The Inner Disciple Tower was no longer a tower.
It was a tomb that hadn't finished closing yet.
Blood ran down the stairs in thin streams.
Bodies lay twisted between broken wooden railings.
Some inner disciples still lived…
but only because Arjun allowed them to breathe.
Not mercy.
Not kindness.
Just control.
Arjun stood at the center hall like a demon king wearing torn robes and dried blood.
His eyes swept across the survivors.
They were shaking.
Not from injury.
From fear.
A fear deeper than pain.
Because pain ends.
But Arjun didn't.
He raised his hand slowly.
"Open the vault."
Silence.
The survivors stared at each other.
A young inner disciple tried to speak bravely.
"T-the vault… only senior disciples can—"
Arjun stepped forward.
His shadow covered the disciple like night.
Arjun asked calmly:
"Do you want to die as a senior disciple…"
"…or live as trash?"
The disciple's lips trembled.
"I… I…"
Arjun's fingers touched the disciple's cheek gently.
Almost soft.
Almost human.
Then—
CRACK.
Arjun's grip tightened.
The disciple's jaw shattered.
He screamed through broken teeth.
Arjun leaned close and whispered:
"Choose faster."
The disciple sobbed, barely able to speak.
"I'LL OPEN IT! I'LL OPEN IT!!"
Arjun released him and turned to the others.
"Good."
"You understand."
Then he pointed at the staircase leading down into the tower's underground core.
"Lead."
Two inner disciples stepped forward shaking, half carrying the injured one.
They didn't dare delay.
Because delay meant death.
They moved quickly, guiding Arjun deeper.
The deeper they went, the colder the air became.
The walls changed from wood to stone.
Runes began appearing everywhere.
Thick, layered formations.
Not meant to stop beasts.
Not meant to stop thieves.
Meant to stop monsters.
One of the inner disciples whispered with trembling lips:
"T-this is the Tower Core Vault… only elders can enter fully…"
Arjun's eyes didn't change.
He touched the stone wall.
The runes flashed and resisted.
A sharp burning pain crawled up his fingers.
The vault was biting back.
Arjun smiled faintly.
"So it has teeth."
The System flashed.
🔊 [High-level formation detected!]
📌 Type: Blood Suppression Seal
✅ Counter option: Devouring Body (risk: backlash)
✅ Counter option: Break with brute force (slow)
✅ Counter option: Use Seal Key Fragment (incomplete)
Arjun's gaze sharpened.
"Seal Key Fragment…"
He placed his palm on the wall.
Then he whispered one word:
"Devour."
🩸 DEVOURING BODY — RUNE CONSUMPTION!
The runes screamed.
Not a sound from the world—
but a spiritual screech inside reality itself.
The wall shook.
The seal tried to resist like a living thing.
Arjun's veins bulged.
His skin turned darker.
A thin line of blood leaked from his nose.
The inner disciples watching screamed in fear.
"He's… eating the seal?!"
"That's impossible!!"
Arjun's voice was flat.
"Nothing is impossible."
The wall's runes flickered…
then dimmed…
then died.
The Vault Door unlocked with a heavy sound:
KRRRRRMMMM.
It opened.
Inside the vault, the air was thick with spirit energy.
Pill shelves.
Weapon racks.
Scrolls.
Jade boxes.
All stolen from weaker disciples…
and stored here like treasure.
The inner disciples stared in greed even while terrified.
But Arjun didn't look at the pills.
He didn't look at the weapons.
He didn't look at the scrolls.
His eyes locked onto one thing.
A black pedestal at the center.
On top of it floated a crimson fragment of crystal.
It pulsed like a heart.
A heart that wasn't human.
The System flashed violently.
🔊 [TALENT SEAL KEY FRAGMENT DETECTED!]
✅ Fragment: 3/3
🎁 Claim to complete key.
Arjun stepped forward.
The pedestal reacted.
A blood-red barrier exploded outward.
The barrier wasn't just defense.
It was a test.
A pressure.
A crushing will.
The inner disciples instantly dropped to the ground.
Their bones creaked.
Their eyes rolled back.
Some passed out.
Some bled from their ears.
But Arjun kept walking.
Step.
Step.
Step.
The barrier pressed against him like an ocean trying to drown him.
Arjun's skin cracked slightly.
Blood seeped out.
His bones screamed again.
His Iron Body shook.
But Arjun smiled.
He whispered:
"This is it."
He reached out.
His fingers touched the fragment.
And the world went silent.
✅ SEAL KEY COMPLETION
The moment his hand closed around it—
the fragment melted into his palm.
It didn't become an object anymore.
It became a mark.
A symbol burned into his skin.
Like an ancient contract.
The System screamed like a bell ringing at the end of the world.
🔊 [TALENT SEAL KEY COMPLETE!]
