They called him trash.
Not as an insult, but as a truth no one bothered to hide.
In a world where fate governs everything, a person’s future is decided the moment they are born. Talent, luck, opportunity—these are gifts of the heavens, not things earned through effort. Some are born destined to rise, their paths paved with glory. Others struggle, yet still possess a chance.
Li Chen had none.
No matter how hard he trained, he could not sense spiritual energy properly. While others advanced, he remained stuck, mocked by disciples and ignored by elders. Still, he endured, believing effort could change fate.
He was wrong.
On the day of the Spirit Root Ceremony, his last hope shattered.
“Trash grade.”
The words echoed, followed by laughter. His future was sealed.
That should have been the end.
But fate made a mistake.
When Zhao Tian, the sect’s greatest genius, stepped forward, the crystal erupted with golden light. A heaven-grade spirit root. A true child of destiny.
But Li Chen saw more.
He saw a thread.
A golden strand of light flowing above Zhao Tian, radiant and absolute. It pulsed with power, as if the world itself bent around it.
Then a voice echoed in his mind.
Fate Devouring System Activated.
The world changed instantly. Threads appeared above everyone—gray for the ordinary, gold for the chosen, and darker ones that twisted unnaturally. For the first time, Li Chen could see fate itself.
And he could take it.
Faced with Zhao Tian’s overwhelming destiny and his own emptiness, Li Chen made a choice.
“Yes.”
The thread snapped.
Zhao Tian’s brilliance faltered. His perfect destiny cracked. And Li Chen gained something he never had.
A future.
Power surged through him, opening a path that had never existed before. But the heavens do not tolerate defiance.
The sky darkened. Lightning fell. An unseen gaze marked him.
Fate is sacred.
And Li Chen had stolen it.
Now watched by forces he cannot comprehend, he walks a path no one has dared to take. A path where strength is stolen, not earned. A path where every step invites danger.
But Li Chen does not hesitate.
He has already lived as nothing.
If the heavens deny him destiny, he will take it.
If the chosen stand above all, he will drag them down.
If fate controls the world, he will break it.
One thread at a time.
As he grows stronger, he discovers fate is not equal. Some threads grant minor gains. Others hold immense power.
And then there is corrupted fate.
Dark, unstable, forbidden.
It offers power beyond heaven’s blessings, at the cost of madness and chaos.
Li Chen does not turn away.
Because he has nothing to lose.
But he is not alone.
Hidden forces guard fate. Ancient cultivators, secret organizations, and terrifying beings who understand its laws.
To them, Li Chen is an anomaly.
And anomalies must be erased.
Meanwhile, Zhao Tian begins to notice. His talent fades. His certainty cracks. Slowly, he realizes the truth.
Something has been taken.
And Li Chen is responsible.
A silent war begins.
One chosen by heaven.
One who defies it.
As Li Chen rises, he targets greater prey—geniuses, elites, those blessed by destiny. Each stolen thread brings him closer to unimaginable power.
But it also draws attention.
Because at the peak stand immortals—beings who control fate itself.
And to them, Li Chen is unforgivable.
Because if fate can be stolen, even they are not safe.
Standing at the edge of destruction, Li Chen makes his choice.
He will not stop.
He will not submit.
In a world ruled by fate, the only way to be free is to seize it.
And so he rises.
Not as the chosen.
But as the hunter.
Because heaven’s chosen are no longer untouchable.
They are prey.