2025-12-19 04:28:00The last crocodile collapsed into a pile of grey ash.
Lin Jin stood amidst the bone dust, his chest heaving. The grey mist retracted into his pores, leaving his skin looking like cold, polished marble. [System Notification: Iron-Rust Body (Stage 2) - Saturation 80%] The feeling was incredible. The heavy, metallic essence of the Iron-Back Crocodiles had filled the cracks in his foundation. He felt heavy, grounded, as if he could stand still and let a bull ram into him without moving an inch. "Barely passable," the Entity scoffed in his mind, though its tone betrayed a hint of satisfaction. "These lizards had a trace of Earth Dragon blood. Thin, diluted trash... but enough to patch your flimsy mortal frame." Lin Jin ignored the insult. He turned to leave. The hunger was gone, and he had no interest in humans. "Wait! Please, wait!" Su Qing, the beautiful Senior Sister of the Cloud Crane Sect, stumbled forward. She was clutching her side, her white robes stained red with blood. Her face was pale, a mix of awe and lingering terror. "Junior... no, Senior," she corrected herself quickly, unsure of how to address this terrifying youth. "I am Su Qing. On behalf of the Cloud Crane Sect, I thank you for saving our lives. If you hadn't intervened..." She glanced at the piles of dust that used to be monsters. She shivered. "I didn't do it for you," Lin Jin said coldly, not stopping. "You were just bait." Su Qing bit her lip. She had met many arrogant geniuses, but none who looked at her as if she were a rock by the roadside. "Even so," she persisted, reaching into her sash. "We cannot let you leave empty-handed. This is a Spirit Recovery Pill. It is worth 50 gold coins. Please, take it." She held out a small jade bottle. Lin Jin paused. He didn't need Spirit Qi, but gold was useful. And pills could be traded. He turned around, his grey, dead eyes landing on the bottle. "Hold on, Senior Sister." A sharp voice interrupted them. It was the male disciple, the one who had been screaming for help just moments ago. His name was Zhao Feng. He was limping, but his eyes were darting between Lin Jin’s tattered clothes and a piece of paper he pulled from his pocket. "Don't give him the pill," Zhao Feng said, a sneer replacing his fear. Greed is a powerful anesthetic; it numbs the brain to danger. "Zhao Feng, what are you doing?" Su Qing frowned. "He saved us!" "Saved us?" Zhao Feng laughed, pointing a trembling finger at Lin Jin. "Look at him, Sister! Look at his clothes! That's the Lin Family crest, ripped and muddy. And look at his face... pale, sickly..." Zhao Feng held up the paper. It was a Wanted Poster. "It's him! Lin Jin! The Lin Family's 'Living Coffin'!" Zhao Feng’s voice rose in excitement. "The Patriarch Lin Xiao has offered 500 Gold Coins and a Low-Grade Spirit Artifact for his head!" The other three disciples gasped, their hands instinctively moving to their weapon hilts. 500 Gold Coins. That was enough to buy resources for three years of cultivation. It was a fortune. "He's a fugitive?" "But... he just killed the crocodiles..." "He used a demonic art! Did you see that grey mist? He's a monster!" The atmosphere shifted instantly. Gratitude turned to suspicion. Fear turned to greed. "Zhao Feng, stop it!" Su Qing shouted. "He is strong! Do not provoke him!" "Strong?" Zhao Feng spat. "Look at him! He's panting. He's covered in sweat. That demonic technique clearly has a backlash. He just fought a whole pack of Stage 2 beasts. He must be empty! He's a paper tiger!" Zhao Feng’s eyes burned with avarice. He saw a weakened, exhausted boy worth a mountain of gold. "Hey, trash," Zhao Feng drew