The intruder laughed cruelly, the blade in his hand gleaming beneath the flickering firelight.
"Look at this cripple trying to act tough!" the bandit spat, striding into the hut like he owned the land. "You used to crawl in the dirt for scraps. Now you want to die standing?"
Lin Xuan didn't flinch.
His black eyes glowed faintly, as though a storm raged behind them. The Chaos Core pulsed in his chest, spinning faster. He could feel it—raw, untamed energy coursing through his newly healed body.
[Skill Unlocked: Chaotic Palm – Grade: Mortal Rank (Evolvable)]
Effect: Harnesses chaos energy to disrupt internal flow of qi. Effects amplify against cultivators of lower rank.]
The man lunged, swinging his saber with practiced savagery.
Lin Xuan's body moved instinctively.
His hand snapped up—fast, fluid, and precise.
Boom!
A black ripple shot from his palm, colliding with the bandit's chest. The man froze mid-air, his eyes widening in horror as his meridians twisted violently. His weapon clattered to the ground.
"What… what did you—"
Crack!
The man's body convulsed and crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut. His qi shattered, his internal energy ruptured beyond repair.
Lin Xuan stepped over the corpse and stared into the night.
The chaos within him stirred. It wasn't just destruction—it was balance undone, reality rewritten. Every breath he took now seemed to hum with otherworldly power.
A few villagers stood frozen outside, wide-eyed and pale-faced. For years, they'd seen Lin Xuan as nothing more than a broken orphan, a cursed child that no sect or family wanted.
Now, he had just killed a mid-level cultivator with a single blow.
"Lin… Lin Xuan?" gasped Old Li, the blacksmith, stepping forward. "Did you… kill him?"
"I gave chaos its due," Lin Xuan said simply. "He just happened to be first."
The villagers backed away. Fear mixed with awe.
---
Hours Later – Deep in the Forest
Lin Xuan sat cross-legged beneath an ancient pine, moonlight spilling across his face. The forest pulsed with the energy of nature, silent except for the occasional howl of a spirit beast in the distance.
He opened his palm and summoned the Chaos Core again.
The dark orb hovered, pulsing. Runes circled its surface—ancient symbols he couldn't yet decipher.
[Host Status Updated]
– Physical Body: Restored
– Cultivation Base: Qi Gathering Stage (0%)
– Dao Affinity: Chaos (Unique)
– Core Skills: [Chaotic Palm (Lv.1)], [Chaos Absorption (Passive)]
– Warning: Soul fragments unstable. Memory Recovery in Progress…
Lin Xuan closed his eyes.
His breathing slowed as he activated Chaos Absorption. All around him, the energy of the forest—earth qi, wind qi, even faint traces of spiritual fire—was pulled toward him and refined through the Chaos Core.
Unlike normal cultivators who could only absorb one type of elemental qi, Lin Xuan absorbed everything.
And refined it into chaos.
He felt his body strengthen, the energy in his meridians condensing.
Qi Gathering: 4%... 7%... 10%.
A breakthrough would come soon. Faster than anyone could imagine.
---
Meanwhile – At the Blood Shadow Sect
Within the stone hall of a cruel sect far from the mortal village, a shadowy figure sat upon a throne carved from bones. Dozens of masked disciples knelt before him.
A raven fluttered in and transformed into a burning message.
The figure read it silently, eyes narrowing.
"Lin Xuan… reborn?" he said, voice like a whisper through a graveyard. "The chaos refuses to die."
He raised a hand.
"Send the Soul Hunters. Bring me the boy… dead or alive."
---
Back in the Village – The Next Day
News of the bandit's death spread like wildfire.
Some villagers avoided Lin Xuan entirely. Others came with offerings of food and clothing. Old Li even offered him a new robe and a rusted sword from his forge.
"You'll need this if more come looking for trouble," the blacksmith said.
Lin Xuan accepted it with a nod. He was no longer the crippled boy they once knew. He would rise again—and this time, no sect, no heaven, no god would stand in his way.
Chaos had returned to the world.
And Lin Xuan would become its master.
---
[Quest Unlocked: Survive the Blood Shadow Sect's Pursuers (Recommended Power Level: Qi Gathering 30%+)]
Reward: Chaos Technique Scroll – "Disruption Step"
Penalty: Death