Little Pink Starfish

Beaten and humiliated once again, those whom Qiguan Rui had once tormented now turned to torment him in return.

But the Qiguan Rui of today was no longer the same as before.

In the past, he endured to suffer less harm, but now, he endured for the sake of rising again in the future.

Qiguan Rui swore that when he stood back up, he would no longer hold onto any so-called familial ties. Anyone who did not submit to him—he would eradicate them all!

However, having his martial body crippled and losing all his strength… No matter how much he endured, the pain of such a downfall was unbearable.

And in this agony, Qiguan Rui’s heart grew colder and harder, while his emotions became increasingly numb.

He thought to himself: Ah, just how foolish was I before? Aren’t all relationships between people simply about ruling and being ruled? What is family? What are relatives? I only need to control those who are useful and eliminate everything that isn’t.

At first, these thoughts only surfaced in his most painful moments, but as time passed and his hopes of restoring his martial body faded, they became the very belief that kept him alive.

One day, after being beaten unconscious once again, he found himself recalling something from long ago.

He remembered Ziche Shubai.

The only person who had ever been kind to him. The one who had never despised him, even when he was nothing more than dirt beneath others’ feet.

At that moment, Qiguan Rui even had the urge to rush to the mountain cave and dig out the jade pendant.

And that was when he realized—he hadn’t forgotten that childhood memory at all. No, it remained vivid in his mind, as if it had happened just yesterday.

He wanted to take the jade pendant and find Ziche Shubai, to ask him if he had lied to him as well.

But Qiguan Rui didn’t move.

With his current abilities, he couldn’t even protect the jade pendant.

What followed was nothing but continued humiliation.

The head of the Luo family, who had once fawned over him and planned to marry his daughter to him, now wouldn’t spare him so much as a glance.

Qiguan Rui had already expected it—his engagement with Luo Susu wouldn’t last.

Luo Susu was a beauty. He had once thought marrying a beauty would be nice, but now, he saw her as nothing more than a venomous snake. He would never again invest any feelings in someone like that.

In fact, he felt fortunate. If he hadn’t seen Luo Susu’s true nature now, if he had actually married her and developed feelings for her, only to be betrayed later—his humiliation wouldn’t have been just a blow to his pride.

But then, one day, while being kicked and beaten, he overheard something that made his blood run cold.

Luo Susu hadn’t just annulled their engagement—she was going to marry the Lord of Tiandu City.

…Wasn’t that Ziche Shubai?

He had once believed that even though Ziche Shubai had concealed his surname, the fact that he revealed his identity before leaving was proof that he valued him.

But why? Why did it have to be him marrying that woman who had humiliated him?!

This was betrayal.

Even Ziche Shubai was going to betray him!

A powerful sense of unwillingness and grief surged within Qiguan Rui, causing his eyes to turn blood-red.

That very night, he staggered toward the back mountain. He had to find the jade pendant immediately and confront Ziche Shubai!

At this point, his martial body was beyond recovery. At worst, he would be beaten to death by a heartless Ziche Shubai.

And what of it?

Covered in wounds, Qiguan Rui failed to notice the figures trailing behind him.

The same people who had tormented him during the day refused to let him go even now. They followed him to the cave, watched as he dug up the jade pendant, and then attempted to snatch it from him!

Qiguan Rui fought desperately, clutching the jade pendant as he fled.

But as he ran, he was overcome with hatred. And then, in an act of sheer defiance—he threw himself off a cliff.

He would rather die than let them have even a sliver of what was his!

This leap off the cliff became the second major turning point in his life.

A terrifying power erupted within Qiguan Rui’s bloodline, as though ready to devour him whole. A violent, murderous intent flooded his mind, bringing searing pain to his head. And yet, at the same time—it filled him with an indescribable ecstasy.

This is what it feels like to be alive!

This is what power feels like!

Boundless energy surged through his entire being, setting his body ablaze. A distant, ancient voice echoed in his mind, awakening something buried deep within his bloodline. An endless stream of information poured into his consciousness, and in just a single instant—he understood his true lineage.

The Bloodline of the Heaven-Devouring Serpent!

Those who had scorned his mother could never have imagined—she was a descendant of the Heaven-Devouring Serpent!

Qiguan Rui possessed every trait of an ancient celestial python, and so, he smoothly inherited its legacy.

In that moment, he was no longer a dragon cast into the mud. He was a hidden dragon plunging into the abyss, awaiting the moment to soar into the skies!

And now—he was in no rush.

The Heaven-Devouring Serpent devoured all without exception. The remnant of his Dao-Tian Martial Body had been consumed by his insatiable bloodline, but his body still craved more.

He needed… more power.

With his newly awakened abilities, Qiguan Rui no longer feared anyone. Transforming into a massive python, he shot up from the abyss beneath the cliff.

