The cold wind blew through the Dark Forest, carrying the smell of wet earth and blood.
Lin Kai lay on the ground, his body covered in dirt and wounds.
He was only fifteen years old, but his face already looked tired and pale.
His black hair was messy, and his clothes were torn in many places.
He tried to stand up, but his legs were too weak.
“Why… why did they do this to me?” he whispered.
Three days ago, he was still in the Lin Clan.
Even though he was the son of the previous clan leader, everyone called him trash because his Soul Core was broken.
In this world, every human was born with a Soul Core inside their body.
This core allowed them to cultivate, absorb energy from heaven and earth, and become strong warriors.
But Lin Kai’s Soul Core was cracked from birth.
No matter how hard he trained, he could never absorb energy properly.
Because of this, his father was killed by his own uncle, and Lin Kai was thrown out of the clan like garbage.
On the day they abandoned him, his cousin Lin Feng laughed and said, “A dog with a broken core doesn’t deserve to live in our Lin Clan. Die in the forest like the trash you are.”
Now here he was — bleeding, hungry, and slowly dying.
Lin Kai’s vision started to become blurry.
The world around him was turning dark.
“Is this… the end?” he thought.
Just then, his hand touched something cold and smooth buried in the dirt.
It felt like a stone, but it was pulsing with a strange power.
Curious even in his dying state, he gripped it tightly.
Suddenly, a sharp pain exploded in his chest.
“AHHH!” Lin Kai screamed.
The black crystal in his hand melted into black smoke and entered his body.
His broken Soul Core started shaking violently.
Cracks appeared all over it, but instead of breaking completely, something new was forming.
A cold, mechanical voice suddenly rang inside his mind:
[Void Core has been activated.] [All existing rules of cultivation have been overwritten.] [You can now devour any Soul Core and make its power yours.] [First Devour has begun…]
Lin Kai’s body started floating slightly above the ground.
Black veins appeared on his skin.
The pain was so strong that he wanted to die, but he forced himself to stay conscious.
After what felt like hours, the pain finally stopped.
He fell back to the ground, breathing heavily.
When he opened his eyes, everything felt different.
The world looked clearer.
He could feel a new power inside him — dark, cold, and bottomless like an endless void.
He looked at his hands.
A small black flame was dancing on his palm.
“This… this is my new Soul Core?” he whispered.
He slowly stood up.
His wounds were healing at a visible speed.
The broken bones in his leg were fixing themselves.
Lin Kai clenched his fists tightly.
“I was weak. I was trash. But not anymore.”
He looked toward the direction of the Lin Clan, his eyes filled with cold anger.
“Those who threw me away… those who killed my father… I will make every one of you regret it.”
He took his first step forward.
Even though it was just the beginning, the entire Dark Forest seemed to become quieter, as if it could feel that something terrifying had just been born.
End of Chapter 1