Night descended upon the sect like a suffocating veil, heavy and unrelenting.

While outer disciples slumbered in their humble quarters and core disciples meditated beneath starlit skies, Jiang Xuan moved through the shadows like a whisper of vengeance. His destination,the forbidden depths of the Scripture Pavilion.

A place where only the elite were permitted. A sanctuary of ancient wisdom, veiled in secrecy and guarded by laws carved into the bones of tradition.

But what were rules to a man whose entire existence had been reduced to mockery?

Clutching the ragged scroll he’d unearthed, his eyes burned with a savage hunger,raw, desperate, and ruthless.

[System Prompt: Host has obtained Forbidden Technique – Soul Engulfing Heaven Art. ]

[Assimilation Commencing… ]

Agony erupted within him,a torment so profound it felt as though countless phantom needles pierced every sinew of his body, his very bones grinding into ash. White-hot pain seared through his soul, threatening to tear him apart from within.

Yet Jiang Xuan did not scream.

He bit down hard, teeth clashing together until blood spilled from his lips like crimson tears.

Weak men begged for mercy. Monsters devoured their suffering and grew stronger.

As the forbidden art fused with his essence, an ancient, malevolent force stirred deep within his marrow,an echo from a forgotten age, long buried beneath layers of time and fear.

A faint black mark materialized between his brows, invisible to ordinary eyes yet radiating an aura so chilling that even the air around him seemed to shiver.

Suddenly,

A voice sliced through the silence like a blade.

“Who dares trespass in the restricted archive?”

The shadows parted.

From the dim corridor emerged a figure draped in dark robes,Liu Tianyi, an inner disciple renowned across the sect for his cruelty and merciless nature. He was infamous for crushing weaker disciples underfoot, reveling in their despair like a beast savoring its prey.

Upon recognizing Jiang Xuan, Liu Tianyi’s lips curled into a mocking sneer.

“A cripple playing hero? How amusing. Looks like I get to spill some blood tonight.”

Jiang Xuan said nothing.

Instead, his aura flickered,unstable, raw, but undeniably present.

For the first time in his life, spiritual energy surged within him,not the gentle ebb of cultivation, but a violent, chaotic storm clawing its way through his veins.

[System Prompt: Primordial Spirit Devourer Bloodline – Partially Unlocked. ]

The scroll in his hand ignited,black flames dancing like hungry spirits, licking at the air with sinister intent.

Behind him, a phantom figure began to take shape,a monstrous silhouette, towering and grotesque, resembling a primordial spirit beast born from nightmares.

Liu Tianyi’s smirk faltered. His confident stance wavered.

“What… the hell is that?”

Too late.

Jiang Xuan struck.

In a blur of motion, he lunged forward, his palm glowing with an eerie, obsidian light. The power of his awakening bloodline technique surged forth like a tidal wave of death.

A thunderous boom echoed through the chamber.

Liu Tianyi was sent hurtling backward, blood erupting from his mouth like a crimson fountain. His body crashed against the stone wall with bone-shattering force.

Jiang Xuan spat coldly, his voice laced with contempt.

“You had your chance.”

Before the arrogant inner disciple could utter a scream, Jiang Xuan’s palm slammed against his chest.

[Soul Engulfing Heaven Art – First Layer Activated. ]

Dark tendrils of energy spiraled outward, tearing through Liu Tianyi’s meridians like wolves ripping into prey. His cultivation base crumbled in an instant, his spiritual essence ripped away and absorbed into Jiang Xuan’s body.

Moments later, all was still.

Only Jiang Xuan remained,standing amidst the ruins of his victim, his breath ragged, his body trembling with newfound strength.

His eyes gleamed with a madness that bordered on divine wrath.

“Trash like me?” he whispered, a cruel smile twisting his lips. “Then let me show you what happens when trash fights back.”

At that precise moment, far beyond the sect’s sacred mountains, deep within a hidden realm cloaked in perpetual mist, an ancient place known as the Mistveil Grove stirred.

The earth trembled ever so slightly.

The wind howled with recognition.

Something long-dormant had awakened.

The first chain had been broken.

And the world would soon learn to fear what lay beyond.