Silence fell over the martial hall.
The crimson light in Lu Tian's eyes flickered like embers of a sleeping dragon, and for the first time since his transmigration, he felt it—power. A terrifying hunger gnawed at him from within, not his stomach but his very meridians.
Xu Han's smirk faltered. "What trick is this, trash?"
Trick? Lu Tian almost laughed. This wasn't a trick—it was the Heaven-Devouring Meridian, pulsing like a second heart inside him. His mind buzzed with whispers:
Devour… refine… become stronger…
Before Lu Tian could test it, Xu Han's palm shot forward. Spiritual energy roared like a wave, his Azure Flame Palm igniting with searing heat. The disciples cheered—the sect's top genius humiliating their trash disciple once again.
"Burn in your own shame!" Xu Han snarled.
Lu Tian's instincts screamed. His body moved, but not his own—it was the meridian guiding him. His palm rose, clumsy yet certain, and the crimson light surged outward.
The moment Xu Han's flame touched him, something incredible happened.
The fire bent.It was as if the Azure Flame itself had chosen to betray its master, sucked into Lu Tian's meridians like water into parched soil. Xu Han's eyes widened as his technique faltered mid-strike.
"What—?!"
Heat flooded Lu Tian's body, his bones crackling, veins burning, but instead of destroying him, the meridian swallowed it whole.
And then… it gave it back.
Lu Tian's palm ignited, but it wasn't blue flame anymore. It was deeper. Wilder. A crimson-black fire that howled with devouring hunger.
Gasps rippled through the disciples."Impossible! That's Xu Han's technique!""No, it's stronger—look at that fire!"
Xu Han staggered back, panic twisting his arrogant face. "You… you stole my flame?!"
Lu Tian smiled for the first time. It was small, mocking, and full of confidence this body had never known."Not stole," he said softly. "Devoured."
He thrust his palm forward. The crimson-black fire roared across the hall, smashing into Xu Han's chest and sending him flying into a pillar with a thunderous crack.
The disciples went silent. The trash who couldn't even pass the first stage of Qi Condensation had just sent their strongest genius coughing blood.
Lu Tian lowered his hand, the fire vanishing as quickly as it had come. His body trembled from the strain—he could barely stand—but his grin never faded.
He understood now.Every humiliation, every sneer, every fiancée's disdain… they would all become fuel.
The Heaven-Devouring Meridian demanded bonds, demanded struggle, demanded enemies. And he would feed it everything until he stood at the peak of immortality.
Lu Tian's gaze swept across the hall, lingering on the rows of sneering fiancées."From today onward," he whispered, though the words carried clearly, "this trash disciple is no more."