Martial King's Retired Life - Book 13: Chapter 24

Eighty years ago, an alien war broke out in Earth’s orbit. A powerful fugitive known as Tree was pursued by an extraterrestrial force. In the battle’s aftermath, the fugitive’s heart merged with Earth’s core, giving rise to a massive tree—marking the dawn of superpowers.Awakening. A phenomenon where humans gained extraordinary abilities. Seventeen years later, nearly everyone had awakened… except a few. Those who failed were called Rejecters, the lowest in society.Zane Carter was born into infamy. The son of a fallen superhero-turned-supervillain, he faced discrimination from birth. He dreamed of being a hero, but his father’s sins made him an outcast. Even after rigorous training, his Awakening failed. Rejected by the Hero Academy, ridiculed, and cast aside—his fate seemed sealed.Until one day…[SYSTEM ACTIVATED]Welcome, User. You have been selected as the recipient of the Borderline Supervillain-Slash-Hero System.Generate your first skill? Y/NWith his newfound system, Zane is given a choice: become the hero they never wanted him to be… or the villain they always feared.

[Mature Content:]Alaric was too close to Nicolette.Her mouth was just inches away from his.He could smell the lavender on her skin, the heat radiating from within her.But he held back, refusing to be carried away by her charm…“Mr. Allens…” she purred, and he looked down at her.Her eyes widened with desire, and he knew, in that moment, that if he wanted to kiss her, she would let him.The last thing he wanted was commitment. He knew that Nicolette didn’t want that either.But why was she this tempting?So willing?It was that willingness that confused him.She blinked, then swallowed as she pulled the jacket off her shoulders. His eyes lingered on her exposed neck.God.He just wanted to bury his mouth in that hollow spot.“Here,” Nicolette said calmly, extending the jacket to him.He took the jacket, his hand brushing hers just a second. She flinched, her face turning pink as she clutched the towel against her chest.His stomach flipped at the sight.If only that towel would give way to…Before he could stop himself, Alaric pressed his arousal against her stomach, pushing her against the wall, cornering her.She gasped at the sudden movement and for a moment, he lost his mind.“Cole…” he breathed, crushing himself against her.Her eyes gleamed with desire and a vulnerability that rocked him to his core.He would be foolish not to give in to this feeling.But he would also be a fool if he did.She had chosen to marry him.Not her boyfriend.And definitely not Lucian Crawford.Yet, he couldn't help it.She was only his for a year.But still…***************When her business and the gallery she inherited from her mother burn to the ground, Nicolette Voss is determined to rebuild—and get revenge on her father.She turned to her father’s rival, Alaric Allens, for an alliance.Alaric is willing to help, but on one condition—she must be his wife for a year.They called him Ruthless Alaric after an infamous incident 6 years ago. Alaric is back in town, and so are the crumbs of his past. But he is determined to change everything with a wife.He has his hidden agenda.She needs her revenge.But will this marriage between storm and steel survive the heat? And what will they do when deep secrets threatens to destroy them both?

The first time they meet, she bumps into him. The second time they meet, she agrees to a marriage contract in exchange for his help in her bid for revenge. But… he becomes addicted to loving her.

During his first attempt, he flies a helicopter domineeringly; in his second attempt, he arrogantly removes all his love rivals; in his third attempt, he tries to tie her down using a cute child. Youxuan replies with a plain resounding ‘no’ all three times.

In the end, Shan Hanjie takes one look at her, grits his teeth, and plops onto the ground. “Babe, you dropped your prince charming, please bring him home!”

What is a genius? Capable of comprehending any battle skill regardless of the skill itself and sweeping away the bottlenecks while cultivating a new technique; this is a true genius! He Yiming was originally an ordinary youngster in the He family’s estate with not too extraordinary aptitude in learning martial arts.