THE FATE-STEALER’S ASCENSION: STRIPPING THE HERO BARE

Chapter 4 The Abyss Couldn’t Hold Him

Master Xun’s eyes bulged, the silver jade jar trembling in his grip. The sudden voice cut through the sulfurous bubbling of the marsh like a serrated blade. He whipped his head around, his face pale under the purple haze. “Jian Chen? You... you’re supposed to be in the Dark Abyss! I saw Elder Su take you away himself! How the hell are you out here?”

“Su is a very slow walker, Xun. Besides, the dungeon was a little too damp for my taste,” Jian Chen said, casually tossing the stone from hand to hand. He took a slow, measured step forward. The black mud hissed beneath his boots, but his footing was as steady as if he were walking on palace marble. “I see you found the local flora. It’s a bit of a cliché, isn’t it? An alchemist finding a rare herb in a dangerous swamp to fix his failing career?”

“Stay back! Don't you come another inch closer!” Master Xun shrieked, his voice cracking. He tried to project a sense of authority, but the way his knees knocked together ruined the effect. “I am an Inner Disciple! A recognized Alchemist! If you lay a hand on me, the Sect will have your head on a spike before the sun sets!”

“You’re really going to hide behind the Sect now?” Jian Chen laughed, the sound sharp and echoing. “A few hours ago, everyone was cheering for my execution. You think I care about the rules anymore? The only rule out here is who’s standing at the end of the day. And look at you—you’re shaking so hard you might drop that jar and waste the only thing that makes you valuable.”

Xun’s face twisted with a mixture of fear and pure, unadulterated arrogance. “Value? You dare speak of value? You’re a bottom-feeder, Jian Chen! A broken young master who couldn't cultivate his way out of a paper bag! I don’t know how you got here, but I’m at the third stage of Qi Refinement. I could blow you away with a single flick of my wrist!”

“Go ahead then. Flick it,” Jian Chen taunted, his eyes dark and empty. “Show the girl what a big, strong Inner Disciple can do.”

Master Xun finally noticed Fubune standing in the shadows behind Jian Chen. His lip curled in disgust. “A slave? You broke out of prison just to drag a labor-camp rat along? You really have lost your mind.” He quickly pocketed the silver jar and raised his hands, his fingers dancing in an intricate pattern. “Fine! If you want to die in this bog, I’ll be happy to help! Gale Burst! Form!”

The air around the alchemist began to churn. Wisps of wind gathered into sharp, rotating blades, kicking up the foul water of the pond. It was a standard wind-attribute formation, rudimentary but lethal against someone with a broken foundation. Or so Xun believed.

“Master, be careful,” Fubune whispered, her eyes tracking the movement of the air. “He’s centering the pressure at your throat. He’s trying to finish this quickly.”

“I noticed. He’s a one-trick pony, Fubune,” Jian Chen said, his smile never reaching his eyes. “Watch. This is how you handle someone who thinks they’re a god because they can move some air.”

Xun roared, throwing his hands forward. The wind blades shrieked through the mist, cutting lines into the rotting trees. Jian Chen didn't move. He stood there as the gale reached him, his eyes fixed on a specific point just below the alchemist’s feet. At the last possible microsecond, the ‘Sinner’s Remnant’ flared in his veins. A cold, dark pulse of Qi erupted from his body, creating a momentary void that sucked the momentum right out of the wind.

The blades shattered into harmless puffs of air. Xun’s jaw dropped. “That’s... that’s impossible! You have no Qi! You’re supposed to be a waste!”

“Waste? You alchemists are all the same. You spend so much time looking at labels you forget to look at the substance,” Jian Chen said, his voice dropping an octave. “Is that all you’ve got? Because if it is, I’m going to be very disappointed.”

“Look again, you fool!” Xun yelled, his panic turning into a frantic rage. He reached for several small glass vials hanging from his belt. “I’m an alchemist! I don’t just fight with Qi, I fight with science! Taste my paralyzing mist!” He threw two vials at Jian Chen’s feet, where they shattered into a thick, neon-green cloud.

“Master! The wind!” Fubune shouted. “He’s using his formation to push the mist toward us!”

“Smart move, Xun. Actually tactical for a coward,” Jian Chen’s voice came from inside the green cloud. “But you made a mistake.”

“What mistake?” Xun asked, squinting to see through the haze. “You’re breathing it in! Within seconds, your lungs will seize, and your heart will stop!”

“The mistake was thinking a third-stage poison could stop someone who’s already dead,” Jian Chen whispered, suddenly appearing behind Master Xun. The alchemist hadn't even heard him move. He felt the cold touch of Jian Chen’s fingers against the back of his neck.

