The dust-choked tunnel reverberated with the disciples' laughter, sharp as shattering glass. Kang Wei, the lanky heir of Iron Fist Sect's outer elders, flicked his sleeve, unleashing a Qi-infused whip of wind blades. At Qi Refinement Layer 2, his power dwarfed any mortal—enough to shred steel.
"Bind the slave! His Qi fluctuation... impossible. Report to the elders; he might have a void-tainted physique. The sect master will extract it personally," Kang Wei sneered, eyes gleaming with greed. Void physiques were legends—ones that could devour and refine essences endlessly. If real, it'd skyrocket his status.
Lin Void stood unmoving amid the gore-slicked rubble, pickaxe gripped like a lifeline. The five disciples fanned out: two at Qi Refinement Layer 1, two at peak Mortal Body Layer 9, and Kang Wei leading. Slaves who survived cowered in corners, whispering prayers to forgotten gods.
*They see me as prey,* Lin thought, Eternal Void Physique humming in his veins. The devoured devourer essences swirled in his dantian, a black vortex hungry for more. *But I'm the hunter now.*
The first disciple lunged—a burly Mortal Body Layer 9 brute named Huo Li. "Die, worm!" His fists glowed with tempered Qi, smashing down like meteors.
Lin sidestepped, body blurring with Layer 6 speed. *Void Devour activate.* He countered with a palm strike to Huo's chest. Shadow Qi erupted—*crunch!*—ribs shattered, essence siphoned in a visible stream. Huo's eyes bulged, skin withering as his cultivation drained.
"You—how?!" Huo collapsed, a desiccated husk. **Ding! Devoured Mortal Body Layer 9 essence. Purity: Low. Mortal Body Realm Layer 7 breakthrough!**
The others froze, then exploded into action. Wind blades from Kang Wei sliced air, carving gouges in stone. Lin rolled, blades grazing his arm—blood welled, but the wound sealed instantly, absorbing the Qi. He charged the two Qi Refinement Layer 1 disciples.
One thrust a spear; Lin parried with the pickaxe, snapping the shaft. His free hand clamped the man's throat. *Suck.* Essence flooded in—Qi Refinement traces boosting his meridians. The disciple gurgled, body mummifying. **Layer 8!**
The second disciple panicked, hurling fire talismans. Explosions rocked the tunnel, flames licking Lin's skin. Pain flared, but Void Physique converted it to fuel. Lin emerged from the blaze, eyes pitch-black, and bisected the man with a pickaxe swing. Gore sprayed; another essence devoured. **Peak Layer 8! Borderline Layer 9.**
Kang Wei's face twisted in rage. "Formation—Crushing Fist Array!" He and the last Mortal Body Layer 9 disciple linked Qi, forming a glowing array of fists hammering down like an avalanche. The air compressed, crushing slaves nearby into paste.
Lin laughed, void aura flaring. The pressure bent around him, absorbed. He leaped into the array's heart, pickaxe shattering the links. The Layer 9 disciple's arm exploded first—Lin devoured mid-strike, hitting **Mortal Body Realm Layer 9!** Bones crackled as his physique perfected, every cell a void furnace.
Kang Wei backpedaled, summoning a low-grade spirit sword. "You monster! Elder Kang will avenge—" Sword Qi slashed, a crescent beam carving toward Lin's neck.
*Too slow.* Lin's hand shot out, catching the beam. Void Devour ate it whole, sword included. He closed the gap in a blink, fist slamming Kang's dantian. Qi Refinement essence poured out—pure, potent. Kang screamed, convulsing as his core ruptured.
"P-please... mercy..." Kang gasped, collapsing.
Lin's voice was ice. "Mercy? Like you showed the slaves?" He crushed Kang's skull, devouring the last drops. **Ding! Devoured Qi Refinement Layer 2 essence. Qi Refinement Realm Layer 1 unlocked! Eternal Void Physique evolution: Rift Summon (Minor – Call small void rifts on kills). Total kills: 12 (8 beasts, 4 humans).**
The tunnel fell silent, save for distant cave-ins from the earlier rift. Surviving slaves knelt, trembling. "Y-young hero... free us?"
Lin scanned the Qi crystals scattered amid corpses—enough for a fortune. "Follow if you want death or glory. Iron Fist Sect ends today."
He stepped over bodies, aura surging into Qi Refinement. A faint void rift flickered at his feet from the new ability, sucking in residual Qi. *Sect elders next. Their blood will forge my path.*
High above, in Iron Fist Sect's grand hall, alarms blared. "Anomalous Qi surge from the mines! Disciples unresponsive!"
An elder at Foundation Establishment Layer 1 frowned. "Send outer disciples. Crush whatever pestilence stirred the void."