?The silence that followed Jiang Chen's declaration was heavy, broken only by the rustle of wind in the pines.

  ?Enforcer Zhang stared at the man—no, the thing—standing before him. The scanner on his wrist, a standard Sect artifact for measuring spirit fluctuations, was vibrating violently. It couldn't lock onto a reading. The target felt like a mortal one second, and a natural disaster the next.

  ?"Kill him," Zhang ordered, his voice tight. "Don't get close. Use ranged arts. Fire Volley!"

  ?The eleven disciples didn't hesitate. They were trained enforcers. Hands flashed in synchronized seals.

  ?"Flame Palm!"

  "Iron Spike!"

  "Wind Blade!"

  ?The air lit up. A barrage of elemental Qi—fireballs, conjured metal spikes, and invisible scythes of wind—screamed toward Jiang Chen. It was enough firepower to level a small house.

  ?Jiang Chen watched the attacks come.

  ?Time.

  ?It wasn't that time stopped; it was that his brain was processing visual data fast enough to watch the rotation of the fireballs.

  ?"Pathetic," Apeiron's voice grated in his skull. "Inefficient usage of atmospheric Qi. They leak 40% of their energy before the cast is even complete. Step left."

  ?Jiang Chen didn't need the advice. His instincts, sharpened by the Void Foundation, were already moving his body.

  ?He didn't run. He slid.

  ?He shifted his weight. The [Thunder-Blood Burst] engaged not as an explosion, but as a hum in his muscles. He blurred.

  ?The volley of spells struck the dirt where he had been standing, detonating in a cloud of dust and shrapnel.

  ?"Did we get him?" a disciple asked, squinting.

  ?"Behind you," a voice whispered. It sounded like two stones grinding together.

  ?The disciple turned.

  ?Jiang Chen was standing inside the formation.

  ?He grabbed the disciple's face. His hand was large enough to encompass the entire skull.

  ?"No—"

  ?SQUELCH.

  ?Jiang Chen squeezed. The sound was wet and final, like crushing a ripe melon.

  ?[Target Neutralized.]

  [EV +15]

  ?The headless body dropped.

  ?Chaos erupted.

  ?"He's inside the line! Swords!"

  ?Three disciples lunged, steel blades coated in Qi aiming for his kidneys and neck.

  ?Jiang Chen spun. He caught the first sword with his bare hand. The blade bit into his palm, but instead of cutting skin, it screeched against the [Obsidian Furnace] hide. Sparks flew.

  ?Jiang Chen twisted his wrist. The steel snapped.

  ?He drove the broken shard into the attacker's throat.

  ?[EV +12]

  ?"Good," Apeiron purred. "But you're thinking like a brawler. You are a predator. Don't just kill. Feed."

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  ?Jiang Chen lashed out with a backhand, his arm moving with the speed of a whip crack. His fist connected with the chest of the third attacker. The ribs collapsed inward, the heart bursting under the hydrostatic shock.

  ?[EV +14]

  ?As the bodies fell, Jiang Chen felt a rush of cold euphoria. It wasn't just adrenaline. It was the System flooding his brain with dopamine, rewarding the violence.

  ?Why? Jiang Chen thought, even as he ducked under a wind blade. Why does it feel this good?

  ?It felt too good. Like a drug.

  ?You're conditioning me, he realized cold logic cutting through the battle haze. You want me to enjoy this so I don't ask what the price is.

  ?He grabbed a fourth disciple by the ankle and swung him like a club into a fifth. Bones crunched.

  ?"Monster!" Enforcer Zhang roared.

  ?Zhang finally moved. He was a Foundation Establishment cultivator. He didn't use cheap tricks. He slammed his broadsword into the ground.

  ?"Earth Arts: Stone Prison!"

  ?Four walls of rock shot up around Jiang Chen, boxing him in.

  ?"Crush him!" Zhang screamed, channeling his Qi into the walls. The stone box began to contract, aiming to squash Jiang Chen into paste.

  ?Inside the dark stone box, Jiang Chen stood still. The walls were grinding closer.

  ?"A primitive trap," Apeiron scoffed. "The structural integrity is flawed at the southeast corner. Break it."

  ?"Shut up," Jiang Chen muttered. "I can see it."

  ?His eyes—the [Void Eyes]—saw the stress lines in the conjured stone. He saw the flow of Zhang's Qi holding it together.

  ?He didn't punch the wall. He punched the flow.

  ?He coated his fist in black Void Qi.

  ?[Void Claw: Disrupt.]

