Path of the Stray Disciple

A biotech-fueled world where martial arts are downloaded, chi is tracked by implants, and street gangs hold the keys to ancient power. Jian Lin was a rising prodigy of House Yulan—until he was sabotaged, branded a traitor, and cast out with his martial grafts corrupted and his status erased. Left with nothing but a fractured chi core and outlawed implants, Jian becomes a stray in Neo-Ilium, a neon-drenched megacity where combat styles are corporate property and fighting without a license is a death sentence. But Jian isn’t just another exile. Hidden deep within his broken code is the prototype of a forbidden martial path—one designed to adapt, evolve, and overwrite everything the system considers sacred. Hunted by corporate sects and shadow syndicates, Jian dives into the city's forgotten sectors and rogue arenas to forge his own style from flame, root, and raw survival. As his power grows and his legend spreads, Jian must face rival disciples, chi-augmented killers, and corrupted masters in a journey that mirrors an ancient myth—but told in blood, circuitry, and glass. He was cast out as a weapon. He will return as a scroll.