"Cut his legs off! Make him crawl!"

Young Master Wang’s crazy laughter echoed in the yellow smog. He pointed a shaking finger at the boy in the dark cloak.

Five killers from the Blood Fang gang closed in. Their rusted swords scraped the rocks. To them, the teenager was a sheep waiting to die.

Lin Tian stood perfectly still. His face was hidden under his hood, raised his head and ruthless smile appeared.

"You are right about one thing, Wang," Lin Tian whispered. "I am a demon. And you just walked into hell."

"Hahaha! Still talking big?!" Wang yelled, his eyes bulging. "Scarface, kill him!"

Scarface cracked his neck. "Look at this kid. No armor. No weapon. Words don’t block swords in the slums."

"Then stop talking and swing," Lin Tian replied smoothly.

"Arrogant rat!"

Scarface jumped forward. As a Qi Gathering Level 6 expert, he pushed his violent Qi into his heavy sword. The blade glowed red. He swung down at Lin Tian’s shoulders.

Weak foundation. Open attack, Lin Tian noted.

To the killers, Scarface moved like lightning. But to Lin Tian, who had the [Primordial Yang-Tyrant Body] at Level 8, the man moved in slow motion.

Lin Tian didn’t dodge.

SHING!

His Peak-Grade Hidden Blade slid from his sleeve. Covered in compressed white Qi, the blade hummed.

Scarface’s heavy sword crashed down.

Sshhk.

Scarface’s eyes went wide. His heavy sword was sliced perfectly in half like butter. The broken half fell into the mud.

"What?!" Scarface gasped.

Lin Tian moved. He didn’t use flashy arts. He used raw Level 8 power. His left hand shot out and grabbed Scarface’s throat with crushing force.

"Ugh—!" Scarface choked as Lin Tian lifted his heavy body completely off the ground.

"A Level 6 foundation built on cheap pills," Lin Tian said coldly. "Your foundation is garbage. Let me break it."

CRACK!

Lin Tian crushed his throat and snapped his neck. Scarface died instantly. Lin Tian threw the massive corpse aside like trash.

The canyon went silent. The four mercenaries froze, staring at their dead boss.

A Level 6 expert... killed in one move?

"Boss is dead!" a Level 5 mercenary stuttered.

"Attack together! Poison-Cloud strike!" another yelled.

Three mercenaries rushed forward, releasing a wave of toxic green Qi to blind Lin Tian.

Lin Tian didn’t blink. "Foolish."

Boom!

The ground broke under Lin Tian’s boots. He vanished into a blur of golden light. His pure Yang Qi burned the poison away instantly.

He appeared in front of the loudest mercenary. Lin Tian punched him directly in the chest.

BANG!

The Level 8 punch hit like a falling meteor. The mercenary’s ribs shattered. His chest burst open. He died before hitting the dirt.

The second mercenary panicked. He threw three poisoned knives at Lin Tian.

"Die, demon!"

Lin Tian easily swatted the knives away. The compressed Qi around his skin deflected the blades. Using his momentum, Lin Tian spun and kicked like an axe.

His boot hit the knife-thrower in the ribs. Bones snapped. The man flew into a rusted boulder and crumpled into a broken heap.

The last two mercenaries broke. They screamed in terror, dropped their swords, and ran into the fog.

"Did you think I would let you leave?" Lin Tian’s voice echoed.

He stepped forward. His hidden blade flashed twice.

Swish! Swish!

The two killers froze. Thin red lines appeared on their necks. Blood sprayed into the air. They collapsed into the mud, dying instantly.

(Eight seconds. All targets eliminated,) Lin Tian noted. His breathing was normal.

The fight was over. The elite killers were completely wiped out.

Lin Tian stood calmly in the mud. His dark robes were perfectly clean. He pulled his hidden blade back into his sleeve with a soft click.

He looked at the only living person left. Young Master Wang.

Wang stood frozen. His crazy smile was gone. His face showed pure horror. He shook violently. A yellow wet patch spread across his pants. He had wet himself in terror.

"N-No..." Wang cried, taking a shaking step back. "Y-You are a devil!"

His mind was broken. The ’trash’ scavenger was a terrifying expert.

Lin Tian walked toward him. His steps were slow and silent.

"Stay away!" Wang screamed.

