Within a Hollow Heart - Chapter 22: Volume 1, : "Beneath the Guardian’s Shadow"

Xu Shulou dreams she’s a character in a bizarre storybook.The male lead is Long Aotian, a man with a “Dragon Overlord” script: treasures fall into his lap, beauties vie for his heart.The first heroine is his delicate junior apprentice sister. The second, the Demon Sect’s saintess. The third… the fourth…Where does Xu Shulou rank? She flips through the plot and realizes—despite being Long Aotian’s official fiancée, she’s nothing but a disposable pawn.In the story, her sect elders dote on her fragile junior sister.“Shulou, yield this treasure to your sister. She’s weaker and needs it more.”“Shulou, don’t be unreasonable. Your gentle sister deserves care.”Even Long Aotian prefers the junior sister. He’s a flirtatious mess, forcing Xu Shulou to compete with other women, her jealousy twisting her into a villain. Meanwhile, the junior sister blossoms into a pristine lotus.But Xu Shulou refuses to play along.When the script demands she and her junior sister be kidnapped, Long Aotian saves the “weaker” girl, saying, “Shulou, you’re stronger—you’ll understand.”In reality? Long Ao Tian arrives just in time to see Xu Shulou slaughter the villains, scoop her sister into her arms, and vanish into the sky—without sparing him a glance.When demons attack, the story expects Long Aotian to leave his fiancée and lovers in the sect’s care. The elders protect only the junior sister, letting Xu Shulou be humiliated.In reality? The elders sneer: “Our senior sister dominates the cultivation world. Why would we need you to worry about her?”When the story’s Long Aotian coaxes the Demon Saintess into betraying her clan for him…In reality, the Saintess timidly asks Xu Shulou: “You’re a righteous heroine. I’m a hunted demon. Why would you want to befriend me?”In the script, Xu Shulou claws at other women in jealous rage.In reality, she’d rather live in peace—until Long Aotian pushes too far. Then she draws her sword.In the story, Long Aotian reigns supreme, surrounded by beauties.In reality, Xu Shulou steals his allies, hoards his treasures, and occasionally beats him up—while he sulks.“My sword saves the world and shields the innocent. It’s not for fighting over men.”“See? Dreams lie. I’m the one holding the Dragon Overlord script.”

This is a world where soul card masters manipulate soul cards to fight

Originally, everyone was honestly combining card decks and high-level summons according to card abilities, until Yu Cang awakened the entry recorder, and the painting style of the whole world became strange.

Whether it is a high-level card group, a dangerous secret place, or even a dream or an event, you can extract exclusive entries and build soul cards based on the entries!

Your Jedi doesn’t eat any milk? Tap a “Yingcao” entry directly, triggering a chain effect and slowly recovering life.

You got a top-quality fire-type dragon card, but your natal deck is water-type? Easy to handle, let me know about this “water storage” entry?

What? The summoning conditions for the Alien Chuanghuang Dragon are too difficult, and it is almost impossible to use it in single combat. It can only be used as a war-specific soul card?

Then… Learn about ritual magic? Or simply extract the “Alien” entry directly and create a card group tailored for you!

The magic soul card is not laid out, can’t you prevent it from sticking to your face? The “permanent” entry becomes a turret in seconds, and the infinite fireball method brutally kills!

Encountered strange sea tactics, can’t get in? Directly paste the “resonance” entry, showing textbook-like blasphemy!

…

“I’ve never seen a card maker like Yu Cang. Have you ever seen a soul card that requires three pages of ability introduction? His hands are full of such cards!”

And it all started with Yu Cang being bullied by academics.

- Description from novelbuddy

She was a descendant of the martial aristocratic family. She had just transmigrated when she was plotted against by others. She unexpectedly fell pregnant after a random encounter with a man.After ten months of pregnancy, she gave birth to a little fox! And this little fox pulled at her clothes and called her mother! Good thing is, the little baby fox was caring, adorable and obedient. In the mainland where good and evil are both present, the mother-son duo combined forces, suppressing all others with their expert skills, making those relatives who looked down on them regret a lot.However, one day, Baby Fox's daddy came looking for him. Not only did he want to snatch her child, he even wanted to snatch her along! The baby fox would not easily agree!Thus, the baby fox said with his hands on waist, “You want to be my daddy? Ok, hand over your money, and wait your turn.” Then the baby said to her, “Mommy, the uncle living next door is rich, how about letting him be my daddy?”

[Mature Content]I was born a bastard to the Archduke of Beloria, scorned because of my odd-looking hair and sickly body, maltreated by my stepmother and sister.And my father? He never looked my way. I was the reminder of a mistake he could never accept.My entire life should've been trying to live through my days as a labeled whores daughter and the taint to the noble house but everything changed when my marriage to the Lycan Monarch was announced.Lycans are apex predators, superior beings, beastmen, and originators of those horror stories your parents told you about to make you behave. My father saw fit to throw me to the beasts as a means to reclaim the lost lands.I was the bargain for a better future for the last human kingdom, but I felt more cursed than blessed. Forced into training to please a beast and ensure I was fit to be his wife.I dreaded the day I'd wed the Monarch and be treated no less than human meat. I've heard stories about him, and they are far worse than any combined. They call him a mindless beast, merciless, the ultimate feared being in the entire realm, and the terror that bested the vampires in war and ended it under his rule.My future was bleak.But when the day arrived and I set my gaze on the beast I'm meant to marry... I realized Drevon Balthar was unlike the rumors; they didn't tell the whole story.