The woodshed was silent, save for the wet, ragged breathing of Lin Fan.
The stone in his hand was slick with crimson blood. The rat lay flattened, its life force extinguished. It was a pathetic kill, a mockery of a battle, but to the ancient mechanism now awakening in his soul, death was death.
Ding!
[Task Complete: First Blood.]
[Condition Met.]
[Unlocking the First Seal of the Nine-Seal Supreme System...]
[Current Seal: 1/9. Next Unlock Requirement: Reach Qi Condensation 5th Stage.]
The air in the cramped shed suddenly grew heavy. It didn't whistle or howl; it simply collapsed inward.
"Argh!" Lin Fan gritted his teeth, his body seizing up.
It wasn't pain this time. It was heat. searing, molten heat rushed from the void into his dantian—the energy center just below his navel. The blocked meridians of his "Waste Body," which had been like dried, cracked riverbeds, were suddenly flooded with a torrential violent river.
[Reward Granted: Primal Body Cleansing.]
[Reward Granted: Heaven-Devouring Art (Heaven Grade).]
Black, foul-smelling sludge began to ooze from Lin Fan's pores. It was the accumulated impurities of sixteen years of malnutrition, beatings, and mortal filth. The stench was unbearable, like rotting eggs mixed with old blood.
Snap. Crack.
His bones realigned. The ribs shattered by the outer disciple knitted themselves back together, growing denser, harder. His skin, once sallow and bruised, regained a healthy, albeit pale, luster beneath the layer of filth.
Lin Fan gasped, falling to his knees. The weakness was gone. In its place was a buzzing, restless energy.
He looked at the air. He could see it now. Faint, glowing motes of light drifted in the atmosphere—Qi.
"This... this is cultivation?" Lin Fan whispered, clenching his fist. The air popped audibly within his grip.
[System Notice: Current Cultivation: Qi Condensation - 1st Stage.]
He wasn't just a mortal anymore. He had taken the first step onto the bridge.
"Heaven-Devouring Art..." He focused on the technique planted in his mind.
Unlike the gentle breathing exercises taught to the outer disciples, which required one to carefully filter the Qi, this technique was barbaric. It viewed the world as food. Qi, blood, spiritual energy, souls—it could devour it all to fuel the user.
"Good," Lin Fan muttered, a cold light flashing in his eyes. The memories of the previous owner's suffering burned in his chest. "In a world that eats people, I must become the one who eats the world."
The Forbidden Zone of Endless Void.
While Lin Fan was marveling at his first stage of Qi Condensation, the Sovereign was currently engaged in a battle of apocalyptic proportions.
He sat upon a throne of floating cloud-silk, staring intently at a large, rectangular slab of black obsidian hovering before him. This was the Mirror of Heavenly Reflection.
In his hands, he held a strangely shaped object made of white jade, studded with buttons and dual joysticks. It was a Jade Command Slate.
On the surface of the obsidian mirror, a projection played out. A tiny, armored knight was rolling frantically to avoid the sword strikes of a gargantuan, rot-infested demigod.
"Dodge! Roll, you foolish spirit!" the Sovereign hissed, his fingers flying across the Jade Command Slate with a speed that could catch lightning.
On the screen, the prompt appeared: YOU DIED.
The Sovereign sighed, placing the controller down gently. The air around the Floating Island trembled, threatening to shatter from his momentary annoyance.
"This Illusionary Soul Realm is truly difficult," he mused. "To think I, who have suppressed the Ten Hells, would struggle against the 'Blade of Malenia' in this simulated reality."
He had created this entire setup using his Absolute Manifestation.
The "console" was actually a complex spirit array that trapped millions of conflicting thought-forms to generate a procedural world. The "game" was a recreation of a difficult RPG from his memories of Earth, brought to life as a pocket dimension contained within the obsidian mirror.
"Master," Unit Alpha approached silently, carrying a tray with a steaming porcelain cup. "Your Refreshing Spirit Nectar."
"Thank you, Alpha." The Sovereign took the cup. It wasn't tea; it was a liquid he had created to taste exactly like a modern cola, but brewed from the sap of the World Tree and carbonated with compressed lightning essence.
He took a sip, the fizzy sensation bringing a rare smile to his face.
"Master," Alpha said, her ruby eyes scanning the mirror. "The construct you are fighting... its attack patterns are illogical. Shall I step into the Illusionary Realm and erase its existence for you?"
"No," the Sovereign waved his hand. "That defeats the purpose. The joy is in the struggle, Alpha. When one stands at the peak, true challenge is the rarest treasure."
He looked away from the game, his gaze drifting downward, piercing the floor of the palace, the clouds of the void, and looking toward the mortal realm.
