Reading and understanding the part of the technique which was for those in the Qi Whirlpool Realm, Jian Shen's eyes opened wide from shock. 

"108... I can create 108 Qi Whirlpools....! YES!"

Jumping into the air and punching upwards, Jian Shen felt that his luck was turning for the best. Not only did he obtain the Heavenly Dragon Sword which was a part of one of the Nine Heavenly Creations, the God Sword, he even obtained a technique which would let him use his potential to the fullest. 

Grinning from this, Jian Shen started thinking that if he used this technique he might be able to open all 12 of his Great Meridians which were connected to his Lower Dantian!

From what Jian Shen saw due to the sword, he didn't only learn about the Nine Heavenly Creations, but he obtained knowledge about a few more things. 

And this included the 36 Great Meridians every living being had inside them. 

The 36 Great Meridians were divided into three sets of 12 each respectively known as Mortal Grade, Earth Grade, and Heaven Grade. 

All in all, the Lower Dantian had 4 Mortal Grade Great Meridians, 4 Earth Grade Great Meridians and 4 Heaven Grade Great Meridians. 

Though he didn't know why no one around him ever talked about the Great Meridians until now, it might be because no one actually knew about it, or any other thing, but Jian Shen knew what they were, and how important they were to him. 

If the normal meridians which were all over the body, and connected to the Lower Dantian allowing Qi to travel through them could be considered as small streams, then the Mortal Grade Great Meridians in comparison to them were huge rivers which let Qi travel many times faster and in greater quantities. 

And above them, the Earth Grade Great Meridians allowed an even greater flow of almost 5 times as that of a Mortal Grade Great Meridians. 

Finally, a single Heaven Grade Great Meridian had the same capabilities as 10 Earth Grade Meridians. 

By just opening a single Mortal Grade Great Meridian, the cultivation speed of anyone would increase by more than two fold. So just thinking about what would happen if he opened all 12 of them, which included 4 Earth Grade and 4 Heaven Grade, Jian Shen couldn't wait to try and open them all.

However, he wasn't in any rush, because he could only attempt to open one Great Meridian three times. And each time would be harder than the previous attempt.

Also in case, someone failed all three times, they could never open that meridian ever again.


...


Since he now obtained the technique he always wanted, Jian Shen didn't want to waste one more second doing nothing.

Closing the door and locking it so that no one can come inside, Jian Shen sat down in lotus position and started using the Heavenly Dragon Technique.

Pulling Qi inside him through his 108 opened acupoints in a speed faster than ever before, Jian Shen started running it all over his body according to the technique.

Every time Jian Shen controlled the Qi to complete a whole circle throughout the body via all the meridians, one new Qi Whirlpool would form.

Noticing how effective the technique was, Jian Shen didn't want to stop at all and continued cultivating for a few hours straight as he created 72 Qi Whirlpools straight.

Unfortunately, he could no longer continue after that because his body just didn't have it in him.

If being exhausted was one reason, the other reason was due to the lack of Yang inside him to continue. In fact, the only reason he was able to cultivate this far was due to the Yang he obtained from his bloodline changing.

Due to this, the tired Jian Shen learned from reading the technique that the Yang inside him would slowly recover in time, but if he wanted to make it grow he'd need to consume Yang based items or have sex with women.

"Hmmm... I don't have anyone to have sex with right now, so I might as well buy a few Yang type resources."

Despite receiving very little money every month, due to never having spent it, Jian Shen managed to save up a small fortune. 

Taking all of it with him, Jian Shen left the palace under the mocking looks from the guards and intoxicated eyes of the maids, walking towards the city's business zone.

Glancing around him at the various hawkers who were selling on the sides of the street, Jian Shen went straight towards the biggest and most grand looking building.

Entering the seven floored white building which had a board with the words 'Heavenly Resource Pavillion' on it, Jian Shen started glancing through the list of resources they had available.

Even Jian Shen knew that Heavenly Resource Pavillion he was inside right now was nothing more than a branch shop, and the main Heavenly Resource Pavillion was something which even the Deng Kingdom didn't dare to make an enemy out of.

As Jian Shen continued looking through the list to see if they had anything he could use, when a mocking voice came from behind him.

"Wel well, if it isn't the trash prince who only knows how to hide behind his aunt."

On his dying breath after saving the woman he loves, Jian Shen throws his sword away to find him in his next life.

And using the same sword he'll start his next life's journey on the path of Sword and Women.


... 


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...


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...

If you want to contact me regarding anything related to my novels, feel free to do so using discord @ Ero_Saint#395

"Say, Xing, is this kid really worth it?"

Elder Xing looked up. "Bai Qi? Mu, are you doubting me again?"

Elder Mu smiled, his crooked grin accenting the wrinkles on his face. "I can't help but doubt you, with the resources you're pushing behind him."

He pointed to the list he held in his hand. "Three-mark spirit chickens eggs and meat, crimson boars meat, yin infused bread, not to mention duskwood berries for every meal. Any one of these items could be sold to feed a small family for a month or two. All to be used up in a days meal for him, the cost is staggering."

"Nonsense. I have more than enough wealth to spare," replied Elder Xing. "Da Lao is also paying part of the costs, using his men to hunt and find some of the ingredients."

"As I asked, is he worth it though? Surely these resources could be better spent nurturing one of the elites we have in the inner tower."

"Mu, do you recall the training I proposed a few years ago?"

Elder Mu put down the parchment he was reading. "The training involving sorting elemental beads? Surely you didn't place him through that. If I recall correctly, only a single Grade 4 mage managed to increase their grade. 

Elder Mu laughed out loud as he put down the parchment. "Surely you jest, it took that Mage over a year to get the results you expected. It is just as quick to put the Mage through some trials that push them in order to get the same results, in less time and with less resources."

"Do you by any chance remember how long it took for the Mage to sort his first marble," Elder Xing inquired?

"About a week in a controlled environment."

"It has been what, 15 minutes since I left him in the void?"

"About 20 minutes or so, why?"

"He has already sorted his first bead."

Elder Mu looked at Elder Xing in shock. He put down the parchment, and waved his hand, causing a screen to appear in front of him. Bai Qi's image section of the void came into view, with Bai Qi sitting cross legged, focusing on a bead in his hand, the bead emitting a soft red glow. 

Elder Xing smiled, as he watched on from his screen. "I didn't give him the training out of the air, there were a few circumstances that lead to it."

"Such as," Elder Mu asked?

"His origin is unknown. Da Lao wrote that he found him in a small town when investigating a disruption, and he didn't have his memory. Bai Qi himself admitted that he doesn't have his full memory, and admitted to being a rogue cultivator. Da Lao came to the conclusion that he was an abandoned disciple, and the talent he displayed, a dual elemental grade 4 mage at such a young age, it's likely he was trained and abandoned by an unknown Archmage. He made it very clear that regardless of how Bai Qi performs, it's imperative we draw him into our bubble of power and nurture him."

Elder Mu gestured with his hand, and a letter materialized in front of him. "I never did get around to reading the letter." As he skimmed through the letter, he pointed to the middle of the letter. "He can form two elemental orbs? That places him as a Grade 4 already."

"More around Grade 3, as though he can form the orbs, he has not been able to actually do anything with his power. Anyway, as I was saying, besides Da Lao, I tested his dantian." 

"A testing stone? What grade?"

"Grade 6 testing stone. A bit on the expensive side, but useful."

"And?" Elder Mu sat forward in anticipation. 

"Nothing." 

"Nothing?"

"He was 19, that's all the stones showed."

"But his elemental affinities?"

"The reading was dark, the dantian was sealed."

"But he can still use elemental powers?"

"Yes," replied Elder Xing. He stroked his beard, and nodded. "From what little historical sources we have on this topic, and that he's using two elements, it's likely he's a base elemental Paragon that hasn't come into contact with the other elements."

Elder Mu looked at the screen in front of him with wonder. "Does he know," he asked? "How powerful he is?"

"Could be," Elder Xing corrected. "If he manages to survive the elemental trials, and manages to come into contact with all five base elements, it's a slim chance he'll be a paragon."

Elder Mu looked at Da Lao's letter once again. "His origin. Is there any way to trace it?"

"Da Lao has already launched a kingdom wide investigation with his network of spies, but I highly doubt he'll find any information. Bai Qi said that he was orphaned, after all, but Da Lao's looking into any cases of youth disappearing in the last 5-15 years in the case that his mentor may have manipulated his memories. Bai Qi may have even come from one of the surrounding empires, meaning that this search would just be a waste of time."

"Awful lot of trouble to raise a potential paragon, manipulate his memories, only to dump him and wipe his memories."

"You know how some of the eccentrics are. Mages have gone crazy and did weirder stuff than this. The fact that we have a term ready for abandoned disciples shows that this isn't an isolated incident. It's just that this falls in the extreme end of the spectrum, and was bound to happen sooner or later."

"He's quite fast at sorting the marbles, isn't he," Elder Mu asked? "He's speeding through the marbles like they're nothing."

"About 2 or so every 5 minutes yeah. He already has a solid foundation on resonating with the elements since he reached Grade 4 before he was abandoned. However, I plan on him getting the control and power of a Grade 5 at the very minimum before Da Lao's trials."

Elder Mu looked skeptically at Elder Xing. "We've always thought you were crazy, but Grade 5 at the minimum?"

