Becoming the Villainess: I Dominate the Cultivation Realm with My Wok! - Chapter 158: Old Friends

Leon was a robotics engineer with a bright future—until he was run over by a military truck and killed on the spot. But death wasn’t the end. Thanks to a cosmic glitch and to an idiot, Leon wakes up in a new world, reincarnated as the son of a minor noble family guarding the wild frontier of a massive Empire. With his intact mind, enhanced brain, and a world begging for progress, Leon sees opportunity everywhere—one that he will grab for sure.But not everything will go smoothly. Monsters come over in the winter, the Empire monopolizes magic and technology, and society clings to barbaric ways. Refusing to accept the status quo, Leon decides to reshape his family’s backwater territory into a land he would enjoy living in. Armed with knowledge from his old life, modern problem-solving, and an irreverent attitude, he plans to revolutionize his territory. But in a land where magic is rare and unknown to ordinary people, he knows he’ll need more than blueprints to succeed. He will need his own wizards and witches...Hey-ho! Welcome! I thought I need to add some information to those who want to know if they should just skip it or not: First, I ain't planning to introduce world-changing, thought-provoking ideas here. It is all for the plain and simple reason of having some fun. What you need to be aware of if you need more details:- Yes, this is an isekai story. No, there are no 'cheats' or systems involved with gaining skills. He is just a guy reincarnating with a gene-modified brain, so it explains why he can remember things and be smart. That is it. Think of it as him having a perfect memory. If you perceive confidence as arrogance, you may very well dislike the MC right off the bat. He is not someone who will lay low and try to blend in when his territory is the most backward and abandoned place in a vast Empire. Where the throne is so far away, messages take months to go back and forth.- The story mostly focuses on kingdom-building stuff and slice-of-life elements, not on conquest or curb stomping others. The main conflict will be centered around wars, yes, but it won't be one guy vs. the world or something like that. Magic is going to play a big role in building up the territory, as I plan to branch out into magic technology later on. I am going to rely heavily on magic because I am mostly a fantasy writer and not an engineer.- The MC's main goal is to enjoy himself. This also means girls. So there will be a harem. Those who are familiar with my works, how I do groups, and how my characters act will know I don't like doing cardboard cutouts of characters. Most of my stories have more than one character accompanying the MC. The same will be true here, with the extra caveat that they will also be involved romantically with the MC. - The story plays out in a 1st person POV. There won't be jumping around multiple POVs; I don't like that. Only when the story requires it and the MC can’t be present by himself for some story parts.- Don't take this story seriously nor look for scientifically 100% real and codex-like solutions for problems. This is a fantasy world, a totally different culture, and with history, that is NOT OUR world! There is magic here, and the MC has a supercomputer for a brain. I think that says it all. - My main goal is to enjoy writing some whacky but real-sounding scenarios. They will be based upon feasible ideas, but I am not writing a damned textbook about thermodynamics. Laws will be bent and broken when the story needs it.- Regarding smut, there are some chapters with erotic scenes, but not every other chapter. So expect it when the mood is there in the story and not because I must cram as much snu-snu in as possible... That won't happen.- No guns. Why? Every similar story has guns. This doesn't. This has mechs and power swords. Why? Because I said so.

Li Mu traverses into a Cultivation World, and awakens a comprehensive system. It allows him to not only see information of plants and artifacts but also gain cultivation by harvesting spirit plants.Watching Li Mu's departing figure, the owner of the Spirit Plant Store felt a lingering reluctance.Could it be that this young man can truly turn waste into treasure?

Some crowns are forged in blood. Others are drowned beneath it.In a city strangled by smoke and silence, where children are shackled to machines and shadows rule behind gilded masks, Keiran is just another forgotten soul—until the mark appears.Buried beneath the factory’s foundations lies a world long erased from history. Ancient oaths whisper through stone and water, and something older than memory begins to stir. As Keiran is drawn deeper into the abyss, he uncovers a legacy not meant for mortal hands—a crown shattered in defiance, a flood sealed by sacrifice, and a power that demands a price.Hunted by tyrants, haunted by echoes, and bound to secrets he never asked for, Keiran must choose: drown in the tide of what came before, or rise against the current and reclaim what the world was forced to forget.But the deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels…And beneath it all, something still breathes.

“She was supposed to be silent. She chose chaos instead.”At thirteen, Lorraine vowed to a boy, “I’ll be your poison. I’ll be your blade in the shadows. I’ll live for you.”The catch? She was supposed to be mute and deaf.The bigger catch? He was a hostage prince with no power.Raised in a household where her father adored her perfect half-sister Elyse, Lorraine was thrown into a political marriage with Prince Leroy. Unfortunately, he liked Elyse too. Of course he did.Lorraine played the role of the forgotten wife, but still gave it all. Loyalty, time, and space. The Silent Crown, they called her. Fitting, really. No one expected anything from her. Especially not betrayal.He came back from the war with a mistress, who was a living shadow of his first love.That was Lorraine’s breaking point. Divorce? Not allowed. Staying? Not an option.So, she gave herself one month. One month before she vanished from Vaeloria, from the life that had chewed her up and smiled while doing it.But before she left?She wanted revenge.On the father who put her through hell.On the sister who took her place.On everyone who hurt her and laughed at her.And continuing with… an affair… with Leroy.Yes, you read that right. Lorraine started a secret affair with her own husband. In the shadows. As someone else. Masked. Daring. Desired.And for the first time in her life, she was powerful.He doesn’t know it’s her.And she doesn’t care to correct him.She’ll ruin him with pleasure.Then leave him with regret.That was the plan.The kingdom has no idea what’s coming. The Silent Crown has stopped waiting to be loved. Now, she wants war. And she’ll watch it all burn from the shadows.