Lin Ye woke up in the middle of the night, screaming.
His entire body felt like it was burning. It felt like something was crawling inside his veins, eating him from the inside.
He rolled on the ground, trying not to scream, because slaves who made noise at night were beaten.
But the pain was too much.
Images appeared in his mind — words, symbols, instructions.
The Great Demonic Script — First Cultivation Method: Pain Refinement.
"Pain is power."
"The more pain you endure, the stronger your body becomes."
"The more hatred you feel, the stronger your energy becomes."
Lin Ye gritted his teeth and stopped screaming.
If pain could make him stronger… then he would accept it.
He had lived in pain his entire life anyway.
So what was a little more?
First Kill
The next day, the guards came as usual.
"Wake up, trash!" one guard shouted as he opened the cage.
Lin Ye slowly stood up. His eyes were different now. Calm. Dark. Cold.
The guard frowned. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Lin Ye said nothing.
The guard walked closer and slapped him across the face.
"Know your place, slave."
Lin Ye fell to the ground. His face was bleeding. The other slaves lowered their heads, not daring to look.
Slowly… Lin Ye started laughing.
The guard felt uncomfortable. "What are you laughing at?"
Lin Ye looked up and said:
"I'm laughing… because you're going to die today."
The guard froze for a second.
Then he laughed loudly. "A slave wants to kill me? Have you gone crazy?"
Lin Ye stood up again.
He could feel the pain in his body.
He could feel the hatred in his chest.
He could feel the dark energy moving inside him.
He followed the instructions from the Demonic Script and gathered all his pain into his fist.
Then he punched the guard.
Crack.
The guard's chest collapsed inward, and he flew backward, smashing into the wall. He did not move again.
Dead.
The entire cage went silent.
The other slaves were shaking in fear.
Lin Ye looked at his hand, then looked at the dead guard.
"So this is power," he said quietly.
He did not feel guilty.
He did not feel scared.
He only felt… satisfied.
Far away in the void, Mo Wudao watched everything.
"Very good," he said.
"Hatred, pain, and violence. Perfect demonic material."
The Birth of a Monster
Killing one guard was not enough.
Lin Ye knew that once the other guards found out, they would kill him.
So he made a decision.
He would kill them first.
That night, Lin Ye walked out of the cage and began killing every guard in the mine one by one.
He moved like a ghost in the dark tunnels.
One punch.
One kill.
Every time he killed someone, the Demonic Script absorbed their death energy, and Lin Ye became stronger.
By morning, everyone in the mine was dead.
Guards.
Overseers.
Managers.
All dead.
The slaves looked at Lin Ye like they were looking at a monster.
Lin Ye stood in front of them and said:
"From today onward, you are free."
"If anyone wants revenge, follow me."
"If anyone is scared, leave."
"I am going to destroy this kingdom."
Some slaves ran away.
But some stayed.
Because they had nothing left to lose.
The Kingdom Fell
What happened next was recorded in history as:
"The Night the Demon Was Born."
Lin Ye and the slaves attacked villages first.
Then towns.
Then the city.
Every battle made Lin Ye stronger.
Every death made him stronger.
Soldiers could not stop him.
Cultivators could not stop him.
Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator was beaten to death by Lin Ye with his bare hands.
In just three months, Lin Ye stood in front of the royal palace.
The king was shaking in fear.
"You… you are a demon…" the king said.
Lin Ye smiled.
"No."
"I am what this world created."
He killed the king and sat on the throne.
A slave had become a king.
But that was not the end.
Lin Ye then gave an order that shocked everyone.
"Burn the Heavenly Temple."
"B-But that is Heaven's temple!" someone said.
Lin Ye looked at them and said:
"Good."
"Let Heaven watch."
That night, the Heavenly Temple burned.
And in the endless void, Mo Wudao watched the fire and smiled.
"The first spark…"
"has become a flame."
He stood up from his throne and looked into the universe.
"Soon, the flames will reach Heaven."