Elder Xing flicked a small ball of light at Mu, hitting Mu directly in the forehead. "Hey, who's calling me crazy again?"

The skin where the light ball was about to hit shifted to a bark like texture, taking on a brown color like scales had suddenly grown there, and the ball was absorbed, 

"Ow, " Elder Mu said, glaring at Elder Xing, as he rubbed his forehead. "I have every right to call you crazy, we have less than 3 months with him before the annual sect competition."

"So?"

"So," he paused, " Raising someone to Grade 4 in a year is exceptional, raising someone to Grade 5 in less than 5 years is extremely rare, maybe 1 case out of a hundred, yet you want to push him up two grades in less than 2 months."

"It's more of a single grade Mu, he already hit Grade 4."

Elder Mu scoffed. "You're delusional. He has the foundation at most, but no control over his power, and no power to control, as you said yourself."

Elder XIng grinned. "Wanna make a bet on it?"

"Gladly. Easiest win in my life."

"Your crafted ironwood set if he makes it to Grade 5."

Elder Xing whistled. "Going big starting off. That confident huh?"

"That confident."

"I'll gladly take you on and show you how delusional you are." Elder Mu thought about something for a second, and slowly said, "If he makes doesn't make it to mage Grade 5, and is classified as such by an official test, give me the body of the Silverback Wolf King you obtained last year. That should come close to the value of my ironwood set."

"I have already used the claws from one of the legs to make a dagger set for my nephew, so I'm afraid that doesn't quite match up to the value of your item." Elder Xing pondered for a moment. "I can give you a mid grade defense inscription from Xia Li."

"Set. No backing up from your words when he fails though."

"I doubt he's going to fail however."

Elder Mu scoffed. "Only time will tell."

"Moving on from that, we still have to go over the reports from the east."

Elder Xing waved his hand, and pushed the image of Bai Qi sorting marbles to the side, bringing up a map in front of him. "The beasts are starting to gather again?"

Mu nodded. "There are reports from our scouts that the birth of a beast king will happen sometime in the next year. "

"Has it been confirmed yet?"

"Not yet. The movement of the individual beasts have started to mimic those of a decade ago however, and going off that, wa tide will happen maybe within the next 30 years or so."

"What preparations have been made for the tide?"

Xing looked up, and waved his hand, bringing up a screen. He looked at it for a few seconds, and said "None at all so far, since the event isn't going to be anytime soon. We aso aren't looking at that much of an event, as the las tide was repelled quite easily. Da Lao has also pledged to send a few squats to help when the tide comes around."

"Moving on then," as Elder Xing put the map away, "How are our finances looking this month? And did we manage to resolve the problem with the spell formation near the dorms? "

The topics slowly shifted away from Bai Qi and into the everyday concerns of the Mage sect, as Bai Qi's progress was slowly forgotten for the time being. 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey guys. Midterms and finals are catching up to me as im slowly losing control of my grades. 

At the moment, I put this as like the 18'th thing on my list of things I need to do, and I'm already procrastinating on the first 10 or so. With that being said, I write this from time to time, so here's the next chapter. :))

Silverbro almost about to hit 1k stones, I see you :))
SkylarWolfe, thanks for sticking by still. 

Discord is https://discord.gg/B7xQSKS
If the link doesn't work, hit me up at Paradoxicality#1088

Where exactly does is the line between good and evil? After all, it’s up to the storyteller to change the events. Add a little flourish here, and a twist there, and you have a murder seem like it was instigated by the victim. A bit of tweaking here and changing some of the details there, and the classic hero becomes the villain. The whole thing gets thrown under the bus when you consider perspectives. Climbing to the top means crushing the dreams of others, no matter what. 

But this isn’t about that. Sometime, it’s the smaller picture that matters. 

The mortal realm has been the middle ground, the demons under, the heavens above. Though they stay separated, there have always been the unfortunate who  crossed the borders, and saw the world for what it truly is.

This is a story of Bai QI, an unfortunate given a second chance to tread the path of the ultimate magician. Finding himself in a world without memories, powers he never knew he had, and a mystery hidden in his own being, this is the story of survival, of death, of betrayal. This is the story of life, of hope, of power and truth. This is the story of Yin and Yang, of how one cannot exist without the other.

Chapter 850 – Country Embarks

 Within the Imperial Reading Room.

 Ouyang Shuo solemnly took out the imperial seal, taking a last look at the three imperial decrees before personally stamping it. With that, the imperial decrees were set and could not be changed.

 When Tsing Yi saw that, she took out a cotton box and carefully placed the imperial decrees inside.

 At this very moment, a court lady reported, "My king, the auspicious time has arrived!"

 Ouyang Shuo nodded, smiling as she said to Tsing Yi and Jia Xu, "Let's go, to the court."
 ...
 8 AM sharp, Xia Palace main hall.

 The auspicious time had arrived, and Ouyang Shuo sat on the throne and started the first court assembly of the Great Xia Dynasty.

 Ouyang Shuo looked down at the civil servants and generals and seriously said, "A new dynasty has been establishing and must be ruled properly. I've ascended to the throne, and I'll remove all chaos, setting up a system to rule the wilderness."

 The officials all bowed, "The king is wise!"

 Ouyang Shuo said, "Decree!"

 Secretary Bai Nanpu who was standing not far from Ouyang Shuo respectfully took out the cotton box and started to read the imperial decree upon hearing the order.

 Bai Nanpu had been around Ouyang Shuo for a long time; he was stable in his work. Although he was placed in the Secret Document Pavilion, his role was more like the manager of the eunuchs, and he was in charge of reading the imperial decrees.

 To Bai Nanpu, it was the king showing him a lot of gratitude and thanks.

 The first decree to be read was the Great Xia Dynasty title system.

 Based on the system, any children of the Great Xia Dynasty, be it soldiers, students, artisans, or merchants, as long as they did well in their fields, they could be awarded a title.

 To the dynasty, soldiers killing on the battlefield were contributing, merchants paying tax and opening up trade routes were contributing, teachers educating were contributing, artisans inventing were contributing....

 Since one contributed, one needed to be rewarded.

 The lowest title was the 1st class baron. The titles were further split down into nine grades, 1st class as the highest and 9th class as the lowest. Each occupation had their specific class standards.

 The title given by the dynasty was only an honorary one; it did not come with any salary increase or monetary reward. However, anyone with a title would have a higher status than civilians and would be treated with more respect.

 Hence, it gave people who contributed to the dynasty a lot of respect.

 After reading the title system, Bai Nanpu followed by announcing the list of the first group of people granted titles. Apart from the few during the ascension ceremony, all the generals and civil servants present were given titles one by one.

 Based on Ouyang Shuo's request, the titles were not given based on appointment but by their contribution to the dynasty. Hence, the longer the official served in the territory, the higher their title.

 Take Culture Division Secretary Xu Shuda as an example; he was given the title of 3rd class earl. Even if newcomers had high appointments, they might just become a viscount. For example, Kou Zhun and Di Renjie were given the titles of 3rd class viscount.

 With that, it rewarded the old guard while also giving the new ones pressure to give their all for the dynasty. 
 ...
 After announcing the list of people who were given titles, next would be to announce the organizational structure of the Great Xia Dynasty as well as the appointments.

 During this reorganization, apart from adjusting the original organizations, 20 odd support organizations were made to perfect the system.

 The new support organizations included the imperial medical court, imperial academy, and the like.

 The Xia Palace used court ladies to replace eunuchs, setting up 12 offices.

 Apart from that, in the inner palace, there were also four new divisions and eight bureaus, merging into the 24 Yamen of the inner palace. The court ladies also had six bureaus, paying attention to the palace, rituals, food, sleep, and the like. Each bureau had four divisions under them.

 However, since only Ouyang Shuo, Song Jia, and the underage princes Bing'er lived in the palace, Ouyang Shuo did not like excessive extravagance and ordered the 24 Yamen to make it simple.

 If not, it would be hard to maintain the running of the dynasty.

 With the support organizations being set up one by one, the aura and appearance of a dynasty appeared.

 Of course, the most core adjustments were in the original Nanjiang Governor-General House. These organizations were the true core to maintaining the running of the dynasty and had to be treated seriously.

 Setting up the cabinet to take charge of administrative matters, there would be one Grand Secretary and one assistant. Jiang Shang was officially appointed as the Grand Secretary and Kou Zhun as the assistant to help Ouyang Shuo.

 There was also the setting up of the Grand Council, where the War Division, Military Intelligence Division, and Navy Headquarters would be under.

 With that, the Privy Court would mainly care about the daily matters of the army and their logistics, while the Grand Council would be in charge of commanding. These two organizations would work together whilst also working independently.

 The Grand Council would have one head to lead them all.

 Military Affairs Minister Du Ruhui would temporarily take the role of Grand Council Head, Navy Admiral Zheng He, Guards Legion Corps Marshal Huo Qubing, Dragon Legion Corps Marshal Baiqi, Tiger Legion Corps Marshal Sun Bin, and Leopard Legion Corps Marshal Han Xin would all be members of the council.

 The Cabinet and the Grand Council were the highest military and administrative organizations in the dynasty. Apart from the organizations under Ouyang Shuo's direct control, the others would be under these two.

 The Clerk Room would be upgraded to the Secret Document Pavilion, and there would be one advisor and two secretaries. Tsing Yi would be the Secret Document Pavilion Advisor and Bai Nanpu would be the secretary.

