Chapter 12: The Twelve Stages of Devouring
Xiao Chen's eyes were still wide with shock.
"What the hell..."
The old man immediately laughed.
"Hehehe..."
"Now you understand?"
"The Heavenly Dragon Sovereign Art is not some ordinary cultivation technique."
"It is a devouring technique."
"A cultivation technique created to swallow everything beneath the heavens."
Xiao Chen's expression slowly became serious.
"A devouring technique?"
The old man laughed proudly.
"That is right."
"There are twelve stages to the Heavenly Dragon Sovereign Art."
"Each stage allows your devouring power to become stronger."
"Each stage allows you to steal more from heaven and earth."
The old man paused for a moment before continuing.
"Let me explain the first few stages to you."
"Stage One is the weakest stage."
"At Stage One, your body will only be able to devour spirit Qi faster than ordinary cultivators."
"While others absorb one strand of Qi at a time..."
"You will absorb ten."
"While others need several days to break through..."
"You may only need a few hours."
Xiao Chen's breathing became slightly heavier.
That alone was already terrifying.
The old man continued.
"Stage Two is even more frightening."
"At Stage Two, you will be able to devour the Qi inside other people."
"You can steal the cultivation they spent years gathering."
"You can turn their strength into your own."
Xiao Chen sucked in a cold breath.
That ability was simply monstrous.
The old man laughed louder.
"And Stage Three..."
"At Stage Three, you can devour talent itself."
"You can steal spirit roots."
"You can steal bloodlines."
"You can steal physiques."
"You can even steal the natural gifts of other geniuses."
"You can make their talent become your talent."
Xiao Chen's heart violently shook.
Even his hands slightly trembled.
He had never heard of such a heaven-defying cultivation technique before.
No wonder the old man kept boasting.
No wonder the heavens feared this cultivation technique.
The old man snorted proudly.
"I will only explain up to Stage Three for now."
"If you become powerful enough in the future, I will explain Stage Four to you."
"But do you know why the heavens truly fear this cultivation technique?"
Xiao Chen slowly shook his head.
The old man's voice suddenly became much deeper.
"Because if you reach Stage Eleven..."
"You can devour heaven itself."
Xiao Chen froze.
The old man continued.
"And if you reach Stage Twelve..."
"You will not only be able to devour heaven."
"You will be able to devour all creation."
"You will be able to devour the stars."
"You will be able to devour worlds."
"You will be able to devour all living things and turn them into your own strength."
For a moment, the room became completely silent.
Xiao Chen could barely believe what he was hearing.
A cultivation technique that could devour heaven itself...
It sounded completely insane.
Even the legends he had heard as a child were not this ridiculous.
After a long silence, Xiao Chen finally spoke.
"Then what stage did you reach before you died?"
The old man suddenly became quiet.
His voice no longer sounded as proud as before.
A few moments later, he let out a sigh.
"I only reached Stage Seven."
Xiao Chen was stunned.
Only Stage Seven?
Yet the old man had spoken as if he had once stood above everyone in the world.
The old man seemed to understand what Xiao Chen was thinking.
He snorted coldly.
"Do not look down on Stage Seven."
"Even with only Stage Seven, I defeated countless geniuses."
"I rampaged beneath the heavens."
"No one could stop me."
"I stole treasures."
"I stole inheritances."
"I stole bloodlines."
"I stole cultivation."
"I stole everything worth stealing."
The old man's voice was filled with pride.
"In my era, people trembled when they heard my name."
"Entire sects ran away from me."
"Countless experts joined hands against me, yet none of them could defeat me."
"I fought against all the geniuses of my generation."
"And every single one of them lost."
Xiao Chen remained silent.
Even though the old man loved to boast...
At this moment, Xiao Chen strangely believed him.
If the Heavenly Dragon Sovereign Art was truly this terrifying...
Then perhaps the old man had really once been invincible.
Xiao Chen looked down for a moment.
Then he suddenly asked,
"If you were so powerful..."
"Then how did you die?"
The old man immediately became silent.
This time, the silence lasted much longer.
When he finally spoke again, his voice had become cold.
"This cultivation technique goes against the heavens."
"Every time I broke through a major cultivation realm..."
"The heavens would strike me down with tribulation lightning."
"It would try every possible way to kill me."
"Because this cultivation technique is the only thing in existence that can truly threaten heaven itself."
Xiao Chen quietly listened.
The old man continued.
"You must understand this before you decide to cultivate this technique."
"Yes, it will give you terrifying power."
"Yes, it will allow you to fight people above your cultivation realm."
"Yes, it will make you stronger than everyone around you."
"But this cultivation technique is hated by the heavens."
"And because of that..."
"The followers of heaven will also try to kill you."
Xiao Chen narrowed his eyes.
"Followers of heaven?"
The old man sighed.
"The followers of heaven are people who worship the heavens."
"They can communicate with heaven itself."
"The heavens grant them powerful physiques, powerful bloodlines, and terrifying talent."
"But no matter how talented they become..."
"They can never surpass heaven."
"Because heaven only gives them enough power to serve it."
"They are heaven's dogs."
"They listen to every command."
"And if heaven notices you in the future..."
"It will send those followers after you."
"They will try to hunt you down."
"They will try to kill you."
"So be ready for them."
Xiao Chen slowly memorized those words.
In his heart...
He silently created another name on his list.
The heavens were first.
Elder Kong was second.
And now...
The followers of heaven were third.
Since he had not met them yet, he did not hate them as much as Elder Kong.
But if they ever stood in his way in the future...
He would kill them all.
At that moment, Xiao Chen thought about Elder Kong once more.
That terrifying pressure.
That cold smile.
That look of contempt.
A violent light flashed through Xiao Chen's eyes.
But he quickly suppressed it.
Right now, he was still too weak.
Far too weak.
If he wanted revenge...
Then he first had to become stronger.
Xiao Chen slowly sat down cross-legged on the bed.
He closed his eyes.
He calmed his breathing.
"Time to start cultivating," he said quietly.