"Speaking of struggle..."
He saw the speck of light that was Lin Fan. The boy had survived.
"He has learned to bite," the Sovereign noted, sensing the activation of the Heaven-Devouring Art. "A predatory technique. Crude, but effective. Let us see if he survives the morning."
He picked up the Jade Command Slate again.
"One more try. I shall not be defeated by a mere collection of pixels and spirit intent."
Iron Blood Sect. The Woodshed.
The morning sun was just beginning to crest over the mountains, casting long shadows into the servant quarters.
Bang!
The wooden door of the shed was kicked open. Splinters flew through the air.
A burly youth stood in the doorway, blocking the light. He wore the grey robes of a servant leader—a position only slightly higher than a slave, but enough to tyrannize those below him.
This was Wang Hu. The man who had beaten Lin Fan's predecessor to death yesterday for failing to wash his clothes properly.
"Hey, trash!" Wang Hu bellowed, holding a bucket of dirty water. "I heard you weren't dead yet. Sleeping in? I have laundry that needs—"
He stopped.
The stench in the room was horrific. And standing in the center of the room, stripped to the waist, was Lin Fan.
The boy was covered in dried black filth, but his eyes... they were glowing with a terrifying calmness.
Wang Hu blinked. The Lin Fan he knew was a cowering dog who would tremble at the sound of footsteps. This person stood straight like a spear.
"You..." Wang Hu frowned, stepping inside. "You smell like a corpse. Did you lose your mind from the beating?"
He sneered and threw the bucket of dirty water at Lin Fan.
"Clean yourself up and get to work!"
Time seemed to slow for Lin Fan.
In the past, the water would have soaked him. He would have apologized. He would have begged.
But now?
Lin Fan saw the arc of the water. He saw the shift in Wang Hu's weight. He saw the opening.
Whoosh.
Lin Fan moved.
He didn't know any martial arts yet. He only had the raw physical enhancement of the First Seal and the killer instinct of a man given a second chance.
He sidestepped the water effortlessly. Before Wang Hu could react, Lin Fan lunged forward.
His hand, coated in the grime of his rebirth, shot out like a viper and clamped onto Wang Hu's throat.
"Urgh!"
Wang Hu's eyes bulged. He was a mortal who had eaten well and exercised, physically stronger than most, but Lin Fan was now a cultivator at the 1st Stage of Qi Condensation. The difference was like that between a wolf and a rabbit.
Lin Fan lifted Wang Hu off the ground. The servant leader kicked his legs helplessly, clawing at Lin Fan's iron grip.
"You... you..." Wang Hu gasped.
"You killed 'me' yesterday," Lin Fan whispered, his voice hoarse. "Do you remember? You beat a sixteen-year-old boy until his organs ruptured because your robe had a stain."
Lin Fan felt a cold hunger rising in his belly. The Heaven-Devouring Art stirred. It wanted to feed. It sensed the blood vitality in Wang Hu's body.
Lin Fan's hand tightened. He could feel the pulse under his fingers. He could drain this man dry right now. He could turn him into a husk and gain a burst of cultivation.
No, Lin Fan thought, suppressing the urge. Not here. Not now. If he disappears, the sect will investigate. I am too weak to fight an Elder.
He slammed Wang Hu into the wooden wall. The shed shook.
"Listen to me," Lin Fan hissed, bringing his face close to the terrified bully. "From today on, I am sick. I am contagious. I am dying. You will tell everyone to stay away from this shed. You will bring me my food and leave it at the door. If you disturb me, or if you tell anyone I am awake..."
Lin Fan squeezed slightly. A sickening crunch echoed as Wang Hu's windpipe was compressed.
"...I will tear your throat out with my teeth."
He dropped the bully.
Wang Hu collapsed, gasping for air, clutching his neck. He looked up at Lin Fan with pure terror. He didn't know what had happened, but he knew one thing: this was a demon.
"scram," Lin Fan said.
Wang Hu scrambled backward on his hands and knees, fleeing the shed without looking back.
Lin Fan watched him go, then slumped against the wall, exhaling sharply. The burst of adrenaline faded, leaving him hungry.
[System Notice: Host has established dominance. Mental State upgraded.]
[Current Seal: 1/9. Next Unlock Requirement: Reach Qi Condensation 5th Stage.]
Lin Fan looked at his hands.
"I need resources," he muttered. "The ambient Qi here is too thin for the Heaven-Devouring Art. I need herbs. I need Spirit Stones. Or..."
He looked toward the forest that bordered the sect, the Mist-Shrouded Mountain Range.
"...I need beast blood."