 They would also set up the Administrative Mentor Court to take charge of military and administrative questions; they would also be in charge of memorials. There would be one Chief Secretary, two advisors, and four secretaries. Jia Xu was appointed as the Chief Secretary and Chen Gong as the advisor.

 The Censorate would be set up to be in charge of monitoring, and there would be one minister, and one assistant minister. Wei Zheng would be the minister while Feng Ting would be the assistant minister.

 The newly established Secret Document Pavilion, Administrative Mentor Court, and Censorate, along with the Honglu Temple, Shanhai Guards, and Black Snake Guards were the six organizations under Ouyang Shuo's direct control.

 Below the cabinet would be the Administrative Court, Internal Affairs Court, Financial Court, and Privy Court as well as the Industrialization Department and the Four Seas Bank.

 The secretaries under the four courts would all be upgraded to department, and their member appointments would be kept the same with no changes.

 After the reshuffle, the local offices and Yamens around the territory needed to adjust too.

 Based on the system, the local offices would all be set into six grades, province, prefecture, house, county, township, and village. Each grade would have a fixed number and one could not randomly add or deduct the number.

 At the same time, the province used bureau as the highest grade, prefectures had department, house had division, county had office, and township and villages had branches.

 Branch, office, division, department, bureau, and court; these were the six layers of the organizational system.

 With that, the system was fluid and perfected. Only then could they ensure a smooth administrative system. 
 ...
 The last imperial decree that Bai Nanpu read was regarding the nine grade rank. Since one had a perfect system, one needed strict and clear grades.

 Based on the system, the Great Xia Dynasty would have nine grades of officials, one primary and one secondary, for a total of 18 grades.

 Based on Ouyang Shuo's request, the Great Xia Dynasty would not have a grand tutor, a senior grand tutor, and a grand protector. The Imperial Court civil servants were led by the Cabinet Grand Secretary and the generals were under the Grand Council. 

 The Cabinet Grand Secretary, Cabinet Assistant Grand Secretary, and the head of the Grand Council were all Primary Grade 1; Administration, Internal Affairs, Financial, and Military Affairs Ministers were all Secondary Grade 1.

 Di Ruhui taking up two roles meant that he would have the higher rank. In the future, when the time was right, Ouyang Shuo was considering getting a minister for the Grand Council to do daily duties.

 The Honglu Temple and Censorate leaders were Primary Grade 2, and the assistant ministers of the four courts and the Zhili viceroy were Secondary Grade 2.

 Taking this chance, Ouyang Shuo officially announced the four assistant ministers of the four courts. He appointed Zhang Tingyu as Assistant Administration Minister, Di Renjie as Assistant Internal Affairs Minister, Cui Yingyu as Assistant Financial Minister, and Xiahou Dun as Assistant Military Affairs Minister.

 Original Military Affairs Bureau Deputy Director Zhao Kuo would move along with the War Division to the Grand Council. 

 The Zhili viceroy was like the head of all governors.

 The Provincial Governors, Administrative Mentor Court Minister, Shanhai Guards Commander and Black Snake Guards Commander were all Primary Grade 3. The directors beneath the courts, such as Industrialization Director, and Four Seas Bank Treasurer, were all Secondary Grade 3. 

 Secret Document Pavilion Advisor, Censorate Assistant Minister, and the like would be Primary Grade 4, while the secretary and deputy directors of the four courts would be Secondary Grade 4.

 Out of the six organizations directly under him, Honglu Temple was in charge of diplomacy, and the Censorate handled channels for criticism and feedback; they were really important departments. Hence, their position was really high and only second to the four courts. 

 The Administrative Mentor Court, Shanhai Guards, and Black Snake Guards were on the same level as a Provincial Governor. Although the Secret Document Pavilion was really close to Ouyang Shuo, he only gave it a Primary Grade 4 rank.

 The reason he arranged it like this was naturally to set up restrictions.

 Further down, the secretaries of the four courts, the directors of the provincial Yamens were all Primary Grade 5. The Governor and deputy directors of the provincial Yamens were Secondary Grade 5.

 Directors of the House level were Primary Grade 6, and Prefects were Secondary Grade 6. Country Magistrate and House Secretaries were Primary Grade 7. The four office managers at the county level would be Primary Grade 8 and the branch heads were Secondary Grade 8.

 The town mayor was Primary Grade 9, while village heads and town grade branch heads were Secondary Grade 9.

 After the grade system was released, all the officials in the dynasty would be given a rank with a certain amount of salary.
Hence, there was a way to settle the ruling foundations of the dynasty.

 A new dynasty was about to arrive!


Earth Online – a virtual MMORPG that takes place in the future year of 2190 – a game that everyone will bet their futures on. Set in a map that is ten times the size of real-world Earth, players battle for supremacy in the first game to feature personal adventure, territory construction, and grand warfare. For every death you experience in the game, your level would drop back to zero. Ouyang Shuo, an above average player, suffered the ultimate betrayal. For merely a piece of equipment, his sworn brother betrayed and backstabbed him. This time, after he reincarnated in the game, Ouyang Shuo swore to exact vengeance.

However, in an unexpected turn of events, Ouyang Shuo found himself back five years before the betrayal – right before the launch of Earth Online. This time, armed with the knowledge from his past life, Ouyang Shuo would venture upon a new path.

How to perfectly complete quests? What historical battle maps would appear? How should one build up their territory? Utilizing the experience from the predecessors of his last life, Ouyang Shuo makes his bid for the top against all odds. Follow his journey as he seeks to lord over the world!

A different kind of tale that blends historical characters and virtual reality gaming, with heavy emphasis on kingdom building and warfare.

After dinner, Principal Chen, Principal Cao, the teachers from the Provincial No.1 Middle School, along with the head teachers of the classes of the eighth and ninth grade, sat in the conference room. 
No one was speaking. They were waiting for the two principals to finish reading the name list.
Sitting in the middle, Mrs. Ke froze as Principal Chen was looking over the registration forms of the eighth grade… Never had the principal supervised any kind of competition before, why was he looking this time!
There were seven classes of the eighth grade. Usually, five or six students, who were the top ten students from their respective classes, would register for the competition.
When he finished browsing the registration forms of the eighth grade, Principal Chen didn't see Ye Jian's form.
"Mrs. Ke, give me Ye Jian's form," Principal Chen lifted his head, keeping the registration forms. With a sharp look in his eyes, he gazed at Mrs. Ke who had been making things difficult for Ye Jian time and again. He said in a deep voice, "Mrs. Ke, please hand it to me in person."
With a pale look on her face, Mrs. Ke stood up abruptly. Her face was burning as she was gazed at by her colleagues. "I'm sorry. I… I forgot it. I'm going to fetch it right away."
She ran away swiftly…
Five minutes later, while holding Ye Jian's registration form, Principal Cao said with interest, "She signs up for all the subjects. Very confident." Glancing at Mrs. Ke, who had been keeping her head low since she reentered the office, he said with a smile, "If she is an all-rounder, it's not impossible that she may be admitted to our school as an exception"
"She knows nothing!" Mrs. Ke panicked as she heard such a speech. She lifted her head to explain, "Principal Cao, Ye Jian is totally a bad student, she…"
"There is no absolute top student, just as there is no absolute bad student. Mrs. Ke, choose your words cautiously," with a bright smile on his face, Principal Cao interrupted Mrs. Ke. He said cordially, "We will see if she is a bad student on the exam day." 
"The evening study session starts at seven. Well, every teacher please get prepared. The first round of mock exam begins at seven o'clock sharp."
No one listened to Mrs. Ke's explanation. The teachers stood up and went to inform their students.
In the office for the deans of studies, Dean Ke handed two sets of exam paper to two students. "If you want to win honors for our school, read this first. You will have a mock exam starting at seven o'clock."
"Thank you, Dean Ke." Ye Ying reached out her hands eagerly. But Gao Yiyang pulled her back and said in a cold voice, "Are you telling us to cheat in the exam?"
"Gao Yiyang! What are you talking about?!" Ye Ying was panicked to hear him say that. "Dean Ke lets us read the questions, hoping we can get better results in the exam. It's not that we are reading the answers!"
Wasn't it cheating to read the exam questions in advance?
Principal Chen informed Ye Jian about the privileges that Ye Ying was enjoying. Ye Jian smiled calmly. "Don't worry. Like I said, Ye Ying is my rival that I need to defeat. How can I let her be one step ahead of me?"
"So what if she has read the exam paper? I can win this battle nicely all the same!"
She seemed completely confident in herself, with a contempt look hidden in her jet-black eyes. Principal Chen, who was a bit worried before, raised his eyebrows, laughing loudly. "Girl, to suppress your opponent, make sure she will never shine. Even if she does, you must outshine her!"
Needless to say that Ye Jian would not let Ye Ying achieve what she wished!
Due to the last minute notice, the classroom of Class One Grade Nine was evacuated for the examination's purpose. Ye Jian took out one sheet from the piles of exam paper and handed the rest to the students behind her. She picked up a pen and started to write.


Through years of abuse and death threats, Ye Jian is not so ready to bid adieu to this world just yet! Fortunately, destiny has granted her another shot at life. Only this time, she is determined to become the master of her own fate and retaliate her oppressors from her previous life. It's payback time.
 
