The rain over the Great Zhao Imperial Capital was not merely water; it was a cold, oppressive weight that seemed to mirror the heavy atmosphere of the city. Outside the Golden Dragon Pavilion—the most opulent restaurant in the empire—the air was thick with the scent of expensive wine and roasted spiritual meats. But in the muddy alleyway just paces from the entrance, the only scent was the metallic tang of fresh blood.
Ye Chen lay face down in the muck, his fingers clawing at the jagged cobblestones. His chest felt like it had been hollowed out with a rusted spade. Just moments ago, he had been the young patriarch of the Ye Clan, the rising star of the capital, and the fiancé of the most beautiful woman in the province. Now, he was a hollowed-out husk.
"Look at him, Zhao Feng. He still tries to crawl," a voice silvered with disdain drifted through the rain.
Ye Chen forced his head up. Standing under a silk umbrella held by a trembling servant was Lin Xue. Her emerald robes were untouched by the mud, and her face, which he had once looked upon with nothing but love, was now twisted into an expression of profound boredom. Beside her stood Crown Prince Zhao Feng, a man born with every advantage, yet whose eyes burned with a petty, lingering jealousy.
In Zhao Feng's hand, a violet sphere of light pulsed with a rhythmic, solar heat. It was the [Purple Sun Spirit]. It was Ye Chen's birthright, the source of his genius, and the foundation of his Stage 9 Body Refining cultivation.
"The Purple Sun Spirit is wasted on a dog from a falling clan," Zhao Feng said, his voice projecting with the easy authority of a predator. He looked at the glowing orb with greed. "With this, my 'Dragon-Ascension' technique will finally reach perfection. I should thank you, Ye Chen. Your ten years of bitter cultivation have provided me with a very fine medicinal pill."
"You... promised..." Ye Chen's voice was a wet, broken rasp. He coughed, spitting out a glob of dark blood. "You said if I gave you the cultivation manual... you would leave the Ye Clan alone."
Lin Xue let out a soft, tinkling laugh that cut deeper than any blade. "Oh, Ye Chen. You were always so naive. Did you really think a phoenix would marry a toad? The manual was just the appetizer. Your Spirit was the main course. As for your clan... they were exiled this morning. By now, your father is likely begging for scraps on the border."
The world turned red. The pain in Ye Chen's chest was eclipsed by a cold, numbing rage. He tried to lung forward, to wrap his hands around the Prince's throat, but his legs were useless. Zhao Feng had not just taken his Spirit; he had shattered his Dantian into a thousand pieces.
"Know your place, trash," Zhao Feng sneered. He stepped forward and brought his heavy, gold-toed boot down on Ye Chen's hand. He ground his heel into the bone until a sickening crack echoed in the alley.
Ye Chen didn't scream. He bit his lip until it bled, his eyes fixed on the Prince with a gaze so dark it made the royal guards instinctively take a step back.
"Still staring? I'll give you something to look at in the next life," Zhao Feng said, his eyes narrowing. "Guards! The boy is an eyesore. Throw him into the Black Wind Abyss. Let the rotting winds finish what I started. I want his body to be erased from the records of this empire."
The guards moved in, hoisting Ye Chen's limp body like a sack of grain. As he was carried away, he saw Lin Xue turn her back to him, leaning into the Crown Prince's shoulder as they walked back into the warmth of the pavilion. The last thing he heard was the sound of music and laughter, drowning out the steady beat of the rain.
The journey to the Black Wind Abyss was a blur of agony and semi-consciousness. The abyss was a jagged scar on the earth, miles deep, where the "Grave-Qi" of ancient wars had settled into a toxic, swirling mist. No light reached the bottom, and no life flourished within its depths. It was the empire's largest graveyard, reserved for the most hated criminals and the most forgotten victims.
When the guards reached the edge, they didn't hesitate. With a casual heave, they tossed Ye Chen over the precipice.
"Goodbye, 'Genius' Ye," one guard mocked.
Ye Chen fell. The wind tore at his clothes and bit into his open wounds. The pressure of the Grave-Qi began to suffocate him, the toxic mist invading his lungs and turning his blood into lead. As he plummeted toward the jagged bones of the canyon floor, a single thought burned in his mind, brighter than the stolen Purple Sun.
