The morning sun burned pale over the Nine Flames Heavenly Clan, but the courtyard was heavy with whispers. The disciples could no longer disguise their fear. Feng Xuanlong, the boy who devoured tribulations and shattered a Heaven's Chosen, now walked openly through their ranks as if he owned the world.
His crimson eyes scanned the crowd. Each glance felt like a blade, each step a proclamation: he was no longer just a prodigy—he was a force the clan had never seen.
The Villain System spoke softly in his mind.
[Quest: Devour two remaining elite geniuses. Reward: Full Dao-Plundering Chains.][Current Progress: 1/3 elites devoured.]
Xuanlong smiled. One down, two to go.
The first of the next targets was Liu Yanchen, a lithe genius of lightning cultivation, known for his speed and intellect. His reputation rivaled Feng Jinhai's, and the heavens had blessed him with an auspicious fate thread.
Xuanlong found him in the practice grounds, surrounded by disciples testing his agility. Liu Yanchen's spear danced like a streak of white lightning, and the crowd's cheers reminded Xuanlong of the triviality of mortal admiration.
He approached, the black flames curling around his hands like living snakes.
"Yanchen," he called, his voice low, smooth, and commanding. "Step aside. Today, your strength will serve me."
Liu Yanchen's eyes narrowed. "You again? You humiliated Jinhai yesterday. Do you dare challenge me?"
Xuanlong's crimson gaze sharpened. "Dare? I am no longer bound by dare. I am bound only by hunger—for strength, for fate, for all that Heaven refuses me."
The duel began with Yanchen striking like lightning incarnate. Each thrust and parry was precise, aiming to test the limits of Xuanlong's reflexes. But Xuanlong did not evade—he welcomed the strikes.
[Villain System Alert: Use Dao-Plundering Chains.]
With a faint whisper, black chains erupted from Xuanlong's shadow, writhing through the air like living serpents. They lashed at Yanchen's spear, coiling around it, draining his speed and strength.
"What is—?!" Yanchen struggled as his lightning-infused spear felt heavier, slower. The chains coiled tighter, siphoning not his blood, but his Dao comprehension.
[Partial absorption: Lightning Dao insight obtained. +700 VP.]
Xuanlong stepped forward, black fire flickering across his body. "Strength, fate, comprehension—yield them to me."
With a final motion, the chains wrapped around Yanchen's wrists and chest. Lightning surged outward, then was devoured into the abyssal vortex at Xuanlong's core. Yanchen collapsed, panting, pale, his aura dimmed.
[Target Devoured: Liu Yanchen. Progress: 2/3 elites.][Dao-Plundering Chains unlocked.]
The disciples around them stared in disbelief. Two elite prodigies, back-to-back, defeated by the same youth. Rumors of Xuanlong's dark cultivation spread like wildfire. Some whispered that the boy was possessed by a demon. Others murmured that he might be a reborn god.
Xuanlong ignored them. His eyes scanned the horizon—he had one more target to complete the clan quest.
It was Han Zexiong, the youngest prodigy of the clan, famed for his dual-element fire-and-ice cultivation. Unlike the others, he had not yet tasted defeat, and his aura shimmered with raw potential.
"Shall we see if the last bite is the sweetest?" Xuanlong murmured.
The confrontation was set at the central practice hall. Han Zexiong's flames and frost clashed in the air, creating a storm of sizzling heat and shattering ice. Xuanlong watched calmly, letting the Villain System guide his every move.
[Strategy Suggestion: Devour while provoking emotional imbalance.]
He stepped forward, black chains slithering like vipers. They lashed out at Han Zexiong, forcing him to split his focus between controlling his elements and defending himself. For a moment, the hall seemed to collapse under the tension—fire met black flames, ice met shadows.
Han Zexiong's eyes widened as he felt his Dao comprehension wrenched away. The chains sank into his body, siphoning insight and weakening his control over elemental balance.
Xuanlong's crimson eyes gleamed. "Yield your Dao, or be consumed entirely."
With a roar, Han Zexiong struck—combining fire and ice into a massive blast—but it met Xuanlong's palm, black flames and chains absorbing the energy. The elemental storm was pulled into Xuanlong's dantian, leaving Han Zexiong drained and gasping.
[Target Devoured: Han Zexiong. Quest Complete: 3/3 elites.][Full Dao-Plundering Chains operational.][Reward: 3,000 VP + Full control over absorbed Dao insights.]
Xuanlong exhaled. He could feel the surge of stolen abilities, the whispers of insight from three of the clan's greatest prodigies flowing into him. With this, his cultivation skyrocketed—Core Formation solidified, and the early stage of Dao manipulation expanded beyond mortal comprehension.
That night, as he stood atop the clan's tallest tower, looking over the sprawling mountains and temples, the Villain System spoke once more.
[Alert: Your power has surpassed expectation. Heaven's Malice has intensified. Ye Tianxing will awaken soon. Proceed with caution.]
Xuanlong smiled, crimson eyes reflecting the moon. "Good. Let him come. Let Heaven send its chosen. I am ready."
Above, faint threads of golden fate shimmered, trembling. One by one, they began to twist and recoil from him. Fate itself was bending—not breaking, yet.
And Feng Xuanlong, the Heaven-Devouring Villain, had only just begun.