The dawn sun had barely risen when the clan estate stirred with uneasy whispers.
News of Li Tian's sudden recovery spread like wildfire. Last night, he was a cripple, mocked by peers and ignored by elders. But now… servants spoke of thunder roaring over the ancestral hall, of an oppressive aura crushing the air, of Li Jun—the arrogant young talent—reduced to a lifeless husk.
By the time the elders assembled, the once silent hall had become a battlefield of rumors.
Li Tian sat cross-legged at the center of the ancestral hall, his robe torn and stained with blood. Yet his posture was straight, his eyes half-closed in meditation. Golden qi swirled around him like a storm, seeping into his pores, reforging every inch of flesh and bone.
The corpse of Li Jun lay cold beside him, the faint scent of burnt flesh still lingering.
"Impossible… his meridians were sealed!" one elder whispered. "He should not have been able to cultivate," another muttered, eyes wide with disbelief. "Did he… devour Li Jun's cultivation?"
Their words reached his ears, but Li Tian did not open his eyes. Instead, he allowed a thin smile to curl his lips.
Fear. Doubt. Shock. Good.
He had returned not just to cultivate, but to dominate. And to dominate, he needed more than strength—he needed to plant seeds of terror and awe.
The heavy doors groaned as the Clan Patriarch entered. Li Tian finally opened his eyes, golden light flickering within them.
The Patriarch was an imposing man, his cultivation vast and oppressive, yet when his gaze fell upon Li Tian, it wavered. The boy who was once dismissed as worthless now radiated a pressure even seasoned elders found difficult to endure.
"Li Tian," the Patriarch said, his voice carrying both suspicion and curiosity, "explain yourself. How is it that you stand reborn, when your meridians were shattered beyond recovery?"
Li Tian rose slowly, every movement deliberate. He did not bow.
"Meridians? Seals? Trash imposed by jealous hands," he replied coolly. "Did you truly believe Heaven would allow one such as me to be crippled forever?"
The hall fell into stunned silence. His words were blasphemous, arrogant—but his aura justified them.
The Third Elder stepped forward, eyes flashing with anger. "Insolent! You speak as though Heaven favors you. Your cousin lies dead at your feet—do you deny his blood is on your hands?"
Li Tian's gaze sharpened, his voice as cold as steel.
"Deny?" He took a step closer, and the elder flinched as the golden vertical slit flickered in Li Tian's eye. "I claim it. Li Jun sought to trample me, but the weak are meant to be devoured. His cultivation was flawed, wasted. I merely put it to better use."
His words struck the elders like thunder. Some stared in horror, others in dawning respect.
The Patriarch's brows furrowed. "You admit to this crime without fear of punishment?"
"Punishment?" Li Tian chuckled, low and dangerous. "Tell me, Patriarch… would you punish Heaven's chosen?"
For a long moment, silence reigned. The oppressive weight of Li Tian's aura filled the hall, and even the Patriarch's qi seemed to falter.
Finally, the old man exhaled slowly. "Very well. For now, your actions shall be judged not as murder… but as the will of Heaven."
'Will of heaven!.. haha.. I am the one who will defy the heaven, and then devour it along with all it's chosen ones.. hehe.. he... haha...' Li Tian thought inwardly
Murmurs of outrage and disbelief erupted, but none dared oppose the Patriarch's decree. As opposing the Patriarch is treason and punishment for treason is worse than death.
As the elders dispersed, Li Tian turned his gaze toward the shadowed corners of the hall. Servants lingered there, trembling under his scrutiny. Among them was a young maid—Xiao Rou—her eyes wide with awe and terror.
Xiao Rou may not be one of the most beautiful women, but charm was more in her curvaceous body. A hourglass figure with ample breasts and a peach ass. Seeing her body Lin Tian licked his lips mischievously.
He beckoned with one finger. She stepped forward, kneeling at his feet.
"Y-young master… congratulations on your recovery…" she stammered.
Li Tian studied her for a long moment. Loyal, obedient, meek. A perfect pawn.
"From this day forward," he said softly, though his tone carried the weight of command, "you will attend to me personally. Your life belongs to me, Xiao Rou. Do you understand?"
Her body trembled, but her voice rang out clear. "Yes, young master."
A cruel smile touched his lips.
Good. The first piece is in place.
That night, alone in his chambers, Li Tian sat once more in meditation. The Heaven-Devouring Dao Scripture unfurled in his mind, its whispers more insistent now.
He replayed the sensation of thunder striking his flesh, the rush of Li Jun's cultivation flowing into him. It was intoxicating, addictive.
But he was not reckless. No—each step must be calculated, each pawn placed with precision.
"The clan will soon test me. The sects will hear of me. Enemies will rise against me."
He opened his eyes, golden light burning like a sun within them.
"Let them come."
His voice was cold, filled with ruthless certainty.
"I will devour them all."
Arrogant .. utter arrogance but who was there to rebuke or remind of his tactic that will have him pay a heavy price in future. But worry not he will understand in the future that- "Arrogance leads to ignorance. and ignorance is the biggest enemy of man."