Although reborn with beauty and youth, Ye Jian obviously holds higher pursuits. In this life, she is determined to become an extraordinary commando. No, she does not need love, family, or any affection! 
 
He is born in a powerful family; and step-by-step, he becomes the youngest Major General through his own merits. He is drawn to her every move, despite her repeatedly shunning him.
 
"What you need is love, my little fox," he whispers.
"Get lost! I need bullets!" She steps away.
 
Behold. Let this novel take you through the warm, happy, loyal, and passionate story of the aggressive military couple.

It was morning and Cade's alarm clock rang. He turned off the alarm and woke up with disheveled hair. He looked at the time and it was 5am in the morning.

Cade scratched his head and he yawned as he felt sleepy. He got up from his bed and went to the bathroom to take a shower. After that, he prepared some simple breakfast and started having a peaceful breakfast. 

Cade took out his geniusphone and there were again many missed calls but this time from many people including Jonathan, Shihoon, Viola and everyone else he was in contact with since the incident in the big tongue toad dungeon. 

Cade wondered why all of them were calling him. He wanted to call them back and saw they left a message too. Reading the message, Cade was extremely shocked. 

He immediately went online to check what they had said and to his surprise, what they said was right. A time limit dungeon had appeared on Planet Dineon. Looking at the video of the dungeon, Cade can see all the info of the dungeon with warning sign from the system.

[2 days 15 hours 27 minutes. Grade C level 10 to 20] 

Cade went to his apartment window to look outside and he saw many spaceships flying around and they all headed towards space. They were evacuating the planet. 

Cade looked below and the road was a mess with garbage around but there was no human in sight. No one was walking around the streets. 

Cade read more messages from his friends and acquaintances. Shihoon asked Cade if he wanted to come to his home planet if he decided to evacuate the planet. 

Viola and Jonathan on the other hand decided to enter the dungeon and when Cade tried to call them, unfortunately, the call was not connected. 

The others also either asking Cade to come with them evacuating the planets or joining them entering the dungeon. 

Looking at the situation, Cade decided to enter the dungeon. His level was within the level limit. He had been living on Planet Dineon his whole life and it was a given that he will do his best to protect the planet. 

Cade gave the call to everyone that asked him to join them evacuating the planet to decline their offer and apologized for not answering their calls. 

As for the one asking him to join their party, none of them answered his call and when he checked, everyone had entered the time limit dungeon. 

Cade wanted to enter the dungeon immediately but he knew it will be suicide if he got in now. His stat was too low and he might die immediately inside the dungeon. That dungeon was C grade too.
 
Cade opened the government site to see the list of dungeons available nearby his apartment. Cade decided to collect a lot of the figure puzzle pieces to get himself some free stat points. 

Looking at the list, there were not many dungeons nearby and they were mostly of high grade but that was what he was looking for. 

Once he got himself the list of the dungeons, Cade immediately took off to his destinations. Since everyone had started to evacuate the planet, the road was clear and there were many cars around Cade can use. 

Unfortunately for Cade, he was unable to hijack any car as he did not have any knowledge on doing that. He found a bicycle and decided to use that. 

He cycled as fast as he can and, in few minutes, he arrived at his first target dungeon. Cade's aim was the figure puzzle piece and it will take him only a few minutes to get a complete of them. 

In front of Cade was the portal to a B grade winged rabbit. In this dungeon, Cade can find a rabbit with wings on their back. 

Since the dungeon grade was B, Cade will be able to find the C grade, D grade and E grade winged rabbit too. With all of that, Cade will be able to get four complete figures of them. 

However, that will all be a dream because on the first floor, the most explorers can find were the E grade winged rabbit. Cade needed to move fast and he did not want to spend too much time inside the dungeon. 

Cade entered the dungeon with all of his linked equipment fully equipped. He activated the system mapping function and started running around for a winged rabbit. 

A few seconds of running, a winged rabbit was detected on the map. Cade immediately went to that direction and saw an E grade rabbit flying around. The system appraised the rabbit and it had a limit of 10 stat points on each of its stat and it had a total of 20 stat points altogether on its stats.

Cade did not waste his time and attacked the winged rabbit. The winged rabbit however, easily maneuvered itself in the air and dodged Cade's attack. 

Since Cade had no long-ranged attack, all he can do was run around with his sword to kill the rabbit. The rabbit was level 1 and it will be super easy for Cade to kill it but that rabbit was quick and gave Cade quite a trouble attacking it. 

After a few minutes fighting (chasing), Cade finally landed his attack and killed the rabbit. He did not look at the list an immediately choose the figure puzzle piece. 

The winged rabbit surprisingly needed quite a lot of puzzle pieces. A complete figure needed 5 puzzle pieces. Cade needed to find 4 more E grade winged rabbit to complete a figure of the rabbit. 

Cade ran around and found another winged rabbit, however, this one was D grade. He never thought that he will find a D grade early in the dungeon. 

Cade decided to let it go but he soon found another one D grade winged rabbit. Cade thought for a moment and decided to kill all winged rabbit he can find. He did not care anymore. 

Since the rabbit was fast, Cade had quite a hard time in killing them but he soon got himself a complete figure of the winged rabbit. An E grade winged rabbit figure complete puzzle. 

The complete puzzle gave Cade 20 stat points. It was a small amount but Cade was happy nonetheless. He used all of them on his endurance and increased it to 53. 

He only needed one more D grade puzzle piece of the winged rabbit and he will complete his second winged rabbit figure. 

He continued running around and his map detected another winged rabbit, however, it was E grade. Cade ignored that rabbit and searched for another one. A few minutes of running around, Cade finally found a D grade winged rabbit. 

No matter how high the grade of that monster was, as long as they were level 1, they stood no chance against Cade. Cade killed the D grade winged rabbit and finally complete another winged rabbit puzzle. 

The D grade winged rabbit figure complete puzzle gave twice the amount of stat of the E grade. Cade got himself 40 stat points and again he used it all on his endurance increasing it to 93 points.
 
As Cade was pressed for time, he decided to left the dungeon using the emergency badge and headed for another dungeon nearby. Since no one was around, it was easier for Cade to move around. 

He arrived at the next dungeon in 15 minutes. The dungeon in front of Cade was the D grade goblin dungeon. They were slightly stronger compare to the big tongue toad but the level 1 goblin will not be that dangerous to Cade. 

Cade entered the dungeon and started killing the goblin. They were really a cunning monster and Cade needed more time to defeat them. 

About 30 minutes later, Cade got himself the E grade and D grade goblin figure complete puzzle. To Cade surprised, the figure gave him quite a lot of stats. 

The E grade figure gave him 40 stat points and the D grade gave him twice stat points of that of the E grade figure. All in all, Cade got 120 stat points from the two goblin figures. 

He used 107 of that points and maxed out his endurance stat and the leftover stat points on his vitality stat. His endurance reached the limit at 200 points while his vitality stat increased to 58 stat points. 

Cade finished his business on the goblin dungeon and moved on to the next dungeon, the B grade colored butterfly dungeon. 

The butterfly in the dungeon had many different colors and that difference in color was the variations of the butterfly. 

With that many variations, Cade will be able to farm many figures of that colored butterfly. They were not strong too and it will be easy to kill them. 

The only difficulty of killing them was that they were small and explorers tend to miss their target. Cade had no time to spare and he continued his hunt on the butterfly for more figure.

In an age of magic, space travel and explorations, humans had far surpassed what they were capable of in the past. 

In a small planet located in a small star sector, a young man name Cade was living his life peacefully. 

One day, Cade was playing around with cardboard and he suddenly awakened his system. However, an accident happened and the cardboard he played with became part of his power. 

Followed Cade's journey in making his name as an explorer in the universe.

After opening the "starter pack" The System said to me, " congratulations host you got "(100)" System points, "the beginer engineering knowledge" and "the excavation kit"." 
"I know what are the points used for, but I don't know what are the other things, System can you please explain me what are this things and how I use them."
"Surly yes host, first "the beginer engineering knowledge" gives the host the skill engineering(initial) which gives host the knowledge and abilities to make, handle and repair a lot of machines, weapons, tools and also host owns body, in addition unlocks a new stat panel the job, window, that lets you have the basic skills of that job."
"And the "excavation kit"  have three tools for excavation and ores extraction, and they are: the drill arm (white), the shovel arm(white) and the a pickaxe(white). The drill is used to break stones and it can also be used as a weapon, but it isn't recommended to use it in untestable caves since it makes a lot of noises and vibrations, for these the pickaxe is needed since it's more safe to use and finally the shovel is used for digging."
"I only have a question what the words (beginer) and (white) after the job and tools means."
"That's easy host,(white) means the grade of the weapons and tools and it goes like this (white-black-green-blue-red-silver-gold-diamond-(semi-divine)-divine) all of these grades are separated in (low-middle-high)."
"And the world (beginer) means the knowledge you got about that field and the knowledge is divided in (beginer-novice-expert-master), and that should be all host."
"Ok, thanks and where are the tools."
"Host the tools are in your body and like the stats and the other systems you only need to think and they will apear in your hand or in what body parts the tools should be."
"Ok, lets start with the shovel", after saying that I started to think in a shovel in my left arm, then I heard a soft and metalic sound, after hearing that sound I looked at my left arm then a soft and weak silver light covered my left arm then the pieces of my left hand started to move and after less than a second my left arm change completely, first it was a little bigger than before and instead of a hand there was a huge shovel like the once the construction vehicles have.
When the change finished I tried to move my the shovel And it was natural like if the shovel was always there, then I tried to rotate the shovel And it could rotate (360) degrees." This is very useful."
Then I started trying the other tools, when I thinked about it my right arm changed more-less the same as the left, the only difference was that instead of a shovel there was a drill, where my hand should be, then I think of my arms returning how they used to be and when my arms where normal again, I tried the pickaxe then instead of a silver light covering my arm these time only my hand shined after that in my right hand apearse a grey pickaxe then I hold it with my two hands and tried hitting the floor with it, and the feeling was the same as when I used the shovel or the drill natural, but also different because the pickaxe wasn't light or heavy it had the perfect weight for me to use it.
When I was thinking of that I suddenly remember something and told the System, " Oh I forgot System can you show me the shop."
"Of course host",after the reply of the System in my mind suddenly appeared a very long list of different things, I know once like the radar, the hammer,the flamethrower, and many more, but there were also many more that I didn't know what they do or what they are like the photon generator, the disguise panel,the plasma generator, and the list continues and nearly all of these items have their own grade.
After carefully reading the list I selected three  items and tell the System, " System I want the night visor for (10) points, the binoculars for (5) points and the radar for (20) points."  I choose this items to increase my survival chances since I don't know where I'm, and since I have (100) points why not.
"Okay host, congratulations host you got: radar (white), night visor(white) and binoculars (white)." After that I decided to check my stats again.
Name: Drake.

