The Ancient Genes - Chapter 19 - Conspiracy

After years of exile, Marcus is coming back home. A powerful mage with few equals, Marcus lives in a world full of monsters and powerful adepts, many of which have bad histories with him. But he has not come back to pursue vengeance or start a fight. All Marcus wants to do is reconnect with old friends, build himself a house, and maybe train a successor or two.Alas, the world didn’t stop just because Marcus went into exile, and not everyone is content to let go of old grievances. Strange things are happening in the world at large, too, hinting at a looming disaster of unknown nature. Still, where there is a will, there is a way.If nothing else, Marcus has a lot of magical power to throw at problems.+++Zenith of Sorcery is set in its own original setting and isn’t related to Mother of Learning… beyond being written by the same person, of course. This is a more classical fantasy story than my previous one, with a lower level of technology and stuff like elves and dwarves, but it has a lot of worldbuilding effort put into it and its own complex magical system. The story has significant xianxia influences, but isn’t meant to be a xianxia story.For those of you not familiar with my previous work, I write relatively slowly. I intend to publish chapters at the rate of one chapter every three or four weeks, subject to further delays as life intervenes.

One rule: Survive. Everything else is optional.Reika Kagetsu doesn’t want to be a hero. She just wants to feel—pain, fear, adrenaline—anything to remind her she’s still alive.Tenshiko Academy promised her that.What she got instead? Brutal training. No rest. No second chances. And monsters—inside and out.Now she’s fighting the Shikiban: creatures born from blood, madness, and buried secrets. But the deeper she goes, the more she begins to wonder...What if she’s one of them?Power always comes with a price. And Reika is about to pay it in full.

Qiao Zhiya is a hybrid. Before he was born, his elf father wanted him to have a strong physique unique to dwarfs; his dwarf mother wanted him to have a tall body unique to elves. And then he was born, his features delicate and beautiful, his body weak and thin… his strength at the peak of the dwarfs!

Then he crossed. With his beloved little hammer, we walk along females-who-is-as-tall-as-he-is and male-who-is-a-head-taller-than-him-on-average future… blue, thin mushroom wants to go home.

Chu Rong: picked up a small dwarf who always wants to run away. Its cute, wanna drag home.

Qiao Zhiya: ??? Mama, there’s a pervert!

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