The men who had pursued him—who had tried to steal his jade pendant—were caught in his snake’s fangs. He drained their blood, consuming the latent martial energy hidden within.

Soon, his strength was restored.

After carelessly discarding the corpses into the canyon below, Qiguan Rui, under the cover of night, sped back to his clan.

His first act would be to devour his so-called “aunt” and her bloodline.

The Heaven-Devouring Serpent needed no kin—only one heir.

It was easy. His martial prowess far surpassed hers. He had awakened his bloodline, while hers had remained dormant. And now that he had fully accepted his inheritance, her bloodline was no longer recognized.

Only one Heaven-Devouring Serpent could exist in this world. For another to appear, they would be doomed to a battle to the death.

Qiguan Rui easily emerged victorious.

And in doing so, his bloodline grew even stronger.

Now more powerful than ever, Qiguan Rui gleefully broke through to an Advanced Wu Shi, officially becoming a Wu Jun.

Then, he stirred up a storm within his clan once more.

This time, however, his heart had grown as cold as iron—and he had learned to wear a mask.

After being cast down a second time, those who had stepped on him had called him “arrogant, reckless, and disrespectful.” They claimed he “bullied his own kin and oppressed the weak,” and so, one by one, they had taken their revenge on him.

So this time, Qiguan Rui became gentle, kind, and approachable. He showed pity for the weak. Even when facing those who had tormented him, he never once mentioned the past.

Before long, even the “old fossils” of his clan—including his father, the patriarch—let down their guard.

Qiguan Rui smirked.

They actually believed he had forgotten his humiliation?

No. These fools were only fit to be controlled. They didn’t even deserve to keep their free will.

Qiguan Rui practiced relentlessly, day and night. With his keen intellect, he quickly mastered several minor techniques from his inherited abilities.

For instance, Snake Gu—summoning venomous serpents as a foundation, nurturing them through the consumption of martial artists’ flesh and blood, then refining them through mutual devouring. Once the process was complete, the Snake Gu could control any target below his own cultivation level.

The first Snake Gu he refined was made from the body of his “aunt.”

After all, she had once possessed the bloodline of the Heaven-Devouring Serpent. Though it remained dormant within her, her body was still more valuable than that of an ordinary person. When she was devoured by the venomous serpents, the resulting Snake Gu became the King of Snake Gu—Qiguan Rui’s first and most loyal servant.

From then on, people in the Qiguan Clan started to disappear.

At first, it was only the lowest-ranking servants—those no one would notice. One by one, they vanished.

And as time passed, Qiguan Rui’s collection of Snake Gu continued to grow.

Finally, when even minor branch members of the clan began to disappear, some people started to notice that something was wrong.

Qiguan Rui smiled. He knew the time for action had arrived.

And so, during a clan assembly, he took his place at the lowest seat among the core family’s martial experts, watching as the so-called “elders” bickered over power and influence. Watching as his supposedly wise father, the clan patriarch, skillfully balanced the interests of each faction.

It was laughable—like a stage play.

Then, in an instant, dozens of shadowy figures erupted into the hall, darting through the air at impossible speeds.

What a pity.

Among the entire Qiguan Clan, Qiguan Rui himself had the highest cultivation level among the direct lineage. Below him, the strongest were merely Wu Shi—not a single one had reached the level of a Wu Jun.

As for the elite warriors the clan had recruited from outside? None of them were even permitted to attend such a high-level meeting.

It was all too convenient.

Within moments, every person in the hall had changed.

Their expressions were vacant, their movements stiff, their eyes void of emotion.

They had all become Qiguan Rui’s puppets.

From that moment onward, the Qiguan Clan belonged solely to him.

And soon after, he repeated the same process—until the entire Qingyang Town fell under his complete control.

Once he held the direct descendants of every major family in his grasp, he effectively controlled the town’s entire infrastructure.

From then on, no one dared defy his will.

Qiguan Rui laughed in delight, sitting proudly at the head of a grand wedding hall, watching the two figures kneeling below.

His elder brother, Qiguan Yao—the once-revered heir of the family, a rising talent with nearly the same potential as himself, now reduced to a mindless puppet.

And beside him, dressed in splendid wedding attire, was none other than the ever-arrogant Luo Susu—the esteemed daughter of the Luo family and his former fiancée.

One a handsome young master, the other a delicate beauty. Their faces, both blank and expressionless, made for a perfectly matched pair.

How wonderful.

Luo Susu, unable to marry the Lord of Tiandu City, had instead been given to the Qiguan Clan.

The engagement had never been broken—only transferred.

And the one who had “accepted” this engagement was Qiguan Yao.

Qiguan Rui thought he was being quite generous.

Look, he had still fulfilled the original agreement, hadn’t he?

Hadn’t he?