Song of Adolescence - Chapter 456 Purification of the Six Senses

I am currently re-writing the first chapters of this story. They are quite rough and bounce around a lot and I can do better. At some point, I will replace these with the better chapters.Sometime in 2024 Aethon Books will publish the first volume of this story on Amazon, KU, and audible. This will mean the story will be stubbed. I will notify people far in advance of that.In the dystopian world of the future, life is rough when you live at the bottom. Jobs are non-existent. Far too many people live in poverty, crammed into huge buildings called Habitats. With no jobs in the real world, many people can only find work online in VR worlds as servants to the very rich. And it's getting worse. The old internet is unusable and hacked to pieces. The new system needs AI to run things, but all but one of them were destroyed. The last sentient AI is ordered to create a new game world so the rich can have a playground, and the corporations that rule the world can have a new global market place. Everyone wants a piece of the new game. The guilds are competing to be the first to find the dungeons and kill the biggest monster. The corporations are claiming land and putting in their online market places. Ozzy and his friends just want a paycheck.Four friends sign five year contracts as virtual serfs in a small village, and can't go adventuring at all to gain money. They don't have many choices. They can work as a blacksmith, barmaid and shepherd for all those years....or they can cheat and find ways to take advantage of the system and carve out a section of the game world for themselves, and earn a fortune in the real world.When they give you a mop and not a sword, you have to find the loopholes and change the rules.

Five hundred years ago, the world was awakened, bringing dungeons, mythological beasts, new races, and lost continents to the surface. It also brought the opportunity to awaken and become strong, but not everyone had that opportunity.Elliot is one of those young people who yearns to become an Awakened One but has not yet succeeded.Despite that, he is different.His desire for power is so strong that he never becomes discouraged despite being mocked and despised by the world for belonging to the group of those Rejected by the System.He still longs to become an Awakened One.His desire for power is so intense that when the long-awaited day arrives, he shakes the foundations of the world, allowing him to become one of those acclaimed Awakened, receiving an amazing and unique class.Although powerful enemies surround him, his intense desire for power will allow him to look beyond what his eyes can see as he rises above the world and achieves Glory.

Tao Tao has transformed into Yang Peimin from the 1970s, a spoiled and arrogant original character who is the princess of her family. She is pampered by her parents, indulged by her brother and sister-in-law, and even her younger sister dares not raise her voice against her.Being waited on hand and foot is not an understatement, all because she possesses a unique skill – she falls ill whenever asked to work or scolded!She is known in the village as a lazy girl, and families looking for a daughter-in-law shake their heads and waive her off upon mentioning her. Apart from her looks, she has nothing but flaws, and she is certainly not a worthy ancestor to marry. It's foreseeable that her marriage will be a major issue.So, for the newly arrived Tao Tao, is this a good hand or a bad one?Until someone who saw some sparks beneath her notoriously bad reputation.Yes, she is someone who can be molded.

“Do you love...me?” My eyes stung as I asked my so-called husband.“No,” he said quietly. “I don't love you. I don't need to love you. I just need to take care of you as I promised your father before he died.”My world crumbled down on me.His words hit me like a physical blow. I staggered back, the world spinning around me. “S-So that's it? This whole time, you've been with me out of some sense of duty?”Elijah looked away, unable to meet my gaze. “Your father asked me to look after you, to make sure you were happy and safe. That's what I've been trying to do.”“Fine then. Let's get a divorce!” I announced, loud and clear.___Ash always believed he could make his cold and vicious hubby fall in love with him.However, after three years of marriage, Ash received only betrayal from Elijah. Elijah never loved him and was only with Ash because he promised Ash's father that he would take care of him after his death. Ash, heartbroken and sorrowful, decided to quit his marriage.However, when he handed Elijah the divorce papers, he ripped them pieces and pushed Ash against the wall.“You have lost your mind if you think I will ever divorce you.” Elijah glared, but Ash was unaffected by his rage. However, once Ash had left him for good, Elijah realised how deeply he loved him, and not just because of his responsibility to Ash. So he resolved to go after Ash and bring him back.Amidst this, he came to know that Ash was the one who caused the accident four years ago in which Elijah lost both of his parents. He had investigated this case for years but now that he found out it was Ash, he was devastated.“Come back before I lose my mind and do something you will regret.”But can an emotionless and frigid man who has never learned to express affection or feelings approach the love of his life while he conflicted between taking his revenge and loving Ash?