  ?He struck the stone. The black energy didn't impact; it infected. It ate the binding Qi holding the rock together.

  ?The wall didn't shatter. It disintegrated into sand.

  ?Jiang Chen stepped through the falling dust.

  ?The remaining six disciples froze. They looked at the pile of bodies. They looked at the sand pouring over Jiang Chen's shoulders like a dark cape.

  ?Fear broke them.

  ?"Run!" one screamed.

  ?They broke formation, scattering into the woods.

  ?Jiang Chen looked at Zhang. "Your men are leaving."

  ?Zhang was trembling. His broadsword felt heavy. He had reached Foundation Establishment through pills and Sect resources. He had never seen a Foundation like this. This boy's Qi felt heavy, ancient, and starving.

  ?"Who... what are you?" Zhang stammered.

  ?Jiang Chen ignored him. He looked at the retreating backs of the disciples.

  ?"Do not let the cattle escape," Apeiron commanded. "Witnesses are inconvenient. Hunger is eternal."

  ?Jiang Chen's jaw tightened. He hated taking orders. But the logic was sound. If they reached the Sect, the element of surprise was gone.

  ?He took a deep breath. His chest expanded.

  ?He opened his mouth.

  ?He didn't scream. He inhaled.

  ?[Skill: The Glutton's Gravity (Tier 1 Void Art).]

  ?A vortex of suction materialized in front of his mouth. It wasn't wind; it was a magnetic pull on the soul.

  ?The fleeing disciples stumbled. They felt a hook in their chests, dragging them backward.

  ?"No! My legs won't move!"

  "Help me!"

  ?They were dragged back across the dirt, clawing at the roots, sliding inexorably toward the monster in the center of the clearing.

  ?Jiang Chen cut the suction. He moved among them, a blur of bronze and shadow.

  ?Snap. Crush. Tear.

  ?It took six seconds.

  ?[EV +80 (Combined)]

  ?Silence returned to the foothills.

  ?Only Enforcer Zhang remained. He had fallen to his knees, his will shattered by the display of dominance.

  ?Jiang Chen walked over to him. He loomed over the Enforcer, his violet slit-eyes devoid of mercy.

  ?"You asked who I am," Jiang Chen said.

  ?He grabbed Zhang by the throat and lifted him one-handed. Zhang's feet kicked uselessly in the air.

  ?"I am the consequence of your master's ambition."

  ?"Elder Han... will... kill you..." Zhang choked out, his face turning purple.

  ?"Han is just a cook," Jiang Chen said evenly. "And I'm tired of being the ingredient."

  ?"Eat him," Apeiron demanded. "His Foundation is sloppy, but it is biomass. Consume."

  ?Jiang Chen felt the urge. The [Venom Core] pulsed, salivating at the proximity of such dense Qi.

  ?Jiang Chen tightened his grip.

  ?"Tell me," Jiang Chen thought, directing his mind at the Serpent. "What do you get out of this?"

  ?"Excuse me?"

  ?"You're not a charity," Jiang Chen thought, staring into Zhang's bulging eyes. "You reconstructed my body. You're guiding my kills. You're feeding me dopamine like a lab rat. Why? What's your cut?"

  ?There was a pause in the Void. A moment of surprised silence from the ancient entity.

  ?"Survival, little host," Apeiron replied, the tone shifting from mockery to something colder. "I am tethered to your pathetic soul. If you die, I return to the nothingness. I prefer... existence. And to exist, I need energy. You are merely the spoon I use to feed myself."

  ?"A spoon," Jiang Chen repeated aloud.

  ?He looked at Zhang.

  ?"I can work with that."

  ?He activated the [Venom Core].

  ?His hand turned black. The necrosis spread instantly from Zhang's throat to his entire body. The Enforcer didn't even have time to scream as his life force was violently siphoned out, leaving a desiccated husk dropping to the ground.

  ?[Target Neutralized: Enforcer Zhang.]

  [EV +150]

  ?[Current EV: 517]

  ?Jiang Chen stood amidst the carnage. Thirteen bodies. The air smelled of copper and ozone.

  ?He began to strip the bodies. He moved with practiced, cold efficiency. Spatial rings, spirit stones, weapons.

  ?He didn't celebrate. He didn't laugh.

  ?He looked at the readout in his vision.

  ?[Sync Rate: 1.05%]

  ?"1 percent," Jiang Chen whispered. "You're trapped in me, Apeiron. But remember this..."

  ?He slipped Zhang's spatial ring onto his finger.

  ?"I hold the spoon."