Chapter 4: The Voidheart Awakens
1009 Words
The night was unusually quiet.
Moonlight filtered through the broken roof of Lin Chen's small hut, casting pale silver light upon the worn wooden floor.
Lin Chen sat cross-legged with the old wooden sword resting across his knees.
His breathing gradually slowed until it became almost imperceptible.
His consciousness sank into his dantian.
There...
The tiny black seed floated silently.
The Voidheart Seed.
A fragment of the supreme cultivation technique that had once shaken the Nine Heavens.
"It survived..."
Lin Chen murmured.
"So Heaven has not completely abandoned me."
He extended his spiritual sense toward it.
The instant he touched the seed—
BOOM!
Darkness swallowed his consciousness.
...
He found himself standing in an endless black void.
No stars.
No sky.
No earth.
Only silence.
Then...
A gigantic pair of silver eyes slowly opened before him.
They were larger than mountains.
Ancient.
Emotionless.
A voice echoed through the void.
"Successor..."
Lin Chen frowned.
"I am no successor."
"I created the Voidheart Scripture."
The voice remained silent for a long moment.
Then it spoke again.
"The creator has died."
"The new bearer must begin anew."
The black seed erupted with dazzling silver light.
Countless golden characters floated before him.
---
Voidheart Scripture
First Layer
Void Devouring Art
"The Void devours all things."
"Qi, Blood, Souls, Fate..."
"Nothing is beyond consumption."
"Cultivate without fear."
"Devour without mercy."
---
Lin Chen slowly smiled.
"So only the first layer remains."
"It seems the higher chapters were destroyed during my self-detonation."
Although disappointed...
He wasn't worried.
He understood the technique better than anyone.
If necessary...
He would recreate every missing chapter himself.
Suddenly—
The black seed flew toward him.
It entered his chest.
Pain exploded through every meridian.
"Argh!"
Cracks spread across his skin.
His veins turned pitch black.
The Voidheart Seed began devouring the impurities hidden inside his body.
Years of accumulated toxins...
Damaged flesh...
Blocked meridians...
Everything was consumed.
The pain was unbearable.
But Lin Chen never cried out.
Compared to having his soul shattered by nine Sovereigns...
This was nothing.
Hours passed.
Then—
CRACK!
The blockage inside his main meridian shattered.
Spiritual Qi rushed into his body for the first time in years.
The Voidheart Seed greedily devoured it.
Instead of storing the Qi...
It refined it.
Purified it.
Compressed it.
Again.
And again.
And again.
When the process ended...
Only a single drop of jet-black spiritual essence remained.
Lin Chen slowly opened his eyes.
A faint black glow flashed across them before disappearing.
He exhaled.
Black smoke poured from his mouth.
The foul odor filled the hut.
He looked down at his body.
Every inch of his skin was covered in filthy black impurities.
His muscles had become lean and firm.
The weakness that had plagued him since awakening had nearly vanished.
He clenched his fist.
Boom!
The air exploded with a sharp sound.
A smile finally appeared.
"Body Tempering..."
"Fourth Stage."
Most cultivators required months to advance one stage.
He had done it in one night.
Yet...
Lin Chen frowned.
"Too slow."
If anyone else heard those words, they would probably cough blood.
One night.
One breakthrough.
And he called it slow.
He stood and picked up the wooden sword.
Closing his eyes, he casually swung it once.
Whoosh!
The sword produced a clear whistle.
Another swing.
Then another.
His movements became smoother with each strike.
Although the sword was rotten...
His Sword Dao remained perfect.
Outside...
Several disciples passing nearby suddenly stopped.
"What is that pressure?"
"It feels like..."
"...a sword master is practicing."
"Nonsense."
"This is the Outer Disciple area."
"Who here could produce Sword Intent?"
The pressure disappeared as quickly as it came.
Inside the hut, Lin Chen lowered the wooden sword.
His brows knitted together.
"My body cannot withstand true Sword Intent yet."
"If I force it..."
"It will shatter."
He needed resources.
Spirit stones.
Medicinal herbs.
Cultivation techniques.
Without them, his progress would be painfully slow.
Just then—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Violent knocks shook the wooden door.
"Lin Chen!"
"Come out!"
A familiar voice roared.
Senior Brother Zhao.
Lin Chen smiled faintly.
"So soon?"
He opened the door.
Outside stood Zhao...
Along with more than twenty Outer Disciples.
Standing at their center was a massive young man dressed in luxurious robes.
His aura far surpassed everyone present.
His eyes were filled with contempt.
"So..."
"You are the cripple who injured my men."
Lin Chen calmly met his gaze.
"And you must be Wang Hu."
The surrounding disciples gasped.
"He actually dared call Senior Brother Wang by his name!"
"He's dead."
"Wang Hu reached the Seventh Stage of Body Tempering last month."
"No one in the Outer Sect dares provoke him."
Wang Hu laughed coldly.
"I'll give you one chance."
"Kneel."
"Break both your own legs."
"Hand over every spirit stone you own."
"And bark three times."
"I may spare your life."
The crowd burst into laughter.
Everyone looked at Lin Chen with pity.
No one had ever refused Wang Hu's orders.
Lin Chen's expression remained calm.
Then...
He slowly raised the old wooden sword.
"I'll also give you one chance."
The laughter abruptly stopped.
"Kneel."
"Apologize."
"And compensate me with one hundred spirit stones."
"I'll pretend this never happened."
For a heartbeat...
Silence reigned.
Then the entire courtyard erupted into uproarious laughter.
"Hahaha!"
"He's insane!"
"One hundred spirit stones?"
"He's courting death!"
Wang Hu's face darkened.
A terrifying killing intent erupted from his body.
"Very well."
"You've chosen death."
He cracked his knuckles and stepped forward.
Each step left shallow footprints in the stone path.
Lin Chen tightened his grip on the wooden sword.
His eyes became as calm as a still lake.
One was the strongest Outer Disciple.
The other...
Was the reincarnated Sword Sovereign.
Only one would remain standing.
---
End of Chapter 4
Next Chapter: One Sword, One Defeat
The first true battle begins. Armed with nothing but a rotten wooden sword and the experience of a Sword Sovereign, Lin Chen faces Wang Hu, the tyrant of the Outer Sect, in front of hundreds of watching disciples.
- Writer
