The air above Azure City's walls vibrated with the roars of the beast tide, a cacophony that drowned out the cries of defenders. The Eclipse Wyrm loomed over the battlefield, its massive body coiling like a living storm cloud, its scales glinting with fractured starlight. Its void energy beam had carved a smoking trench through the outer ramparts, and lesser mutants—Shadow Wolves, Ironclad Boars, and venomous Rift Vipers—swarmed through the breach. The city's spirit arrays flickered, strained to their limits.
Kai Chen gripped his borrowed spear, its iron shaft cold against his calloused hands. His heart pounded, but the star seed in his dantian pulsed with a strange eagerness, as if it thrived on the chaos. At Body Refinement Realm, Level 2, he was barely a cultivator, yet the legacy's power urged him forward. "This is insane," he muttered, dodging a Viper's snapping jaws. "But I can't run now."
Cultivators from the Iron Fist Sect and Azure Blade Sect manned the walls, their Qi blasts lighting up the night. A burly man in iron-plated robes landed beside Kai, his aura heavy with mid-Qi Condensation strength. "Kid, get back!" he barked, fists glowing with earthen energy. "That Wyrm's Rank 5. You're just fodder out here."
Kai recognized him—Li Wei, an outer elder of the Iron Fist Sect, known for his brutal training methods. "I can fight," Kai shot back, his voice steadier than he felt. He thrust his spear, piercing a Shadow Wolf's flank. The beast yelped, and Kai instinctively pressed his hand to its wound. The star seed stirred, drawing in wisps of essence. His muscles tightened, strength surging as he hit Level 3. "I'm not useless."
Li Wei snorted but didn't argue, turning to smash an Ironclad Boar into the ground. "Prove it then, scavenger!"
The battlefield was chaos. Cultivators unleashed techniques—fire lances, wind blades, stone spikes—while mutants retaliated with claws and venom. Kai weaved through the fray, his newfound speed letting him dodge attacks that would've killed him hours ago. The star seed guided him, its energy sharpening his senses. He could feel the essences of fallen beasts, like faint pulses in the air, and absorbed them with every kill. Each wisp pushed his Essence Points (EP) higher, his Gene Level (GL) creeping toward 1.3x.
But the Eclipse Wyrm was the real threat. Its eyes, glowing like twin voids, locked onto Kai, as if drawn to the star seed. It reared, unleashing another beam. Kai dove behind a shattered wall, the blast vaporizing a squad of defenders nearby. Screams echoed, cut short by the crunch of collapsing stone.
"Why's it targeting me?" Kai gasped, clutching his spear. The star seed pulsed, and a faint voice whispered in his mind: It senses the legacy. Devour or be devoured. The words sent a chill down his spine, but they also ignited a spark of defiance. If this power had saved him from the Star Devourer, it could handle this.
He sprinted toward the breach, where the Wyrm's tail lashed, toppling a watchtower. Cultivators shouted for him to stop, but Kai ignored them. The star seed's energy surged, forming a faint aura around his spear. He leaped onto the Wyrm's tail, its scales cold and slick under his boots. The beast thrashed, nearly throwing him off, but he clung on, climbing toward its back.
"Kid, you're suicidal!" Li Wei roared, fending off a pack of wolves below. But Kai didn't falter. He'd spent years surviving the Wilds; he wasn't about to die now.
The Wyrm's scales were tough, resisting his spear's thrusts. Kai focused, channeling the star seed's energy into his weapon. The spearhead glowed faintly, and he stabbed, cracking a scale. Ichor oozed, black and viscous. The beast roared, its head whipping around. Kai ducked under a snapping maw, the size of a house, and kept climbing.
He reached its neck, where a faint glow pulsed—its essence core, buried beneath layers of armor. "There!" he thought, gripping the spear with both hands. But the Wyrm sensed him. It coiled, its body tightening to crush him. Kai's ribs creaked, pain flaring, but he refused to let go.
