The wind tore through Yunlai Village like a blade, carrying ash and the stench of fire. Liang Ze ran, lungs burning, heart pounding in his chest. Behind him, the screams of his neighbors were cut short by the clash of steel and the roar of energy blasts that shattered homes.
He skidded around a corner, narrowly avoiding a spike of blue flame that scorched the earth. "Why… why are they attacking?" he gasped, dragging himself to cover behind a crumbled wall. His hands were scratched, his robes tattered, but he had no time to tend to wounds.
A towering figure emerged from the smoke—black armor glinting with crimson runes, eyes like burning coals. Sect warriors. He had seen them in his nightmares but never imagined they would come to Yunlai, his insignificant little village.
"Liang Ze… is that you?" a trembling voice called. He turned to see his childhood friend, Wei Yun, clutching a pitchfork like it could stop death itself.
"Run, Yun! Just run!" Liang Ze shouted. "There's no fighting them!"
Wei Yun hesitated, eyes wide, as a massive figure raised its hand. Lightning crackled along the runes embedded in its gauntlet. The next moment, a gust of energy slammed into the dirt between them, throwing Wei Yun backward. His scream echoed, then went silent.
Liang Ze's stomach churned. His best friend… gone.
"Damn it!" he spat, forcing himself up. He couldn't cry. Not now. Not with those monsters hunting him. His parents were already gone—he had found their bodies just this morning, charred and broken. The fire hadn't just taken his home. It had taken everything.
And now, it was his turn.
---
He ran. Through alleys, over rubble, across the shattered remnants of his village. The sect warriors moved with terrifying precision, their movements like a choreographed dance of death. Liang Ze felt weaker than ever. He wasn't a fighter. He had no cultivation, no talent. Just… determination.
And a strange, pulsing pain in his chest.
It started faint, like a heartbeat echoing in his bones. He stumbled, clutching his chest, and the world blurred. Then, a soft voice, almost a whisper, resonated in his mind:
"User detected. System online. Initialization complete."
Liang Ze froze. His legs threatened to give out, but he forced himself to keep moving. The voice spoke again, clear this time.
"Artifact acquired. Liang Ze, you have been chosen. Leveling system engaged. Confirm initialization?"
"What… what are you?" Liang Ze panted, leaning against a collapsed wall, trying to catch his breath.
"I am your system. I will guide you, train you, and unlock your potential. Confirm?"
His mind reeled. A system? This had to be a hallucination. But the tingling in his chest grew, spreading warmth through his body, and he felt… different. Stronger. Faster. More aware.
"Y-Yes!" he blurted, voice trembling.
"Confirmation received. User stats initializing…"
A holographic interface, only visible to him, shimmered in the air. Numbers, bars, and strange symbols scrolled rapidly. "Attributes detected: Vitality 45, Strength 38, Agility 50, Intelligence 62. Current Level: 1."
Liang Ze blinked. It didn't make sense. He was a nobody, a weak orphan. And yet, the system… it said otherwise.
"First skill unlocked: Shadow Step. Use to evade attacks or strike unseen. Energy cost: minimal."
The ground shook as a sect warrior slammed into the debris nearby, crushing what remained of Liang Ze's neighbor's house. His instincts screamed, and without thinking, he pressed his hands to the ground. Shadows swirled, and in a blink, he was behind the warrior.
The man spun, eyes wide, but Liang Ze had vanished again, moving like a wraith between debris and flame. "What… what is this power?" he whispered.
The sect warrior roared, swinging a massive sword imbued with lightning. Liang Ze ducked, felt a surge of energy as the system guided him. A number flashed above his head: XP +12.
"What the hell…" he muttered.
---
He didn't stop. Every turn, every alleyway was a death trap, but he found himself moving with unnatural speed. The system instructed, and he obeyed instinctively: evasion, counter, retreat, analysis.
Finally, he stumbled into the remnants of the village square. The heart of the carnage. Homes were rubble, corpses smoldering, smoke curling into the blood-red sky. And there, at the center, a man in black robes stood over a figure… his father.
Liang Ze froze. His father's body, lifeless, burned at the edges. The sect leader looked up, a cruel smile on his pale face. "So, this is the little weakling everyone talks about? The orphan who can't even protect his home?"
Liang Ze's blood boiled. Rage, grief, and fear collided into something explosive. He felt the system hum in his chest, guiding, tempting, urging him forward.
"Activate skill: Shadow Strike."
He leaped. Shadows wrapped his limbs like liquid. He struck with everything he had, energy surging through his fists, but the man caught him mid-air effortlessly, tossing him across the square. Liang Ze crashed into the remains of a burned house, coughing, blood streaking his mouth.
"You're weak," the man sneered, approaching. Lightning arced along his fingers. "Pathetic."
Liang Ze wiped the blood from his face. "I… I won't stay weak!" he shouted. And for the first time, he felt something awaken deep inside. The system glowed, pulsing, like a heartbeat.
"User level up! Level 2! Attribute points available: 5."
Numbers flashed above his head. Strength +2, Agility +1, Intelligence +2. Skills ready to upgrade. Liang Ze's hands shook with newfound energy.
"I… I don't care if I'm weak! I… I'll get stronger!"
The sect leader laughed, dark and cruel. "You? Strong? Pathetic boy. You're already dead."
Liang Ze gritted his teeth. The shadows around him thickened, almost sentient, twisting and coiling like serpents. He focused, channeling the system's instructions, each movement precise, calculated.
A vortex of shadow slammed into the sect leader, knocking him back several meters. The man's eyes widened, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.
"You… what?"
Liang Ze's voice was calm now, deadly. "I'm not the weakling you think I am. I… am just beginning."
---
The battle raged. Lightning clashed with shadows. Liang Ze dodged, struck, countered, and evaded with inhuman speed. Each action leveled him up, XP flashing with each blow landed, each dodge executed perfectly.
Finally, the leader, chest heaving, raised his hand for a massive strike. Lightning crackled, creating a storm around him. Liang Ze's vision blurred—if that hit him, it would kill him instantly.
"System… guidance!" he shouted.
"Use Shadow Step + Shadow Strike combination. Focus on weak points."
Liang Ze nodded, heart pounding. He vanished from sight. Shadows curled around the leader's vision. In the next heartbeat, Liang Ze struck at the joints, the throat, the eyes—targeting weaknesses the system had highlighted.
The leader screamed as he was thrown off balance, crashing into the ground. The remaining sect warriors froze, shocked, before fleeing into the smoke.
Liang Ze dropped to his knees, gasping, chest heaving. The system's voice resonated again.
"Warning: Critical trauma detected. Apply healing skill?"
Liang Ze's hand hovered, still shaking. "Not… yet." He looked at the ruin around him. His village. His family. Everything destroyed. "I… I will rise. I will become stronger than anyone… anyone who dares touch me!"
The system pulsed in approval. "User resolve confirmed. Main quest unlocked: Revenge and Awakening. Leveling continues."
Liang Ze wiped the soot and blood from his face, his eyes cold and determined. The weak orphan was gone. In his place stood a survivor… a hunter… a shadow prodigy.
And this was only the beginning.
---
Smoke and flames swirled around him as he walked away from the ashes of Yunlai Village. Every step carried hatred, grief, and a burning desire for power. He would hunt them all down—every last sect member responsible for this massacre.
Because now, he had the system. Now, he had the power to rise.
And the world would tremble when Liang Ze walked in the shadows.