Ashbone: The Record of Burning Heaven

Chapter 5: The Art of Breaking

"Delivery?" The scarred mercenary blinked, then burst into laughter. "Did you hear that? The cripple has gone mad from the pain!"

He stepped forward, swinging his machete casually. The blade was chipped but heavy, infused with a faint yellow glow of Spirit Qi.

"Look, kid," the mercenary sneered. "Your father wants you dead. But he didn't say how. If you come quietly, I’ll make it quick. One chop to the neck. No pain."

Lin Jin didn't move. The grey mist swirling around his fingers was invisible in the thick swamp fog.

"I have a better offer," Lin Jin said, his voice flat. "Leave your arms here, and I’ll let you crawl away."

The other two mercenaries chuckled, shaking their heads. They thought he was bluffing. They thought he was still the trash of the Lin Family.

"Enough talk," the scarred leader growled, annoyed. "Die!"

He lunged.

It was a simple, brutal overhead chop. A Body Tempering Stage 4 cultivator could split a boulder with this strike.

Lin Jin watched the blade descend.

In the past, this speed would have been a blur. But now, with the Wolf’s Essence refining his eyes and nerves, he saw the trajectory clearly.

He didn't dodge.

He stepped in.

SHING!

The machete slashed across Lin Jin’s shoulder.

Fabric tore. Blood sprayed.

But the blade didn't cut through. It hit the bone—the newly refined Iron-Rust Bone—and made a sound like metal striking granite.

"What?" The leader froze, feeling the vibration shudder up his arm. "You..."

"My turn," Lin Jin whispered.

His hand shot out, grabbing the mercenary's wrist.

"Corrode."

HISS—

The effect was instantaneous.

The leather bracer on the mercenary's arm disintegrated into dust.

Then, the skin turned grey.

Then, the muscle withered.

"AAAAHHH!" The leader screamed, dropping his machete. He stared in horror as his strong, muscular arm shriveled into a dry, twig-like limb right before his eyes.

"Monster! He’s a monster!"

Lin Jin didn't give him time to panic. He tightened his grip.

CRACK.

The withered wrist snapped like a dry branch.

Lin Jin followed up with a punch—a clumsy, unpracticed haymaker—straight into the man’s chest.

It wasn't a martial art. It was brute force driven by hate.

THUD.

The leader’s chest caved in. His ribs, already weakened by the corrosive aura radiating from Lin Jin, shattered instantly. He flew back, hitting the mud with a wet slap, dead before he landed.

Silence fell over the swamp.

The remaining two mercenaries stood frozen, their torches trembling.

"He... he killed the boss in one hit?"

"That’s not Spirit Qi! That’s sorcery!"

Fear took over. They turned to run.

"Don't let them leave," the Entity commanded sharply. "If they escape, the whole world will know what you are. You are not ready for that yet."

Lin Jin knew the Entity was right.

He gritted his teeth, ignoring the stinging wound on his shoulder.

"Run!"

He chased.

He wasn't fast enough to catch a trained runner. But this was the swamp. The mud was deep.

One mercenary slipped on a mossy root.

Lin Jin was on him in a second. He pounced like a wolf, slamming his palms onto the man’s back.

"No! Please! I have a family—"

"So did I," Lin Jin said coldly.

Corrosion Wave.

The grey mist poured into the man’s spine. The scream was cut short as his central nervous system dissolved.

The third mercenary was faster. He was almost at the treeline.

"Help! Someone help!" he screamed.

Lin Jin looked around. There was a rusted iron spear lying in the mud—a relic from some old battle.

He picked it up.

The metal groaned under his touch, rust spreading rapidly from his fingertips.

"Throw it. Before it turns to dust."

Lin Jin channeled all his remaining strength into his arm and hurled the spear.

The weapon flew through the mist, a streak of decaying grey light.

It struck the running mercenary in the back of the leg.

The spear tip shattered on impact, but the corrosion transferred.

The mercenary fell, his leg numbness spreading upward.

Lin Jin walked over slowly. The mercenary crawled backward, tears streaming down his face.

"Demon... you are a demon..."

Lin Jin stood over him. The moonlight broke through the clouds, illuminating his blood-stained face and the grey, lifeless eyes.

"Demon?" Lin Jin tilted his head. "Maybe."

He placed his hand on the man’s head.

"But demons don't starve."

Five Minutes Later.

Three piles of grey dust lay in the swamp, rapidly dissolving into the mud.

Lin Jin stood alone.

His shoulder wound had stopped bleeding. The energy from three human cultivators was far potent than the wolf. It was richer, more complex.

He felt his bones vibrating, hardening, growing denser.

[System Notification: Iron-Rust Body (Stage 2) Achieved.]

He clenched his fist. The power was intoxicating. But looking at the empty clothes of the men he just erased, he felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cold.

He had crossed a line.

He was no longer human. He was a predator of humans.

"Good," the Entity whispered, sensing his internal conflict. "The guilt will fade. The hunger will not. Now... check their pockets. We need a map."

End of Chapter 5