Race:Robot

Metal: normal iron

Level: 1

Exp: (0/100)

Strength: 20

Wisdom: 20

Intelligence: 20

Endurance: 20

Luck:10 (Max)

Battle strength: initial grade (1)

Skills: night vision (white (passive)), long range vision (white (passive)), radar (white (passive)).

Job: engineer (beginer)

Weapons: pickaxe (white)

Tools: excavation kit (white)

Race abilities: energy restoration, negative effects immunity.

Remarks: It doesn't need to sleep or eat, it doesn't feel pain and his energy will restore automatically, with basic knowledge of engineering it can repair itself faster than before, and a vision and detection abilities that where enchanted.

"Ok, now lets see what missions can I do now."

I don’t remember who I used to be, but now all I know is that I’m a robot in a world that have cultivators and magic, it doesn’t matter if I can’t cultivate or learn magic since I’m a robot because I have a system with a lot of weapons and tool far beyond the imagination of the people of this world.

Ding!
________
[Omnipresence (Rare)]
Grade: Transcendent (C)
Birthed from the harmonious yet complex fusion of indifferent sentience, exuberant vitality, and unyielding willpower, this rare skill allows the user to do things that seem impossible for those that are not endowed with the same level of sentience.
>Deal 200% increased damage to enemies within a certain radius
>All short-ranged attacks become long-ranged
>Reduce the enemies' stats by 20%
Time limit: 5 minutes
FP Cost: 2500 FP 
________
"This skill is so powerful that it's incredibly disgusting." This was the only statement Aurus could let out after reading up on the description of the newly fused skill. Nonetheless, on the inside, he was looking at the skill in awe, wondering as to what the limits of skill fusion could be. Not only that, he was also pondering as to how he could make this newly fused skill a trump card of his in the upcoming battle.
After fusing the three skills that he thought were all useless into one skill that was actually incredibly powerful, Aurus could not help but have expectations for the skill fusions he was about to do next. Indeed, with the realization that he could create intrepidly strong skills, Aurus was now hooked on fusing skills together.
Whoosh!
Opening up the Skill Fusion screen once more, Aurus commanded the system to change the list of skills he was looking at to compose of all of his skills, not just limiting himself to active and hybrid skills. If active and hybrid skills could be fused, then why not passive skills as well?
To be honest, after his first successful skill fusion, he started throwing skills into the Skill Fusion screen at random, only obtaining prompts from the system that informed him that the skill combinations he threw in would not work. It also informed him that the skills that were going to be fused together should have some relation, or else fusion would not even happen. Surprisingly, there was no downside to fusing skills randomly, just wasted time.
After that, he also tried fusing skills with the Ruler skills he obtained from the inheritance. Of course, a prompt appeared in front of his field of vision once again, informing him that Ruler skills could not be fused as they were tied to a title of his. To be on the safe side, the system also informed him that he could not fuse two Ruler skills together. Obtaining a prompt like that, Aurus could not help but think that the system had some level of awareness.
After obtaining those prompts which told him about the limitations of skill fusion, Aurus decided to look at the list of skills once more, taking those words of advice into consideration as he made wiser choices this time, instead of just fusing random skills together willy-nilly, hoping that the fusion would succeed.
And so, a few minutes later, after being bombarded with prompts, Aurus used the Skill Fusion screen once more. This time, with the skills he chose having some relation to them.
"System, fuse [Flux Chiliocosm], [Chiliocosm of Spirit], and [Stick-Flux Unification] together," he commanded the system, slightly trembling as there was a chance that the fusion wouldn't go through. Nonetheless, he was pretty confident that this skill fusion would work as all of them were related to his energy source. To be more exact, the vessels where he holds the energy.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Not long after, three skill names appeared on the Skill Fusion screen, each and every one being the skills Aurus mentioned for the system to fuse. A few seconds later, these skill names started to faintly glow as a prompt appeared in front of Aurus' field of vision not long after. Reading through the prompt, Aurus could not help but radiate an aura of happiness as he muttered to himself in glee, "It finally worked!"
Ding!
'Would you like to fuse the three skills together? As all three of them are of the same grade, 5 of your levels shall be consumed.'
"Of course, I do," Aurus replied without hesitation, with three motes of light appearing inside his mind once more not long after. They collided once more with one another as usual, eventually melding into a giant ball of vibrant light. A few seconds later, a notification appeared in front of Aurus' field of vision, informing him of the newly fused skill that had just been created, as well as the fact that his level had dropped down to 9.
Ding!
'Skill Fusion is successful. The passive Species skill [Supreme Spirit-Flux Chiliocosm (Special)] has been created.'
Of course, since this was a new skill he had obtained, he could not help but read through the skill description, muttering praises in awe as to how amazing the effects were on the newly fused skill.
Ding!
_________
[Supreme Spirit-Flux Fabrication (Special)]
Grade: Transcendent (C)
Birthed from the fusion of three skills which served the purpose of containing a strong yet plentiful energy, this skill expands the limit of how much energy, energy being Flux Points, this skill could hold. As a resonance has formed between the three skills, a superbly great amount of FP can be held at once, as well as the fact that a great amount of energy can be regenerated at once. Not only that, the effect of the energy is also enhanced, allowing the user to exert more power into their abilities.
>Increases efficacy of FP-based skills by 30%
>Reduces cost of FP-based skills by 30%
>All that come close to the user gain a 15% increased energy regeneration rate buff
FP Capacity: 20000
FP Regeneration Rate: 500 FP per 10 seconds
________
"Tssss…" Aurus could not help but imitate the sound of sucking air between the teeth, aghast from the effect of the skill when comparing it to the effects of the three separate skills from before. "Although the amount of FP I can utilize is halved thanks to the Spirit Energy Core, that's still 10000 FP I can use at once! If I had that amount while I was making the Spirit Clone, I would've been able to create a Rank 1 Animate clone instead of Rank 0!"
As he continued to think about the possibilities of having a lot of SP, he could not help but say, "Then again, starting out as a Rank 1 Animate by relying through the system would probably be a worse choice than starting out from Rank 0 in the long run."
"Anyways, moving on." Placing these thoughts in the back of his head, he then continued to look at the list of skills that weren't fused yet, trying to formulate a skill fusion that would use up more than 3 skills as that would definitely result in an incredibly powerful skill.
A few seconds later in his attempt of formulating such a recipe of skills, he could not help but notice four Class Skills that were around the same line of thought, being around the manipulation of Flux for greater power. Well…at the very least, that's how Aurus interpreted it.
Looking at the Skill Fusion screen once more, Aurus commanded the system, "Fuse all of the active skills regarding Flux."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
At that moment, four intangible threads of light, that came out of Aurus' body, made their way towards the Skill Fusion screen, filling up four spaces as the four of them glowed with vibrant light not long after, a decent contrast to that from the skill fusion before.
Aurus could not help but notice it as well, asking himself, "Is the amount of light emitted by the skills in the resonance proportional to the possible power of the skill?"
He tried to recall the amount of light that was released by the first skill fusion he did, slightly surprised that it emitted a bit more light compared to the fusion of energy storage skills.
Ding!
'Would you like to fuse [Unworldly Flux Weapon Fabrication], [Unworldly Flux Armor Fabrication], [Third Heaven Flux Enhancement], and [Grand Flux Samsara] together? As all of these skills are of the same grade, 8 of your levels shall be consumed.'
"Hoh? 8 of my levels shall be consumed? Since a fusion of 3 skills cost 5 of my levels, then a fusion of only 2 skills would cost around 2 or 3 levels? I'll have to find that out later," Aurus muttered for a bit after reading up on the cost of the fusion. Nonetheless, he accepted the prompt, dropping his level down to 2 afterwards. Of course, he used up a portion of his unused experience once more, getting back to max level in an instant as four motes of light appeared in his mind.
Unexpectedly, while the four motes of light collided with one another in an elegant yet vibrant dance of sorts, Aurus could not help but hear a dragon's roar resound from the collisions, with it becoming more frequent the closer the four were going to fuse as one. Eventually, the four had fused into one entity of light, illuminating Aurus' mind in a vibrant light as multiple dragon roars resounded not long after.
Ding!
Which was followed up by a notification sound.
'Skill Fusion is successful. The active Species skill [Ancient Modular Flux Equipment Fabrication (Epic)] has been created.'
As Aurus read up on the notification he had received, he could not help but gasp in surprise, forcing himself to stay silent as he did not want to startle Fenrir and Charisa, shouting inwardly in extreme glee instead.
"An Epic skill! I can't believe it…I actually obtained an Epic skill!"
As Special skills were stronger variants of normal skills, Rare skills being stronger variants of Special skills, Epic skills were on a higher level compared to them. Once a skill had reached the Epic level, even if it was a Mortal skill, it would still output power equivalent to that of a Transcendent level skill, or better yet, a Divine level skill!
Although Aurus had obtained a lot of Epic skills back in ISE, Legendary skills even, this was the first time Aurus had obtained an Epic skill in his current life, which was based on ISE. Of course, since it was his first Epic skill, he was quite excited to read the skill's description, bringing it up not long after.
Ding!
________
[Ancient Modular Flux Equipment Fabrication (Epic)]
Grade: Transcendent (C)
Birthed from the fusion of four skills that specialized in the usage of Flux for greater power, a skill that could surpass the power of a lot of skills had been made, allowing the user to forge equipment out of the user's Flux. Not only that, the skill also allows the user to create modifications to the equipments made in terms of effects, even allowing the equipment to be given out to other users.
>Grade Range of Crafted Equipment: Grand to Mythic
>Attachable Effects to Crafted Equipment: Enchantment, Party Resonance
>Attachable Set Effects to Crafted Equipment: Rejuvenation, Arcana, Damnation, Fortress, Vitality
>Types of Craftable Equipment: Physical, Magic, Ignition
FP Cost: 500 FP
________
If Aurus had eyes, those eyes of his would definitely twinkle like a million shooting stars due to the sheer amount of awe and reverence he had for this skill. Not only that, multiple ideas for trump cards started to pop out of Aurus' mind due to the great amount of modularity Aurus could do to the equipment.
At the very end of his thinking session, Aurus could not help but mutter, "If this is what skill fusion can give me…why don't I fuse up even more skills?"
And so…that's what he did.
…
While Aurus was basking in the feeling of obtaining a lot of ideas, as well as greater combat power due to the fusions he was doing, something different was happening within a certain portion of the Celestial Plane.
Celestial Plane, Kurohana's plane.
"Success." Kurohana could not help but lightly chuckle as she looked through the white orb in front of her, looking at Aurus, who was currently fusing up his skills together.
While looking at Aurus, she raised both of her hands into the air, manifesting a few threads of green light that went towards the orb not long after. These threads were infused with the Law of Natural Flow, which Kurohana had asked for permission to manipulate as she did not want to be berated by Phatia again.
As she looked at the green threads slowly meld with the orb, displaying Aurus' surroundings, a light smile appeared on her face as she said in a slightly proud manner, "Finally, I removed that invincibility skill from his skillset. With him not having that skill, there would be greater chance for him to lose in the upcoming war that's going to happen, forcing him to recuperate. While he's recuperating, with the help of the threads I infused, that will make someone find him and use him as a weapon!"
"I'm a genius, a true genius." Kurohana could not help but laugh after going over through her plans. Not long after though, she continued to look at her orb, letting out a sigh as she muttered, "To be honest, I would have definitely waited for a year since that would allow Aurus to mature even more, increasing the nurturing speed of the weapon. But due to the plane's current circumstances, I have no choices but to do this."
As she said this, she could not help but recall the war that happened back then in the Celestial Plane, which killed off a lot of Lesser Gods, but allowed a decent number of Lesser Gods to become Greater Gods in the process. Nonetheless, the memories of the Divine Demon War to Kurohana was something she did not want for others to experience, which forced her to hasten Aurus' fate of becoming a weapon.
"Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stop him from forming a Spirit Clone." Kurohana sighed as she panned towards another section of Erudinia, the orb displaying an old yet wise-looking man drinking a bit of tea. She could not help but slightly frown as she continued to talk. "If he did not craft a Spirit Clone, then the strength of his soul would boost the nurturing speed of the weapon even further. Unfortunately, it seems that someone in my world has become aware of my actions…"
She let out a sigh not long after, muttering, "If I had the time to do so, I would definitely eliminate this fellow, but I have to focus all of my efforts to getting Aurus crafted into a weapon as fast as possible. The weapons I've crafted, although having a high grade, don't have enough power and affinity to fight against the demons."
"Only with a soul like Aurus' soul would I be able to create my true masterwork weapon, a weapon that can cut through anything and everything."
"By then…I would also be able to fight against those that plotted against me. Just you wait."