Xun shrieked, spinning around and swinging a desperate, clumsy fist. Jian Chen caught it effortlessly, his grip tightening until the bones in the alchemist’s hand began to grind together. “Where did that speed come from?” Xun wheezed, falling to his knees as the pressure intensified.

“The system calls it ‘Destiny Usurpation.’ I call it just taking what’s mine,” Jian Chen said, looking down at him. He could see the faint glow of the ‘Protagonist Halo’ flickering around Xun—it was a minor thing, a crumb of destiny intended to help the true hero by giving this alchemist the chance to deliver the lotus later. But Jian Chen didn't believe in middle-men.

[Target: Master Xun (Minor Pawn). Potential Halo detected: Spiritual Affinity Boost. Drain sequence?]

“Master, wait!” Fubune stepped closer, her eyes scanning the alchemist’s belt. “He has a third vial. It’s not a poison. It’s an ignition compound! He’s going to blow himself up!”

Jian Chen saw the movement. Xun was reaching for a small, red-capped flask with a maniacal look in his eyes. “If I can't have it, nobody can! You and your slave are going to burn!”

“Fubune, get back!” Jian Chen yelled. Instead of retreating, he leaned into the danger. He focused the ‘Meridian Refining Art’ into his arm and slammed his palm against Xun’s solar plexus. It wasn't just a physical strike—it was a spiritual drain. He could feel the Qi being pulled out of the alchemist’s body like water from a sponge.

“No! Stop it! What are you doing to me?!” Xun screamed, his body twitching. He dropped the ignition vial, which fell harmlessly into the thick, wet mud. The glow of his destiny was being swallowed by the darkness of Jian Chen’s presence.

[Extraction in progress... Protagonist Halo: Minor Spiritual Affinity... Drained.]

[Processing reward... Host receives: [Spiritual Essence Purification] and [Basic Alchemist Knowledge (Profound Level)].]

Master Xun’s eyes went dull. He went limp in Jian Chen’s grip, all the fire and arrogance drained away, leaving only a hollow, sobbing shell of a man. Jian Chen tossed him aside like a piece of garbage. He didn't even bother to finish him. A man who had lost his destiny in this world was worse than a corpse; he was a ghost that hadn't realized he was dead yet.

“Is it over?” Fubune asked, stepping forward tentatively. She looked at the groveling alchemist and then at Jian Chen, her eyes filled with a new kind of awe—and fear.

“It’s just beginning,” Jian Chen said, walking over to the pond. He reached down and plucked the fully matured Poisoned Lotus. As soon as his skin touched the petals, the plant disintegrated into a flurry of white light, surging up his arm and directly into his chest. His breathing hitched. The murky, toxic air of the marsh suddenly felt as clear and crisp as a mountain morning. His mind sharpened, thousands of alchemical formulas and ingredient combinations flooding his brain in a split second.

“I feel it,” he whispered, his eyes glowing with a faint, violet hue. “The spiritual essence... it’s fixing the leaks in my foundation. My Qi isn't just dark anymore; it's pure.”

“What about him?” Fubune asked, pointing at Xun, who was currently curled into a ball and shivering. “He’s an Inner Disciple. When the others find him like this, they’ll know someone attacked him. They’ll connect it back to the dungeon escape.”

“Let them,” Jian Chen said, walking back toward her. He reached out and grabbed the silver jar from Xun’s pocket. He didn't even look at the man. “Let them see what happens to the ‘favorites’ of this sect. Fear is a much better deterrent than hiding ever was.”

“Master, I’ve been looking at the maps I stole from the mines,” Fubune said, her voice turning business-like despite the adrenaline still coursing through her. “If you truly want to cripple the foundations of this world’s 'Hero,' we need to look beyond herbs. The Cloud Ascent Sect holds something much more dangerous than a lotus.”

Jian Chen looked at her, impressed. “Go on. I like it when you think ahead.”

“The Void Pearl,” she said, her eyes narrowing. “It’s kept in their inner repository. Rumor has it that the elders have predicted a young prodigy—a ‘Son of Heaven’—will soon arrive to claim it and master the laws of space. If that boy gets that pearl, no fortress will be safe from him.”

“Space manipulation?” Jian Chen laughed, looking at his hands. He could feel the power of the Lotus vibrating within him, begging for a bigger stage. “That sounds like a hell of a toy. I think it would look much better on my mantle than around the neck of some self-righteous brat.”

“It’s guarded by Elder Shen,” Fubune cautioned. “He’s a meticulous man. He doesn’t have the greed of Elder Su or the weakness of Xun. He lives for duty. Getting to the pearl through force would be a suicide mission.”

“Then we don’t use force,” Jian Chen replied. He looked down at his blood-stained sleeve and then at the shivering alchemist on the ground. “We use the one thing people like Elder Shen can’t account for. Chaos. And lucky for us, we have an alchemist right here who can be our very loud, very annoying distraction.”

