The sky over the Great Dragon Continent was painted in a deep, bloody red. On the edge of a jagged cliff, a young man named Li Fan lay gasping for breath. His clothes were torn, and his body was covered in deep wounds. His once-proud clan had betrayed him, stripped him of his powers, and left him for dead in this cursed wasteland.
"Is... is this how it ends?" Li Fan whispered, his voice cracking.
For years, he was called a genius. But after his Divine Root was destroyed by a jealous elder, he became nothing more than trash in the eyes of his sect. As he felt his life slipping away, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly echoed inside his head.
[Ding! System Activation Conditions Met...]
[Searching for a Host with Absolute Despair and Hunger for Power...]
[Host Found: Li Fan.]
[Initializing the Forbidden Devouring System...]
Li Fan's eyes snapped open. Before him, a glowing semi-transparent screen floated in the air.
[System Status: Active]
[Current State: Weak/Near Death]
[Mission: Devour the nearby Iron-Claw Wolf to survive.]
Just a few meters away, the carcass of a massive wolf—killed by a lightning strike moments ago—lay smoking. Li Fan crawled toward it with the last of his strength. He reached out his trembling hand and touched the beast's fur.
"Devour!" he groaned.
Suddenly, black smoke erupted from his fingertips. The smoke acted like thousands of tiny mouths, tearing into the wolf's body and turning it into pure, dark energy. This energy flowed into Li Fan's veins like liquid fire, mending his broken bones and healing his scars in seconds.
[Notification: Devour Successful!]
[Host has absorbed 500 units of Essence.]
[Level Up! Current Realm: Body Refining Stage - Level 1.]
[New Skill Unlocked: Gluttonous Touch (Grade: Forbidden).]
Li Fan stood up, feeling a strange, dark power coursing through him. The hunger he felt wasn't for food—it was a hunger for Cultivation. The more he devoured, the stronger he would become. He didn't need to meditate for years like other cultivators; he just needed to consume.
He looked back at the direction of his former sect with a cold, sharp gaze. "You took everything from me," he said, his voice now filled with a terrifying calm. "But this Forbidden System will help me take it all back. I will devour the heavens if I have to."
The journey of the Devouring Cultivator had just begun.