# CHAPTER 1: THE BROKEN BOWL ON THE BONE STRAND > *"When hunger overcomes fear, a beggar dares to strangle a beast."* --- ### I. STORM NIGHT ON THE STRAND OF CORPSES Salty sea water rushed through his throat, tearing through his dry lungs. Chu Ye was startled, his hands scratching wildly at the sharp sand and gravel at the water's edge. He coughed, mouthfuls of sea water mixed with blood flowed out of the corners of his mouth, hot and then quickly frozen by the cold sea breeze on his chin. Around him was a night as black as ink, only the purple lightning streaking across the torn sky could clearly illuminate the scene of hell on earth. The sound of ocean waves roared fiercely like a herd of ancient beasts starving for food. Each silver-headed wave, tall and tall, crashed into jagged reefs, releasing white foam that emitted the fishy smell of rotting moss and death. About a few dozen meters away from where he lay, the corpse of the giant prison warship — *The Black Whale* — was broken in half like a rotten fish bone. Ebony ribs covered with rusty iron stand upright in the middle of the rocky beach, each wave hitting them creates creepy creaking sounds. On the mile-long sandy beach stretching along The Bone Strand, hundreds of naked bodies of those convicted of treason drifted around. Some people were bloated, eyes wide open, staring into endless space; Some people had half their bodies slashed by reefs, blood spread red across the coastal waters. Chu Ye gritted his teeth, trying to push himself up with both hands. — *Crack!* A piercing pain ricocheted from his dantian to the top of his head, causing his vision to darken. Thirty-six black stings on major acupoints around the chest and spine throbbed with numbness. Black Bone Needles - Great Ying Empire's cruel punishment used to eliminate the martial arts skills of elite death row inmates - was still deeply embedded in his core. All the powerful true energy that once helped him cut through the wind and cut down generals in the battlefield has now disappeared without a single drop remaining. The meridians are broken, the bones and tendons are as weak as a pile of rags floating in the river. — "Cough... cough..." Chu Ye vomited another mouthful of black blood. He fell face down on the sand, fine sand and crushed gravel stuck to the festering wound at the corner of his eye. Humiliation. Painful. Impotent. Just half a month ago, he was still the youngest Commander of Imperial Guard in the imperial city, wearing heavy black armor, holding the sword Goose-Cleaving Sword, leading thousands of troops. But after just one night of partying in Jinluan Palace, the traitor's cup of poisoned wine turned him into the murderer of Crown Prince. The person who poisoned him was none other than Wu Huasheng - the orphan he had picked up from the trash heap seven years ago, personally teaching him every sword move, treating him like his own blood. And the person behind the scenes pulling the strings and announcing the sentence of banishing him to The Savage Deadlands is the reigning Grand Preceptor! They didn't kill him with one strike. They wanted him to experience the ultimate humiliation: strip off his armor, shave off his hair, Black Bone Needles pierce his dantian, throw him a torn mat and half a broken ceramic bowl like the humblest beggar, then throw him on a prison ship to this hell on earth. — "Living... I must live..." Chu Ye clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his skin, and blood flowed out and mixed with the salty sand. His eyes were streaked with red blood, his gaze was as cold as a wild wolf cornered. He can't die here. He can't die until he breaks every bone of Wu Huasheng and crushes the rotten throne in the capital! --- ### II. PACK OF BONE HOUNDS & TEARING HUNGER The sea wind roared more and more fiercely. The rain began to pour down, each heavy raindrop carrying the acrid smell of miasma that lashed painfully at Chu Ye's bare skin. But what's scarier than the freezing cold right now is **Hunger**. Chu Ye's stomach contracted violently, with pain as if thousands of maggots were gnawing away at his internal organs. He was starved for nine days floating at sea, with only half a bucket of rotten, muddy water thrown by the prison guard every day. Now, his throat was as dry as burning, his eyes were dizzy, and each joint was shaking uncontrollably. Suddenly, a strange sound entered his ears amid the roaring ocean waves. — *Blister... blister... swish!