his sword, stepping forward. "You want the pill? How about you come with us to the Lin Family instead? Be a good boy, and I won't cut off your legs." Lin Jin looked at Zhao Feng. He didn't look angry. He looked... bored. "Humans," the Entity sighed. "They never disappoint, do they? You save the sheep from the wolf, and the sheep tries to bite you." "He thinks I'm empty," Lin Jin murmured. "Show him how full you are." Lin Jin took a step forward. "You want my head?" Lin Jin asked softly. "I'm taking it!" Zhao Feng roared. He wanted to steal the credit before his Senior Sister could stop him. He gathered his remaining Spirit Qi into his blade and thrust it toward Lin Jin’s chest. It was a fast strike. A lethal strike. Clang! There was no dodge. No block. Lin Jin didn't move. He let the sword hit his chest. The steel blade pierced his tattered robe and struck the skin over his sternum. But instead of piercing through, the sword stopped dead with the sound of a hammer hitting an anvil. Sparks flew. "What?" Zhao Feng’s eyes bulged. His hands vibrated from the impact. It felt like he had stabbed a solid iron wall. Lin Jin looked down at the sword pressing against his skin. Not even a white mark was left. "My turn." Lin Jin’s hand shot out, grabbing the blade of the sword with his bare palm. Ashbone Art: Corrosion Touch. Hiss... The steel turned grey. Rust spread from Lin Jin’s fingers like a fast-forwarded disease. It raced down the blade, toward the hilt. "My sword! My—" Zhao Feng tried to let go, but he was too slow. The rust reached the handle. The grey mist jumped onto his hand. "AAAAHHH!" Zhao Feng shrieked as the skin on his right hand began to flake away. His fingers turned grey, then black, then withered into bone. Lin Jin twisted his wrist. SNAP. The rusted sword shattered into dust. Lin Jin stepped through the cloud of metal powder and grabbed Zhao Feng by the throat. He lifted the grown man into the air with one hand effortlessly. "500 Gold Coins?" Lin Jin tilted his head, his face inches from the screaming disciple. "Is that the price of your life?" "No! Please! Spare me! Senior Sister, help!" Zhao Feng kicked his legs helplessly, wetting his pants in terror. The other disciples froze. Their greed evaporated, replaced by the primal fear of a prey facing a predator. Su Qing’s face was white as a sheet. "Senior! Please! He was foolish! Spare him!" Lin Jin looked at Su Qing. Then he looked back at the sobbing piece of garbage in his hand. "Kill him," the Entity whispered. "He is an enemy. Enemies must be erased." Lin Jin tightened his grip. Zhao Feng’s eyes rolled back. But then, Lin Jin loosened his hand. He dropped Zhao Feng into the mud. Thud. Zhao Feng gasped for air, clutching his withered, skeletal hand, sobbing uncontrollably. "I am not a murderer," Lin Jin said, his voice cold enough to freeze the swamp water. "I am a collector." He turned to Su Qing. "Give me the pill. And all your gold. And your map." "Y-yes! Of course!" Su Qing didn't hesitate. She threw the pill bottle, her own coin pouch, and a high-quality sect map onto the ground at Lin Jin’s feet. The other disciples quickly did the same, terrified he would touch them. Lin Jin picked up the loot. He looked at Zhao Feng, who was curled up in a ball. "If I see you again," Lin Jin whispered, "I will eat the rest of you." He turned and walked away, melting into the fog toward the direction of the Dead Zone. Behind him, the Cloud Crane Sect disciples stood in the mud, shivering, poorer, but alive. They had just learned a lesson that no sect elder could teach them. Some monsters in this world don't just kill you. They unmake you.