✅ DEVOURING BODY UNLOCKED: TRUE FORM
✅ New Feature Unlocked: BLOODLINE LOTTERY
✅ New Feature Unlocked: SYSTEM CORE ACCESS (LIMITED)
Arjun's body froze.
His heart stopped for one beat.
Then—
it restarted with a violent surge.
His veins glowed crimson like molten lava.
His bones thickened again.
His muscles compressed tighter.
His body didn't just become stronger.
It evolved.
It adapted.
It reshaped itself into something built to survive slaughter.
Arjun's eyes turned fully red for one second.
Not glowing.
Not shining.
Just… red.
Like a predator's eyes in the dark.
Then they returned to normal.
But everyone who looked at him knew—
he was different now.
Not a disciple.
Not a man.
A weapon given a name.
Arjun inhaled slowly.
And the vault air itself trembled.
Because with the seal broken…
his devouring talent no longer stopped at pills and essence.
It could touch something deeper.
It could touch cultivation roots.
It could touch souls.
The System flashed again:
🔊 [TRUE DEVOURING BODY: ACTIVE]
✅ Can devour:
Pills
Poisons
Techniques (partial)
Cultivation roots
Soul fragments (risk: corruption)
Arjun's smile widened.
Then he turned around.
The inner disciples were still on the ground.
Trembling.
Crying.
Begging.
One of them looked up at Arjun with shaking lips.
"P-please… please don't kill us… we can serve you…"
Arjun stared at him.
Then he asked gently:
"Serve me?"
The disciple nodded rapidly.
"Yes! I'll do anything! I'll be loyal! I swear!"
Arjun nodded.
Then his voice became colder.
"Prove it."
The disciple blinked.
"H-how…?"
Arjun pointed at another inner disciple nearby.
"Kill him."
The disciple froze like lightning hit him.
"W-what?!"
Arjun's eyes hardened.
"You heard me."
The disciple's face twisted.
"But… he's my brother disciple…"
Arjun smiled.
"You were never brothers."
"You were just dogs eating from the same bowl."
The disciple trembled.
He looked at the other inner disciple.
That disciple crawled back, crying.
"No! Don't! Please!"
The first disciple's face turned desperate.
He looked at Arjun again.
"I… I can't…"
Arjun's smile vanished instantly.
Then his voice came like death:
"Then you can die first."
Arjun moved.
✨ SHADOW STEP.
And suddenly, his hand pierced through the disciple's chest.
He didn't even scream properly.
Arjun pulled out his heart.
Then devoured it.
🩸 TRUE DEVOURING BODY — FEAST.
The corpse dried like dead wood.
The other inner disciple screamed.
"N-NO!!"
Arjun turned slowly to him.
"You."
The survivor shook violently.
"I-I'LL DO IT!! I'LL DO ANYTHING!!"
Arjun nodded.
"Good."
He pointed again.
This time at the injured disciple with the broken jaw who had opened the vault.
"Kill him."
The survivor didn't hesitate.
He grabbed a blade.
And stabbed.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Blood sprayed.
The injured disciple's eyes begged Arjun silently.
But Arjun simply watched.
Expression blank.
Then Arjun said softly:
"Good dog."
The survivor collapsed in tears.
"I… I did it… please…"
Arjun knelt down.
And whispered into his ear:
"You're still going to die."
The survivor froze.
"W-why?! I obeyed!"
Arjun's smile returned—dark and calm.
"Because obedience doesn't erase what you are."
Then Arjun devoured him too.
One touch.
One breath.
One silent death.
Arjun stood alone in the vault.
Surrounded by treasure.
Surrounded by corpses.
He walked to the shelves and grabbed only a few things:
✅ High-grade Recovery Pills
✅ Spirit Stones
✅ A black robe(to hide blood stains)
✅ A sealed scroll labeled: "Forbidden Blood Art"
He looked at the scroll.
And smiled slowly.
"This sect…"
"…fed me well."
Then he walked out.
Outside, the tower was still screaming.
But the screams were fading.
Not because people escaped.
Because there were fewer people left alive to scream.
Arjun stepped into the open air.
Above him—
the moon looked red through blood mist.
The sect bell rang nonstop.
Elders were coming.
Stronger inner disciples were coming.
Punishment forces were coming.
But Arjun wasn't afraid.
He whispered calmly:
"Come."
"I'm done being hunted."
"Now…"
"I hunt you."
The System chimed one last time.
🔊 [MISSION COMPLETE: Break Inner Disciple Tower]
🎁 Reward Claimed: Talent Seal Key Fragment x1 (3/3 complete)
🎁 Bonus Unlocked: Bloodline Lottery
Arjun smiled.
And with blood mist around him like a crown…
he walked toward the main sect hall.
Toward the elders.
Toward the real power.
Toward the real enemy.