The Illegitimate Flame: Bride of Ashes - Chapter 4 - 0- The CEO

Ethan Carter never thought much about heroism—until the night he pushed a girl out of the way of a speeding truck and felt cold steel and shattering bones instead of pavement. He expected to die. Instead, he woke up in a hospital, completely healed, with a strange blue screen floating in front of him.[System Activated.][Welcome, User. Your journey begins now.]At first, he thinks he's hallucinating. But when his body starts changing—his strength skyrocketing, his reflexes sharpening—Ethan realizes this is real. The System grants him quests, skills, and rewards, pushing him to break human limits. And yet, there’s more. Locked away in his interface is something called *World Travel*—but it remains inaccessible, its conditions unknown.As he grows stronger, Ethan catches the attention of powerful forces—some eager to recruit him, others determined to stop him. And amidst the chaos, women drawn to his power and charisma begin to enter his life, each with their own mysteries.But one question haunts him: *Why was I chosen?*The answer lies beyond this world. And when the time comes, Ethan won’t just step into new worlds—he’ll conquer them.

The mortal body, metamorphosis, longevity, immortality, and eternal life. These five realms, step by step, reveal themselves in front of you. As a normal person, how can one try step by step to reach and open the door to eternal life?

Between the heaven and the earth lies the mortal body, the mysteries of metamorphosis, freedom of longevity, the power of immortality, and the hope of eternal life. A story filled with endless new magic, a new world of immortal styles, people, demons, gods, fairies, magic, kings and emperors. A world of love and hatred, revenge, and mystical battle, all in “Eternal Life.”

“I thought I was becoming powerful, but it never occurred to me I was inching closer to the abyss.”

***

The Blue Planet: Earth.

Shane was living a beautiful life. He was a topper in his university. Girls flocked around him like birds and bees. His friends treated him as some God.

Everything was good until he was electrocuted.

If you are wondering if his adventures have ended, you're wrong. This was just the beginning.

The next moment he opened his eyes, he became something he never dreamt of—a system. Wait, why wasn't he a host instead?! Wouldn't people enter into amazing fantasy worlds with a cool system after dying?

Why did he have to wake up in a white room?!

He thought everything would be fine even after becoming a system. What could go wrong when he just had to sit behind the desk and handle different hosts?

Boy was he so wrong.

He could use Dark Cosmic Energy! Something only demonic beings could use!

What was going on? He was a human being in his previous life! How the heck could he use demonic power?

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Sneak peak~

“D-Destroy….” Shane's mind buzzed as he thought of something, “Y-You don't mean…. I-I have to destroy an entire world?”

“No,” When Ed said that, Shane's shoulders relaxed as if he had been unburdened, only to freeze again after hearing the next words: “You have to destroy worlds.”

A Deadly Secret, also translated as Requiem of Ling Sing and Secret of the Linked Cities, is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It was first published in the magazine Southeast Asia Weekly (東南亞周刊) and the Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao in 1963. Its original Chinese title was Su Xin Jian before Jin Yong changed it to Lian Cheng Jue. The story revolves around the adventures of the protagonist Di Yun, an ordinary young peasant, who is imprisoned after being framed. In his quest for vengeance, he accidentally acquires the Liancheng Swordplay manual (連城劍谱), an ancient artifact not only prized for the skills detailed inside, but also for containing a secret leading to a treasure.