All Chapters of Alchemist Reborn: Ruler of the Immortal Legion: Chapter 1
- Chapter 10
10 chapters
1
The stench was the first thing that hit him.It wasn't the clean, medicinal aroma of the Nine Heavens Alchemy Palace or the sweet scent of Spirit Peaches from the celestial gardens. No. This was the rank, suffocating smell of damp concrete, stale urine, and dried blood.Han Chen’s eyelids felt like they were lead-plated. Every breath was a jagged blade scraping against his throat. But the real agony? That came from below. His legs didn't just hurt; they screamed with a white-hot, agonizing pulse that suggested the nerves had been shredded and left to rot.I’m… alive?The last thing he remembered was the sky turning black—not from clouds, but from the combined spiritual pressure of the Seven Celestial Emperors. His own disciple, the one he had hand-fed Divine Pills for centuries, had driven a poisoned dagger into his back just as his Alchemy Cauldron reached the point of transcendence.The explosion should have erased his soul from existence.Slowly, painfully, he forced his eyes open.
2
Han Chen’s boots dragged against the floor, a rhythmic, scraping sound that felt like it was carving a hole in his skull. Every step was a gamble. His nervous system, barely stitched back together by a crude burst of soul energy, was screaming at him to stop, to collapse, to just let the darkness take over.But then there was Valerie.Her hand was a vise on his upper arm, her fingers digging so deep into his muscle he was sure she’d leave a permanent bruise. She wasn't leading him; she was steering him like a piece of faulty equipment she was forced to deliver."You’re shaking," Valerie muttered, her voice tight with a mix of adrenaline and pure, unadulterated fear. She didn't look at him. She was too busy scanning the hallway, her hand hovering near the holster at her hip. "If you faint now, Han Chen, I’m leaving you on the floor. I won't have your death on my hands when the General’s heart stops."Han Chen let out a dry, rattling breath. "Focus on your own heart, Captain. It’s thump
3
The emergency sirens were a jagged, rhythmic scream that tore through the red-lit corridors of the hospital. Every boom from the lower levels sent dust raining down from the ceiling tiles. Arkas City was used to tremors, but this wasn't nature. This was something heavy, something mindless, and something very, very hungry.Valerie stood by the ICU window, her knuckles white as she gripped the frame. "The main gates are gone," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the chaos. "They didn't use explosives. They just... walked through the reinforced steel. My men are being slaughtered out there.""Then stop looking and start moving," Han Chen snapped.He was slumped in a swivel chair, his breath coming in short, ragged hitches. Every nerve in his legs was misfiring, sending jolts of electricity through his spine that made his teeth ache. He didn't have time for a soldier's grief."The lab, Valerie. Now. Or you can stay here and watch those things turn your General into a buffet."Val
4
"How many more of these things are in the building, Valerie? Speak quickly, or I’ll let Tigor use your head as a stress ball."Han Chen’s voice was as sharp as a razor, cutting through the heavy, metallic scent of blood that now filled the lab. He was seated again, his body draped over the chair like a discarded cloak, but his eyes—those burning, golden pits—were locked on the Captain.Valerie didn't flinch, though her hand still gripped her holster. She looked at Tigor, who was currently wiping black ichor off his new, massive forearm with a discarded lab coat. The man looked like a demon carved from obsidian."The initial breach reported five signatures," Valerie replied, her voice remarkably steady for someone who had just witnessed a miracle and a massacre. "But Richard doesn't do anything halfway. If the Proyek X failed, he’ll have a tactical team waiting at the perimeter. We’re in a kill box, Han Chen.""A kill box for them, perhaps," Han Chen muttered. He turned to the ten men
5
"We’re going to do what? You want to drive a military transport through the front gates of the Richard Estate in broad daylight?"Valerie’s voice was borderline hysterical. She was standing in the hospital’s underground garage, watching Tigor effortlessly toss a massive crate of medical supplies into the back of an armored personnel carrier (APC). The ten men of the Eternal Guard stood around the vehicle like statues carved from shadow, their presence making the reinforced concrete of the garage feel cramped.Han Chen leaned against the side of the APC, casually checking the edge of a combat knife he had "borrowed" from the armory. "Not broad daylight, Valerie. The sun hasn't come up yet. Besides, Richard was kind enough to invite me via video call. It would be rude not to show up.""It’s a fortress!" Valerie insisted, stepping into his line of sight. "He has automated turrets, a private security force of over a hundred men, and God knows what other biological nightmares he’s cooked u
