When Arin first created the Dungeons, the eighteen foreign beings watching from beyond the Veil turned their attention to him. Their divine senses pierced through dimensions, and the moment they saw the strange structures forming around their fallen artifacts, their expressions darkened.
One of them muttered, voice filled with intrigue,
> "He's created structures around our artifacts… and within them, he's forged projections made of our Dao and the artifact's residual energy. Killing those projections will drain the artifact's power."
Another scoffed with arrogance.
> "So what? We can easily refill our artifacts. Even though subjugation prevents us from directly recovering energy, our reserves as Tier 9 Beings are vast. We can replenish them billions of times."
Another laughed coldly.
> "Then this world will soon be mine."
A rival immediately countered,
> "You mean under me."
> "We'll see about that," another said sharply, sparks of divine intent colliding in the void between them.
A calmer voice broke the tension.
> "looks like intelligence of this world's intelligent life is not low as world will was able to design this structure to drain our energy"
Another agreed,
> "Perhaps. But the world will and mortals within are still ignorant. These structures will soon become our bases. Any being who enters will have a greater chance to fall under our path—and from there, corruption will spread."
---
Then, as they continued to observe, one of them suddenly froze.
A Tier 1 lifeform — a human cultivator named Shen Mu — was rampaging through the fallen and the dungeons. They saw him destroy minor dungeons, then major ones, wiping out the Dao projections within like a storm.
The being whose artifact powered one of those dungeons snarled,
> "Why is this world's peak lifeform after my dungeon!?"
He wasn't furious over the loss of his fallen servants or his Dao projections. What enraged him was the waste of time. In this contest between eighteen gods, time was everything — every moment lost allowed another to spread their Dao further.
Soon, they saw Shen Mu endure the heavens' wrath and emerge victorious through his tribulation.
> "Tch," one of them hissed, "Now this world has birthed a Tier 2 lifeform. Conquest will be much slower."
The others murmured in grim agreement.
---
But what followed shocked even these higher beings.
Across Arin's world, the strongest Tier 1 beings — whether human, beast, or sea creature — suddenly entered a frenzy of slaughter. They hunted the fallen relentlessly, tore apart the dungeons, and shattered the Dao projections with madness in their eyes.
> "Why are the most powerful lifeforms of this world attacking our dungeons?" one asked, confused. "Records say that they just fight when thier juniors can't defeat others or someone provokes them"
Curiosity sparked among them. One of the beings activated a secret technique that allowed him to observe the cultivators on a law-level, tracing the flow of energy itself.
What he saw made his expression freeze.
When a cultivator struck down a Dao projection, a fragment of the projection's energy transformed — purified — and merged into the cultivator's soul. It strengthened them immensely.
His voice trembled slightly as he exclaimed,
> "This… this is bad."
> "What happened?" another demanded.
He explained everything.
At once, the void space erupted in outrage.
> "Hell! Now that these mortals gain direct benefit from destroying our Dao projections, they'll never stop! Making them fall to our dao will be difficult"
> "Indeed," another agreed darkly. "Most of the energy from our Dao artifacts is sealed within those structures… those—whatever they're called. And only a fraction escapes. That escaped energy might corrupt Tier 0 lifeforms, but before Tier 1 or 2, it's useless."
They fell silent as thunder rolled through the void.
One after another, seventeen more tribulations erupted across Arin's world. Each heralded the birth of a new Tier 2 being — humans, beasts, and oceanic rulers alike.
---
One of the eighteen finally broke the silence.
> "I want to leave this world. It's too troublesome. But due to the Void's restriction, we cannot. Once subjugation begins, there's no retreat — either the world falls or we are drained completely."
Another sneered.
> "So what if it has Tier 2 beings now? What matters is numbers. Once over half of this world's population follows me, i will win. In subjugation, it isn't strength that decides victory, but majority will. A Tier 2 being has the same vote as a Tier 0. As long as my lesser followers hide and breed, soon the balance will tilt—and the world will fall under me."
Another voice echoed coldly,
> "Under me, not you."
Their collective malice churned the void.
Then, as one, the eighteen began to manipulate their Daos, whispering across dimensions. Their commands spread to their corrupted followers — the fallen.
> "Hide. Do not act recklessly. Do not reveal yourselves. Let your numbers grow in secret. The time of slaughter will pass, and when it does… the world will rot from within."
And thus, under the shadow of the Void, the world of Arin entered a deceptive calm — the kind that comes only before a greater storm.