Li Feng woke up to silence.
Not the comforting kind.
The kind that felt wrong—too clean, too absolute, as if even sound itself hesitated to exist.
His eyes snapped open.
A cracked wooden ceiling greeted him, beams warped with age and dust drifting through thin sunlight. The smell of damp earth and old timber filled his lungs. For a moment, he didn't move.
Then reality returned in fragments.
Pain.
Death.
Mockery.
The fall from the cliff.
And then—
A voice that did not belong to the world.
[Dao Devouring System Initialisation Complete.]
Li Feng shot upright.
"Wh—what?"
His voice came out hoarse. His hands trembled as he looked at them. Thin fingers. Bruised knuckles. Familiar… painfully familiar.
This was his room.
The outer disciple hut of the Azure River Sect.
Impossible.
He remembered dying.
He remembered clearly—standing at the edge of Broken Spirit Cliff, blood in his mouth, laughter behind him. Senior disciples mocking him for daring to cultivate without talent.
And then the fall.
Yet here he was.
Alive.
Or… something like alive.
His breathing became uneven. "This is a dream… or hallucination."
But then—
[System Interface Stabilised.]
[Host: Li Feng]
[Status: Weak Mortal Body]
[Dao Affinity: 0.003%]
[Recommendation: Consume nearby Dao fragments to initiate strengthening.]
Li Feng froze.
The words weren't just heard—they appeared directly in his mind, glowing faintly in a translucent blue panel that hovered in his perception.
He raised a trembling hand and reached forward.
The panel didn't move.
It simply existed.
"System…" he whispered slowly. "So it wasn't death."
A strange feeling rose in his chest.
Not relief.
Not joy.
Something more dangerous.
Understanding.
If this was real… then everything he suffered before—
A sharp knock interrupted his thoughts.
"Li Feng! Trash! You're still alive?"
The door slammed open before he could respond.
Three outer disciples stepped inside. All wore the Azure River Sect's gray robes, but theirs were clean, neatly stitched, and infused faintly with spiritual energy.
The leader sneered.
Zhao Kun.
Li Feng recognized him instantly.
One of the ones who used to spit on him during training grounds.
"I thought you died falling off the cliff," Zhao Kun said, glancing him over with disappointment. "Shame. Even death doesn't want you."
The other two laughed.
Li Feng said nothing.
Not because he was afraid.
But because something inside him was different now.
The system panel flickered again in his vision.
[Target detected: Zhao Kun]
[Cultivation Level: Qi Condensation Stage 2]
[Detected Dao Fragment: Minor Wind Intent]
[Analysis: Can be consumed under current system conditions.]
Consumed?
Li Feng's eyes narrowed slightly.
"What are you staring at, trash?" Zhao Kun stepped forward, voice sharpening. "Still pretending you're a cultivator?"
He reached out and grabbed Li Feng by the collar.
"Do you know why no one cares you fell off that cliff?" Zhao Kun whispered. "Because you're nothing. Even the heavens forget garbage like you."
For a moment, silence returned.
Then—
Something inside Li Feng shifted.
Not anger.
Not fear.
Curiosity.
"System," he thought silently. "What happens if I… consume him?"
The response came instantly.
[Warning: Initial consumption requires physical contact and intent alignment.]
[Proceeding will extract target's Dao fragment permanently.]
[Effect: Target weakened, user strengthened.]
Li Feng exhaled slowly.
So it was real.
Everything here… could be devoured.
Zhao Kun pushed him back.
Li Feng stumbled slightly—but didn't fall.
That alone surprised the others.
"Hm?" Zhao Kun frowned. "You've gotten tougher after your fall?"
Li Feng looked up.
For the first time, he really looked at him.
Not with fear.
Not with resentment.
But like something being observed.
"Let go of me," Li Feng said calmly.
The room went silent for a fraction of a second.
Then Zhao Kun laughed.
"You hear that? Trash is giving orders now."
He tightened his grip instead.
"Maybe I should break your arm again like last time—"
He didn't finish.
Because Li Feng moved.
It wasn't fast.
It wasn't elegant.
But it was precise.
His hand shot up and grabbed Zhao Kun's wrist.
And in that instant—
The system activated.
[Consumption Initiated.]
A strange force erupted between them.
Zhao Kun's expression changed instantly.
"What—what is this?!"
His spiritual energy began to destabilize. A faint greenish wind aura flickered around his body—but instead of flowing outward, it began collapsing inward, like it was being pulled into Li Feng's hand.
"No… no, stop this!"
Li Feng felt it too.
Something was entering him.
Not energy in the traditional sense.
Something deeper.
A fragment of understanding—like the concept of "wind" itself being torn apart and rewritten inside his body.
His bones ached.
His veins burned.
But he didn't let go.
[Dao Fragment Detected: Minor Wind Intent]
[Absorption Rate: 17%… 41%… 79%…]
Zhao Kun dropped to his knees.
"What did you do to me?!" he screamed. "My cultivation—why is it disappearing?!"
The other two disciples stepped back in horror.
"This… this is impossible…"
Li Feng's grip tightened slightly.
And then—
The system completed its process.
[Absorption Complete.]
[Host Strength Increased.]
[New Trait Unlocked: Wind Perception (Basic)]
A sharp pulse exploded through Li Feng's mind.
Suddenly, the world changed.
He could feel air currents.
Not just feel—understand them.
Every breath of wind in the room had structure. Direction. Meaning. As if the world itself had become readable.
Zhao Kun collapsed completely, his face pale.
"You… monster…"
Li Feng released him.
Zhao Kun fell sideways, unconscious. His once faint spiritual aura completely gone.
Dead? No.
But crippled.
Empty.
The two disciples panicked.
"Run!"
They fled instantly.
Silence returned once again.
Li Feng stood still, staring at his hand.
"…So this is devouring."
Not absorption.
Not cultivation.
Consumption.
He wasn't borrowing power from heaven.
He was eating the rules heaven used to create power.
A faint thrill spread through him—not emotional excitement, but something deeper, primal. Like a door inside reality had just been unlocked.
Then the system spoke again.
[First consumption successful.]
[Main Quest Activated.]
[Objective: Devour 10 Dao Fragments to stabilise system core.]
[Reward: System Upgrade – Dao Reconstruction Layer I]
Li Feng slowly clenched his fist.
Ten fragments.
That meant ten targets.
Ten cultivators.
Outside, footsteps could already be heard rushing toward the hut. Word was spreading.
Zhao Kun had fallen.
And the one responsible was still inside.
Li Feng turned toward the door.
For the first time since his rebirth, he smiled faintly.
Not warmly.
Not kindly.
But like something inside him had finally learned what existence was for.
"If the world is built on Dao…"
He stepped forward.
"…then I will eat it all