The Villain Professor's Second Chance - Chapter 73: The Arcane Legion

At nineteen, Dexter was already one of the world’s most celebrated authors. His books topped charts. Critics praised his genius. Fans devoured every word. But behind the acclaim was a lonely boy—raised without parents, love, or real friends—just stories.He published his first novel at fourteen. By seventeen, he was a literary star. But the higher he rose, the hollower it felt.Then came the writer’s block. The headaches. The blackout. And the transmigration.Dexter awoke in the body of Daylan, a disgraced young man in a crumbling, medieval world laced with steampunk tech, divine law, and political unrest. Daylan had already failed two of the three sacred Trials—rites that determine one’s magical potential. He was drowning in debt, entangled in plots to overthrow a corrupt Divine Church, and branded a lost cause.With no way back, Dexter took the final Trial—the most brutal of them all—and began a path that would earn him the whispered title: Soldier, Poet, King.But as his powers grew, one question haunted him: Did he truly die? And if so, who—or what—chose to bring him back?

Delia's life was a cruel reality: the neglected and abused illegitimate daughter of a noble family, the Ellington family, she yearned for the love of her stepmother, Baroness Augusta, and younger sister, Lady Anne, who relentlessly mistreated her.Her world crumbled when she discovered a double betrayal: her beloved husband, Lord George had secretly pined for Anne, marrying Delia only to be near her sister. Simultaneously, her step mother framed her for a crime Anne committed.Overwhelmed and heartbroken, Delia's attempt to escape a death sentence led to a fatal carriage accident.But death was not the end. Delia awoke one year in the past, finding herself still engaged to George. This was her second chance, and the naive girl was gone, replaced by a woman consumed by a burning desire for revenge. Her first target: Duke Eric Carson, the powerful and wealthy man her sister Anne desperately pursued.Delia boldly approached Eric with a proposition for a contract marriage. To her surprise, Eric agreed, but with a condition: their fake marriage would become real and they can go their separate way after a year, hiding his own secret agenda. Now, armed with Eric's unexpected devotion and his willingness to lay down his life for her, Delia meticulously begins to dismantle her family's world. With Eric's help, she exposes the secrets they hide, manipulates their desires, and turns them against each other, orchestrating George’s demotion, Anne's downfall and seizing everything her sister coveted, including Duke Eric love and obsession.Will Delia and Eric be able to conquer all odds to get what they want? What happens when Eric doesn’t want their contract marriage to end? What happens when the last petal of that indicates her second chance falls?———————EXCPRET“I can’t return your feelings, your grace,” Delia whispered, her back against the cool wall.“But I can,” Eric murmured, stepping closer.Delia’s voice trembled. “It’s not the same.” She choked out. “ No one can love me without hurting me.”“Then teach me,” he said, his breath warm on her cheek. “Teach me how to love you the way you deserve to be loved. I’m a quick study.”When she stayed silent, he sighed contentedly, a soft smile playing on his lips.“It’s alright. Just… use me. Anything you need. if you want money, ask the treasury, take as much money that’s needed. if you want power, use my name. if you want security and love, use my body.”His breath warmed her skin, his chest rose and fell with hers. “As long as it's from you, I'm happy.”

A genius schemer, creating an emperor!

“Only when your brother is happy can you be happy.”

She committed all kinds of evil deeds to make him Emperor. However, Artezia’s devotion was repaid with betrayal. It was the Grand Duke Cedric, a righteous enemy, that gave her a hand of salvation at the threshold of death.

“Devise a plan.”
“…”
“I can’t think of anyone but you who can reverse this situation. Marquess Rosan.”
“…”
“Lend me your strength.”

There is no plan that can reverse the already declining power and save the fallen empire. However, there is a method. To turn back time before everything went wrong.

With tears of blood she sacrificed her body to an ancient magic. This time, she will not fall.

Artezia, who returned to the age of 18 before death, resolved to become a villainess for the Grand Duke Cedric.

“Please give me your hand in marriage. I’ll make you emperor.”

In exchange for kneeling to the devil, the devil shall dirty her hands for you.

The Path to Immortality is elusive, and everyone wants to achieve it even if there's only a glimmer of hope.Tian Yongheng is a person who regained his past life memories after his family was brutally slaughtered. His extreme fear of death and desire to be undying have forced him to step onto this dangerous path of Immortal Cultivation.He is not a Chosen One who is the favored son of heavens, nor is he the reincarnation of a Great Emperor. Armed with a unique system of unknown origins and his obsession with immortality, he sets forth to carve a way of his own in this world where fate toys with one's very existence itself and cosmic horror-like beings devour universes for fun.However, can he really touch the illusory, eternal and ethereal Immortal Dao that is everlasting and everchanging?Will he ever be able to reach the end of this grand path to eternity, establishing himself as a myth and beyond? or will he also drown in the long river of history just like many others?-------The background settings and world building of this story are greatly inspired by Top Tier Providence, Secretly Cultivate for a Thousand Years. the main characters are also pretty similar, so if you like stories where the MC is a hidden powerhouse who, despite being hidden, is still known across the world, then you can give it a try. Please be patient while reading, as this is my first time writing a novel and don't hesitate to point out any mistakes I do in the comments.Also, I'm not a native of China, so there are probably going to be a lot of mistakes in names and history and stuff, please bear with it.Note: English is not my first language and the cover image is not mine.