The Heart of the Obsidian roared in Fang Yuan's grip, but as he attempted to circulate his Devouring Refinement to swallow its essence, his veins didn't fill with power. Instead, they burned with a searing, white-hot agony.
[System Warning: Plunder Interface Blocked!]
[Reason: Divine Protection. The World Core is 'Locked' to the signature of the Child of Fate.]
Fang Yuan's eyes widened slightly—not with fear, but with a cold, calculative rage. He looked at the Heart in his hand; it was vibrating in a frequency that matched Kael's heartbeat, not his. No matter how much raw strength he had, the energy refused to enter his body. It was like trying to breathe water.
"You see, Fang Yuan?" Kael coughed, blood trickling from his lips, but a small, defiant smile appeared on his face. "The world... it doesn't want you. It chose me for a reason."
Fang Yuan looked at the boy, then back at the collapsing sky. He realized his mistake: he had the strength of a villain, but he hadn't yet bypassed the Universal Laws of Ownership.
"If I cannot devour the energy," Fang Yuan whispered, his voice dangerously low, "then I will change its nature."
He didn't panic. Instead, he used the System to scan the crumbling environment. If he couldn't take the Core's energy directly, he would use the Destruction of the World itself to force it.
"System," Fang Yuan commanded, "Calculate the pressure required to 'Crush' the Core's Divine Signature. If I can't absorb it as a gift, I will consume it as Void Dust."
[Warning: This will destroy the World Core's purity. Efficiency will drop to 40%.]
"Do it," Fang Yuan snapped.
He didn't wait. He used his Rank 1 Peak strength to literally squeeze the Heart of the Obsidian. The crystalline core began to crack under his high-density grip. As it shattered, the energy didn't flow into him; it exploded outward in a violent, chaotic burst.
Fang Yuan didn't flinch. He opened his mouth and inhaled the chaotic shrapnel of energy—brutal, unrefined, and agonizing. It was like swallowing broken glass made of light.
[Forced Absorption Successful. Warning: Internal Damage Detected. Evolution to Rank 9 Incomplete.]
He didn't reach the Peak. The 'Protection' of the hero had cost him. He stood amidst the falling debris, his skin bleeding from the inside, but his aura was now darker and more unstable than ever.
FANG YUAN'S STATUS - END OF CHAPTER 4
Current Realm: WORLD BREAKER - RANK 5 (Incomplete)
Condition: INTERNAL TURMOIL.
"You saved your 'purity', Kael," Fang Yuan said, looking at the broken boy one last time before leaping into the void. "But you lost your world. And next time... I won't just take your energy. I'll take your soul."