The last sound Shen Liang heard before death was the cold laughter of his adoptive brother. "The Heavens need no second emperor," the traitor whispered, as a blade forged from celestial steel pierced Shen Liang's heart. Blood pooled in his lungs, his vision darkening—but even as his soul fractured, he clung to one truth: vengeance. What the gods did not know was that death was not the end for one betrayed by Heaven itself.
Shen Liang awoke to fire.
Not metaphorical fire—actual flames, scorching and relentless, searing his throat as he choked on sand. His body was buried up to the neck in a desert of shimmering gold, twin suns blazing overhead like vengeful eyes. The air rippled with heat, distorting the horizon into a mirage of jaged dunes and skeletal remains. Distant roars echoed, monstrous and primal, shaking the ground beneath him. The stench of decay clung to the air, mingling with the metallic tang of blood—his own.
Reborn.
The word slithered into his mind, sharp and bitter. Memories flickered—celestial spires crumbling, a brother's betrayal, a System's hollow promise of retribution. His fingers clawed at the sand, raw and bloodied, until he dragged his frail body free. This new flesh was weak, muscles trembling, bones brittle as glass. But his soul? His soul burned.
A metallic chime pierced his thoughts.
[Celestial Domination System: Primary Mission Activated.]
[Objective: Survive the next 24 hours.]
[Reward: Unlock Unique Skill—Celestial Theft (Level 1).]
Before he could curse the cryptic message, shadows loomed. Three figures materialized from the dunes, cloaked in black, their faces hidden behind bone-white masks etched with crimson runes. The tallest one twirled a jagged dagger, its edge glinting like a serpent's fang.
"Another reborn rat," the leader sneered, his voice a rasp of grinding stone. "Your corpse will fuel our ascension."
Shen Liang's pulse spiked. Bloodshadow Cultivators—scavengers who hunted the weak in this godforsaken desert. He'd heard tales of them in his past life: merciless, their cultivation fed by devouring the essence of the newly reborn. The leader lunged, dagger aimed at his throat.
Time slowed.
[Host's Vitality Critical! Activate Celestial Theft? (Y/N)]
Yes! Shen Liang snarled inwardly, the System's interface burning gold in his vision.
A holographic screen flashed:
**[Select a skill to steal:
Ghost Step (Phase through attacks for 5 seconds.)
Shadowrend Slash (Lethal strike, 30% accuracy.)]**
He chose Ghost Step—instinct overriding logic.
The world blurred. His body dissolved into mist as the dagger passed harmlessly through him. Five seconds—he had five seconds. His hand shot out, seizing the cultivator's wrist. Bone cracked. The dagger fell, and Shen Liang caught it, driving it upward into the man's throat.
Blood sprayed, hot and metallic. A searing heat flooded his veins, and for a moment, he felt alive—truly alive—for the first time since his rebirth.
[Skill Acquired: Devour Essence.]
[Absorb 10% of the target's lifeforce per kill.]
The remaining two cultivators froze. Shen Liang didn't.
Power hummed in his blood—foreign, intoxicating. The second attacker swung a serrated chain, its links whistling through the air. Shen Liang activated Ghost Step again, reappearing behind him. He jammed the dagger into the man's spine, twisting until a wet crunch silenced his screams.
[Lifeforce Absorbed: Cultivation Base +12.]
The last cultivator fled, sprinting across the dunes. Shen Liang snatched a shard of obsidian—a fang from some long-dead beast—and hurled it. The shard pierced the man's skull, pinning him to the sand like a grotesque trophy.
[Survival Progress: 3/24 Hours.]
[Lifeforce Storage: 89%.]
Shen Liang collapsed, trembling as stolen energy knitted his wounds. The suns dipped low, staining the desert crimson. On his palm, a sigil glowed—a serpent coiled around a bleeding star. The mark of the Celestial Devourer.
[Warning. Celestial-Class Threat Detected. 48.7 km North—Black Lotus City.]
"No choice," he muttered, rising. His legs shook, but the energy thrumming beneath his skin steadied him. Survive. Grow stronger. Make them pay.
The ground trembled.
A roar split the sky, primal and deafening. Shen Liang turned as the desert erupted. A Skyrend Serpent burst from the sands, its scales gleaming like molten gold, fangs dripping venom that dissolved stone into acrid smoke. Each of its six eyes burned with primordial malice, locking onto him.
[ALERT! Celestial-Class Beast—Tier 9.]
[Recommended Action: FLEE.]
Shen Liang grinned, bloody and reckless. Run? No. I'll take everything it has.
He activated Ghost Step, vanishing as the serpent struck. Its fangs closed on empty air. Reappearing atop its skull, he drove the obsidian shard into its eye. The beast writhed, its tail whipping mountains of sand into the air. Venom sprayed, searing his arm, but Shen Liang clung on, teeth gritted.
[Devour Essence Activated! Lifeforce Absorption: 3%… 5%…]
Pain seared his veins—the serpent's energy was too wild, too potent. His vision blurred, muscles tearing under the strain.
[Host's Body Overload! Termination Imminent!]
A blade of pure ice sliced through the serpent's throat.
The beast collapsed, lifeforce surging into Shen Liang in a torrent. He gasped, his cultivation base exploding like a supernova. A woman stood beside him, her silver hair shimmering under the dying light. Violet eyes, sharp as daggers, bore into his soul.
"You devour the weak to grow stronger," she said, her voice colder than the blade in her hand. "But even gods can be stolen from, Shen Liang."
Before he could speak, she sheathed her sword and vanished, leaving only frost in her wake.
[Celestial Theft Level Up! (Level 2.)]
[New Skill Unlocked: Soulsear Gaze (Temporarily paralyze weaker targets.)]
Night fell, cloaking the desert in shadows. Shen Liang trudged north, guided by the System's map. The obsidian fang still dripped with serpent's blood, clutched in his hand like a talisman. His body ached, but the stolen energy hummed beneath his skin—a constant, hungry rhythm.
Black Lotus City. The name echoed in his mind. A den of cultivators, the System had called it. A place where power was currency, and weakness a death sentence. Perfect.
But deep in the wastes, shadows stirred. A clan emblem flickered in the dark—a lotus cradling a drop of blood. Hooded figures gathered around a fire, their faces hidden beneath bloodstained masks.
"The Devourer lives," hissed their leader, crushing a jade slip inscribed with Shen Liang's likeness. "The Bloodshadow Clan does not tolerate failures. Prepare the oath-sworn. His heart will be ours before dawn."
Far ahead, in Black Lotus City, a man clad in obsidian armor watched the horizon. Lord Bai Feng, overlord of the city, traced a finger over the jagged scar that split his face from brow to jaw. In his palm, a jade slip glowed—the same image of Shen Liang.
"Let him come," he murmured, a smile curling like a knife wound. "The Black Lotus feasts on arrogant souls."
Beneath the city's towering spires, a young woman knelt in chains, her wrists raw from struggle. Liu Xian'er lifted her head, her violet eyes gleaming in the torchlight.
"Soon," she whispered to the dark, as if Shen Liang could hear her. "Soon, you'll learn what true theft means."