Phoenix Ascending - Chapter 5

Adrian Hudel has always been the invisible son in the Hu family, overshadowed by his elder brother Wryn, who was groomed to inherit the family business. Adrian’s only solace lies in his passion for painting, a dream he clings to amidst the cold indifference of his father, Wuner Hudel. But when Wryn abandons the family overnight, fleeing from an arranged marriage to the richest man in the country, Ethan Levistis, Adrian’s life takes a devastating turn.---The cover is mine.The cover is of MC-Adrian Hudel.Free to collect.BL Story.

I am currently re-writing the first chapters of this story. They are quite rough and bounce around a lot and I can do better. At some point, I will replace these with the better chapters.Sometime in 2024 Aethon Books will publish the first volume of this story on Amazon, KU, and audible. This will mean the story will be stubbed. I will notify people far in advance of that.In the dystopian world of the future, life is rough when you live at the bottom. Jobs are non-existent. Far too many people live in poverty, crammed into huge buildings called Habitats. With no jobs in the real world, many people can only find work online in VR worlds as servants to the very rich. And it's getting worse. The old internet is unusable and hacked to pieces. The new system needs AI to run things, but all but one of them were destroyed. The last sentient AI is ordered to create a new game world so the rich can have a playground, and the corporations that rule the world can have a new global market place. Everyone wants a piece of the new game. The guilds are competing to be the first to find the dungeons and kill the biggest monster. The corporations are claiming land and putting in their online market places. Ozzy and his friends just want a paycheck.Four friends sign five year contracts as virtual serfs in a small village, and can't go adventuring at all to gain money. They don't have many choices. They can work as a blacksmith, barmaid and shepherd for all those years....or they can cheat and find ways to take advantage of the system and carve out a section of the game world for themselves, and earn a fortune in the real world.When they give you a mop and not a sword, you have to find the loopholes and change the rules.

“I shall not yield to fate nor destiny. I will create my legacy.” Yang Wei said as he stared at the clear blue sky.

Yang Wei, a mortal who has no background or power to become a cultivator except for his undying determination. An unwillingness to accept his fate as he will break away the chain that casts him behind.

In a world where spiritual qi exists, humans can utilize this power to cultivate and become a legend themselves. However, the path itself is gruesome and achieved through multiple obstacles.

Now it’s the time for Yang Wei to achieve something that no other predecessor has done in the past.