"You were born from trash, and to trash you'll return."
"Strip him. Break him. Shatter the core."
"Into the Bone Pit with him. Let the beasts devour what's left."
They thought they'd erased him.
But Li Xuan remembered. He remembered every face, every sneer, every cultivator who stood above him as his meridians were shattered beneath the jade spear of a clan heir. The flames of his core had died screaming. His blood spilled into the runed floor of the execution platform, mixing with the dust of others like him—orphans, servants, discarded sons.
But he didn't die.
He fell.
And somewhere in that darkness—beneath the Crimson Veil Academy, beneath the layers of soil soaked with qi and sin—something ancient woke.
Li Xuan stood now at the threshold of that same academy, three years older, ten times sharper, and utterly unrecognizable beneath his black servant robes and loose hair. The Crimson Veil loomed before him, a gate carved of obsidian and bone jade, veined with molten runes that pulsed like arteries. Towers coiled behind it like dragon spines, each one a monument to a sect that had long sold its soul for status and spirit stones.
No one noticed him. Why would they?
To them, he was just another servant sent to clean the inner halls before the Ascension Ceremony. No name, no presence, no cultivation. Even those who once watched him writhe in agony now looked past him as if he were nothing.
Perfect, he thought.
The moment his palm touched the outer gate sigil, it pulsed.
[Crimson Veil System Activated]
Host recognized: Li Xuan.
System Mode: Vengeance Protocol Initiated.
Sub-core detected. Compatibility: 99.8%.
Primary Directive: Reclaim. Consume. Ascend.
His breath caught as red runes flared beneath his skin. Only he could see them—like flame etched into the bone.
[SYSTEM PANEL]
Name: Li Xuan
Cultivation Base: Suppressed (Fragmented Core)
Flame Tier: Ember (1/9)
Skills:
Devour (Locked)
Bloodline Extraction (Locked)
Dual Essence Merge (Locked)
Technique Theft (Locked)
Infernal Allure (Passive): Yin-heavy targets are magnetized by the host's soul flame.
Quests Available: 1
Targets Marked: 12
"Consume to rise. Seduce to ascend. Kill to refine."
Li Xuan closed his eyes. The system was real. The whisper he heard in the Bone Pit—the one that called to him when all light had fled—was more than madness. It was ancient… and it wanted blood.
He passed through the gates unnoticed and made his way into the servant quarters. But the academy had changed. The outer halls now pulsed with far more than mortal power. Talents had been recruited from across the continent. Sects, clans, even divine-blooded cultivators now trained here under the Crimson Veil.
His fingers brushed the cold walls as he passed.
All this, he thought, was built on the bones of those like me.
By midday, the courtyard was alive with laughter, clashing weapons, and the shimmer of cultivators displaying their talents. He watched from the shadows. His body still bore the seal of suppression, but the flame within his chest burned hotter with each breath he took. The system was waking… and it was hungry.
She appeared like a thunderclap wrapped in silk.
Xiao Yue.
The one who had kissed him the night before his execution.
The one who had cheered when they shattered his core.
She wore crimson robes that clung to her like water. Her eyes—sharp, glacial, and wicked—swept over the crowd like a predator. Men bowed. Women glared. Spirit beasts purred at her ankles.
Li Xuan's system flared.
[Target Identified: Xiao Yue – Flame Compatibility: 89.4%]
Yin-Rich Bloodline Detected: Azure Frost Lotus
Absorption Value: High
Suggested Action: Dual Essence Merge or Technique Theft
His blood pulsed.
"You there. Servant."
Her voice stabbed through the air. Li Xuan turned slowly.
"Yes, Lady Xiao?"
She narrowed her eyes. "Your voice… It's familiar."
He bowed low. "I was raised in the Bone Quarter, my lady. Many servants sound the same."
"Hmph." Her gaze lingered too long. The passive allure was working. The system wasn't lying—her qi was reacting to his like dry paper to fire.
"I need my quarters cleaned. Now."
Inside her chambers, the scent of frost roses hung thick in the air. Spiritual crystals glowed along the walls, feeding the Yin array that enhanced her cultivation.
As she turned her back, disrobing without shame, he felt it—the pulse of her core. Strong. Untouched. A perfect fragment for the system.
"Now?" he whispered mentally.
"Negative. Flame Tier insufficient. Merging would result in soul collapse."
Damn. Too early.
"Quest Available: Begin First Devouring."
Quest: Harvest the Root of a Cultivator
Target: Zhou Fan – Rank: Outer Disciple – Cultivation: Spirit Foundation (Early)
Reward: Unlock Devour
Bonus: Spiritual Resonance Boost (Temporary)
Zhou Fan.
The same pig-faced heir who spat on him after his core shattered.
Li Xuan's eyes turned to steel.
Later that night, he followed the outer disciples to the northern training ground. Zhou Fan was bragging about his recent dual-cultivation with a fire-natured concubine.
"She screamed like a fox in heat," he laughed, flicking his tongue.
Li Xuan waited.
At moonrise, Zhou wandered alone to the waterfall to wash the sweat from his body. His spirit sword hovered nearby, inactive. His guard was down.
Li Xuan struck.
A single blow—silent, deadly. Not with fists. With flame.
"Devour," he whispered.
His palm pressed against Zhou's chest as the system screamed.
[Devour Unlocked]
Qi Absorption Initiated…
Root Fragment Extracted…
Bloodline Fragment Extracted: Crimson Tiger Physique (Lesser)
Technique Fragment Extracted: Bone-Penetrating Fist (Tier 1)
Zhou crumpled, eyes wide, breath gone.
Li Xuan stood over the corpse, heart pounding, body shaking with stolen power. He gasped as his meridians pulsed for the first time in three years. Not whole—but alive. His fragmented core flickered.
"Welcome back," the system whispered.
By dawn, Zhou Fan's body was found floating downriver, drained and pale. An investigation began, but no evidence was found. Just another disciple who partied too hard.
Li Xuan returned to the servant quarters. His robes were clean. His flame burned stronger.
[SYSTEM PANEL – UPDATED]
Cultivation Level: Qi Condensation (1st Layer)
Unlocked Abilities:
Devour (Basic)
Technique Slot: Bone-Penetrating Fist (Tier 1)
Bloodline Adaptation: Crimson Tiger Physique (+5% strength bonus)
Quests:
New Targets Available (3)
Dual Essence Merge Questline: Xiao Yue (Pending)
He sat cross-legged in silence as night fell again. The academy teemed with life above him, cultivators dreaming of immortality.
They didn't know.
They didn't feel the fire licking through his bones. The system wanted more. So did he.
"I will take your roots. I will take your techniques. I will take your women."
Li Xuan smiled into the dark.
"And I will ascend over your corpses."
End of Chapter 1