Chapter 2: The Path Reawakened
"System… show me what remains."
The voice of Luo Tianren echoed faintly within the void, commanding a presence that had once brought kings to their knees. Though weakened, his soul burned with divine will.
Ding!
[Status Interface: Initialized]
[Host: Luo Tianren]
[Cultivation: —]
[Realm: Mortal Vessel (Suppressed)]
[Divine Path: Forbidden]
[System: Path of Annihilation — Recalibrating…]
[Available Trait: Sovereign Embers (Dormant)]
A translucent screen floated before him, shaped by ancient runes and glowing gold-red script. But most of it was locked, sealed by divine authorities long erased from history.
"Tch. They even branded my soul to prevent rebirth."
He stared at the "Forbidden" tag over his cultivation path. No realm. No dantian. No spiritual root.
In the cultivation world, this was a fate worse than death—crippled from rebirth. But Luo Tianren was not just any cultivator.
"You sealed my power. Not my mind."
He pressed his palm to the cracked crystal beneath him. The ancient runes there—forgotten scripts of the Void Sect—lit up in response.
Ding!
[Manual Override Detected… Accessing Hidden Codex: Codex of Sovereign Flame]
[System Trait Activated: Ember of Origin]
[Restoring First Forbidden Skill…]
[Skill Acquired: Ashen Rebirth (Passive)]
—When host suffers mortal suppression, convert spiritual void into Sovereign Embers.
And suddenly, heat surged through his bones.
A black flame—neither divine nor demonic—sparked within his chest. It coiled like a serpent, whispering truths of annihilation and rebirth.
He gasped.
The air around him began to twist, sucked into the seal's cracks. The ancient tomb of silence now roared with rising power.
"The Path of Annihilation… it still obeys me."
His gaze sharpened. The enemies of his past had moved on, forgetting the wrath they buried. But now, the sealed god they condemned was regaining footing.
And he would ascend again—not by following the Dao, but by shattering it.
Meanwhile… in the Outer Realms
A celestial observatory deep within the Heavenly Watch stirred.
An old oracle, eyes glazed white with prophecy, dropped his staff and knelt.
"The seal… it fractures!"
Above him, the stars shifted.
In the highest heavens, where ancient gods slumbered, a warning bell tolled.
[Divine Realm Alert: Entity #000 – Status: Anomaly Detected]
[Possible Reawakening: Eternal Sovereign]
[Protocol: Hunt. Silence. Seal Again.]
Back in the abyss, Luo Tianren stood tall.
"Come then. Send your hounds. Send your gods."
"Let them try to seal me again."
His voice echoed as his system pulsed.
Ding!
[Next Objective Unlocked: Break into Foundation Realm within 7 days. Consequence of failure: System Reboot & Memory Loss.]
He clenched his fist. Challenge accepted.
The realms above had forgotten his name.
But now, they'd remember why it was erased.