Rot.
That was the first thing he smelled. Mildew. Damp wood. Old blood.
Then came the pain.
It wasn't a dull ache. It was a scream in his marrow. His ribs were powder. His dantian was a crushed grape. His lungs rattled like a bag of wet stones with every shallow breath.
The man who had once been **Demon Lord Asura** opened his eyes.
He saw a water-stained ceiling.
*Am I alive?*
He tried to move. His body refused. It was weak. Pathetic. A cough ripped through his chest, bringing up a mouthful of copper-tasting slime.
*Transmigration.*
The realization hit him cold and fast. He had died fighting the Alliance. They nuked the sector. He should be ash.
Instead, he was here.
Then, the memories spiked into his brain.
**Name:** Kaelen Vane.
**Rank:** Third Young Master.
**Status:** Cripple.
**Worth:** Zero.
The boy's life flashed in a montage of humiliation. Born with blocked meridians. Spat on by his father. Used as a punching bag by his brothers.
And the finale, just hours ago.
The Grand Hall.
His fiancée, Lady Elara, tossing the engagement ring into the mud. His older brother, Thorne, stomping on his chest. Laughing as ribs snapped. Just to impress the girl.
"Pathetic," the Sovereign rasped. His voice sounded like sandpaper. "You died of heartbreak? You let them break you?"
He looked at his hands. Pale. Trembling. Calloused from scrubbing floors, not holding swords.
"Useless."
*BANG.*
The door to the shack slammed open.
Wind and rain swept in. A man stepped through, holding a wooden bowl.
Servant Liu. A lackey who enjoyed kicking dogs.
Liu sneered.
"Still breathing?"
He walked over and kicked the bed frame. A fresh wave of agony shot through Kaelen's spine.
"Master Thorne bet ten spirit stones you'd be cold meat by sunset. You're costing him money, trash."
Liu tipped the bowl.
Grey, watery slop splashed onto the floor next to Kaelen's face.
"Eat off the wood. I'm not washing a bowl for a corpse."
Liu turned to leave, chuckling.
Kaelen stared at the slop. Then at Liu's back.
The old Kaelen would have cried. He would have eaten it.
The Sovereign felt a cold, familiar itch in his fingers.
"Pick it up."
The whisper was quiet. Deadly.
Liu stopped. He turned around, confused. "What?"
"I said," Kaelen forced himself to sit up, sweat beading on his forehead. "Pick it up. And apologize."
Liu stared. Then he grinned. An ugly, crooked thing.
"You think you're still a master? You're nothing! Less than a dog!"
Liu reached out. He grabbed a handful of Kaelen's hair, intending to slam his head into the wall.
Mistake.
Kaelen didn't resist. He went with the pull.
As Liu yanked, Kaelen lunged.
His thumb dug into the soft spot under Liu's jaw. He found the nerve cluster.
He pressed.
Liu's eyes bulged. His grip failed.
Kaelen didn't stop. He used his remaining strength to twist. Dragging the servant down onto the jagged, broken edge of the bed frame.
*CRUNCH.*
Wet. Heavy. Final.
Liu's windpipe collapsed against the wood.
The servant gagged. Clutching his throat. He thrashed like a fish on dry land. Staring at Kaelen with terrified, watering eyes. Begging.
Kaelen watched him.
His eyes were dead. Shark-like.
He didn't look away until the thrashing stopped.
"Garbage belongs in the bin," Kaelen muttered.
He leaned back, gasping. Black spots swam in his vision. That one move had nearly stopped his heart.
*I need energy. Or I die for real.*
*Ding!*
A sound echoed in his skull. Crisp. Artificial.
A blue screen flickered in the gloom.
> **[System Rebooting...]**
> **[Host: Anomaly Detected]**
> **[Soul Resonance: 100%]**
>
> **Welcome to the Sovereign Domination System.**
> *Objective: Survive.*
Kaelen let out a dry, bloody laugh.
"Give me the report."
> **[Status]**
> **Condition:** Critical.
> **Cultivation:** None.
>
> **[Starter Pack: Open?]**
"Open it."
> **[Received]**
> **1. Pill of Bone Forging (High Grade)**
> **2. Technique: Heaven-Devouring Scripture (Forbidden)**
> **3. Passive: Pain Nullification**
A small box appeared.
Kaelen swallowed the crimson pill inside.
It didn't heal him gently. It burned.
It felt like swallowing a live coal. The heat tore through his veins. Snapping ribs back into alignment with brutal efficiency.
If not for **[Pain Nullification]**, he would have passed out.
As his bones knit together, Kaelen accessed the memory of the *Heaven-Devouring Scripture*.
Normal cultivation absorbed Qi from nature. It was slow. Peaceful.
This technique was a parasite.
It ate everything. Life. Blood. Souls.
"Fitting."
Kaelen placed his hand on the dead servant.
He inhaled.
The lingering life force—the wisp of energy leaving the corpse—was caught in the suction. A grey stream of mist drifted from Liu's mouth into Kaelen's nose.
*Snap.*
Something inside his gut broke. The blockage shattered.
> **[System Alert]**
> **Blockage Removed.**
> **Cultivation Established: Body Refining Stage 1.**
Kaelen opened his eyes.
The hazel was gone. His irises were now a deep, abyssal black.
He stood up. The pain was gone. Replaced by a hum of power.
He looked out the window toward the Vane Manor.
He could hear music. Laughter. They were celebrating his annulment.
"Thorne. Elara. Father."
Kaelen stepped over the corpse. He walked out into the rain.
"Keep laughing," he whispered to the distant lights.
"I'm coming."