There Are Always Monsters Urging Me to Ascend

[Update Notice]

I'm very sorry that real-life issues have kept this story on hiatus for so long. After thinking it over for a long time, I've decided to make it free automatically once it's been three months. After that, I'll upload the remaining chapters.

Thank you so much for all your support.

Coming soon: "Dreams Come True": Urban supernatural fantasy. What happens when I gain video game skills?

(See below for the full blurb.)

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Blurb:

Lian Chuan had just graduated from university and hadn't even started his life as a corporate drone when he was told two things. First, he wasn't human. Second, he was the master of Shan Hai, and he had to return to inherit the title of Mountain Lord.

What is Shan Hai? It's the collective name for the Five Mountains, Four Seas, and Eight Wilds.

Now that the Heavenly Ladder has been broken, it's the last spiritual sanctuary in the mortal world.

More than half the gods, immortals, and monsters in the country are counting on him to get by.

Lian Chuan: Wow. So I'm the landlord to every monster in the country? What's the rent?

Ming Lou: Every monster who settles in Shan Hai will give you a wisp of spiritual flame. Through it, you can borrow that monster's power.

Lian Chuan: That's incredible!

Ming Lou: I forgot to tell you, Shan Hai is about to collapse. Everyone's waiting for you to come back and fix the place.

Lian Chuan: ...How do I fix it?

Ming Lou: First, you need to ascend within three years!

Lian Chuan: ...

Ming Lou: If you don't ascend, everyone will go down with you!

Lian Chuan: ...

Lian Chuan: If you don't mind me asking, you said I'm not human. So what am I?

Ming Lou: You're not human, not a monster, and certainly not a god.

Lian Chuan: ...

Ming Lou: In all the Three Realms and Six Paths, you're the only one who's nothing at all.

Lian Chuan: ...

Cover art: Thanks to @-Strawberry Jellyfish Mint Candy-

-- Coming Soon --

Lu Qing spent the long holiday playing video games nonstop for three days and nights. To his surprise, when he woke up, he had the abilities of his in-game character.

He became a superpowered person.

But soon he discovered his abilities weren't so simple. Making dreams come true, exploring dreams, communicating with the multiverse... Whatever he wished for could become reality. His powers could almost rival a god's.

His awakening also brought countless pursuers. Everyone wanted him to hand over the Key of Solomon.

Lu Qing spent the night searching Baidu, bought a batch of legendary spellbooks wholesale on Taobao, and handed one to every assassin who came looking for him.

Assassin: "Are you messing with me?"

Fifty years ago, a mysterious alien spacecraft crashed in the skies above the Pacific Ocean. The mysterious energy aboard it fell into the ocean, affecting all of humanity.

Humanity awakened superpowers as a result. But using these abilities came at a price. Once someone could no longer pay it, their genes would collapse, they would lose their sanity, and they would become a fiend.

It's said that the only way to solve the problem of genetic collapse is to find the alien spacecraft, and the Key of Solomon is its coordinates.

Lu Qing: "But I don't have it!"

Gu Yuebei: "Thirty years ago, your dad destroyed the Hermit Guild and stole the Key of Solomon."

Lu Qing, astonished: "I have a dad?"

Gu Yuebei: "...You do."

Guiding theme: Reform and open up the world of Shan Hai, overcome poverty, and build a moderately prosperous society.