A Mortal Usurps the Gods: I Rise by Stepping on the Male Lead

[God-and-mortal romance + career-driven main plot + sweet on the outside, ruthless within + power-hungry + never takes a losing deal + clever heroine + a rare ensemble story featuring two women and one man]

In the ancient Great Wilderness, gods, demons, and humans lived side by side. The gods ruled the land, while the demons held sway at court.

Xiao Zhao was a human, the lowest of the low, and destined to be cannon fodder. She was also a 25-year-old mute.

What? Old? I’m only 25. My life is just getting started. How am I supposed to relate to people like you, who’ve lived for thousands of years and still refuse to die?

Weak? The soft can overcome the hard. The lowly can defy their betters. Success depends on strategy, not strength. I’ll make my way in the world with my brains.

There’s no place for humans at the gods’ court? Good. Xiao Zhao swears she’ll be the first to claim one.

At the Spirit-Sacrificing Festival, she caught a fleeting glimpse. From that day on, ten-year-old Xiao Zhao fell in love with the sound of the imperial carriage rolling past. That was the echo of power.

Ding! AAA Great Wilderness Development, Cangwu Branch, has sent you a job offer.

Dark clouds loomed over the city as rain poured through the night. Xiao Zhao carried the naked Ze Lan around one alley after another.

Listening to the dogs barking ever closer behind them,

she looked at him, gravely wounded and close to death,

and couldn’t help thinking: Maybe I should just leave him here...

I’m only a mortal, and a mute at that. I don’t want to die...

Note: Romance plays a small part. The main plot follows the heroine’s ambitions from beginning to end. The two women in the ensemble team won’t fight over a man. The protagonist is exceptionally intelligent, but she doesn’t always win. Sometimes, even after accounting for everything, she ends up doing all the work for someone else, caught in a dead-end trap. Still, the heroine finds a way to survive, and has the courage to turn the tide and start over. There are male and female villains, all of them clever, but they’re only fighting for power. It’s a matter of opposing sides, not right and wrong.

Hope you enjoy it.