The first thing he felt was the headache.
It was a deep, throbbing pain behind his eyes, as if his brain had been stuffed with cotton and set on fire. Li Wei groaned, his hand coming up to press against his forehead. His fingers met not the familiar, slightly clammy skin of a man who had fallen asleep at his office desk again, but something cold and smooth. Metal.
His eyes shot open.
He was not in his cubicle. He was not even on Earth.
He was lying on a bed that was more of a carved obsidian slab, draped in silks so dark they seemed to drink the light. The air was cool and carried a faint scent of incense and ozone. The room was vast, lit by glowing purple crystals set into the walls, casting long, dancing shadows. Tapestries depicting scenes of terrifying battles and majestic, dark-winged creatures covered the stone. A throne, sharp and menacing, sat on a dais at the far end.
Memories that were not his own erupted in his mind.
A name: Mo Ye, the Silent Night Sovereign, the Demon Lord of the Abyssal Peak Sect.
A cultivation level: 9th Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm. Unfathomable power.
A death: Recklessly attempting to break through to the mythical 10th Layer, draining his life force to a flicker until it snapped.
A life: Centuries of dominance, fear, war, and cold, unyielding authority.
And then, his own memories. Li Wei. 28. Junior Data Analyst. Debt. Loneliness. A microwave dinner for one. The late-night overtime, the dizzy spell, the sharp pain in his chest, and then… this.
I died. And I… took over a dead Demon Lord's body?
Panic, raw and electric, shot through him. He sat up, the silken sheets pooling around his waist. He looked at his hands. They were pale, long-fingered, and strong. Hands that could crush stone and tear souls. They trembled.
A soft chime echoed in the cavern of his skull.
[System Initializing…]
[Host Detected: Soul Signature Mismatch. Anomaly Detected.]
[Analyzing…]
[New Host Identified: Li Wei. Designation: Inheritor of Mo Ye.]
[System Binding Complete.]
[Welcome to the 'Path of the Apex Predator' System.]
A translucent blue screen materialized before his eyes. It was clean, modern, utterly alien in this ancient, Gothic room.
[Primary Mission: Survival. Maintain the identity of 'Demon Lord Mo Ye.' Failure condition: Exposure. Penalty: Death.]
[System Functions Unlocked:]
1. Apex Point Acquisition: Eliminate powerful lifeforms (cultivators, beasts, spirits) to earn Apex Points.
2. Lucky Draw (Cost: 50 Apex Points per draw): Chance to obtain artifacts, cultivation techniques, pills, or skills of varying grades (Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary, Mythic).
3. Card Purchase Shop: Exchange Apex Points for permanent, reusable ability cards.
Li Wei's mind, trained to parse data, latched onto the information even through the terror. A system. A game-like system. This is… insane.
Before he could process further, a heavy knock resonated on the enormous double doors of the chamber.
"My Lord." The voice was a deep, gravelly rumble that vibrated through the stone floor. "The Dawn Council awaits your presence."
More memories surfaced. The Dawn Council. His twelve personal disciples. Each one a monster in their own right. Each one terrifyingly loyal to the idea of the Demon Lord Mo Ye. They had fought wars for him, slaughtered armies. They would also, without a second thought, tear apart an imposter who weakened their sect.
The system's warning glowed red in his mind's eye: Maintain the identity.
Li Wei took a shuddering breath. I am Li Wei. But in here, I must be Mo Ye. I have to act. He thought of the original Mo Ye's demeanor. Aloof. Arrogant. Utterly assured. Words were few. Glances could kill.
He pushed himself off the bed. His body moved with a fluid, powerful grace that felt entirely foreign. He found a robe of deep violet and black, embroidered with silver threads that formed intricate, predatory patterns. He slipped it on.
"Enter," he said, forcing his voice low. To his horror, it came out as a smooth, cold baritone, laced with an undercurrent of absolute authority. The body remembered.
The doors swung inward without a sound.
The man who entered was built like a fortress. He stood seven feet tall, his skin the color of aged bronze, with two short, curved horns protruding from his forehead. His eyes, yellow and slitted like a snake's, were fixed on the floor in deference. This was Gorim, the Stone-Skinned, Master of the Outer Discipline. The guardian of the sect's gates and the commander of its legions. His aura was a physical weight, a dense, earthy pressure that made Li Wei's new instincts scream danger.
"My Lord," Gorim rumbled, still not looking up. "The Disciples are gathered in the Nightmare Hall. They are… concerned. Your cultivation seclusion was longer than projected. The energy fluctuations were… volatile."
They felt him die, Li Wei realized, ice flooding his veins. They felt the life force vanish. And now they're suspicious.
He had to sell this. He had to be Mo Ye.
He walked past Gorim, his steps silent on the cold floor. He did not look at the giant demon. "Volatility is the precursor to breakthrough," he said, parroting a line from the fragmented memories. "Their concern is noted. And unnecessary."
He strode into the corridor, Gorim falling into step behind him, a massive shadow. The fortress was a maze of soaring arches, jagged spires, and courtyards filled with strange, twilight-blooming flora. Demons of all shapes and sizes—lesser imps, armored guards, robed scholars—stopped and prostrated themselves as he passed. The fear and reverence in their auras was palpable, a thick soup of emotion that his new senses drank in.