If you're not a fan of fourth wall breaking (which I'm also not a fan of), please try and get past Chapter 5 because that's when the novel truly starts to shine. This note will be removed once I edit out the fourth wall breaking.
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Under a planned twist of fate, Aurus was struck by a bolt of lightning, forcing him into the reality that he was never going to be able to play his favorite game ever again.

Fortunately, as if luck was on his side, a goddess took pity on him and gave him the choice to reincarnate as a stick? As to why she gave him that choice, I don't know but he still picked it anyway!

Witness the adventures of Aurus and his path to becoming a tree or probably something else. I don't know, I haven't planned much.

Join me on Discord: https://discord.gg/SRaEwGE
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If we reach a certain power stone ranking, additional chapters shall be uploaded! Note that all additional chapters shall be uploaded on Friday, 23:55 GMT+ 8!

Top 200 - 1 extra chapter
Top 150 - 2 extra chapters
Top 100 - 3 extra chapters
Top 50 - 5 extra chapters

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This novel is gradually being edited.
Latest edited chapter: C1

Cover by: yueyi

Kyon gave the girl a book with the biography of another general. She had already studied and analyzed the first general out of 12. The young lady had discovered that even if Richard was considered the hero of the empire, his family needs were his priority.
Kyon continued studying books. He only had to go through a few more books, and he could organize a quick path to the top of the kingdom.
Two hours before the working hours were over, Kyon found out that there existed a fourth grade of the elements, the master grade. Only geniuses among geniuses can get the master grade. It goes after the superior grade that only a few people have (on the condition it's available in their family heritage). The master grade is the rarest heirloom. It's invaluable. Its history originates from ancient eras, when talented masters devoted their whole lives to their creation, and talented practitioners mastered them all their lives. Wealthy families cannot afford such luxury. Even the royal families don't have in their treasuries anything above the superior grade.
{Hmm... When I master the superior grade of darkness and light, will they automatically get the master grade because of the gluttonous sphere-keys?} – According to Kyon's calculations, any element of the master grade would be about six stages more powerful than those of the basic grade. It's a significant advantage in the battle, more than half of the phase.
A quiet voice, devoid of any respect came from behind:
«Can I have a moment? We have to talk.»
Kyon turned around and saw a bull-like descendant of direct blood, who, apparently, was not aware of his rank. His eyes were cold with contempt and hostility. The new fool felt superiority in front of the practitioner of the first phase. How naive of him.
No sooner had Kyon waved him away with his token, when the beefy guy suddenly tensed, turned pale and left, staggering. A foul-smelling liquid dripped from his leg. What a miserable mistake of nature. It wasn't hard to guess who was the reason for his retreat.
Kyon looked at the girl in black. She defiantly slammed the book, making it clear that she had finished reading, and it was time for him to come to her and examine her knowledge.
{What the…} – Her behavior bewildered and confused Kyon. Was it really so hard just to ask? She must have been sitting silently for five minutes... The girl was too proud or standoffish. Or maybe she had really just finished reading the book and was giving him an elegant hint to come up to her.
Kyon went to her table, followed by the envious glances of the seven guys. The descendants of direct blood filled his dark core faster than usual. They could not believe that the powerful girl had become his patron!
Kyon sat down and frowned. The lady's eyes seemed to tell him: "We are even now."
«Uh-huh, young lady! Don't take what's happened here for a bargaining chip! First of all, it is your fault that they are jealous of you. Second, I have everything under control, and third, my service is disproportionately more expensive than the spoiled pants of that bull.»
He could hear discontented exclamations from behind, interrupted by a low growl.
However, the young lady stayed cool like moonlight. Her face was impenetrable. She was meaningfully silent.
It was impossible to say what was on her beautiful mind  Kyon took her silence for consent. - «Alright, let's get started.»
It was getting late at night.
The girl looked at Kyon calmly and expressionlessly. However, deep inside, she was mystified. The boy's level of book analysis was immeasurable. There was no other historian in the world who could read between the lines like him, picking out the unexpected truth behind tons of understatement, distortion and lies. Where did this monster come from? Why didn't he show any interest in her like the rest? He must prefer boys, after all.
«It won't do.» - Kyon said, disappointed. – «It's like talking to myself. You do not take any part in revealing the truth. I am wasting my precious time. Do you at least remember what I say?»
The girl frowned. The little jerk didn't value the time spent with her at the same table. Any boy present here would be happy to give away his kidney for her attention, and this one...
«Choose your words carefully, boy. I have promised to pay for your service, but you are pushing it. Are you asking for trouble? My patience has its limits.»
{Does she take me for a child? Too bad.} – «Alright, here's your homework.» - Kyon handed her a list of books. – «Try not to drag it on for too long. My time is expensive. I don't want to wait.» - He rose from the table and went to the exit with a straight face.
It was about closing time...
The girl closed her eyes and breathed in deep, trying to calm down. The puppy imagined himself to be a brave lion. But even predatory feline turned into obedient kittens when they noticed her presence. What was the reason? Why wasn't he afraid of someone with a powerful developed soul and an icy-cold aura coming from her past, someone who could kill him with a careless movement of her finger? The kid was smart and weird, but this is not enough for his immense self-confidence.
She had a rare feeling that she last experienced in her early childhood. The girl who was always impassionate and calm was torn by a desire to put the puppy in his place.
Meanwhile, Kyon left the library and idly glanced at the two shadows following him. He had asked Bai to give him some powerful guards, but the two tough guys at the beginning of the fourth phase did not inspire a sense of security in Kyon. He trusted his pistol in the ring much more.
{If only I could hire the girl in black…} – This idea seemed tempting and quite feasible. A personal bodyguard with the power of Kara's level, who was familiar with the high-ranking concealment technique and also unspeakably beautiful… It sounded refined and classy.
It would be difficult to attach this unemotional snow queen to himself. Unless she was interested in money. However, powerful people are expensive. He was unlikely to afford this proud lady.
Kyon observed that she had something in common with Dinah. They both must be assassins. However, the way they dressed differed considerably. Dinah always wore a sexy uniform, but the girl in black preferred modest clothes. She seemed to be a quiet type, but she could easily turn into a beautiful rose with black petals. In fact, her tights with a diamond pattern were captivating, and her eyes scared and mesmerized at once. Besides, Dinah was too arrogant. Compared to her, this girl was devoid of arrogance at all. Or maybe, she wasn't interested in revealing this trait.
Both of the girls had a cold aura. Only their coldness was radically different in nature. Dinah's presence sent chills down the spine because she was a professional killer who could end a life at any time. The girl in black didn't inspire danger alone. She emanated chilling cold that could be described as an immense emptiness. It was depressing, evoking ill-disposition and apathy.
The girl in black piqued Kyon's interest. She was challenging. She seemed to be saying, "Come on, try and surprise me. Find a way to intrigue me. No one can do it, and you can't, stupid boy. It's a lost cause for you.
