The canopy of the Forbidden Mountain Range had been Lin Void's only sky for six years. In this emerald prison, the laws of the Stardust Palace were mere myths, replaced by the brutal reality of survival.
At six years old, Lin Void did not look like a typical child of the villages. His skin was bronze from the sun, his frame lean and corded with functional muscle, and his eyes—those swirling violet-black depths—were now hidden behind a focused, calm intensity.
The Secret Cultivation
Lin Tian sat on a jagged rock, watching his son. In six years, the father had transformed as well. No longer the "talentless" Tier 3 White Rank, Lin Tian had reached the Yellow Rank, Tier 4. In the outside world, he would be a respected Sect Elder. Here, he was merely the guardian of a monster.
"Again," Lin Tian commanded, his voice raspy but firm.
Lin Void stood in the center of a clearing. He didn't use the 'Fire' his father had taught him as a cover. Instead, he practiced the Internal Void Collapse.
In his previous life as Lin Wu, he had been betrayed by his kin for this very power. Now, he refined it. He breathed, and the air around his fists didn't just move; it vanished.
Whoosh.
A massive boulder ten feet away didn't shatter—it simply had a perfect, spherical hole punched through its center. No debris, no dust. The matter had been erased.
"Your control is improving, Void'er," Lin Tian said, though a shadow of worry crossed his face. "But tomorrow is the day. The Great Awakening Ceremony in the Border Town of Stonehaven. Every child of six must attend. If you don't go, the Imperial Scouts will burn this forest to find the 'Missing Seed'."
The Mask of the Weak
Lin Void retracted his aura. The void-black light vanished, replaced by the mundane appearance of a regular boy.
"I know, Father," Lin Void said, his voice possessing a maturity that often unsettled Lin Tian. "To the world, I must be a 'Mediocre Talent'. If I show the Void, Lin Wu Ran will feel the ripple from her throne."
"And your mother..." Lin Tian's voice trailed off.
"I haven't forgotten," Lin Void said, his small hand clenching into a fist. "The Star-Cage. The chains. Every breath I take is a step toward tearing that palace down stone by stone."
Lin Void knew the hierarchy of this world was rigid. To survive the ceremony, he needed a "fake" element. Using the techniques from his previous life, he had spent the last year "condensing" a secondary core—a false shell made of the lowest-grade Fire Element, mimicking his father's lineage.
The Town of Stonehaven
The next morning, the duo emerged from the treeline. Stonehaven was a rugged town built of grey basalt, crawling with Imperial Soldiers clad in silver armor. In the center of the town square stood a massive, translucent crystal—the Element Testing Stone.
An Imperial Officer with a goatee and a cold sneer stood by the stone. "Next! Chen Long of the Southern Farms!"
A young boy touched the stone. It glowed a dull Green.
"Wood Element. Grey Rank, Tier 2 potential. Passable. Next!"
The crowd was tense. The "Law of the Jungle" dictated that those with high potential would be taken to the Sects, while those with none would be relegated to labor.
"Lin Void!" the officer barked.
Lin Tian squeezed his son's shoulder. "Remember. Suppress it."
Lin Void walked forward. The villagers whispered. He looked like a wild brat from the woods. He reached out his hand and touched the cold surface of the Testing Stone.
Deep within his soul, Lin Void's true core—the Violet Void—roared like a caged beast. It wanted to shatter the stone, to announce its godhood to the heavens. But Lin Void slammed a mental gate shut.
He reached into the "False Shell" he had created. He leaked a tiny, pathetic stream of Fire energy into the crystal.
The stone flickered. A pale, weak White light emerged.
"Element: Fire," the officer sighed, bored. "Rank: White. Tier 1 potential. Barely enough to light a pipe. Move along, trash."
The Hidden Predator
Lin Void bowed his head, playing the part of the disappointed child. But as he turned to leave, a carriage pulled by four white stallions rolled into the square. The curtains were made of silk woven with gold—the mark of the Jin Clan.
A young girl, roughly Lin Void's age, stepped out. She had silver hair and piercing black eyes—looking almost exactly like a younger version of Jin Mu Wie. This was Jin Meiling, the genius of the main branch and, technically, Lin Void's cousin.
She walked toward the stone with the grace of a swan. When her hand touched it, the crystal didn't just glow; it screamed. A pillar of frost erupted, turning the square into a winter wasteland in seconds.
The stone turned a brilliant, blinding Gold.
"Gold Rank! Tier 9 potential!" the officer shouted, falling to his knees. "A True Genius of the Jin Clan!"
Meiling looked at the crowd with utter disdain. Her gaze landed on Lin Void for a brief second. To her, he was just another 'White Rank' insect in the dirt.
Lin Void met her eyes for a heartbeat. He saw the arrogance of the family that had betrayed his mother. He felt the coldness of the element that should have been his heritage.
Enjoy your throne of ice, cousin, Lin Void thought, a dark smile playing at the corners of his mind. For now, I am the trash at your feet. But the Void doesn't care about Gold. The Void eats the light.
The First Trial
As the ceremony ended, Lin Tian and Lin Void prepared to slip away, but they were blocked by three older boys—disciples of the local Stonehaven Sect.
"Hey, Forest Brat," the leader sneered, his fist glowing with Grey-rank Earth energy. "The Jin Princess looked at you. That's a sin for a White-rank peasant. Hand over your travel bag as penance."
Lin Tian stepped forward, but Lin Void placed a hand on his father's arm.
"Father, stay back," Lin Void whispered. "The officer is gone. Nobody is watching."
"Void, don't..."
"I won't use the Void," Lin Void said, his eyes darkening. "I'll use the 'Truth' they taught me in my last life. The Truth of the Broken Bone."
Before the bully could react, Lin Void moved. He didn't use an element. He used Pressure Point Striking. To the onlookers, it looked like the bully just collapsed, his legs folding like paper.
CRACK.
"My knees! He broke my knees!" the boy screamed.
Lin Void stood over him, his expression as indifferent as Lin Wu Ran's. "The Law of the Jungle, right? The strong eat the weak. Today... you look very delicious."