The forest was silent — too silent.
Rian stepped through the charred soil where his sect once stood. The scent of ashes and blood still lingered, a cruel reminder of everything he had lost.
Every broken tile, every shattered sword, whispered the same thing — revenge.
> [Nano Scan Activated... Traces of Spirit Energy detected.]
Silver threads of light formed in Rian's eyes, mapping the terrain like a living radar. He could see residual qi patterns — the signature of those who had attacked.
The Azure Spirit Sect's elites. His former brothers.
Rian's hand trembled, but his voice was cold.
"So it's true… they came back to finish the corpses."
He knelt beside the ruins, his fingers brushing a shattered pendant — the insignia of his junior sister, Lin Yue.
His pulse quickened. She had tried to protect him… and died for it.
> [Emotional surge detected. Warning: Host's vitals unstable.]
[Do you wish to initiate Nano Core Stabilization?]
Rian exhaled slowly. "No. I need this anger. It keeps me human."
He turned his gaze toward the mountain trail ahead — the path leading to the Azure outpost.
That was where his first target waited: Elder Feng, the one who betrayed him.
As he walked, silver energy began to pulse from beneath his skin. Each step resonated with the Nano Spirit's rhythm — a low hum like metal singing in harmony with the wind.
> [System Notice: Skill unlocked — Nano Pulse]
Effect: Enhances speed, reaction time, and qi flow by 300% for 30 seconds.
Rian smirked. "Perfect."
When he reached the outpost, the guards didn't even see him coming.
One by one, they fell — their spiritual cores disintegrated as silver nanites devoured them silently. No screams. No mercy.
Inside the outpost's inner hall, Elder Feng sat meditating, unaware of the death creeping toward him.Until Rian spoke.
"Elder Feng," he said softly, "Did you enjoy killing your disciple?"
The old man's eyes snapped open. "You—! Impossible! You should be dead!"
> "I was," Rian whispered. "But death gave me something better."
He raised his palm. Silver light burst forth, forming a spear of living metal.
Elder Feng tried to summon his qi barrier, but it shattered the moment the spear struck. The Nano Spirit's power consumed him from the inside, turning his body to dust.
When silence returned, Rian stood amidst the remains, expression unreadable.
Then he looked up at the night sky.
"One down," he muttered.
"The Azure Spirit Sect will pay — every last one of them."
A faint female voice echoed in his mind — the Nano Spirit.
> "Revenge is only the beginning, Rian. You are evolving beyond this world's laws."
Rian's eyes glowed once more, brighter than before.
> "Then I'll make the laws kneel before me."
And with that, he vanished into the mist, his aura leaving only traces of silver dust — the mark of the first Nano Cultivator.