Everlasting Dream - Chapter 71: Starving

As the owner of an ordinary bookstore, Ling PingAn’s biggest wish was to muddle through life and do absolutely nothing.

After receiving his terminal illness diagnosis, Chu Xun could finally let go of everything. The most important thing of being alive is after all, one’s own happiness.

Dumping a jerk, getting back on his retarded colleagues, firing his dumbass boss, staying in a luxurious house, enjoying a feast and bedding a young, energetic and handsome guy—Chu Xun very coolly did what he didn’t dare to do in the past!

All his savings were spent and as he laid down waiting for his death, the doctor apologetically told him, “I’m so sorry, we misdiagnosed.”

“…” Chu Xun felt faint.

He did another checkup and thought, he did feel unwell recently though?

The doctor looked grim.

Chu Xun’s heart skipped a beat. “Don’t tell me it wasn’t a misdiagnosis after all. Am I sick?”

Doctor: “You do not have a terminal illness, but you are… You are pregnant.”

Chu Xun: “???” Ermm, he’s a guy?

And later, the child’s father, that young, energetic and handsome man, who also happened to be a 26-year-old billionaire, Lin Yanchen, appeared and handed out a marriage certificate already signed by him. “I’ll take responsibility. Let’s get married.”

Chu Xun only realised now that his 30-years-late love life, as though blooming blossoms, was flooding in.

- Description from Novelupdates

What to ExpectWelcome to this Martial Peak fanfiction, a respectful expansion of the legendary work by the original author. This fic follows the core events of the original, with a fresh twist in the form of a new protagonist who is an “outsider”—a modern reader reincarnated into the world of Martial Peak.1. MC Setup: A Cultivation Novel Reader in Martial PeakThe protagonist is NOT someone from the Martial Peak universe but a cultivation novel enthusiast from another world.No prior knowledge of Martial Peak, but vast experience with cultivation logic, tropes, and meta-awareness from similar novels.This allows for unique decision-making, unconventional strategies, and a slightly different approach to situations while still following the original storyline.He won’t be overpowered from the start, but expect fast progression due to his deep understanding of cultivation mechanics.2. Respect for the Original PlotNo major timeline changes—key events still happen as they should.All future arcs and climaxes remain intact to preserve the integrity of Martial Peak.What changes? The MC’s interactions, techniques, and relationships, providing a fresh perspective while saluting the original work.Expect some butterfly effects, but nothing that derails the core story!3. Large Harem (With More Depth & Development)Martial Peak already has one of the largest harems in cultivation fiction—we’re expanding on that.4. Smut Content IncludedLet’s not dance around it—explicit content will be featured in this fic.Balanced between romance, cultivation growth, and action, ensuring the story remains engaging beyond just smut.Cultivation-based dual cultivation, yin-yang balance, and ‘special’ training sessions will be explored in a tasteful yet satisfying manner.5. Fast-Paced UpdatesSince we’re not making drastic changes to the story, the pace will be fast and consistent.Updates will focus on the MC’s journey, harem development, and the occasional divergence to deepen character arcs.As long as there’s support and interest, the fic will keep expanding.Final NotesThis is a passionate tribute to Martial Peak, keeping the spirit of the original intact while giving readers a fresh perspective, expanded harem dynamics, and more in-depth character interactions.Are you ready to ascend to the peak once more?Let’s begin.

Book I: Lost ThingsTristan Abrascal is a thief, one of many making their living under the perpetual twilight of the greatest city in all of Vesper. Quick wit and a contract with a capricious goddess have always kept him one step ahead, until one night he crosses a line by accident that burns all the bridges he had left. But not all is lost, as his mentor offers a way out of peril that turns out to be more than a simple escape.It is also an opportunity to get even with the infanzones, the nobles he’s lived under all his life, and it so happens that Tristan has a full ledger’s worth of scores to settle with them.Lady Angharad Tredegar has fled halfway across the world, leaving behind a ruin of a life: her family butchered by a ruthless enemy, their estate torched and their nobility revoked. Yet no matter how far she flees the blades of assassins follow, and she finds herself growing desperate for any protection. She has one relative left to call on, her estranged uncle, but she finds that the safety he offers comes at a cost.Angharad has sworn revenge, however, and her honour will allow for no compromise. She will do what she must to survive so that one day bloody vengeance can be visited upon her enemies.The paths of the two take them to the doorstep of the Watch, but for desperate souls like them enrolment is a lost cause. They will have to do it the hard way instead, by surviving the trials on the isle known as the Dominion of Lost Things.Where every year many go, and few return.Book II: Good TreasonsThe trials of the Dominion are over.The four survivors have become students of Scholomance, enrolling together as a cabal, yet even on those infamous grounds they soon learn none are beyond the reach of their pasts.Angharad Tredegar is returned to a semblance of the world she left behind, but finds her honor sorely tested by bargains offered - every bit as tempting as in the stories and even deadlier.Tristan Abrascal needs answers. Mysterious enemies keep trying to abduct him, his classroom does not exist and he’s now had several conversations with dead people. Worst of all, his carrots keep dying.Maryam Khaimov is going mad, which would worry her less if it were happening on schedule. More frightening yet is the possibility that she is not, and there truly is someone else going around wearing her face.Song Ren must forge the others into a functional unit, all the while fending off enemies on all sides: rival cabals, vengeful countrymen and the deluge of implacable foes her companions simply cannot seem to stop attracting.Failure is not an option, for Song must bring back honor to her family’s name whatever the cost: it is the only way to keep their disgrace from literally eating them all alive.And as the four chase shadows in Scholomance, in the distance looms the greater test awaiting them in the Asphodel Rectorate. Asphodel is a faded power, the rotten carcass of what it once was, but under that rot looms darker things - of which monsters might just be the least dangerous.Besides, is treason really such an evil when you have the best of reasons for it?