If there is a Heaven, I will burn it. If there is a Hell, I will rule it. I will return... I will return and extract everything they have ever loved.
[Ding!]
A sound, sharp and mechanical, vibrated through his very soul. Time seemed to slow, the rushing wind becoming a dull hum.
[Detecting Host's Will to Plunder...]
[Condition Met: 'The Ultimate Despair'.]
[Initializing Universal Extraction System...]
[Binding: 1%... 15%... 50%... 100%!]
[System Bound. Welcome, Host Ye Chen.]
Ye Chen's body slammed into a pile of sun-bleached ribs with a thunderous crash. Any other human would have been reduced to a pulp, but as he hit the ground, a translucent blue screen erupted in front of his eyes, and a wave of cold, revitalizing energy surged from the center of his forehead.
[Current Status: Dying (Internal bleeding, shattered Dantian, 98% Life Force loss)]
[Emergency Protocol: Extracting nearby 'Death-Essence' to stabilize life...]
The Black Wind around him, which should have been killing him, was suddenly drawn toward his body. The toxic mist was filtered through an invisible screen, the "Dirt" being discarded into the dirt while a pure, grey energy was forced into his meridians.
[Extraction Successful!]
[Gained: 1,000 Exp!]
[Gained: Passive Skill — 'Toxic Immunity' (Low-Grade)]
[Status Updated: Stable.]
Ye Chen lay in the darkness, gasping for air. The pain was still there, but it was distant now, like a fire viewed through thick glass. He looked up at the screen floating in his vision, his heart pounding with a mixture of confusion and a cold, rising hope.
"System...?" he croaked.
[Host, the Universal Extraction System allows you to plunder attributes, skills, and cultivation from anything in existence—be it the living, the dead, or the environment.]
Ye Chen looked around. He was surrounded by a sea of bones. Some were the size of humans; others were the size of houses, belonging to ancient beasts from the era of myths.
[Detected: Skeleton of a 'Heaven-Slaying Sword-Saint'. Extract?]
Ye Chen's eyes widened. He crawled toward a skeleton nearby that glowed with a faint, metallic sheen despite being centuries old. He placed his hand on the cold ribcage.
"Extract," he whispered.
[Extraction Initiated...]
[Obtained: SSS-Rank Talent — 'Immortal Sword-Heart'!]
[Obtained: 500 Years of Residual Sword-Intent!]
[Obtained: Cultivation Technique — 'Nine Heavens Sword-Script' (Fragment)!]
A pillar of silver light shot out from the bones, entering Ye Chen's chest. The "Immortal Sword-Heart" replaced his shattered Dantian, glowing with a sharpness that threatened to cut the air itself. His broken bones knitted together with the sound of snapping timber, and his muscles filled with a strength he had never known.
[Level Up!]
[Cultivation: Body Refining Stage 1... Stage 5... Stage 9!]
[Breakthrough! You have reached the Qi Manifestation Realm Stage 1!]
Ye Chen stood up, the shards of his old life falling away like dead skin. He looked at his hand, which was now covered in a faint, silver aura. With a flick of his wrist, a blade of pure Qi sliced through a nearby boulder, leaving a cut as smooth as glass.
"Zhao Feng took my Purple Sun," Ye Chen said, his voice echoing in the silent abyss. "But the System gave me the Heavens."
He looked deeper into the abyss, where even more powerful skeletons lay hidden in the fog. This wasn't a graveyard. For him, it was a treasure chest. And he wouldn't stop until he had emptied it.
As Ye Chen prepared to move deeper, a massive, skeletal hand—three times the size of a man—erupted from the ground beneath him. From the darkness, a pair of blue spirit-fires ignited.
[Warning: Ancient 'Bone-Dragon Sentinel' Awakened.]
[Target Level: Core Formation Realm Stage 5.]
[Host Level: Qi Manifestation Stage 1.]
The dragon let out a silent roar that shook the canyon walls. Ye Chen didn't run. He gripped his silver Qi blade, a predatory smile crossing his face.
"A Core Formation Dragon?" Ye Chen whispered. "I wonder what kind of attributes you'll give me."