Novels by Aurora link

"There." Gou wheezed. "That is the bastard."The academy student tilted his head back and looked up at the balcony. He studied the frail boy wearing bloodstained grey robes. A cruel, mocking laugh escaped his lips. The sound echoed in the tense silence of the tavern."A boy?" The student shoved Gou aside. "You let a crippled boy break your arm and cave in your chest? You are useless to me.""He hid his cultivation." Gou pleaded from his knees. "He is a monster."Lu Chen remained perfectly still on the landing. He rested his hands on the wooden railing and looked down at the men invading his sanctuary. He engaged his cognitive overrides to slow his racing heart rate, pushing past the natural human instinct to panic in the face of overwhelming odds."I asked a question." The student rested his hand on the pommel of his steel sword. "Are you the street trash who put his hands on my property?""Your property tried to grab my sister." Lu Chen kept his voice level and devoid of emotion. "He

"Pour it out on the table."Xia untied the leather drawstrings and upended the large pouch over the scarred wood. A cascade of metal coins spilled across the surface, clinking together in a chaotic rhythm. She retrieved the smaller belt pouches they took from the enforcer and emptied those as well. A small mountain of wealth formed under the flickering light of the oil lamp."There must be over one hundred thousand copper coins here." Xia traced a finger along the edge of the pile. Her voice held a mixture of awe and terror. "The Golden Toad inn charges fifty coppers a night for this alcove room. We could hide here for years and never go hungry."Lu Chen leaned back in his wooden chair and examined the stolen loot. He picked up three ornate rings from the edge of the table. The polished green stone caught the lamplight to reveal intricate carvings of mythical beasts. These were not cheap trinkets found in a street market."Gou did not earn this by working the docks." Lu Chen tossed th

"Is this supposed to be a joke?" Gou barked a harsh laugh that sprayed foul smelling saliva into the night air. "The little cripple thinks he can hold my arm."Gou stood in the dim, flickering glow of the cart lantern while Xia trembled in the wagon bed. The scarred enforcer tried to yank his wrist away so he could grab the young maid. He expected the frail boy to let go immediately, assuming the delicate bones of a pampered heir would snap under the slightest pressure.Lu Chen did not move. He kept his fingers wrapped around the forearm and stared back with hollow eyes."I said let go." Gou planted his boots in the dirt and pulled backward with his entire body weight.The young master's arm remained locked in empty space. The wooden cart groaned under the shifting tension, the wheels scraping against the uneven cobblestones, but Lu Chen did not yield a single inch. The Level Two Iron Bone energy surged from his core and flooded his right limb. The pale skin of his hand took on a fa

"Not to mention the rumors from the outer villages." Xia stammered and gripped her knees. Her voice barely carried over the clanking wooden wheels of the cart. "The survivors are flooding into the lower districts tonight.""What kind of rumors?" He leaned his head against the vibrating sideboards and watched her face pale in the dim moonlight."Evil spirits are slaughtering mortals in the farming settlements." She swallowed hard. "Whole families are vanishing in the night. The Capital magistrates are terrified the blight will reach the inner walls. They paid the Azure Sect a fortune in spirit stones to exterminate the threat."He processed the political logic of the cultivation world. "So the early recruitment trial is not a blessing or a chance for the younger generation to prove themselves. It is a military draft.""They need fresh bodies." Xia nodded and pulled her knees tight against her chest. "The sect needs common disciples to throw at the rogue spirits while the elders prepare

"Young Master, please open your eyes."Small hands gripped his torn collar and shook his shoulders. He groaned as a sharp ache radiated from his fractured ribs, forcing his eyelids open to a blurry and unwelcoming world. A translucent blue screen hovered inches from his face, projecting crisp text that defied the primitive stone courtyard surrounding him.[Host Recognized: Lu Chen][Level: 0][Skills: None][Available Upgrades: None][System Directive: Procure martial manuals to initiate override sequences.]He blinked away the blood trickling into his left eye. The software he coded moments before his fatal car crash had somehow bridged the gap between worlds. The interface mimicked the exact cheat engine he built for his favorite virtual roleplaying game. He understood the implications immediately, he had read this kind of thing in novels before. He needed to view this new reality as just another hostile game to conquer. If he played the game and accumulated enough power to win, he

Give it to me right now."Bang!A fist collided with his jaw. The force snapped his head to the side. His feet tangled together and he plummeted backward. The back of his skull connected with a jagged garden stone with a sickening crack. Darkness swallowed him in an instant.“Wait. That is not right.”He gasped for air and rolled onto his side. Bile rose in his throat and spilled onto the cold dirt. He clutched his chest while his heart hammered a frantic rhythm against his ribs. His skull throbbed with a blinding intensity.“I was in my car, I was driving home.”The memory of the blinding headlights burned in his mind. The freight truck crossed the median and crushed the hood of his sedan. Metal tore and glass exploded inward. He remembered the distinct feeling of his bone snapping against the steering wheel. He had just finished compiling the final version of his game hack.He dragged a hand across his face. It came away slick with warm blood. He stared at his fingers in deep confus