All Chapters of THE FATE-STEALER’S ASCENSION: STRIPPING THE HERO BARE: Chapter 31
- Chapter 40
147 chapters
Chapter 31 The Heat That Peels Skin
The heat inside the Forge of the Eternal Embers was enough to peel the skin off a normal man's face. It was a suffocating, oily warmth, smelling of dragon-breath charcoal and quenched steel. Massive bellows groaned in the background like a dying beast, pushing air into a furnace that roared with a terrifying, white-hot hunger. At the center of it all stood Craftsman Elder Bo, his torso bare and glistening with soot-streaked sweat, his grey hair singed at the ends. He held a long, curved blade—shimmering with an ancestral, golden light—above an anvil of dark obsidian.“One last quench,” Bo whispered, his voice like gravel in a blender. “For the glory of the coming King. This blade will rewrite the stars.”“The stars aren’t taking commissions today, old man. I’d save your breath for breathing,” a voice cut through the roar of the fire. Cold. Absolute. Violently calm.Elder Bo froze, his
Chapter 32 The Sound of Things Breaking
“My name is unimportant,” she replied, her eyes—a deep, shimmering quicksilver—looking directly into his. “But the item in your hand is not yours to hold. It is the pillar of the Lin family's secondary hope. If you break it, you break the cycle of five centuries.”“The cycle has already been interrupted, sweetheart. I didn't come here to be a tourist,” Jian Chen sneered. “You want this blade? Come and take it. Or are you just here to watch the show with the ivory box?”“I am here to offer a trade,” the Silver Lady stated, stepping into the heat of the forge. She didn't sweat. She didn't flinch. “Return the blade to Elder Bo, let Yan Wei take his destiny, and I will tell you the secret of the ‘Void Heart’ the Emperor is trying to forge.”“The Void Heart? I already know the secret,” Jian Chen laughed, his presence expanding until the entire
Chapter 33 Bill Collected
[Jian Chen receives: [Weapon Shard Mastery] + [Destructive Force Aura (Minor)]. All weapons forged within 10 miles of the Host now have a 15% chance of spontaneous fracture.]Elder Bo collapsed into his charcoal pit, his face a ruin of absolute despair. He reached out to touch the shards, weeping like a man who had lost his firstborn. “The pride of my family... the work of my ancestors... gone in a second.”“You’re pathetic, Bo,” Jian Chen stated, looking down at the broken man. “You didn't forge a weapon. You forged a delusion. A weapon is meant to cut. A delusion is meant to comfort. You should thank me for showing you the difference.”The Silver Lady walked over to one of the shards and picked it up with a delicate finger. She looked at Jian Chen, her quicksilver eyes showing the first flicker of genuine, calculating interest. “You have truly broken the scales of this world, Jian Chen. But do y
Chapter 34 Obsidian Screams and Shattered Heroes
The obsidian fire didn't just burn; it screamed. It was a physical weight of hatred that turned the air of the Sundered Maw into a pressurized kiln of black glass. Jian Chen stood at the epicenter of the raining soot, his violet-violet eyes narrowed as he watched the "hero" descend into a state of glorious, terminal madness. The silver Lady's Ivory Box sat in Lin Fan's grip, its celestial energy twisting into something oily, dark, and utterly predatory."Look at you, Lin Fan," Jian Chen chuckled, his voice vibrating with the [Echoing Fist] to pierce through the roar of the fire. "A week ago, you wouldn't even step on a bug. Now you’re setting the mountain on fire just because I hurt your feelings? The transition suits you. Red is definitely your color.""I'm not the hero anymore, Chen!" Lin Fan roared, his white robes tattered and stained with charcoal. He slammed his fist against the air, creating ripples of golden fire that collided with the Maw's n
Chapter 35 The King of Whatever I Take
"The natural order is whoever has the biggest pickaxe!" Jian Chen roared over the thundering rocks. He looked down at Lin Fan, who was now just a hollowed-out husk lying in the ash, the Ivory Box empty at his side. "Look at that, Fan-fan. You just powered my home for the next thousand years. Thanks for the batteries!""I... I hate you..." Lin Fan whispered, his voice fading as the Spatial Blink Jian Chen triggered suddenly forcibly ejected the hero out of the canyon. "I’ll... I’ll find the... other lady...""Save the sequel for later," Jian Chen muttered, watching the hero's flickering form disappear. He turned back to the ritual. The air around the Sundered Maw was thickening. The spiritual pressure became so high that a blue, ghostly light began to shimmer on every surface. "It’s stabilizing. Fubune, the status of the fortress?""The Nine Dragons Wall is anchoring into the ley lines as we speak, Lord," Fubune said, her voice filled with a professional awe. She walked over to the edg
