Plutusauthor

Pay-To-Win Patriarch Chapter 1 (First Draft)

For those who've been paying attention to the the story poll pinned to the top of the page you might recognize this story from nowhere because it's not one of the options. This idea came to me as a spur of inspiration and I'd like to know your thoughts. Cheers!

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Gamers beware. If you rage too much at your game, the game might just take offense to that.

For Jasper Cropsey, it had been a typical day. Go to work. Die a little more inside. Come back home and indulge i...

Chapter 120

The temple Xie Ling resided in was both the spiritual and material heart of the village. It was where their major ceremonies were observed and where the collected archives of the village were housed. It was the seat of the shamans and was where they distributed tasks and provided healing to the sick and injured. It was also where the foodstuffs and products the village produced were stored for times of need. Chen Haoran only knew all that from being told. Despite his friendship with the tribe...

Chapter 119

The New Year began with all the villagers of the four tribes watching a Liquid Meridian Realm trying to fly. Unfortunately for Chen Haoran, Phelps’s seemed to float even faster after drinking and, with no ceiling to obstruct him combined with his head start, quickly outpaced the distance Chen Haoran could reach even with his fully powered jump. So it was that Chen Haoran pitched headfirst into the brackish waters of the Screaming Giant’s Lake while Phelps ignored him on his way to the moo...

Chapter 118

Not really satisfied with this chapter but it took a while to write and I'm tired so here it is. Been trying to make the chapters bigger than bite-sized recently. So expect more 2k and up chapters in the future. Cheers!

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The new year was a cause for great celebration in the Basin. The whole village came to life with renewed energy as homes were cleaned from top to bottom in preparation for the week of festivities. Tapestries of red silk were hung out over the wa...

Chapter 117

The passing of time was strange in Zumulu. No matter how much action and change was actually occurring at any given moment in the region, the trees and dense flora remained the same. The days blended together, stretching out so that even day and night seemed like one continuous whole, like a long video left unpaused. It didn’t help that there weren’t seasons as he knew them in the south: no yellow autumn, no white winter, fresh spring, or sunny summer. No, when it came to seasons, Zumulu ...

Chapter 116

Chen Haoran had tried to use the bare minimum he thought he needed to reach the top of the tree. As it turned out, he still underestimated how much power his advancement brought. His leap brought him high into the air and almost through the canopy entirely. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and grabbed a branch before he flew too high and swung himself onto the tree.

At the very top was an open space, enough for two people to sit in. The branches and leaves grew up and away from this spac...

Chapter 115

Bao Si languidly waltzed into the clearing. She traded in her tight-fitting dress for a looser one of mossy green silk. A slit on one side revealed a toned and powerful leg. His Liquid Meridian enhanced sense of smell treacherously had him notice she smelled of flowers. Chen Haoran’s eyes weren’t deceived, however. Her gait was effortless, all liquid predator. So tightly controlled that it looped right back around into looking relaxed. Most people would see her and be fooled. Not him.

Chapter 114

Hey all. Despite what it may look like this is not a repost. I was tired and marked the chapters wrong. Last chapter was a Xie Jin interlude and is now appropriately titled. This is the real chapter 114. Cheers!

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Chen Haoran stepped and paused. He stepped again and paused again. He waited.

And waited.

He began anew.

Step. Pause. Step. Pause. Wait.

Nothing.

Chen Haoran sighed. Back to the books it was. He had asked if th...

Interlude: The Silkworm II

The first principle of a shaman is responsibility. Their duty is sacred, and their roles are many, from serving as the spiritual guides of the tribes and bringing prosperity to expelling poisonous insects from homes. A shaman is responsible for all that and more. The act of rearing and controlling Gu demanded no less.

Xie Jin kept reminding himself of this principle as he trawled through the jungle with Ren and Bao Si. He knew why his grandfather had assigned him to this task with these...

Chapter 113

Xie Jin’s home could be considered the end of the rainbow. End in the sense that the rainbows scattered by the last light of sunset died when they fell within the boundary of the village. Here alone the light separated by the prism-like leaves became whole once more. It was a startling bleak contrast compared to the colorful jungle surrounding it.

