In a Different World with a Smartphone - Chapter 3: A Change of Clothes and Ten Gold Coins

What is the meaning of living hundreds of lives?Is it a curse or a hope? Murai grapples with the notion that his endless cycle of death and rebirth is an eternal torment. With no choice or voice, he finds himself like yet another pebble in a vast river of lives.Each death brings a new beginning—a new world awaiting. But this time, he awakens as a duck, complete with wings, a strange beak, and a little stature that doesn't please him.His Cursed Living has led him to this odd form, and though it seems bizarre, he is determined to discover what his tiny legs can achieve and how his mighty wings can confront the challenges ahead. Perhaps even the Gods who condemned him to this fate? Nay. They aren't everything and he knows it.Survival is paramount; the world wants his little life for numerous reasons, but every one of them is the same. He destroys. A strange voice echoes in his mind, whispering levels and abilities or rules about this world called the Battleworld. He accepts that, yet he yearns for revenge—a chance to reclaim his purpose amidst this silly absurdity of walking on two little flat feet.This world will witness his journey as a duck. All shall see his ascension!What can you expect from this novel that sounds ridiculous, as a duck sounds?- A stoic and long-term survival adventure in a high fantasy world with a non-human MC. - Fights, abilities, attributes, and skills and softer litrpg elements. There are 100 levels to beat, with a lot of systems underneath.- Gods and a big world that Boosts and plays with its citizens or almost anything alive, blessings or tricking them.- Some numbers go up. Xianxia and Progression Fantasy elements like magic, techniques, swordsmanship, and world-building. Cultivation and a big world full of mysteries.- MC, Murai, is a weird entity in the overall story. He is a numerous-time reincarnator so expect some shenanigans with it. Discover what he is on about, or who he is or used to be. I wouldn't necessarily call him OP. Sometimes he is, while other times not so much. So much for a duck...This will be a very long series of books, with 1st drafts in November 2023 going up to the 10th book which marks no end in view.

He had four disobedient disciples, who now achieved success, won recognition and established their own sects.

The embarrassing thing is that it was him who drove those four out of his sect to make them independent.

But one day he had an incident and lost his cultivation. His life was hanging by a thread. Wandering around, he walked into his third disciple’s territory.

What should I do?

Mountains and seas can be tamed, days and nights can disappear.

Only you, the exceptional you, refuse to give up.

——

A man blessed with fortune, the best in his generation, had an accident and started anew; broken in body but firm in spirit, he now uses his wisdom to guide his evil disciples back to the right path.

Notes :
The title 参商 (Shēnshāng) has two meanings:
1) Constellations Shen (ch. “Three Stars mansion”, eu. Orion) and Shang (ch. “Heart mansion”, eu. Antares), which never appear at the same time.
2) Two friends/relatives who are separated/estranged and irreconcilable.

- Description from Novelupdates

I’m an imperial uncle; his imperial majesty’s uncle.

Once, someone with nothing better to do took a comprehensive survey of the current dynasty, and summed up the imperial court’s three great cancers.

Wang Qin leads in corruption; the treasury is never full.

Yun Tang favours a few, forming cabals; leading to corruption in our politics.

Prince Huai plays with power, and serves as the head of a hundred poisons — thus causing instability to the throne.

When they talk about the most venomous of vipers, the wicked one who plays with power, the biggest cancer of them all, they’re talking about me: this insignificant prince, Prince Huai, Chengjun.

I can only say that I feel rather hapless in the face of these theories.

In truth, I have been ever dutiful, ever devoted, devoid of intention to monopolise power, and possess even less of a heart to covet the throne. In the entire imperial court, I dare say there is no loyal subject more loyal than I.

But, most tragically, in all the realm, the matter of my being a loyal subject is something that not many would believe.

- Description from Novelupdates

Fengyu loved gold, silver, and jewels more than anything. Her greatest dream was to eat, drink, and enjoy life as a salted fish. Her fiancé was the third-ranked scholar in the imperial exams, handsome as the legendary Pan An. Her salted fish life was perfectly complete.Her husband was poor? No problem, she was rich!But who would have thought that the winds of fate would shift, causing her soul to transmigrate into the body of Xie Xun, a dashing and rebellious young marquis, even making him lose a leg due to her. To survive on the battlefield, the salted fish had to turn over and rise, learning horseback riding, archery, and military strategy. The young marquis, bearing her face, caused chaos everywhere. Her fiancé, deeming her wild and foolish, broke off their engagement.She got engaged, and he reneged. She made money, and he squandered it. Her mountains of gold and silver were all emptied by him, and the two became locked in a love-hate relationship. Gradually, the plot started to go off the rails.The ex-fiancé, after breaking off the engagement, regretted it and confessed his deep love.Fengyu: I've already fallen for someone else.A scheming girl at the archery range tried to kill her, only for Fengyu to stab herself instead.Fengyu: What to do now? It looks like you've committed murder.Her parents, who had defended the borders for decades, returned home only to say, “Daughter, go follow the young marquis and start a rebellion!”How did the originally carefree salted fish storyline turn into one of a villain rising?In the end…Raising a husband turned out to be a money pit, but the husband was certainly worth it!A sickly schemer hiding their true nature (Fengyu) vs. A dashing but cunning strategist (Xie Xun)