Chapter 36 The Landlord of History
He stood up and looked at his royal-violet cloak, which was now radiating a faint, shifting violet-blue energy—a side effect of his new Qi concentration. He felt like he could lift the mountain itself. "But before he finds me... we have one more job in the Capital. The Prince’s wedding.""The wedding?! Master, we just stole the Emperor’s mine and poisoned his spring! If you walk through those gates, you're asking for a hundred Spirit-Severing experts to aim for your head!" Fubune hissed."They can aim all they want. Their arrows won't fly if I own the air," Jian Chen laughed, his violet irises swirling with a madness that made even Fubune step back. "I want the bride, Fubune. And I want the wedding cake. I heard it’s infused with the last of the Saintess’s soul-fragments.""Lord Chen, the Princess Liu Ruoxi... she still thinks you're the hero who saved her from the bandits," Li Min noted, her voice trembling. "What
Chapter 37 Fed Through the Meat Grinder
The transition from the Sundered Maw felt like being fed through a meat grinder and spat out into a tub of ice. The spatial tunnel, gorged on the stolen Qi of an entire province, didn't just carry them; it violently propelled them across the landscape like a lightning bolt searching for a lightning rod. When the world finally stopped spinning, Jian Chen landed on the rooftop of a slanted tea house overlooking the Imperial Capital’s Central Plaza. He didn't stumble. He simply exhaled, a faint mist of violet Qi escaping his lips like cold exhaust. "Master, I swear, if I ever suggest a spatial jump again, just cut my legs off," Fubune wheezed, her hands braced against the roof’s weathered tiles. She looked like she wanted to retch, but her eyes remained sharp, instantly scanning the massive, glittering city below. "The pressure here... it’s different. It’s like the very stone is trying to push back." Li Min collapsed into a heap of blue silk next to her, clutc
Chapter 38 Zero Resonance
"Sins? That's a big word for a kid who's wearing the skin of a lizard he found in a dumpster," Jian Chen said, coming to a stop fifty paces from the stage. He looked up at the banners and laughed. "I gotta ask, Wu... how much is the Emperor paying you to be the target practice for tonight? Or did they just promise you a pretty girl and a nice title for your grave?""Hold your tongue, heretic!" Ren Wu roared, leaping from the stage and landing with a bone-jarring thud. The shockwave of his Qi shattered the nearby marble tiles. "The Azure Scale cannot be breached by the likes of you! I have the power of the high wastes in my blood!""The power of the high wastes... man, the dialogue writers really phoned it in for your character arc," Jian Chen mocked, his violet eyes flashing with a cold, analytical fire. [System, scan the Scale. Find the fracture.][Target: Ren Wu. Cultivation: Peak Spirit-Severing. Unique Artifact: Azure Serpent Scale. Analysi
Chapter 39 A Vortex of Stolen Luck
“S-stop... please...” Ren Wu wheezed, blood pouring from his nose. “The Emperor... he promised I would marry the Saintess... he promised I would be the legend!”"The Emperor would promise his own mother to a demon for another five minutes on his throne," Jian Chen smirked, his hand going for Ren Wu’s head. "Consider this your retirement. You won't have to worry about marrying anyone now."A surge of shimmering blue energy erupted from Ren Wu’s body, flowing like liquid neon into Jian Chen’s chest. The plaza groaned as the ambient Qi was pulled toward the Usurper, creating a literal vortex of stolen power. Ren Wu withered before the crowd's eyes, not dying, but shrinking into a hollow, shriveled husk of his former self. Every bit of the 'Heroic Luck' he had been gifted was systematically ripped away.[Extraction SUCCESSFUL. Jian Chen receives: [Azure Serpent Scale Mastery] + [Destiny Disillusionment Aura
Chapter 40 Trapped Under The Violet Sky
The air in the hidden bunker beneath the capital’s garment district was thick with the scent of damp wool and old grease. Outside, the world was ending in violet lightning, but inside, the only sound was Liu Ruoxi’s ragged breathing as she clung to Jian Chen’s royal-violet cloak. Her fingers, usually so delicate and composed, were trembling so violently they looked like white spiders against the dark fabric. Behind them, the spatial rift he had torn through the Silver Tower hummed like a dying hornet before winking out of existence."You... you actually took me," Ruoxi whispered, her voice a mix of shattered porcelain and terrifying relief. She looked up at him, her spirit-sense still dazzled by the raw, spatial vacuum he had just dragged her through. "The Prince... he was right outside. The Immortals... they were coming for my blood.""The Prince can stay on his knees in that burning tower and wait for a savior that isn