He tried to crawl up the muddy hill but kept sliding down. Lin Tian grabbed Wang by his dirty collar and threw him onto the rocks.

Wang crashed into the mud. All his noble pride was gone. He groveled at Lin Tian’s boots, crying loudly.

"Don’t kill me! Please!" Wang begged, slamming his head into the dirt. "I was crazy! You are my lord! Spare my life!"

Wang looked up, covered in mud and tears. "I have secrets! I know where my father hid his spirit stones! Madam Shen is yours! Take everything! Just let me live as a dog!"

Lin Tian looked down at the crying boy.

To his calculating mind, a threat was only a threat if it could cause harm. Wang was now a broken coward with zero power.

But Lin Tian knew the brutal rules of this world. If Wang had won, he would have tortured Lin Tian for days. Showing mercy was a stupid mistake. Leaving him fine would invite trouble.

"I am not going to kill you, Wang," Lin Tian said smoothly.

Wang’s head snapped up. Desperate hope filled his eyes. "T-Truly? Thank you, Master!"

"Death is too easy," Lin Tian replied. His dark eyes grew cold. "You spent your whole life stepping on poor people. You called them trash because you were a Noble with cultivation. It is only fair that you live the exact life you hated."

Before Wang could understand, Lin Tian raised his heavy boot.

He pushed burning golden Yang Qi into his heel. With a brutal stomp, Lin Tian brought his boot down directly onto Wang’s stomach—right over his Dantian.

"NO—!"

CRACK! SHATTER!

A muffled explosion echoed inside Wang’s body. The golden Qi burned his meridians like hot lava. It destroyed his spiritual roots and completely shattered his Dantian. The cultivation base he built for years was wiped out in one second.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Wang let out a terrifying scream. His body arched off the ground. The shock of his foundation breaking destroyed his mind.

[System Notification: Target’s Dantian broken forever. Spiritual Roots destroyed. Cultivation Base erased.]

[Threat Level: Zero.]

Lin Tian pulled his boot back.

Wang lay twitching in the mud, white foam coming from his mouth. He wasn’t dead, but permanently crippled. He would never use Qi again. He was now weaker than a normal human. A true beggar in the slums.

"Live the rest of your life as the trash you truly are," Lin Tian said softly.

He walked away and moved from corpse to corpse. With expert hands, he looted their spatial pouches, spirit stones, and money. He packed their broken weapons to melt down later. Nothing was wasted.

After taking everything, Lin Tian adjusted his dark hood. The sect’s resources were laundered. The enemy was crippled forever. His path was clear.

Leaving the broken boy in the mud, Lin Tian walked into the yellow fog. He headed straight to the Underground Ghost Market to sell his scrap and fund his rise to power.

Two hours later, Lin Tian reached the Underground Ghost Market.

It was a massive cavern hidden deep beneath the toxic slums. Glowing green crystals lit up the dark stone walls. Thousands of rogue cultivators, thieves, and black-market merchants crowded the narrow streets. Everyone wore masks or dark cloaks to hide their identities.

Lin Tian walked past stalls selling illegal poison pills and stolen sect techniques. He didn’t stop. He headed straight to a large, heavily guarded stone building at the center of the market.

A sign above the iron door read: Shadow Iron Forge.

This was the best black-market material shop in the slums.

Two Level 7 guards blocked the door. They crossed their spears. "Entry fee is ten low-grade spirit stones," one guard grunted.

Lin Tian didn’t speak. He tossed a small bag. The guard caught it, checked the stones, and stepped aside.

Inside, the heat was intense. An old, scarred man with one eye sat behind a metal counter. He was a Level 9 Qi Gathering expert.

"What do you want, kid?" the old man asked, his one eye glaring at Lin Tian. "I only sell premium goods. No trash allowed."

Lin Tian walked to the counter. He waved his hand over the metal surface.

Clatter!

Twenty low-grade flying swords, five broken sabers, and three spiked maces crashed onto the counter. It was the "damaged" sect inventory and the dead mercenaries’ weapons.

"I am not here to buy trash," Lin Tian said smoothly, pulling his hood back slightly to show his cold eyes. "I am here to sell it. Melt these down. Give me pure Profound Iron, high-grade spirit ink, and a Tier-2 array carving pen. We have a lot of business to do."

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