"Devour!" he shouted, echoing the legacy's voice. The star seed responded, forming a crude vortex in his palm—a swirling mass of energy, like a tiny black hole. He pressed it against the Wyrm's neck, and the vortex sucked in a stream of the beast's essence. The Wyrm shrieked, its movements slowing as Kai's strength surged. His EP spiked, pushing him to Body Refinement Level 4. His GL hit 1.5x, his body tougher, faster.
With a final burst, Kai drove his spear into the cracked scale, piercing toward the core. The Wyrm thrashed wildly, flinging him off. He hit the ground hard, rolling to avoid a collapsing wall. The beast's core flickered, damaged but intact. It reared for another attack, but Li Wei and other cultivators seized the chance, bombarding it with Qi blasts.
Kai staggered to his feet, blood dripping from a gash on his arm. The star seed burned, urging him to finish it. He charged again, dodging a tail swipe, and leaped onto the Wyrm's head. Its eye, a glowing void, stared into him, as if recognizing the legacy. Kai roared, plunging his spear into the eye socket. The weapon sank deep, and he twisted, shattering the core.
The Eclipse Wyrm convulsed, its body dissolving into a storm of dark energy. A massive essence core, the size of a boulder, crashed to the ground, pulsing with power. The tide faltered, lesser beasts retreating without their leader. Cheers erupted from the defenders, though many lay dead or wounded.
Kai collapsed, gasping. His body ached, but the star seed hummed, stronger than ever. He'd jumped to Level 5, his GL nearing 2x. He could feel the core's energy calling to him, but before he could reach it, Li Wei grabbed his shoulder.
"Who are you, boy?" the elder demanded, his eyes narrowing. "No scavenger fights like that. You've got a technique, don't you?"
"Kai Chen," he panted. "Just… a scavenger with luck."
"Luck?" Li Wei scoffed. "That was the Star Swallowing Art, wasn't it? Where'd you get it?"
Kai tensed. The jade slip was still in his cloak, unbartered. He hadn't even studied it yet, but the star seed had guided his vortex instinctively. "I don't know what you're talking about," he lied, avoiding the elder's gaze.
Li Wei studied him, then grunted. "You've got talent, kid. The Iron Fist Sect could use someone like you. Join us, and you'll get resources—manuals, pills, maybe even a master."
Kai hesitated. The sect meant safety, training, but also chains. Scavengers valued freedom, even if it came with hunger. But the Wyrm's core was too valuable to carry alone, and the legacy was drawing attention. He needed allies.
"I'll think about it," Kai said, standing. He glanced at the core, now surrounded by sect disciples. "That core's mine, though."
Li Wei laughed. "Bold! We'll see about that. Help clean up this mess, and we'll talk."
As Kai joined the defenders, salvaging cores and tending to the wounded, he felt a prickle on his neck. In the distance, beyond the ruined walls, a cloaked figure watched—the same one from the storm. Its void-like eyes locked onto Kai, and a faint smile curled its lips. "The Eternal Star grows," it whispered, voice carried by the wind. "But it's not ready… not yet."
Kai didn't see the figure, but the star seed pulsed, a warning of danger. As he helped drag a fallen beast's corpse, a young cultivator approached, his robes pristine despite the battle. He was tall, with sharp features and an arrogant smirk—Jian Luo, an inner disciple of the Iron Fist Sect.
"You're the scavenger who killed the Wyrm?" Jian Luo asked, his tone dripping with disdain. "Impressive… for a rat. But don't get cocky. That core's going to the sect, not your filthy hands."
Kai's fists clenched. The star seed flared, urging him to fight, but he held back. "We'll see," he said coldly.
Jian Luo sneered and walked away, but his words lingered like a challenge. Kai looked at the Wyrm's core, now being carted off by sect elders. That power could push him further, maybe unlock the Star Swallowing Art's secrets. But enemies were circling—Jian Luo, the mysterious figure, maybe even the sect itself.
As the city's arrays stabilized and the tide's remnants fled, Kai made a decision. He'd join the Iron Fist Sect, but not as a pawn. He'd claim that core, master the legacy, and carve his own path. But first, he needed to survive the sect's trials—and the eyes watching from the shadows.
End of chapter 3