* It was the sound of tearing flesh and crunching bones. Chu Ye held his breath, tilted his head and looked through the gap in a reef covered with sharp seaweed. About fifteen steps away from him, next to the body of a fat prison guard lying prone on the sand, three hideous shadows were gathering. Those were **Bone Hounds** — the infamous mutated beasts of the exile coast. Their bodies were as big as direwolves, but most of their gray fur had fallen out, revealing patches of red ulcerated flesh oozing yellow pus. Along their spines grow sharp, rugged bone spikes. Their eyes have no pupils, just two round sockets emitting red light like embers in the dark night. A Bone Hound was using its snout full of sharp fangs to rip off the prison guard's arm, tilting its head back to swallow both the flesh and bones. The sound of munching was so fishy that it was sickening. Chu Ye stared at the crumbly dry cookie that fell from the short-lived prison guard's pocket. It was just a piece of moldy dry bread soaked in seawater, but in Chu Ye's eyes right now, it was more precious than the royal palace's jewels. His saliva flowed out and his stomach tightened violently. The survival instinct roars in the veins: *Eat! You must eat, or you will die before morning!* But to get that food, he had to step over the corpses of these ferocious beasts. Chu Ye reached into the torn piece of mat wrapped around his waist. The only thing he had at the moment was **half a broken ceramic bowl** - the insult that the soldiers threw in his face before getting off the train. The piece of broken bowl was only as big as a hand, but its broken edge was as sharp as a razor blade. He let out a cold breath, his hand clenched the piece of ceramic so tightly that it cut his palm. Fresh blood oozed out, but that physical pain was nothing compared to the fire of hatred rolling in his chest. — "I can still cut down... these carcass-eating animals!" Chu Ye began to crawl across the sand. --- ### III. LIFE-AND-DEATH BATTLE WITH A BROKEN BOWL SHARD He couldn't stand up straight. His legs had lost all feeling due to being soaked in cold sea water and injured. He used his two scraped elbows to lean on the sand and rocks, dragging his heavy body like a ghost gliding in the darkness of the shipwreck. Every inch of ground moved forward, Black Bone Needles stabbed painfully into the flesh and bones. But Chu Ye did not let out a single groan. He gritted his teeth, taking advantage of the roaring ocean waves and the lashing sound of rain to drown out the rustle of sand. Ten steps. Eight steps. Five steps. The smallest Bone Hound in the herd — a mutated beast with one ear — suddenly stopped gnawing on bones. Its shiny black, pus-filled nose was upturned, sniffing the air. The smell of Chu Ye's fresh blood leaking from the palm of his hand awakened the predator's keen sense of smell. — *Grrrrrrrr...* The beast turned its head sharply. Its blood-red eyes locked onto the figure slithering on the sand. There's no time to hide! — *Roar!* The beast let out a high-pitched roar, its four legs kicked hard on the wet sand, its entire skinny body covered in sharp spikes rushed through the rain like a black arrow, opening its stinking snout wide, ready to bite Chu Ye's throat! The moment of life and death only happens in the blink of an eye. If it was Chu Ye from the past, with just a wave of his hand, the sword energy could have split this beast in half from a distance of ten meters. But right now, he has no sword, no true energy. The only thing he has is the experience of hundreds of bloody battles on the battlefield and the death reflex is deeply ingrained in his brain! Instead of backing away or raising his arms to protect himself in fear, Chu Ye suddenly doubled over, used all the strength of his upper body to twist his body to one side, and crawled strongly into the sunken sand ditch below the body of a broken mast. — *Poof!* Bone Hound's missed pounce sunk its two front claws into the reef where Chu Ye had just been lying. The strong impact caused the animal to stagger and lose half a beat. Just half a beat is enough to decide your life! — "Die!" Chu Ye let out a deep roar from the bottom of his throat. He did not use half a broken piece of bowl to slash the thick skin full of bone spikes on the animal's back. He put all his body weight to crawl up, his left arm wrapped tightly around the wild dog's throat, locking its muzzle tightly, while his right hand held a piece of broken ceramic bowl and thrust with all his strength from below! — *Whoosh! Whoosh! Bang!* The sharp ceramic edge penetrated into the softest part of the beast's throat. Hot, fishy black blood erupted into a fountain, splashing into Chu Ye's face, eyes, and mouth. Bone Hound struggled wildly. Its four hind legs scratched and tore the flesh on his thighs and abdomen, leaving deep scratches that exposed the white flesh. The pain was as sharp as fire, but Chu Ye absolutely did not let go. He clenched his teeth, his right hand continued to rotate the ceramic piece in the animal's throat, tearing open its trachea! The two remaining Bone Hounds next to the prison guard's body heard the roar and turned around, baring their fangs and rushing to reinforce. Time is measured in each breath! Chu Ye mustered up the last bit of strength, both hands hugged the dying Bone Hound's head, twisting it at a ninety-degree angle. — *CRACK!