Heaven-Defying War God: Ninefold Cycle of Tribulation

The wooden hairpin lodged in her chest was one he had carved with his own hands. The day before, he'd crouched on a street corner, picked up a piece of scrap wood, borrowed sandpaper from a blacksmith's shop, and stayed up half the night carving a crooked plum blossom. He'd said that once she won the Star Observatory's grand contest, he'd replace it with one made of gold. But now, her blood stained the hairpin, and the light had vanished from her starry eyes, as if someone had snuffed out a lamp.

"Want to save her?"

A hoarse female voice exploded beside his ear. Lu Xiaozhou shuddered all over.

The earth beneath him suddenly split open. A bronze disc emerged with a buzz, etched with bizarre patterns he had never seen before. It was even older than the broken bowl he'd used to beg for food, yet it glimmered with a light that filled him with dread.

"The Wheel of Reincarnation. Nine lifetimes, to set cause and effect right." The voice scoffed. "But with every extra life you live, you move one step closer to death, and so does she."

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.