Chapter Two: Bone Plunder and the Scream of Ash
A funereal silence descended upon the Han Clan courtyard. Even the winds that usually wailed through the stone corridors seemed to have forgotten how to breathe. The scene was surreal—Fang Li, the youth everyone had long treated as a living punching bag, was now gripping Han Chen's ankle—the strongest of the younger generation—as if it were nothing more than a dry branch on the verge of snapping.
The power surging from Fang Li's hand was nothing like ordinary Ash Essence. It was dark and viscous, exuding a black heat that made the air itself tremble.
"Let go of me… you insect!" Han Chen roared. Rage and terror bled together in his voice. He lashed out with his free leg, but Fang Li did not budge even an inch. His ashen-gray eyes stared into empty space—or rather, into something no one else could see.
[Analyzing target: Han Chen…]
[Status: Severe panic. Energy circulation unstable.]
[Discovered Talent: "Limestone Bones" (Mortal Grade – Medium).]
[Effect: Grants the body enhanced resistance to physical attacks.]
[System Option: Activate "Primary Plunder Protocol"?]
[Note: Due to current level, the plunder process will be chaotic. Pain equivalent to soul-rending.]
The corners of Fang Li's mouth slowly lifted, forming a smile utterly devoid of human warmth.
"Plunder…" he whispered, as though chanting a forbidden incantation.
In that instant, Han Chen felt as if a bolt of molten steel had pierced his ankle and begun sucking out the marrow of his bones. A scream tore from his throat—so shrill it startled the gray birds perched atop the clan walls into flight.
"Stop! What are you doing?!" Elder Han Gu shouted from his platform, his body trembling. He didn't understand what was happening, but he could clearly see black strands of energy flowing from Han Chen's ankle into Fang Li's hand.
Fang Li paid the elder no attention.
An intoxicating sensation surged through him. With every passing second, his body felt heavier—denser, more solid, more powerful. The childhood memories the system had "burned away" now seemed like a laughably small price to pay for this overwhelming sense of strength.
[Fusing "Stone Bones" into host's cauldron…]
[Completion: 40%… 70%… 100%!]
[Congratulations! Target's core talent successfully stolen.]
[Han Chen's cultivation has fallen to: Failed Cultivator.]
Fang Li flung Han Chen's leg aside as though tossing away trash. Han Chen collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air, his face pale as a corpse. The leg that had once been as sturdy as stone now lay withered and useless.
"My power… my cauldron…" Han Chen muttered in disbelief, only to find a horrifying emptiness where everything had once been. It was all gone.
Fang Li turned and began walking toward the platform where Elder Han Gu stood. His steps were slow, yet with each one, the gray frost beneath his feet melted away, evaporating into wisps of black vapor.
"You said I stole an herb for the sake of riffraff, Elder Han," Fang Li said, his voice echoing with chilling clarity across the courtyard.
"Now, I've stolen your nephew's talent for myself. Will you call this a 'sin' as well? Or is it power that decides who is right and who is wrong?"
"You cursed rebel!" Elder Han Gu bellowed. Violent gray energy erupted from his body. He stood at the Smoke Condensation Realm, far above Fang Li's current level.
"I don't care what kind of black sorcery you used," the elder snarled, "you will not leave this courtyard alive!"
He leapt from the platform like a wounded hawk, his outstretched hand forming a claw of condensed ash energy aimed straight at Fang Li's throat. The strike was so fast that the onlookers saw only a flash.
But in Fang Li's eyes, everything slowed.
[Alert: Enemy of "Smoke Condensation" Realm (Fifth Level) approaching.]
[Estimated mortality rate in direct confrontation: 92%.]
[System Suggestion: Use excess plunder energy to activate "Smoldering Ash Shield" for 3 seconds.]
[Cost: Loss of the ability to feel "joy" for one full month.]
A bitter, pitch-black laugh echoed within Fang Li's mind.
"Joy? In this gray world?"
"Take all of it—and give me the power to shatter this hypocritical old man's bones!"
[Accepted. Shield activated!]
When Elder Han Gu's claw struck Fang Li's neck, it did not tear through flesh as expected. Instead, it collided with an invisible layer of black flame erupting from Fang Li's body.
BOOM!
The elder was hurled backward, eyes wide with shock. His fingers felt scorched—not by ordinary fire, but by flames that gnawed at the soul itself, inducing instant nausea and dread.
Fang Li remained where he stood, not even a strand of hair disturbed. His hands had taken on a gray, metallic sheen—the result of merging the Stone Bones talent. He slowly turned toward the crowd, his gaze settling on Xiao Lan.
She trembled. The pouch of ash stones slipped from her grasp and hit the ground. The illusion of safety shattered. In Fang Li's eyes, she saw no hatred—only absolute emptiness. The gaze of someone who had stared into the abyss of emotion… and leapt.
"Xiao Lan," Fang Li called softly.
Her body froze. "F–Fang Li… I… I was forced—"
"Don't ruin the moment with such cheap excuses," he interrupted coldly.
"You taught me a valuable lesson today. Loyalty is merely a commodity that hasn't found the right buyer."
He then turned his gaze back to Elder Han Gu. "And now… it's time to teach this clan another lesson—what ash tastes like when one is forced to swallow it."
Fang Li spread his palms. The system screen before his eyes began flashing a deep crimson.
[Warning: Host is exceeding the limits of the current body.]
[Extreme Fusion Option: Merge "Ash Cauldron" with ambient atmospheric essence to create a Gray Detonation?]
[Result: Half the courtyard destroyed.]
[Cost: Coma for 3 days. Temporary loss of tactile sensation.]
Fang Li smiled as members of the clan began moving to surround him.
"System…" he murmured,
"let me show them how ash truly burns."