The wind blew strongly on Wuyuan Mountain. The air was cold. It smelled like rain and something worse… like blood.

A boy was kneeling beside a small grave. His hands were covered in mud. His face was pale and sad.

His name was Xiao Li. He was only seventeen years old.

He had just buried the only family he had—his grandfather, the man who had raised him since he was a baby.

> “Grandfather… you said I would become strong one day,” Xiao Li whispered.

“But you were wrong.”

His voice was low. He was not crying anymore. He had no more tears left.

---

Three days earlier, Xiao Li had stood in front of the whole village on the testing stage. It was the day when young people would awaken their cultivation root—the power inside their body.

Some children got silver roots, some got gold. A few lucky ones got Heavenly Roots, which were very rare.

Xiao Li had dreamed of being special too. His grandfather was once a great warrior, so everyone thought Xiao Li would be strong.

But when the elder tested him, he looked shocked.

> “This boy... has no root!”

“He’s a waste!”

Everyone laughed. Some people shook their heads. A few even called him shameful.

That night, Xiao Li's grandfather argued with the village elders.

The next morning, he was dead.

> “He was poisoned,” someone whispered. “Slow poison… hidden well.”

---

Now, Xiao Li stood up from the grave.

His body was sore. His hands were bleeding. But he didn’t care anymore.

He looked up the mountain, toward a dark path. At the very top was a ruined place—an old temple that his grandfather had always told him to avoid.

> “Don’t ever go up there,” he once said.

But Xiao Li didn’t care now.

He had nothing left.

---

The climb was hard. Rain poured down. His shoes tore. His legs hurt. But he kept going.

Finally, he reached the top. There stood a broken temple, half-covered in moss and fog. A stone tablet stood outside with strange words carved on it:

> "Here sleeps the One Who Devoured the Heavens."

Inside the temple, in the middle, was a black lotus flower. It looked dry and dead, but somehow… it gave off a warm feeling.

Xiao Li walked closer.

Suddenly, black fire shot out from the lotus!

> “AAHHHH!”

He screamed. The fire didn’t burn his skin. Instead, it burned inside him. It rushed through his veins. He felt his bones breaking.

And then—something inside his chest snapped open.

In his mind, he saw a dark space full of stars. It looked like the void—the space between worlds.

In that space, a golden chain broke off from his soul.

> "You were sealed..."

"Now, you are free."

A deep voice spoke. It didn’t belong to any person. It came from the void itself.

---

Xiao Li opened his eyes.

The temple was gone. Or maybe it had always been a dream.

He sat on the ground. His chest hurt. But he felt different. He felt... stronger.

He looked at his palm.

Black flames danced on it for a moment, then disappeared.

Words suddenly appeared in his mind:

> Realm: Qi Rooting – Initial Stage

Constitution: Void Devourer (Awakened)

> “What is this…?”

He didn’t understand yet. But he knew one thing:

He was no longer a waste.

---

On the broken wall behind him, strange wind whispered:

> “He who walks the Void shall never bow.”

“He who Devours shall become the Heavens.”

Xiao Li walked down the mountain slowly.

His body still hurt, but something had changed. The cold wind didn’t bother him anymore. The pain in his legs felt far away, like it wasn’t even real.

He looked at his hands. They looked the same. But deep inside, he felt something different. A power... calm and dark, like the night sky.

> “Void Devourer Constitution,” he whispered.

“What does that even mean...?”

He didn’t have the answer yet. But he knew one thing:

He was no longer weak.

---

The forest at the base of the mountain was quiet.

Too quiet.

Xiao Li stepped carefully. The trees were tall and thick, and the mist was heavy. Even the birds were silent.

Suddenly—

> Snap!

A twig broke behind him.

Xiao Li turned fast. A shadow jumped out of the trees.

It was a man in black robes, wearing a silver mask. His eyes were cold like ice. He had a short sword in his hand.

> “You’re Xiao Li?” the man asked.

“You survived the awakening?”

“Unfortunate.”

He rushed forward without waiting for an answer.

---

Xiao Li barely dodged the first attack. The sword sliced through the air and cut the tree behind him.

> “He’s fast!”

Xiao Li jumped back, breathing hard. The man moved like a ghost.

The assassin came again. This time, Xiao Li reached out his hand on instinct. A small black flame appeared in his palm—just like at the temple.

The assassin froze for a second.

> “Void flame…?” he whispered.

That moment was enough.

Xiao Li used the chance to grab a rock from the ground and throw it. It hit the assassin’s mask.