6
Han Chen tugged at the collar of the tuxedo, a scowl deepening on his face. This silk was supposed to be the finest in Arkas City, but to him, it felt like sandpaper against skin that was still trying to knit itself back together. Every time he moved, the fabric pulled against his shoulders, restricting the flow of Qi he was trying to pull from the stagnant air."Stop messing with the suit, Han Chen. You’re going to ruin the lines," Valerie snapped. Her voice was sharp, but he could hear the underlying tremor. She was wound tight, like a spring ready to snap.Han Chen looked at himself in the full-length mirror. A stranger stared back—sharp jawline, eyes like cold gold, and a suit that made him look like one of the very vultures he planned to pluck. "This is ridiculous. How do your people fight in these things? It’s not clothing; it’s a high-priced straitjacket."Valerie didn't look at him. She was busy checking the ceramic blade strapped to her thigh, hidden beneath the slit of her b
7
The basement of Sector 7 didn't look like a laboratory anymore. It looked like a forge from a nightmare.Han Chen had stripped off the Italian silk tuxedo, tossing the ruined rags into a corner. He stood shirtless in the center of the room, his skin glistening with sweat that evaporated the moment it touched the air. Around him, three industrial-grade heaters were pushed to their limits, but the real heat wasn't coming from the machines. It was radiating from the bronze vat in front of him—a repurposed coolant tank he’d etched with jagged, glowing runes."How much longer?" Valerie asked. She was standing near the reinforced door, her hand white-knuckled on her sidearm. The ventilation system was struggling to suck out the thick, herbal steam that smelled like ozone and old earth."The Dragon Grass is stubborn," Han Chen grunted, his eyes fixed on the simmering liquid. "It’s been growing in a world of trash. It doesn't want to let go of its impurities. If I rush this, the pill will cra
8
The penthouse of the Grand Imperial Hotel sat eighty stories above the grime of Arkas City. It wasn't just a room; it was a fortress of glass and marble designed to make the ultra-rich feel like gods.Han Chen stood on the balcony, the wind whipping his hair. Below, the city was a grid of flickering lights and moving metal, a chaotic machine that never slept. To anyone else, it was a metropolis. To him, it was a massive, inefficient array of wasted energy."The management is terrified, the police are 'monitoring' the area from three blocks away, and the bill for this place is already enough to buy a tank," Valerie said, stepping out onto the balcony. She had traded her gown for tactical gear, her eyes constantly darting to the sky. "You’re making yourself a target, Han Chen. A very visible, very expensive target.""Good," Han Chen replied without turning. "A tiger doesn't hunt by hiding in the dirt forever. It stands on the mountain so the prey knows exactly where to run."He held up
9
The morning after the rooftop massacre didn’t bring the usual city bustle. Instead, Arkas City felt like a man holding his breath, waiting for a heart attack.Han Chen sat on the edge of his bed in the Grand Imperial, his eyes closed. He wasn't sleeping; he was watching. His consciousness, now bolstered by the Foundation-Forging core, had expanded into a thousand invisible threads, snaking through the hotel’s ventilation, down the elevator shafts, and out into the streets.He could feel the nervous sweat of the snipers stationed on the rooftops two blocks away. He could hear the frantic tapping of keyboards in the police precinct as they tried to erase the drone footage of a man tearing through steel with his bare hands."They've declared a Level 5 Lockdown," Valerie said, walking into the room. She looked exhausted. Her uniform was wrinkled, and there were dark circles under her eyes. "The Council didn't brand you a terrorist. They did something worse. They issued a 'Bio-Hazard' aler
10
The concrete beneath Han Chen’s boots didn't just crack; it dissolved into a foul, black sludge that smelled like a million years of rot. The screech of collapsing skyscrapers around him wasn't just noise anymore—it was a jagged, rhythmic melody of a world being unmade.Arkas City was dying, and the executioner was staring him in the face."Vorgath," Han Chen spat, a mixture of blood and bitter bile staining his lip. "You still smell like a stagnant pond, even after ten thousand years stuffed in this trench."The creature, the Shadow-Gatekeeper, didn't bother with words. A thousand wet, red eyes across its gelatinous hide blinked in terrifying unison, emitting a wave of spiritual pressure that would have liquefied the organs of a lesser man. Behind it, the harbor was gone, replaced by a swirling vortex of ink that swallowed ships, shipping containers, and the screaming remains of the military's finest."Master... run..." Tigor’s voice crackled through a half-melted earpiece, accompani