The village itself was a compact affair. Blocky houses of oily black stone pressed right against each other and ringed around the tall tree...

Chapter 112

That got attention. The air shifted with the sudden flaring of qi as the warriors pulled out their weapons. The black-eyed warrior locked onto Chen Haoran and finally revealed his cultivation level. Liquid Meridian Realm Third-Layer. Just as suddenly as it shifted, the air unnaturally stilled. A deadly tension hung over their heads.

“Please stay calm,” Jiang Lei said to the warriors, as he raised his hands placatingly. He and Wang Xiao took several steps back. “Chen Haora...

Chapter 111

When Xie Jin had said his home was much lower than other places in Zumulu, Chen Haoran should have perhaps expected the understatement. The Basin was an apt name; from above, it looked like someone had buried a bowl into the earth and dropped a jungle into it. Waterfalls spilled over the sheers cliffs surrounding the Basin and were swallowed into the dark jungle below. The dense, dark green treetops obscured their direction from further view but from the cliffs it was obvious where the water ...

Chapter 110

What followed was cleaning up the scene, gathering up the strewn pieces of his Clear Heart Mirror Armor, and taking count of their spoils. Unfortunately, Chen Haoran’s hopes that he’d find a treasure or a technique were dashed. Some rations. A few silvers and gold in tael and banknote form. Other sundries and camping gear. As it turned out, soldiers didn’t carry any extraneous supplies when out on a mission. Neither did they have any storage bags. Even for the Empire, equipping all its ...

Chapter 109

Chen Haoran opened his eyes and looked at the swarm that surrounded them. Large patches of green miasma ate away at Jiang Lei’s liquid qi dome. Jiang Lei swung his sword. A glowing blade of qi crossed through the barrier and annihilated a hole in the swarm to the outside. It was only exposed for a moment, however, before the swarm shifted and more insects closed the gap.

Chen Haoran blinked once, and the world took on new colors as Liquid Qi enhanced his vision. He watched a green bee...

Chapter 108

When Chen Haoran first saw the Heavy Core Pill he had been intimidated by its size. So his first reaction when he easily downed it was surprise. The Heavy Core Pill sank like a stone to his core, leaving a spicy grass taste on the back of his tongue. Chen Haoran exhaled and smelled spring in the air. He could feel the aroma of the Heavy Core Pill spread thickly throughout his whole body and as he waited for it to take effect.

He did not wait long.

As if it had caught the scent of ...

Chapter 107

The Stygian Lotus was a spirit plant that improved a cultivator’s overall durability in every aspect. While Chen Haoran wouldn’t make the mistake of calling himself invulnerable to harm, he had relied on his body to resist all sorts of sharp edges and blunt force.

No amount of durability would protect him from fire, however.

Chen Haoran scarcely had the time to react when the fire lances set him alight. Just as quickly as the flames seared his skin, he was drowned in a rush of...

Chapter 106

The hollow collapsed as the tree uprooted itself and dropped its entire weight on top of their heads. Three different lights of peach pink and metal white flashed and split the tree from the bottom to the top in a rain of kindling.

Jiang Lei and Wang Xiao stood together with their swords drawn. A scent of peaches filled the air. Chen Haoran stood a ways away from them to the side. Phelps clung to his back and continually hissed. White energy scoured the ground around them.

The Gu ...

Chapter 105

Naturally, they ran even further after seeing a pillar of light pierce the sky.

“What was that?” Chen Haoran breathlessly wondered. It was a rhetorical question. The fact that the Auctioneer was most likely the one responsible for the pillar of light was obvious.

Jiang Lei answered him regardless. “It looks like the Golden Lily Association Supervisor stopped holding back.”

Chen Haoran couldn’t contain his shock. “That whole fight in the Auction Hall wasn’t even...

Chapter 104

Who knew a Heaven-Rank technique would make such a good flashlight? While the tunnel had some light coming from the glowing green talismans placed along its walls, they were few and far between enough that they served better as markers rather than illumination. That was the only comfort Chen Haoran had as they raced down the escape tunnel.

His first instinct had been to rip the technique manual off. While he had wanted to get his hands on the Seven-Colored Steps of the Rainbow Stair...