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Chapter 35: The Road of Bones
The distance between White River City and the Heavenly Sword Mountain was three hundred miles of winding mountain roads and dense forests. Usually, it was a scenic route filled with chirping birds and flowing streams. Now, it was a scar. Lin Jin walked down the center of the road. He moved with a steady, relentless rhythm. He didn't rush. Step. Grass turned grey. Step. Trees shed their leaves in a sudden, dry shower. Step. Insects fell from the air, mid-flight, their tiny bodies calcified into dust. From high above, if one looked down, they would see a line of death cutting through the vibrant green forest—a grey road that was slowly expanding. "Boring," the Entity yawned. "They are taking too long. Where is the army? Where are the traps?" "They are waiting," Lin Jin said, his violet eyes scanning the ridge ahead. "They want to fight me on their terms." H
Chapter 34: The Vault of White River
The steel doors of the White River Treasury were three feet thick, inscribed with the highest-grade defensive runes the Heavenly Sword Sect could afford. They were designed to withstand a siege engine. "Open it," Lin Jin commanded, dropping Branch Master Han onto the cold stone floor. Han, coughing and clutching his bruised throat, scrambled to his knees. He pulled out a complex jade key. "I... I need to disable the blood lock first, or the self-destruct mechanism will—" "Too slow." Lin Jin stepped forward. He placed his pale hand flat against the center of the massive steel door. Ashbone Art: Violet Domain - Atomization. He didn't rot it. He didn't rust it. He simply deleted the bonds holding the metal together. VZZZTT. A hole the size of a man appeared silently in the thick steel. The metal didn't melt; it vanished into fine, grey powder that drifted to the floor like snow. Han stared, his mo
Chapter 33: The Siege of White River
White River City.It was the jewel of the Northern Province. Its walls were fifty feet high, constructed from white granite reinforced with steel plates. The banner of the Heavenly Sword Sect flew from every tower, snapping proudly in the wind.Inside, the city was bustling. Merchants hawked Spirit Herbs, smiths hammered High-Grade steel, and disciples patrolled the streets with their chins held high. Here, the Heavenly Sword Sect was law. They were the emperors.At the South Gate, a long line of travelers waited to pay the entrance tax."Next!" a guard captain barked, slapping his spear against his shield. "Two silver coins! Move it, peasant!"A figure stepped forward from the back of the line.The crowd instinctively parted. The air around this person felt... cold. Heavy.He wore a hooded grey robe that seemed to blur the light around him. His skin, visible under the hood, was the color of pale marble, veined with faint, pulsing violet lines.He stopped in front of the captain."Ent
Chapter 32: The Pillar of Silence
The burning wreckage of the flagship crackled. That was the only sound. Two hundred Heavenly Sword Sect disciples stood frozen, their weapons shaking in their hands. They watched the grey-robed figure snap the neck of a Spirit Ocean Enforcer as if he were breaking a dry twig. "Monster..." one disciple whimpered, backing away. "He's not human!" "Hold the line!" Enforcer Boulder roared from his floating stone disk. His face was pale, but his duty bound him. "He is just one man! Form the Earth-Lock Array! Bury him!" "One man?" Lin Jin looked up. His violet eyes pulsed. He stepped off the burning ship onto the solid ground. "I am an extinction event." He slammed his foot down. Ashbone Art: Violet Domain - Expansion. WHOOSH. A wave of translucent purple light rippled out from his boot, covering a radius of five hundred meters instantly. The disciples caught in the wave didn't scr
Chapter 31: The Star That Rose from Hell
The Surface. Edge of the Iron-Wind Canyon. The sun was high and bright, mocking the darkness below. Three days had passed since Lin Jin fell. The Heavenly Sword Sect had turned the canyon edge into a fortress. Four flying warships hovered in the sky, their cannons aimed at the abyss. A "Spirit-Sealing Formation" manned by two hundred disciples covered the perimeter. Enforcer Li stood on the deck of the lead flagship, sipping tea. "No movement for seventy-two hours," Enforcer Li said, looking at the scanners. "The magnetic interference from the canyon is gone. The readings are flat." "He’s dead," Enforcer Boulder grunted, crossing his massive arms. "Even a Spirit Ocean expert would be shredded by the winds or eaten by the beasts at the bottom. We are wasting time guarding a grave." "The Sect Master wants the body," Enforcer Li reminded him. "Or at least the bone. That boy’s skeleton broke Elder Zhang’s arm. It is a treasure.
Chapter 30: The Titan's Blood
The heat was absolute. As Lin Jin sailed through the air, the radiation from the Titan Heart stripped the moisture from his eyes. The Shroud of Silent Dust tightened around him, turning rigid as iron to protect its master from being vaporized. THUD. Lin Jin landed on one of the massive anchor chains suspending the Core. The link was the size of a carriage. It burned his boots, hissing as the Ashbone density fought the thermal energy. Below him lay the abyss of green fog. Above him, the shattered window of the Gear King’s palace. And directly in front of him was the Heart. A sphere of pulsing blue star-metal, cracked with veins of blinding light. The thump-thump sound was deafening here, vibrating his very teeth. "Open it," the Entity commanded, its voice trembling with a hunger that bordered on madness. "Crack the egg." Lin Jin drew the Blackbone Greatsword. The obsidian blade, usually cold and hungry, screamed as it sensed the energy in front of it. "This is going to be loud
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