…
Kyon spent the rest of the night in his personal training room. He hadn't had a chance to train with Juno so far. Either his slave was deliberately avoiding meeting him, or she didn't want to adjust her usual sleep / wake schedule for his sake. He does not insist, anyway.
When Kyon woke up after a two-hour sleep, he took a shower and returned to the library.
As soon as Kyon stepped out of the sound-proof barrier, his eye twitched nervously. Judging by the sound of the beating of hearts inside, sixteen bastards of direct blood were wagging their tongues in his absence. Everyone whispered loudly about the girl in black. The mentioned Kyon from time to time, and not with kind words.
{Shit! They are so disappointing.} – Kyon was outraged by the absurdity of the situation. He understood that the age of 14-18 years old was the period when hormones acted up and keep them awake at night, but they could try and control their carnal cravings or at least set more realistic expectations.
Kyon crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall at the door. They wouldn't let him read quietly, anyway, especially given yesterday's incident when the girl everyone adored stood up for him.
A quarter of an hour later, the beautiful girl materialized next to him, bringing in her amazing magical scent. Her slender body pleased the eye, her aura frightened the weak and timid. 
Kyon looked at her reproachfully. - «Your fans are too wild. Drive them away.»
«Are you waiting for me outside because you are too afraid to go to them?»
She touched a nerve. It sounded too humiliating. Kyon could not stoop to making excuses. He said firmly:
«If you go on like this, you will study the biography of the generals alone.»
The girl snorted and proudly entered the room.
Kyon heard their stifled groans and desperate cries followed by the heavy footfall to the direction of the door. The panic-stricken boys left the library running, crawling, and even rolling like an avalanche. Their faces tensed into a grimace of horror.
The guard at the entrance was struck by what he saw and made no complaints about the mysterious girl in black. She scared even the elite guard of the Grand family.
The descendants of direct blood are speechless. Their legs were shaking, they broke out in a cold sweat. The boys had never experienced so intense fear of death. The girl who had entered the library brought in the atmosphere of murder and despair.
Kyon nodded impressively and went upstairs. Now their jealous eyes wouldn't disturb him from reading.
«Don't go there, fool! You'll die! She'll kill you!» - A pale boy warned Kyon in a trembling voice. A new one.
Kyon did not turn around. The group of boys watched him go.
«It's him!» - The big beefy boy recognized Kyon. - «The one under the lady's protection! He must have asked her to drive us away! Bastard! It's all because of him!»
«What do you mean, drive us away?!» … «Are you serious?!» … «Were you talking about this kid?!» … «You're kidding me! I don't believe you!»
The faces of the descendants were distorted by jealousy, rage, anger and the urge to kill.
«Who is he?! How can the little jerk use the service of this powerful lady?!»
«He is a Stone of the first rank! I saw his diamond token!» - Jeremy said, enviously.
«It's pure nonsense! This scum can't be a Stone of the first rank! Diana Stone had only three children. I smell a rat!..» - The strongest guy barked.
«Have you not heard rumors about the new addition to the Stone family? It doesn't sound so delirious to me now... What's the name of this adopted genius again?..» - The boy looked up thoughtfully and came resolutely to the guard. – «Can you remind me the name of the boy adopted by the Stones, please.»
«Kyon Stone.» - The guard said dryly.
«Yeah! Exactly! The rumors were about him!»
«Wait a minute! Kyon? Kyon! I heard elder Stephan Brown, Tsayan's father, is looking for him in connection with the dirty lies the Stones are spreading! He wants to get even with the cause of the rumors!»
«By the way, elder Romanov is also looking for Kyon! It's about his grandson Kaisen, who ended drooling in a wheelchair because of his damaged spine!»
Even if it all made sense and they'd better steer clear from this boy, the descendants of direct blood ignored this fact and conspired to tell everything to those who were after Kyon, that is, to the elders. Perhaps a couple of people of the first rank could ruin his life. Moreover, they were from other families.
Meanwhile, Kyon was flipping through the last unread volumes and giving a flawless analysis to the huge list of books the girl had read in one night.
«Your teacher is pleased. I did not expect such zeal from you. If we were at school, I would give you an excellent mark. As it is, I can only nod in praise. Good job!» - Kyon smiled sincerely in the end, although his soul embroiled in fear begged him to keep his mouth shut.
«You are not my teacher.» - The girl said sternly. – «I don't need your praise. Just do the analysis of all the generals and the Empress. And stop flipping through your book five meters away as if we don't know each other. I will pay you for the service some way or another.»
«You won't pay me "some way." You will do exactly what I say.»
The girl kept a meaningful silence. Kyon couldn't tell if it meant that she agreed with him. How should he cooperate with her? What if she was ungrateful?
«So be it, I'll come up to you in five minutes.» - Just as long as it would take him to finish reading. However, he easily could read and give her a distant at the same time.
In the afternoon, Kyon moved to the seventh general. The once indifferent lady now looked with surprise. Her opinion about Kyon had changed.
The girl fell out of her ordinary gloomy reality and appeared in the world of the mysterious, incomprehensible weirdo. She had never met anyone who could make her see things from a different perspective. He seemed to know each wart on the general's body. He processed the information so effortlessly that it was impossible to assess the true depth of his mind.  She could only guess how good he was.
The lady decided that he was an intellectual monster. Most likely, it was the reason for his self-confidence. How naive of him! In the world ruled by powerful people, the boy derived his confidence from his talent for operating and absorbing information. Was he serious? Why had no one told him the truth?
The girl's attitude hadn't changed too much. Despite all his genius, he was just a smart, interesting boy. She wanted to knock him down a peg even more. However, her desire to kill him for his disrespect and looking her in the eyes had disappeared. She decided he was born like this, and it was useless to put him in his place or punish him for the fact of his existence.
All of a sudden, they heard footsteps behind the door. Two men in expensive clothes came into the library, a pale guy followed them. Kyon was surprised to recognize Tsayan.
The three of them were completely unaware of the news about Diana's new son because of their busy schedule. That's why they were so determined to find Kyon.
«Father! THAT'S HIM! Kill him, now!» - Tsayan yelled when he saw Kyon, his sworn enemy. A glimmer of hope flickered in his eyes, a boundless confidence that could shake the world. He wished the hated creature would get killed with all his heart. Now his powerful father would arrange everything. His disgrace at the party had wiped out his pride and dignity completely. Moreover, he'd lost a whole stage in development. Today the bastard would die like a dog!
Tsayan had thanked his father on his knees for convincing everyone (not with the help of his connections) that the Stones were spreading dirty lies about what had happened to his son at their party. Nevertheless, Tsayan had to hide from the poisonous looks of those who knew the truth but were forced to pretend they didn't.

A young man with an extraordinary mind is off on an exciting adventure when he mysteriously wakes up in the body of a feeble slave-guy in a different, rich in quirks world.
The main character, a selfish jerk, would use extreme means to achieve his goals. However, he never allows his base instincts to overrule his sense of decency. He always pays back both good and bad deeds.
Will his (terrible/excellent) mentality help him make a fresh start? Will he get through misfortunes and hardships of the new world?

