The mountain winds howled through the Azure Sky peaks, carrying faint traces of blood and steel.
Xiao Wang stood upon the edge of the broken cliff, his robes torn, his body coated in wounds that refused to heal. His breath trembled. Every muscle screamed. His veins burned like molten fire.
The battle with the Fallen God's remnant had ended in devastation. The world around him was silent, yet inside his chest—something stirred.
A deep, vibrating hum echoed through his core. Then—
[System Core: Offline.]
[Reboot Sequence Initiated.]
[Celestial Link Reestablishing...]
The familiar divine monotone of the System—cold, ancient, and absolute—flowed through his consciousness once again.
Xiao Wang blinked in disbelief. "It's... coming back?"
A laugh echoed faintly in his head—the voice of his mischievous half, sly and carefree.
"Heh. You didn't think you could devour gods without a little reboot, did you, old me?"
Before he could respond, the Sword Spirit's calm, feminine whisper layered over the System's chime, resonant as if spoken by the heavens themselves.
"The System slumbered while your mortal shell was too weak to bear its code. Now that you've touched divinity again—it awakens."
A surge of power ripped through him. His heart convulsed as tendrils of black and gold energy erupted from his body, swirling into a storm of ancient runes that coalesced above his hand.
[Warning: Power Loss — 93%.]
[Devourer Protocol: Stage One Activated.]
[New Directive: Feast of Ten Thousand Souls Initiated.]
The words burned into his mind.
His vision flashed white, and in that instant—he saw it.
A vast crimson sea beneath a blackened moon. Countless spectral figures screaming, their souls devoured by a single, colossal sword floating in the heavens.
His sword.
The Celestial Devourer.
Xiao Wang staggered. The ground cracked beneath his feet as the vision faded. "Ten thousand souls..." he muttered. "That's madness."
"No," said the Sword Spirit. "That's ascension."
Far below the cliff, a group of Azure Sky Sect disciples stood watching in awe.
Among them was Elder Mo Tian, the sect's most respected master of sword intent. His silver hair gleamed like moonlight; his expression serene, unreadable.
But deep within his chest, buried under flesh and Qi, something vile twitched—a dark, parasite-shaped sigil pulsing faintly.
He smiled as the wind carried the scent of Xiao Wang's reborn energy.
"So... the Devourer has returned," he whispered. "At last."
Hours later, Xiao Wang sat cross-legged in the ruins of an old shrine. His spiritual sea rippled violently as the System began reconfiguring his meridians.
[New Interface: Essence Devour Points (EDP).]
[Every life taken, every soul consumed—will feed the Sword and evolve your Path.]
[Reboot Complete. Welcome, True Host.]
He exhaled slowly. His right hand trembled. For a moment, he heard his other self chuckle again.
"So… we start from zero, huh? Guess it's like courting a girl after she already dumped you—awkward, painful, and worth it."
Xiao Wang groaned. "You really have no dignity, do you?"
"Dignity doesn't kill monsters, brother. Sharp swords and pretty women do."
A soft voice interrupted him. "I see you're arguing with yourself again."
His head snapped up.
Standing before him was a girl draped in moonlight. Silver hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her eyes—clear, violet, and cold—seemed to reflect galaxies. She held a crescent-shaped blade that shimmered with divine frost.
"Who are you?" Xiao Wang asked, rising cautiously.
"Someone who saved you from bleeding to death," she said simply. "You can call me... Lian Yue."
He scanned her aura instinctively—pure, refined, dangerously powerful.
She wasn't an ordinary cultivator. Not even close.
"Why did you save me?"
Her gaze drifted to the sword at his hip. "Because that blade of yours... whispered my name."
His blood froze.
The Sword Spirit stirred faintly within his soul.
"Careful," it warned. "Her bloodline sings with the power of moons and destruction. She is not what she seems."
Lian Yue tilted her head slightly, smirking. "Relax. If I wished you dead, you wouldn't have heard me speak."
The mischievous half of Xiao Wang's consciousness purred, amused.
"Heh. Bold and deadly. I like her already."
"Shut up," Xiao Wang muttered aloud.
"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing," he said quickly. "Just… inner demons."
She smiled faintly. "How convenient."
By sunset, the air around the shrine shimmered with battle Qi. A group of Azure Sky disciples, led by Elder Mo Tian, approached the ruins.
"Elder Mo Tian?" Xiao Wang frowned. "What brings you here?"
Mo Tian's eyes glimmered faintly crimson. "You've broken sect law, Xiao Wang. Trespassing into restricted zones, awakening forbidden arts... The Sect demands an explanation."
Before Xiao Wang could speak, Lian Yue stepped forward, her sword humming with icy light. "And who gave you the right to question him, old man?"
Gasps rippled among the disciples. Mo Tian's expression didn't change, but his tone turned venomous.
"Who is this woman to interfere with Sect matters?"
"Someone who kills pests that talk too much," she said coldly.
For a heartbeat, silence hung between them.Then Mo Tian's lips curled into a smile.
"Very well," he said softly. "Then both of you can die together."
The air exploded.
Spiritual pressure slammed into the shrine like a tidal wave. Xiao Wang barely leapt aside as Mo Tian's sword aura tore the mountain apart.
"Lian Yue—stay back!" he shouted.
"Not a chance," she snapped, her blade flashing in a crescent arc of moonlight.
[Combat Mode Activated.]
[Directive: Devour Hostile Essence Detected — Rank: Spirit Core.]
Xiao Wang grinned fiercely.
"Guess the feast begins now."
He lunged forward, his sword erupting with a black-gold radiance. Mo Tian countered, their blades colliding in a storm of sparks that shattered the earth beneath them.
Every strike carried fury—every clash, echoes of gods.
But as the battle raged, Xiao Wang's vision blurred. He could feel it again—the darkness, the laughter, the shift.
The mischievous personality whispered.
"You're too slow, brother. Let me handle this one."
Before he could resist, a flood of power surged through him. His red eyes gleamed like twin suns, and a wicked grin spread across his face.
"Alright then…" he said, his voice deeper, more playful, and infinitely dangerous. "Let's dance."
He vanished.
Mo Tian's eyes widened as Xiao Wang appeared behind him, blade already buried half an inch into his spine.
[Essence Devour Activated.]
[Target: Mo Tian (Possessed).]
[Extracting Parasitic Energy Core...]
The air turned black as tendrils of energy burst from Mo Tian's chest, spiraling into Xiao Wang's sword. The elder screamed, his eyes blazing crimson before shattering into dust.
[Essence Absorbed: 1,204.]
[New Trait Acquired: Parasitic Qi Manipulation.]
As the last of the energy was devoured, Xiao Wang's other half laughed.
"That's one soul down… nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine to go."
He exhaled slowly, regaining control. The mischievous voice faded, leaving only silence—and the sound of Lian Yue's steady breathing.
She was watching him, eyes unreadable.
"Tell me," she said softly, "what are you, exactly?"
Xiao Wang looked up at the shattered moonlight above them.
"I'm someone the heavens tried to erase," he said, his voice quiet, deadly calm. "And now—I'm coming back to devour them all."
[Feast of Ten Thousand Souls Progress: 1 / 10,000.]
[Next Target: The Azure Sky Sect.]
The ground trembled.
The sky dimmed.
And somewhere deep within the void, the Sword Spirit whispered faintly—
"So it begins again… The Path of Ascension."