MTLNOVEL Chapter 177: Life Devour Skill
Wen Ran didn't look back. His temples throbbed with pain and rage as he pushed forward, his body moving despite the growing exhaustion. The horizon stretched before him, the night creeping in, and yet he could feel the village of mortals calling him. It was close now, but the journey ahead wasn't easy.
A long, wide valley stretched out before him, filled with beasts he didn't even have time to slay. Their roars echoed in the distance, a reminder of the danger lurking around every corner. His fists clenched. The valley was rich with herbs—herbs he had no time to collect. It was maddening. He was being forced to abandon everything he had worked for, and he hated it.
The strange feeling gnawed at him, a pull that forced him to continue, to endure every ounce of humiliation that came with his new life. It was a weight he couldn't shake, an invisible chain that bound him tighter with each passing day. His gaze, his lips, the way his expression hardened—all of it spoke volumes. Gone was the passionate person he once was, the one who reveled in the freedom of life, enjoying the simple pleasures without care. The Wen Ran of this life was different. His eyes were colder, harder, shaped by the shackles of his second chance.
Yet... I don't regret it, he thought to himself, even though the price he paid seemed far too steep. It's the price I must pay. Yet, beneath those thoughts, something stirred, a shift he couldn't ignore. The sharpness of his former self, the fierce resolve he had once held, was being replaced. Now, what poured from him was no longer just determination—it was something darker, something colder. A killing intent, the kind that would slice through anything in its way, seeped into him like poison, creeping through his veins, taking hold. But even he didn't know what it was aimed at.
It was as if, in his search for power, he was becoming something else entirely. The demon lurking inside him grew increasingly insistent, its whispers growing more seductive. Thoughts that would've repulsed him in his past life—thoughts of sacrificing anyone and anything, as long as it brought him closer to the power he craved—began to take root in his mind. The idea of standing at the top, free from the constraints of fate, began to feel like a necessity, not a choice.
Wen Ran no longer viewed the world the same way. The innocence of his past life was slipping away, replaced by the realization that the path he walked would demand far more from him than he had ever anticipated. And somewhere, deep down, he knew this—his transformation into a darker, more dangerous version of himself—had only just begun.
One might say he was an idiot, a fool for continuing on this path—one that tied him down with invisible chains of a system, a path he had chosen to walk despite the consequences, a second life he accepted with open arms. He could have given up, surrendered to the inevitable, and allowed death to take him, escaping the cruel grasp of the system. If he had just accepted it and stopped struggling, maybe, just maybe, he could have found a way out. Maybe, through the traditional means of cultivation, he could have regained his freedom, or at least sought some form of peace of mind.
But Wen Ran knew better. The "if" was a lie, a comforting delusion that would only lead him astray. There are no ifs in this world, he thought bitterly, the weight of his decision pressing down on him like a stone in his chest, his crimson eyes burning with something deep, a fire that was hard to extinguish. There is only what is, and what must be done to break free from it.
The harsh reality he faced was something no one wanted to acknowledge, something too difficult to accept. But it was real—too real to ignore. The world didn't care about weakness, about longing for change, or about hoping for some miracle to fix everything. The world only rewarded strength. Only the strong could break free, carve their own path, and shatter the chains that bound them. No amount of wishing would change that. No amount of hope would alter the truth that the world would crush anyone who didn't have the strength to fight it.
He had made his choice. For now, the system would control him. It would guide him, force him along, and push him toward whatever goal it had set for him. But Wen Ran wasn't blind. He knew what he had to do in the end. He wasn't going to wait for a miracle. He wasn't going to hope for some grand shift of fate to change things for him.
No, he would make it happen.
He would break the system.
There were no ifs, no "maybe." There was only one thing that mattered: his will.
"I will do it," Wen Ran murmured to himself, his voice cold but resolute. The words echoed in his mind, sharpening his focus like a blade. "I will break it."
The weight of his decision settled over him, a promise he made not to the system, but to himself. He wasn't here to play by the rules. He would smash through every barrier, break every chain, and reach the power he needed to rise above it all. He didn't need hope. He had willpower, and that was enough. It always had been.
The future was unclear, but the path forward was as certain as the strength in his chest. He had made the choice, and there would be no turning back.
After several weeks of traveling at top speed, Wen Ran could feel the village was close. The air around him grew thicker, the atmosphere heavier, as a mysterious fog enveloped the landscape. It was dense and unsettling, creeping in from all directions, obscuring his vision but not his senses. He could feel the presence of many powerful experts hiding in the shadows, their auras flaring subtly, keeping a close watch on the village's perimeter.
They were watching, waiting, scanning the surroundings for anything that might pose a threat. Wen Ran knew they were there, hidden from view, their eyes sharp and calculating. They protected the village, guarding it with the same ferocity a beast guards its den. But what really caught his attention was that they hadn't noticed him yet—not even a flicker of awareness.
That was the one advantage he had.
The only reason he could even feel their presence without being detected was because he had sacrificed two years of his lifespan, using the system's help to spot all of the scouts. He could feel the pull of his own frustration as he felt those lost years slip away, the sacrifice he had made, but the anger no longer consumed him. He had stopped caring about the wasted time. The life he had spent was nothing now, not when he was so close to his goal.
Waste or not, fuck that question, Wen Ran thought, his gaze narrowing. I will regain all that was once lost, even if I have to steal it from other human beings.
The resolve in his chest burned fiercer. It was the driving force, the raw energy that pushed him forward, and there was no turning back now. He had come too far, sacrificed too much, and no amount of hesitation would stop him now.
As if on cue, the system responded. It was subtle, barely a ripple in the fabric of his mind, but it was there. There was something different in the air now, something the system didn't just tolerate, but seemed to relish.
It was as though it had recognized the shift in Wen Ran's mind, the shift in his resolve. The madness, the hunger for power, the willingness to take what was not given—all of it stirred the system, and for the first time, Wen Ran could feel that strange, cold satisfaction radiating from it.
It was the kind of satisfaction that made him feel... closer to it. It didn't care about the cost. It didn't care about the lives taken, the price paid. The system was a tool, and he was its user. And now, the tool was beginning to enjoy the work.
He moved forward with Xiao Mo on his shoulder, his steps steady and calculated. There was no room for hesitation now. The fog surrounded him, pressing in, but Wen Ran embraced it, his senses sharpening with each passing second. His gaze swept over the mist, feeling the experts lurking just beyond the veil. They didn't know he was coming, not yet, but soon, they would.
I will take everything from them, Wen Ran thought, his lips curling into a faint, bitter smile. Every last bit.
The system's satisfaction pulsed again, and Wen Ran could feel a shiver of anticipation run through him. It wasn't just about the village. It wasn't even about the experts. No, this was about something deeper. It was about power. Control. The ability to take what was rightfully his. The system was merely a means to that end, and now, it was growing more excited with each passing moment.
He could feel the system's anticipation as it pulsed through him, enjoying the growing madness inside him. There was no turning back now.
I will break everything, Wen Ran thought, the madness in his eyes intensifying. I will shatter it all.
Suddenly, a sharp, cold notification appeared in front of his eyes, the words glowing with a chilling certainty.
[You have received a new quest: Sacrifice all of the mortals to regain your lifespan]
[You have received a new skill: Life Devour]