WebNovels

Chapter 1 - Cast into the Void

In the folds of reality—where existence crumbled into silence—there existed a place untouched by time, light, or reason.

The Void.

And into that endless darkness, Wang Zhi fell.

His body drifted—battered, weightless, forgotten. Blood seeped form a deep wound in his side, painting trails in the stillness. Agony laced through every nerve. But it wasn't the pain that broke him.

It was betrayal.

He had trusted him...

His mind spiraled back—to the sect high atop the mountains. The only place he'd ever dared to call home.

Since he was a child, Wang Zhi had always been the weakest. Born without a noble bloodline, his spirit root was shallow, his talents ignored. Other disciples mocked him, pushed him into mud, whispered behind his back. Even the elders turned a blind eye.

But he endured.

Why?

Because of one man.

Elder Xu.

The first to offer him a hand.

The one who taught him swordsmanship under the moonlight when others slept.

The one who shared food when the kitchens cast him out.

The man he had called Shifu, with reverence... and with trust.

"Even if the world abandons you, I never will,"

Elder Xu had said once, when Wang Zhi wept alone in silence.

But in the end, it was Elder Xu who drove the blade into his ribs.

No words. No explanation.

Just a silent strike and a push into the endless abyss.

Now, Wang Zhi floated in the space between life and death.

Cold. Silent. Eternal.

Until—

A growl shattered the stillness.

Form the mist emerged a creature—twice the height of a man, its skin pitch-black with veins of burning crimson. Molten light pulsed within its throat. Its claws tore at the fabric of reality.

Wang Zhi gripped his broken sword—the same one Elder Xu had once given him.

He stood, though his body trembled.

Blood still flowed. Pain raged.

But in his eyes—no fear.

The beast charged.

He dodged—barely. Its claws tore into his shoulder. Pain exploded, but he didn't cry out.

Again it lunged.

Again he endured.

Until—

An opening.

With a final cry that held sorrow, rage, and defiance, Wang Zhi drove the broken blade into the beast's throat. It shrieked. Convulsed. Fell. Blood sprayed across the emptiness.

Silence returned.

Wang Zhi collapsed beside the corpse, breath ragged. His vision dimmed.

But he lived.

And then—he saw it.

A core, dark and pulsing, embedded in the creature's chest.

With shaking hands, he grasped it.

Sitting cross-legged, he began to meditate.

He drew the energy in. It burned—wild and volatile—rushing through his meridians.

He tried to guide it. To shape it. To reach the First Realm.

But—

Nothing.

No breakthrough. No realm ascended.

He was still at the bottom.

"Why...? Even after all this..."

He should've broken.

But he didn't.

His eyes opened, no longer full of sorrow—but cold, unyielding.

"If one core isn't enough... I'll kill a thousand."

He rose.

Alone. Wounded. Unarmed.

But not defeated.

And in the depths of the Void, more shadows began to stir.

More Chapters