Update: new chapter is published every day. Official translator: Katia Ra

Prima Planet (Millions of times bigger than Earth  
Huxia continent capital of Wind empire Bluewind city one of the four big clans Wang clan 
A boy around 6 years is reading a book. His name is Wang Yong. He loves reading books because in books he can know many things about the World. His family is a loving family his father, mother loves him very much. He has 2 little siblings (sister and brother) they are both very cute.
Aside from reading books he spends most of his time playing with his siblings.
Today is the day he needs to attend talent awakening ceremony. In Prima planet humans needs to awaken their talent at 6 years of age. Most of them awaken their dormant talent for sensing elements. To cultivate one needs to absorb elements and to absorb one need to sense the elements. Only after awakening their talents can a child cultivate.
Very few awaken innate abilities (like many times enhanced talent for one or more elements from 10 elements or their sub elements ice, lava, blizzard etc.There are also abilities like photographic memory, divine strength, regeneration, healing, telekinesis and there are also trash abilities like weight gain, hunger intensified or some whose use people do not know)
Wang Yong's father Wang Kun is a righteous man. He even treats his servants as equal give them their due respects. BUT don't take him for a saint who lets people walk over his head. Those who try to bring harm to those he wants to protect will have an ending worse than death. 
When Wang Yong was busy reading his book he suddenly heard footsteps behind him he turns around only to see his little brother running towards him. He gets up and say "Wow slow Wei don't run so fast or you might slip"
His little brother slows down near him and tell him "Brother what are you doing here father is asking for you to go to Main hall" Wang Yong replies "oh! Sorry I forgot about time while I was immersed in the books lets go"
While going to main hall Wei asks Yong "Brother why do you love reading books so much" Yong replies with a smile "Because in the books I can learn of things I can't learn from other people. I can learn about things outside our empire. Our world is so big that our empire is just a tiny dot on it. Can you imagine Wei our city being equal to one of your hair on your head? So when I grow up I want to explore this world of ours and see phoenixes, dragons and all kinds of beautiful and dangerous things I read about in books up close in this world" Then Yong asks " Wei do you want to be able to help father when we grow up " 
Wei just nods his head repeatedly. Yong seeing this smiles "Then grow up and become strong so that we can help father and explore this world together" Wei excitedly replies "I will grow strong then help father and explore this world with brother"
Yong and Wei see the man hall in front of them and both hurriedly go in to the main hall. There are already many people there some are children of his age there, most of these children come from orphanage his father opened other are children of those who work for his father. And in the middle of the hall there is a platform built temporarily.
As his father sees him he asks "Where were you come sit here." He motions him to sit on the seat on his side. Yong nods and sits there with his brother. His father motions for ceremony to start then Uncle Fu one of the elders go on top of the platform.
Father turns to the children with a smile and says "Go and stand in the middle of the platform one by one" children's nod and one of boy goes on the platform then Uncle Fu gives him a medicinal drink and the boy gulps it down in one go after some time the result is out and uncle Fu announces that the boy has talent for wood element. After the boy everyone goes on platform one by one and they awaken their talents and elements.
To awaken a person's talent one must stimulate a person's bloodline and this can be done using different ways but most common is drinking medicinal paste made by alchemist association.
As humans stimulate their bloodline for the first time they awaken different kinds of abilities and talents. Till now all the children have completed their awakening while none awakening abilities only awakening talent for elements.
Now it was my turn I am kind of nervous thinking will I be able to awaken some good ability or talents? I have to if a want to help Father and live my dreams. I nervously go on the platform and stand in the middle afterwards Father's friend Uncle Fu came forward and said "Don't be nervous son just relax and it will be fine" after that he gives me the drink and I gulp it down in one go after sometime my blood starts to boil and I feel little pain as though I am burning from inside but it's not much after sometime it goes away and I wait to see what I awakened but nothing happened I just felt like something inside me awakened from deep slumber but after that nothing happened.
Now I was starting to get panicked why I not awakened any abilities not even a talent which they say that most humans have at least a little bit of affinity with one of the 10 elements.
Now there were tears in my eyes and whole hall was filled with pin drop silence. My Father saw tears in my eyes and came to my side I became afraid that by Father would be angry but my Father just looked at me and smiled and said "Son it's fine Father is here don't worry Father still loves you" and my Father picks me up and motions the ceremony to end and goes with me and my brother out of the hall.
After coming out of the hall I ask "*sob*Father why do I not have awaken*sob* anything can I still become strong enough to help father and*sob* go in the outside world to see all kinds of legendry beings" Father smiled and said "Well why not but it will be very hard but father will find something which can help in you becoming cultivator but son you have to promise father that no matter what happens never lose hope and become impatient. Cause your father and mother will always love you no matter what so don't cry or your mother will be angry with me" Yong heavily nods "Son will listen to father and remember fathers advice" after that father brings us brothers to our house.
Just as we go inside house mother asks father about ceremony and after knowing about me she embraces me and tells me "Son it's alright don't be down it's alright father will protect us and we will always love you no matter what. After all you are our cute and eldest son." Although father and mother are not worried about all of this and they still feel sad all the children are playing with their ability and talents after awakening. I am the only one who can't so of course I am jealous and hate it that I am not like them.  
It's been half month since ceremony now. Its morning time now. I was reading a book in my room and mother calls me "Son come eat breakfast" Yong "Coming mother" after that I go in the hall and see my father and siblings are also there.
And they were eating there food mother was feeding my baby sister who after seeing a book in my hand asks in her cute voice "Blothel wat wele u leading (Brother what were you reading)" I smile at my baby sister and pinch her cheeks then feed her some food and say "Nothing just about cultivators and our continent" after that I also start eating and as we eat my sister asks me many questions like always and I just smile and answer some of her questions.
After breakfast my father says "Son come I will bring you somewhere you would like" and goes in his library I follow after him and ask "Father why are we going in your library?" Father just smiles and goes on. After going into the library in one of the wall he pushes a book after which some shelves of books part to reveal a door behind it my father goes in front of the door and puts his hand on top of a transparent crystal which does something my father says that its checking whether he is someone else.
After checking a voice comes "Greetings master" which shocks me so much I jumped on my father in shock. My father just smiles and says "Don't be afraid it's an artefact spirit which keeps check on library and if someone other than me and your mother tries to barge in it will alarm me today I will also add you in the list and you can come here to read the books. There are books about everything from pill concocting, weapon crafting and talismans to books about history of this world and beyond not just this continent. But always remember son never to bring these books out of here and never tell anyone a word of what you read here even to your siblings. When time comes I will tell them myself."
I nodded in all seriousness. Seeing this my father smiles and continues "let me first tell you some basics about this world. Our World is very vast it's one of a kind. This world is filled with dangers but so is filled with riches. All kinds of creature live here including humans, devils(shaitan), elementals , elves, sea creatures, dwarfs, beasts and many more in their own kingdoms but I would like to remind you there are good and bad people in every species except devils who always wishes we humans fall from our creator's grace by doing deeds they themselves deem worst. And our war
Now back to the topic there are many continents on our planet our Huxia continent is just one of them and the sea is 100s of time bigger than land. There are some places which are elemental energy rich there your cultivation speed will increase.
There are sacred lands for cultivation where they have better resources like better cultivation methods, land abundant with elemental energy, better skills and many other things.
There are 10 realms in mortal cultivation they are Martial (DISCIPLE << PRACTITIONER << MASTER << GRAND MASTER << KING << EMPEROR << MONARCH << ANCESTOR << VENERATE << SAINT). Each realm is divided in 9 stages and 1 evolution stage where after accumulating energy in first nine stages we use that energy to temper our body and spirit to the maximum.
There 10 elements which are Water, Earth, Wood, Fire, Wind, Spirit, Light, Darkness, Lightning and Space these nine main elements made our universe and all elements like ice, lava and other come from mixture of these 10 elements. And more elements a person's body can absorb the better the energy grade (Energy Grade = Talent Grade). 
Talent Grade are from lowest to highest F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS. A grade is legendry in mortal plane S grade is mythical very rarely seen. But SS grade is mythical even in all the universe. SSS Grade is never before seen in the universe. Talent grade affects a person's cultivation speed (2 times faster than previous grade) and their strength doubles every grade up." After talking father looks at me seeing me listening intently he smiles and "Son you can come here from tomorrow and there are many things about this world you can learn in this library but let me warn you again never tell anyone what you learn here or it might harm our Family."
After that father goes out of the library leaving me alone in the library.

A boy who after being trash for all his youth transcends life and death and after that lived by
Why should I be ruled by others when I can rule them,
Why should I follow the rules of others when I can make my own,
Why should I kill for smallest grievances, when I have absolute power and
Why should I be afraid of ants seeking revenge on me.
Follow him on his journey as he lives his life by his own rules while enjoying life to the fullest with his family not going around taking revenge for them, 
What are cultivators trying to achieve by gaining almost limitless life live alone and in regrets? But hell i will NEVER make my MC like this! read to know more

first grade reading list

the diamonte

The Hedonist Sword God

The Demon's Mage

The World Online

Reborn at Boot Camp: General, Don't Mess Around!

The Cardboard Explorer

The Robot With an Upgrading System

I Reincarnated As A Stick

Everything will be my way!

Destined To Rule

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