Bog Standard Isekai - Chapter 30Book 4.

An AI calling itself Schema has assimilated earth into its system. As a consequence, everyone gained access to status screens, power-ups, and skills. This AI turned these concepts from fiction to fact. It's easy to become intoxicated with leveling up and becoming stronger. To some, it's too good to be true like living out a dream.

For Daniel, however, it's closer to a nightmare.

He's in a bit of a predicament. Cracks in our dimensional fabric have unleashed terrifying beasts from dark, abyssal places. Schema organizes these cracks into dungeons, giving the native species of the planet a chance to fight back. Daniel finds himself trapped in one of these dungeons. Not long after, he discovers there's only one way out.

Liang Muqiu seriously doubted if he had read the astrology forecast when he went out today.

He borrowed a fire in the bar, but borrowed it from his ex-boyfriend.

It is said that old partners would never contact each other. However, they hadn’t seen each other for seven years, yet this bastard was not only not old, but also more handsome than before.

Especially when Cen Nan lit a cigarette for him in the dim light, his eyelashes drooped slightly, like when he kissed him under the blossoming tree seven years ago.

Liang Muqiu: Damn it, why was he still a little excited?

It took a long time for Liang Muqiu to wake up.

From the moment he saw Cen Nan, what he wanted to borrow was not fire, but a kiss of reunion after a long separation.

After seven years of separation, he still loved the same person.

Coincidentally, so did Cen Nan.

- Description from Novelupdates

In the world of cultivation, countless tales follow righteous protagonists, fated heroes blessed by destiny, or those chosen by heaven to walk the path of immortality.But what of those who stand in their way?What of the villains? The so-called obstacles to the hero’s journey—do they not bleed, dream, and struggle as well?Xiao Ning was never meant to succeed.From the very beginning, the Grand Dao wove him as a stepping stone—a necessary sacrifice to elevate another. His path, like that of all designated ‘villains,’ was doomed to failure by design.But what happens when that design is defied?After death, Xiao Ning awakens—not in the cycle of reincarnation, but in the cold silence beyond it. There, he is offered the Eternal Paradox Codex—a forbidden artifact containing the hidden truths of the Grand Dao System itself.Rules. Loopholes. Vulnerabilities.Knowledge not meant for those like him.With this power, Xiao Ning is granted a single, impossible choice: accept oblivion, or step outside the Grand Dao entirely—to abandon fate, sever karma, and cultivate a path unbound by heaven or law.It is Xiao Ning’s journey, from ashes to something beyond comprehension.Not to become an Immortal among men.But something even the heavens dare not bind.If fate is a chain…Then let him forge his own path in the void beyond.Welcome to this humble tale.The cultivation world is vast and unkind.Let us begin again—on our terms.

You, yes you! It's you! Why are you running? Run, keep running! Why don't you run anymore!Do you have an Otherworldly Affairs Office pass?And selling this world’s goods, did you pay the taxes?I don't care if you're the head of an Immortal Sect, put your hands on your head and squat by the wall! Prepare for inspection!