THE CHAOS SOVEREIGN

CHAPTER 2

He squeezed the jade so hard that the sharp edges sliced deep into his palm. His blood began to drop on the ancient stone.

And deep inside the jade, something that had been sleeping for more than two thousand years ago felt the touch of Lu Chen’s blood. It touched the blood that was filled with a lifetime of resentment, pain, and desperation, pleading for justice.

CRACK.

The jade shattered into pieces with a thousand glowing dust particles.

“The path of the weak is a circle of suffering. And the path of the strong is a straight line through the hearts of your enemies.”

The voice echoed like thunder inside Lu Chen’s brain. Suddenly, a blinding flash of black light filled the small room where they locked him.

Lu Chen’s "Broken Roots"—the fractured spiritual veins that had leaked energy his entire life—were suddenly seized by an invisible force. And were dissolved. The black light melted away his old self immediately.

"AH!"

Lu Chen screamed as a new power surged through him. In the center of his soul, a dark, swirling vortex formed: The Chaos Devouring Root.

This was not like normal spiritual roots that gently absorb the world’s energy, but this root demanded energy. The air in the small room began to demand their energy. The spirit-stones hidden in the nearby walls, the essence of the surrounding trees, and even the trace amounts of Qi lingering in the air were violently sucked into Lu Chen’s body instantly.

His broken ribs healed and placed back in its place. His eyes, that were dull with pain, snapped open—now glowing with a predatory violet hue.

He felt a connection to the world he had never known. He could "smell" the energy of the disciples in the distant pavilions.

Lu Chen stood up, shattering the locked door of that small room with a single flick of his wrist. The wooden door broke—and shattered instantly and turned to grey ash.

He looked toward the main sect buildings, with a cold, calm smile spreading across his face. The "trash" was gone. Something much older and powerful had taken its place.

"I hope you all ’ve enjoyed your feast, Senior Brothers," Lu Chen whispered into the night. "Because now, it’s my turn to eat and clean the table.”

The black vortex in Lu Chen’s dantian roared. As the last remnants of the shattered jade pendant dissolved in his body, a series of memories—rising from his mind, it became cold and —pierced his mind.

He was more than a nameless orphan. The jade had been a seal that was placed on his soul by his parents to hide him from the High Heaven Emperors. He saw flashes of a golden palace dripping in blood, a woman screaming for him to run, and a man in black armor holding back a thousand of celestial soldiers.

“Inherit the Void, and devour the Doa that betrayed us.” the man’s voice echoed.

Lu Chen's parents were betrayed and killed by the High Heaven Emperor.

Lu Chen sat cross-legged on the dirty floor of the small room. He could feel the Chaos Devouring Root stretching through his meridians . It didn't just circulate Qi; it demanded it.

He reached out his hand, and the air around him began to twist. The spirit-rich moss on the small room walls turned grey and crumbled. The moisture in the air vanished. Everything was being pulled into the black hole inside him.

The First Forbidden Art: Heaven-Devouring Palm,

A technique that allows the user to forcibly strip the spiritual essence from any living being or object, converting it into raw, unrefined power for the user’s own cultivation.

"This... this is why they killed them, ……this is why they killed my parents"! Lu Chen whispered, his voice trembling with fear, and with a terrifying understanding of where he belongs, bending his head. "They didn't fear my family members. But they feared this terrifying hunger that would eat all of them."

He stood up, and started moving in silence inside the room. His skin, once scarred and filled with wounds, was now restored. The broken bones in his chest healed, and they had been replaced by a skeletal structure .

He looked at his hands. He could feel the strength of ten men coiled in his muscles. But he felt something strange, cold and emptiness. He was no longer a part of the world’s natural cycle. He had become the end of it.

Outside the hall, the morning bell kept ringing slowly. It was time for the Sect Ranking Ceremony.

A voice echoing near the door, "Lu Chen! Have you died? Or are you still alive?"

The door that was locked began to shake. It was Gao Hu, one of the heartless disciples who had helped Han Yu in beating Lu Chen last night. He kicked the door open, expecting to find a corpse.

But instead, he found Lu Chen standing in the center of the room, surrounded by a swirling mist of black energy.

"You... you’re awake? Is that truly you? How do you get to stand?" Gao Hu blinked, his hand instinctively going to the whip at his belt saying. ”I saw Han You break your ribs yesterday. Now get out, go to the toilet! The Elder wants the toilet to be scrubbed before the ceremony starts this morning."

Lu Chen didn't move. He looked at Gao Hu, he didn't see a tormentor. He saw an empty drum.

"I'm done scrubbing, Gao Hu," Lu Chen said calmly.

"What did you say to me?" Gao Hu stepped forward, his face was twisting in rage. He lashed out with the whip, the leather whistling through the air, aimed at Lu Chen’s face.

Lu Chen didn't flinch. He caught the whip with his hand.

"Gao Hu, You really like taking things from me, today, I was going to take it back" Lu Chen said, his eyes glowing with a sudden, violet light.

As his fingers tightened on the whip, the Chaos Devouring Root flared.