The sun dipped low as the Sect Master's sleeve brushed against Raizen's shoulder.
They stood at the outer edge of the arena, the training field now drenched in the blood and groans of the defeated. Raizen didn't care. These weren't brothers. They were just people who wanted him gone.
He looked at the ground. Five disciples lay twitching. None of them were dead, but none would be walking straight for a while either.
"Come," the Sect Master said, his voice low. "We need to talk."
Raizen followed. The glares burned his back. He could feel his name becoming venom in their mouths.
"Did you really need to go that far?" someone muttered behind him.
"He's not even really part of our sect. Just a stray taken in."
The words didn't hurt. Not anymore. Not after what he saw last night. That shadow—those void eyes. They had peeled his soul like a fruit. Since then, everything else felt small.
As they climbed the stone steps toward the inner sect halls, the Sect Master didn't say a word. Neither did Raizen. Their footsteps echoed against old stone walls, chipped and worn from time.
This place used to be glorious. The Zodiac Scorpio Sect, one of the Twelve Ancient Zodiac Sects, once sat at the peak of the continent. But that was long ago. Now its banners were faded. Its disciples weak. Its name… almost forgotten.
The others still stood strong:
Zodiac Leo Sect — proud warriors with golden bloodlines
Zodiac Pisces Sect — masters of duality and spiritual flow
Zodiac Sagittarius Sect — elite archers and teleporters
Zodiac Capricorn Sect — rune-bound cultivators of ancient blood
Zodiac Cancer Sect — strange healers, rumored to talk to spirits
Zodiac Aries Sect — berserker fire-wielders who burned as they fought
Zodiac Libra Sect — judgmental enforcers of cosmic law
Zodiac Gemini Sect — illusionists with split personalities
Zodiac Virgo Sect — meticulous saboteurs and poison masters
Zodiac Aquarius Sect — cold, calculating, storm-wielding geniuses
Zodiac Taurus Sect — indestructible titans of brute strength
And last… the Scorpio Sect. Once feared for its ruthless stealth and silent techniques.
Now? Barely scraping by.
They entered the Sect Master's private chamber. The door sealed behind them with a faint hum.
Raizen didn't speak. He sat, legs crossed, and waited.
"Are you hiding something?" the Sect Master asked suddenly.
Raizen's gaze didn't waver. "Yes."
Silence stretched between them.
"You were weak yesterday," the old man said. "Now... I saw how you fought. That was not something you learned in our manuals."
"I didn't kill them."
"I know," the Sect Master nodded. "But you could have."
Raizen clenched his fists. The system had shown him how. He hadn't fully tested its limits, but even with one or two active abilities, his movements had felt… perfect. Not just enhanced—tailored.
Void-space had whispered to him mid-fight. Shown him where to move, when to blink, where his opponents' balance would break.
But no one could know. Not even him.
"I'm just learning faster now," Raizen said. "That's all."
The Sect Master stared at him for a long time. Then, quietly, he sighed. "There are times I wish you truly were my son."
Raizen blinked. He hadn't expected that.
"I took you in because I saw something," the man said, rising. "Not just in your eyes, but in the way the heavens stayed silent when you arrived. That kind of silence… it scares even me."
He walked to the balcony and looked down at the fading training grounds.
"You'll leave soon," he said. "I'll arrange it."
Raizen stood slowly. "Leave?"
"There's nothing left for you here. We have no inheritance grounds worth stealing. No forbidden techniques. No sacred bloodline. Even the other Zodiac sects mock us now. You saw the firework message from the Leo sect last week—'Scorpio's fangs have dulled.' They broadcasted that across the sky like we were insects."
Raizen nodded. "Then I'll make them respect us again."
The Sect Master turned. His old eyes held the faintest ember of pride.
"Go then. Find your strength. Just… don't lose yourself in it."
Raizen turned to leave, but paused.
"I'm not your son," he said. "But… thanks."
The door shut behind him.
---
That night, as the moon rose, Raizen sat on the rooftop overlooking the outer disciples' quarters. He could hear them—still whispering, still resentful.
But he didn't care.
He focused inward.
> [System Accessing…]
> [Active Ability: Dimensional Hook – READY]
> [Passive Ability: Spatial Awareness – ACTIVE]
> [Void Condition: Stable]
> [Warning: User's current realm is inadequate for deeper void invocation.]
He exhaled. The system had stabilized for now, no longer throwing random void feedback like it did on the first night. And yet, a part of him missed that chaos. It felt more real than the structured screen he now saw.
"System," he said. "Can I speak to you?"
> [Voice Detected.]
> [System Personality is initializing…]
> [Warning: Sarcasm level – 42%. Voice tone: Mocking.]
"…what?"
> [Hi. This is your system. Your wish for a system that wouldn't get you killed has been mostly fulfilled. Please avoid doing anything stupid.]
Raizen's eye twitched.
"So you do talk."
> [Sometimes. I also scream internally when you try to run before checking for traps. Want a list of the times you almost died yesterday?]
"No, thanks."
> [Noted. Now, let's talk about your horrible cultivation base.]
Raizen rolled his eyes. "I'm at the peak of Body Refinement."
> [Which means you're one fart away from getting crushed by anyone in the Qi Initiation stage. We'll need to fix that.]
"How?"
> [Simple. You'll sneak into the Zodiac Virgo Sect's outer inheritance cave tomorrow night.]
Raizen froze.
"…you're joking."
> [Nope. You need refined poison resistance and a stealth technique with at least three movement steps. Their beginner path holds both. Oh, and don't get caught. They still execute thieves by skinning.]
Raizen's expression twisted. "So much for a safe system."
> [You asked for a useful system. Not a moral one.]
---
Somewhere far across the skies, in the blackened edge of the immortal world, a shadow stirred.
In an empty field untouched by light, a creature opened its thousand eyes.
It sniffed the air… or rather, the spiritual threads of the lower realm. Its tongue, long and forked, danced in patterns.
"Hm…"
Its voice wasn't loud. It was just there, inside the minds of dying stars.
"Is this realm ripe yet?"
The Realm Eater coiled tighter.
"No. Not yet. But soon…"
It smiled.
And in that moment, dozens of ancient cultivators woke from their meditation, gasping in terror. They didn't know why. But something had looked at them—and marked them for death.
---
Back in Scorpio Sect, Raizen knelt on a single tile, preparing his bag.
One dagger. A black cloak. And one poison-neutralizing pill he stole from a drunk elder's drawer.
He pulled the hood over his face, the system already outlining the route.
> [Next target: Virgo Sect Outer Wall – Distance: 63 li]
> [Warning: Interception chance: 38%]
Raizen smirked.
"Let's test how fast this silent path really is."
He vanished into the night.