“You’re going to use Master Xun?” Fubune asked, her lips twitching into a small, dark smile. “He looks like he can barely stand.”

“He doesn’t need to stand. He just needs to tell a very interesting story,” Jian Chen said. He knelt down next to the shivering Xun and grabbed a handful of his expensive blue hair. “Hey, Xun. Wake up. We’re going to play a game.”

“P-please... don’t... kill me...” Xun whimpered, his eyes focusing for a brief second.

“Kill you? No, no,” Jian Chen said, his voice terrifyingly sweet. “I want you to go back to the sect. I want you to tell everyone that a ‘Dark Beast’ attacked you in the marsh and stole your lotus. Tell them it’s moving toward the Northern borders. Make it sound terrifying. Make them send their best warriors out to hunt for it.”

“W-why would I... why would they believe me?”

“Because you’re going to have the injuries to prove it,” Jian Chen said. In a move of casual brutality, he reached out and snapped the alchemist’s remaining healthy arm. Xun’s scream tore through the swamp, scattering birds miles away. “There. Now it looks real. Go on, run along. Tell your lies. Give us the room we need to work.”

Jian Chen stood up, wiping his hands as if he had just touched something foul. He looked at Fubune. “Well? What are you waiting for? We have a repository to rob.”

“The pearl is ours, Master,” Fubune said, bowing her head slightly. She was beginning to realize that the man in front of her wasn't just surviving fate; he was making it crawl.

As they moved away from the bog, leaving the screaming Master Xun behind, the System let out a cold, ringing notification that only Jian Chen could hear.

[Destiny Level: Emerging Threat.]

[The Hero’s Path has been diverted. Lin Fan is feeling the first ripples of loss. His 'Spirit Affinity' is now permanently capped.]

“Poor Lin Fan,” Jian Chen whispered, his gaze turning toward the distant towers of the Cloud Ascent Sect. “He doesn't even know his house is on fire yet.”

“Is something wrong, Master?” Fubune asked, seeing him pause.

Jian Chen looked back at her, his eyes cold and filled with a terrifying promise. “Nothing's wrong, Fubune. I just realized that I'm going to enjoy this a lot more than I thought.”

“How much more?” she asked, looking up at him.

Jian Chen’s grin was like a gash on a corpse. “Enough to make the heavens weep.”

“Now, move. If we’re not at the Cloud Ascent Sect by nightfall, someone might actually have a chance to protect that pearl. And I really hate it when people think they have a chance.”

They disappeared into the darkening woods, a shadow and his architect, moving toward the heart of the righteous world. Back in the swamp, Master Xun’s cries grew faint, eventually silenced by the rising mist, leaving only the rotting smell of stolen luck in the air.

“Tell me, Fubune,” Jian Chen asked as they ran. “Do you believe in miracles?”

“I used to,” she replied without hesitation. “Until the whip taught me better.”

“Good,” Jian Chen said. “Because tonight, we’re going to prove that a well-placed dagger is worth more than a thousand miracles.”

“And the pearl?”

“The pearl isn't a miracle, little mouse. It's an opportunity. And as for the Son of Heaven? He's about to wake up to a world that doesn't care about his name anymore.”

The distant gong of the Cloud Ascent Sect began to chime, signaling the evening prayers. Jian Chen listened to it, each stroke feeling like a nail in the coffin of the old world. He looked at the high, white walls in the distance, sensing the concentrated power of thousands of righteous cultivators. It should have been intimidating. Instead, he just saw a vault that was waiting to be cracked open.

“Master,” Fubune said, stopping at the edge of the forest clearing. “Look. The patrols have already shifted. They’re moving toward the marsh.”

“Xun was a fast learner after all,” Jian Chen said, a low laugh vibrating in his chest. “The gate is wide open. Let's see how well they handle a ghost in their machine.”

“Wait,” Fubune grabbed his arm, her eyes fixed on the main road. “Someone is coming. A carriage with the Imperial Crest. It shouldn’t be here for another week.”

Jian Chen’s eyes narrowed as he saw the golden ornaments glinting in the torchlight. “An unexpected visitor? Interesting. System, tell me—is this part of the script?”

[Scanning... Imperial Carriage belongs to the Liu Clan. Purpose: Bringing the Saintess for the engagement ceremony.]

“The engagement? With Lin Fan?” Jian Chen asked, his jaw tightening.

[Affirmative. The Saintess carries the 'Spirit Purity' blessing intended for the Hero.]

“Then we’re killing two birds with one stone,” Jian Chen whispered, his hand going to the hilt of his hidden blade. “I don't just want their pearl... I want their bride.”

“Master? Are we changing the target?” Fubune asked, her heart hammering against her ribs.

“No,” Jian Chen replied, his voice a cold promise. “We’re just increasing the price.”

***