* The sound of the neck joint breaking was crisp among the sound of wind and rain. The beast's body went limp, convulsed a few times, and then collapsed onto his chest. --- ### IV. FERAL INSTINCTS AWAKEN The other two Bone Hound were less than five steps away from Chu Ye. The sound of claws scratching on gravel and stone was hissing. Chu Ye's entire body was covered in blood — both his own blood and the foul black blood of the beast. In a moment of panic, a wild impulse suddenly exploded in his head. Hungry! Hungry like crazy! He did not bother to remove the animal's body. He opened his mouth, bit into the laceration on the throat of the dead Bone Hound, sucking up every mouthful of hot blood that was pouring out! Blood that was stinky, salty and pungent like burnt wine flowed through his throat. Along with that beast's blood, a strange, wild heat flow suddenly penetrated from the beast's spinal cord through the open wound on Chu Ye's chest, colliding violently with the 36 Black Bone Needless blocking his meridians. — *Ah ah ah!* Chu Ye let out a savage roar. His eyes suddenly glowed with a strange red color, completely unlike the eyes of a normal human, but the eyes of a regal beast that had just awakened from the depths of hell! He spat out a mouthful of black blood, grabbed the dead animal's body with his left hand, and threw it straight into the face of Bone Hound, who was rushing forward. — *Pop!* The two blocks of flesh collided so hard that the oncoming beast fell backwards. At the same time, Chu Ye grabbed a piece of driftwood with a thumb-sized rusty iron nail embedded next to the wreck of a sailing ship. He was no longer a weak, trembling prisoner. The blood of a wild animal that has just been swallowed is like a spark that activates the ultimate fighting instinct. He flipped around on the sand, the wooden stake in his hand swung up and cut into the wind, whistling loudly. — *BOOM!* The rusty iron nail stabbed into the middle of the second Bone Hound's forehead. The blow was so strong that it crushed its skull, white brains mixed with black blood splattered onto the gray stones. The third Bone Hound — the largest of the herd — stopped. Its bloodshot eyes looked at its fellow human being whose head had just been crushed, then at the ragged and bloody mannequin standing staggering in the wind and rain, holding a sharp stake in his hand, his mouth still dripping with fresh blood. Carnivorous beasts only know how to bully the weak. But in front of it right now is not a dying prey, but a bloodthirsty madman even more savage than its own kind! The beast lowered its tail, let out a groan of fear, then turned and sprinted into the darkness of the rocky beach. --- ### V. FIRST MOUTH OF FOOD IN HELL The storm still roars. Ocean waves still pound against the broken ship. Chu Ye stood with his back against the rotten mast, his chest heaving violently. His whole body trembled from exhaustion and cold. Blood oozed from the wounds, soaking the torn mat. He staggered over to the body of the fat prison guard, bent down and picked up a piece of moldy dry bread soaked in seawater. He doesn't clean the sand. He stuffed the entire piece of cake into his mouth and chewed it greedily. The moldy taste of spoiled flour, the salty taste of sea water and the fishy taste of fresh blood mixed together create the most disgusting taste in the world. But for Chu Ye right now, it was the most delicious life-saving delicacy he had ever tasted. He swallowed hard, then bent down to look at the puddle of rainwater on the flat stone. Under the purple lightning that streaked across the sky, the figure reflected in the puddle was a gaunt and gaunt face, with bloody hair and ears, but eyes that glowed with a terrifying, indomitable fire. He bent down, picked up half a piece of broken ceramic bowl covered in animal blood, and stuffed it carefully into his shirt chest, next to a piece of dry firewood with a rusty iron nail attached. — "Wu Huasheng... Grand Preceptor... you horrible beasts..." Chu Ye raised his face to the sky, letting the torrential rain wash away the blood on his face. The cold smile at the corner of his lips was as sharp as a razor: — "You want me to die at the bottom of the abyss... But I will live. I will use this beggar's piece of wood to smash each of your heads!" Thunder rumbled on top of The Bone Strand. The exile had survived the first night.