The man growled and charged again.

---

Xiao Li had no weapon. No training. Only instinct and the strange new power in his blood.

He moved as if something was guiding him. His steps were strange—fast, then slow—almost like disappearing between blinks.

The assassin stabbed toward his heart.

But Xiao Li vanished—and reappeared behind him.

> BANG!

Xiao Li punched him in the back, and the black flame hit the assassin’s robe. It started to burn.

The man shouted and rolled on the ground to stop it. But Xiao Li didn’t wait.

He ran.

---

Ten minutes later, he stopped to catch his breath.

He was safe—for now.

> “That man... he knew my name.”

“Someone sent him to kill me.”

But who?

Xiao Li had no answers. Only more questions.

He sat under a tree and looked up at the sky.

> “I was supposed to be a nobody,” he said.

“Why is someone trying to kill a ‘waste’?”

He touched his chest. He could still feel the fire deep inside.

Something had been awakened. Something others didn’t want him to have.

Maybe his grandfather had known.

Maybe that’s why they killed him.

> “I will find out,” Xiao Li said quietly.

“I don’t care how strong they are.”

He looked down the road.

Somewhere out there was a world he had never seen before.

Strong people. Powerful sects. Flying swords. Giant beasts. Ancient secrets.

And one day...

He would rise above all of them.

The sun was rising when Xiao Li reached the next valley.

His clothes were torn. His legs ached. But his heart was calm.

He had survived an assassin.

He had awakened strange power.

He was no longer the same boy from the mountain village.

As he walked down the narrow path, he heard a loud sound—BOOM!

Birds flew from the trees. The ground shook.

> “Someone’s fighting?” Xiao Li muttered.

He moved toward the sound, hiding behind bushes and trees.

Soon, he saw a wide clearing.

In the middle stood a girl with long black hair, wearing a purple robe. Her eyes were sharp. In her hand was a silver whip glowing with strange purple light.

Three men surrounded her. All of them wore black armor. Their faces were covered, but they looked dangerous.

> “Hand it over, girl,” one of them said.

“You’re outnumbered.”

> “You’re not worthy,” she replied coldly.

The men attacked at once.

The girl moved like wind. Her whip cracked in the air and hit one of them across the chest. Sparks flew. The man screamed and fell.

The second rushed in with a spear. The girl spun and kicked him in the head.

But the third man came from behind.

> “Watch out!” Xiao Li shouted before he could stop himself.

The girl turned just in time. She dodged—but not fast enough.

The enemy's blade sliced her shoulder. Blood spilled.

She jumped back, breathing hard.

The man who was down got up again.

> “She’s strong… but not strong enough,” Xiao Li thought.

He looked at his hands. The black flame was gone. He wasn’t sure if he could use it again.

But he had to try.

Xiao Li grabbed a thick branch from the ground and ran into the fight.

> CRACK!

He hit one of the men on the side of the head. The mask broke. The man dropped.

The girl looked at Xiao Li, surprised.

> “Who are you?” she asked.

> “Just someone passing by.”

The two remaining enemies growled and came at them.

The girl used her whip again. Xiao Li threw rocks, dodged attacks, and used the footwork that had come to him back on the mountain.

Then it happened again.

The moment a sword came too close—

> WOOOOOSH

The Void Flame returned.

It burst out of his hand and struck the man in the chest. He screamed and fell.

The last attacker looked around—saw two of his allies down, the other burning—and ran.

> “We’re not paid enough for this!”

The forest was quiet again.

Xiao Li sat down, panting.

The girl looked at him with interest.

> “That flame,” she said slowly, “wasn’t normal.”

> “I don’t know what it is,” Xiao Li replied. “It just… happens.”

She studied him for a long moment, then nodded.

> “You helped me. I owe you a favor.”

> “You don’t have to—”

> “I always repay my debts.”

She stood and tied a cloth over her wounded shoulder.

> “I’m Cai Lin,” she said at last. “And you?”

> “Xiao Li.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

> “That name... never mind.”

She turned and began to walk.

Then paused.

> “You’re not strong. But you’re not ordinary either.”

> “Thanks… I think?”

She didn’t smile, but there was a flicker of amusement in her eyes.

> “I’m going east. If you want to survive, follow me.”

Xiao Li hesitated. Then stood and followed.

He didn’t know her story. He didn’t know where she was going.

But something told him this meeting was not by chance.

Maybe it was fate.

Or maybe…

It was the beginning of something much bigger.