Chapter Two: The Legacy That Recognizes No Sects
The裂 in the mountain did not heal.
It widened.
Lin Chi stood alone at the edge, the wind tearing at his tattered robe. Beneath his feet, the depth was dark like the maw of an ancient beast. Above him… were the eyes of the sects.
No one moved.
The reason was simple.
Anyone who drew closer felt that one more step meant annihilation.
Inside him, the legacy stirred.
Not like a voice…
but like a pulse.
A pulse without law.
[Legacy of Forgotten Chaos – Stage One]
Status: Unstable
Trait: Ignores traditional paths
Warning: Every use = loss of something
Lin Chi clenched his fist.
Loss of what?
The legacy did not answer.
The Elder of the Azure Sword Sect stepped forward one last time and raised his hand.
"Lin Chi, you can still live."
Lin Chi laughed.
It was not a loud laugh…
but the laughter of someone who had finally understood.
"You speak as if living was ever a choice."
He raised his sword.
He did not channel energy.
He did not invoke a technique.
He simply… cut.
The air split.
The sword did not touch the elder.
Yet the elder staggered back three steps, spat blood, his eyes filled with terror.
"What is this…?"
It was not a strike.
It was erasure.
Lin Chi turned away.
"Those who wish to remain—withdraw."
For the first time in hundreds of years—
the sects retreated.
City of the Ten Paths
After two days of travel, the city appeared.
Black walls.
Gates carved with dozens of symbols.
And people… whose levels could not be easily read.
The City of the Ten Paths.
Here, no one asks about your sect.
Nor your origin.
Only your strength.
Lin Chi entered.
And the moment he stepped through the gate—
the legacy trembled.
[Neutral Zone Discovered]
[Paths Overlapping]
[Opportunity: Unannounced Trial]
He did not notice.
But others did.
In one of the alleys, a thin young man had been following him for three streets.
And on a nearby rooftop, a girl in a gray cloak watched him in silence.
The trial came quickly.
Three men blocked the road.
"A stranger," one of them said.
"You're new… and this district doesn't like newcomers."
Lin Chi did not stop.
He walked past them.
When one of them tried to grab him—
he vanished.
Not speed.
Emptiness.
He appeared behind him and delivered a short strike.
Bone shattered.
A scream.
The other two retreated.
[Ability Acquired: Void Step – Incomplete]
Description: Movement without a defined path
Constraint: Consumes short-term memory
Lin Chi felt a slight dizziness.
Memory?
He did not understand, but he moved on.
On the rooftop, the girl smiled.
"So… you don't belong to any path."
She jumped.
And landed in front of him.
"My name is Xiao Yin," she said.
"And I suggest you don't walk alone in this city."
He looked at her.
"Why?"
She smiled—half friendship… half trap.
"Because the city loves to swallow those who don't understand its rules."
In a distant place within the city,
three elders convened.
"Are you certain?"
"Yes. The legacy has stirred."
"Then release the hunters."