Kael Draven stood on the edge of the trash pit, the wind heavy with rot and shame. Mold, feces, and death clung to every breath. His body trembled—not from fear, but from the echo of memory. He could still hear the way his bones snapped under the Judgment Seal. Still taste the betrayal in Elandra's voice.
But that wasn't who he was anymore.
He was in the body of a crippled servant.
He was surrounded by trash.
"How fitting," he muttered. "The Immortals discarded me here, thinking the void would bury me. But they forgot…"
His eyes narrowed, a glint of mad precision behind them.
"…I don't rise from ashes. I erupt from garbage."
Status Check
[System Scan Complete.]
[Host Body: Grade F- Mortal Vessel]
[Meridians: Shattered. Dantian: Inert.]
[Soul Core Detected: Class Z+ — Overflow Warning.]
[Chaos Authority Level: 0.2% Recovered]
Kael flexed his fingers, the skin pale and covered in bruises. But the raw instability in the vessel didn't matter.
This body wasn't meant to succeed. It was meant to hide him. No Immortal, no law fragment, no cosmic script would scan him as a threat.
That meant he was free to move unseen.
He dragged himself from the trash pile and looked around.
The Hollow Bone Sect looked worse than he remembered from any lifetime. Ruined pavilions. Dilapidated training halls. Disciples drunk on low-grade wine. Elders passed out in meditation like beggars on stone.
And in this decaying sect?
Kael Draven had been reborn.
Trash Memories
He staggered through the dirt paths between outer court huts. Bits and fragments of the body's previous soul still fluttered in his mind.
Pain. Hunger. Endless humiliation.
This servant—his predecessor—had endured beatings for speaking. For blinking. He'd been whipped for spilling tea. Starved for breathing in front of a core disciple.
Worse? He had accepted it.
"Pathetic," Kael spat. "But useful. They think I'm still him."
He picked up a wooden bowl with a cracked base from the servant's hut.
[New Quest Available: "Dish Best Served Broken"]
Objective: Break a disciple's nose using a food bowl.
Reward: +2 Chaos Points, Improvised Weapon Slot Unlocked.
Kael chuckled. The System had a sense of humor. He liked that.
First Blood
As Kael exited the servant district, a crowd had formed.
A disciple screamed as he threw a tray of spirit meat on the ground. A young girl—another slave—knelt, bleeding from her cheek.
"Clean that with your tongue!" barked the inner sect disciple, Lin Fei.
Kael tilted his head. The same worm from earlier.
"Interesting. Trash abusing trash. Predictable."
He stepped forward.
"That's enough."
Lin Fei turned. "Oh? The broken mutt speaks?"
Kael held the bowl.
"You have exactly three seconds to kneel. Or I use this to reintroduce you to your ancestors."
The crowd gasped.
Lin Fei laughed.
Then Kael moved.
The bowl snapped across Lin Fei's face with such force that his skull audibly cracked. Blood sprayed. Teeth flew. His body crashed into a stone wall, sliding down like discarded meat.
Kael stood still.
"I said kneel. Now you'll crawl instead."
[Quest Complete: Dish Best Served Broken.]
+2 Chaos Points. Improvised Weapon Slot Unlocked. Bowl Retained.
The crowd dispersed in stunned silence.
Rats Stirring in High Places
In the Elder Pavilion, three wrinkled men stared into a floating crystal.
"That slave just crippled Lin Fei. With a bowl."
"His soul signature's wrong. It's warped. Faintly… off-script."
"Could be a parasite demon. Should we purge him?"
Elder Mo narrowed his eyes.
"No. Watch him. Let him grow. If he's a threat, we'll kill him during the Cultivation Trials."
Back in the Shack
Kael sat cross-legged in the tiny hut the sect had assigned him.
The bowl rested beside him like a trophy.
[System Status: Passive Healing Active. Recovery Time to Combat Threshold: 48 Hours.]
[Unlocked Ability: Chaos Infusion Lv. 1 - Allows temporary enhancement of broken items and weapons.]
"So even trash can become a sword… if chaos reforges it."
His fingers drummed against the dirt. He looked up at the cracked ceiling, eyes blazing.
"They'll throw me into the Cultivation Trials thinking I'm a bug."
"They're right."
"But this bug doesn't bite. He rewrites."
Cultivation Trials Incoming
[Main Objective Unlocked: "Rise Through Blood"]
Enter the Sect Trials. Survive all rounds. Kill or humiliate anyone ranked above you.
Bonus Objective: Seduce the Peak Elder's Wife During Trial (Difficulty: Legendary)]
Kael smirked. "System, are you flirting with me?"
[MILF Radar: Active. Calibration 2%. Priority Target Marked: Elder Han's Wife.]
Kael stood.
He opened the door.
"Let's begin the war."
The Warpath Begins
Morning mist rose over the outer court as Kael arrived at the practice field.
Disciples laughed. Pointed. Mocked him.
"Didn't that cripple break Lin Fei's jaw?"
"Probably luck. He'll die in the Trials."
Kael ignored them. He stepped into the sparring arena.
"Next challenger," the instructor barked.
Kael raised a hand.
"I'll fight the top five."
Laughter erupted.
"All at once?"
Kael nodded.
Five disciples stepped forward.
Qi Condensation level. Arrogant smiles. Weapons drawn.
"We'll make you piss blood, trash."
"I hope so," Kael said, cracking his knuckles.
Slaughter: Mortal Edition II
The first came swinging. Kael moved like liquid shadow, dodged under the blade, and shattered the man's ribs with a single elbow.
The second threw a fire talisman. Kael caught it, infused it with Chaos, and flung it back. The talisman exploded with triple intensity, incinerating the man's robes—and pride.
Third charged with twin daggers. Kael simply turned sideways, caught both arms, dislocated his shoulders, and tossed him over the arena wall.
Fourth tried to run.
Kael threw the food bowl. It hit his spine. He dropped like a rock.
Fifth dropped to his knees before the fight even started.
Kael looked at the instructor.
"Is that enough proof?"
"I—Yes. You qualify for the Trials."
[Quest Complete: Pre-Trial Dominance Established]
+5 Chaos Points | New Trait Unlocked: Aura of Subjugation Lv. 1
Back at Elder Pavilion
The Elders leaned in.
"This isn't normal. He's adapting. Learning. Breaking limitations without cultivation."
"It's like watching a virus evolve with every breath."
Elder Mo whispered, "Or like a god learning how to be human again."
That Night
Kael returned to his hut.
He cleaned the blood from his fingers.
"They see the bug now. But they still don't know it rewrites everything it touches."
The System pinged again.
[Special Passive Unlocked: 'Cursed Luck – All Plot Armor in Radius Weakens by 5%.']
"Perfect," Kael grinned. "Now even chosen ones will bleed."