It was terrifying. He was a mouse wearing a dragon's skin.
The Nightmare Hall was a cavernous space supported by ribs of petrified bone. At the far end, on twelve lesser thrones arranged in a semicircle, sat his Disciples.
Li Wei's breath hitched.
They were breathtaking. And horrifying.
A woman with hair like flowing liquid shadow and eyes that held swirling galaxies. A young man who looked sickly pale, fingers constantly tracing patterns in the air that whispered of decay. A muscular brute whose body seemed carved from volcanic rock, heat haze shimmering around him. A serene-looking girl cradling a guqin, the strings made of solidified moonlight.
Each aura was unique, overwhelming, and fiercely potent. These were not subordinates. They were forces of nature he was supposedly holding in check.
He walked to the central throne, the Seat of Silent Night, and sat. He did it slowly, deliberately, projecting an aura of bored dominion. He rested his chin on his fist, allowing his gaze—a gaze he hoped carried the chilling emptiness of the original Mo Ye—to sweep over them.
Silence stretched.
It was the sickly-pale young man who spoke first. Feng Ji, the Plague-Bringer, 5th Disciple. His voice was a dry rustle. "Welcome back, Master. Your absence was… felt. The Qi of the Abyssal Peak trembled. We prepared mourning rites."
A direct challenge. Wrapped in deference, but a challenge.
Li Wei's heart hammered against his ribs. Act. Don't react. Be cold.
He let the silence linger a beat longer, then spoke, his voice barely above a whisper, yet it carried to every corner of the hall. "You prepared rites for me, Feng Ji?"
He didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to. The temperature in the hall seemed to drop.
Feng Ji's pale face went a shade whiter. He lowered his head. "This disciple spoke out of turn. Forgive my impertinence."
The woman with the galaxy eyes, Xing Yue, the 2nd Disciple, smiled. It didn't reach her eyes. "We are merely relieved at your safe return, Master. The human cultivation sects to the east grow bold. The Scarlet Cloud Sect has annexed two of our minor spirit mines. They test our borders."
War. They're talking about war. Li Wei's office-worker mind short-circuited. He forced it to think. What would Mo Ye do? He wouldn't debate. He would decree.
"Let them test," Li Wei said, his voice flat. "Gorim."
The horned giant stepped forward. "My Lord."
"Dispatch the Third Legion of the Outer Discipline. Wipe the Scarlet Cloud Sect's forward garrison from the map. Leave no survivors. Let the mountains run red as a reminder." The words fell from his lips, cold and brutal. He felt sick saying them.
Gorim's face broke into a fierce, bloodthirsty grin. "It will be done, My Lord!"
"Master," came a soft, melodic voice. It was the girl with the guqin, Ling Qi, the 9th Disciple. "Would it not be more… efficient to send one of us? The garrison is led by an Elder in the Core Formation realm. The Third Legion will suffer heavy losses."
She's questioning my tactical decision. Is this a trap?
Li Wei turned his head slowly toward her. He remembered a fragment: Mo Ye valued efficiency, but valued absolute obedience more. He recalled the original's way of handling dissent.
He did not speak. He simply looked at her. He poured every ounce of his fear, his desperation to survive, into projecting an aura of utter, silent menace. He imagined the cold gaze of a god looking upon an insect.
Seconds ticked by. The gentle hum of Ling Qi's moonlight guqin stuttered and died. A single bead of sweat traced a path down her temple. She slowly bowed her head until her forehead touched her knees. "This disciple overstepped. The Master's wisdom is beyond my comprehension."
The tension in the hall was a live wire. No one else moved.
Li Wei rose from his throne. "This council is over. Attend to your duties."
He turned and walked out, his robe swirling behind him. He didn't look back. He could feel twelve pairs of eyes boring into his back, each filled with a complex mix of fear, respect, calculation, and hunger.
Only when he was back in the solitude of his obsidian bedchamber, the doors sealed with a wave of his hand (a gesture the body remembered), did he collapse against the cold stone.
His whole body trembled. He hugged himself, the grand Demon Lord robe feeling like a shroud.
"I can't do this," he whispered to the empty, dark room. "They're all going to kill me. I ordered a massacre. I… I…"
[Mission Update: Identity Maintained. Performance Assessment: Acceptable. Reward: 100 Apex Points.]
The screen flickered.
[Apex Points: 100]
[New Options Available:]
1. Lucky Draw x2 (Cost: 100 Points)
2. Access Card Purchase Shop.
A lifeline. In the suffocating darkness, a tiny spark of his old, analytical self ignited. Points. I need power. Real power, not just acting. He couldn't rely on bluffing forever. He remembered the card shop. Life Reversal Card.
"Show me the Card Shop."
A new screen appeared, like a catalog. It was sparse.
[Life Reversal Card (Consumable): Gradually restores host's life force to its peak state over time. Cost: 10,000 Apex Points.]
His hope sank. Ten thousand.
Other cards flashed:
Aura Concealment Card (Toggle): 5,000 Points.
Minor Healing Card (Consumable): 500 Points.
Qi Perception Boost Card (Toggle): 3,000 Points.
All far out of reach.
The Lucky Draw, then. A gamble. With 100 points, he could draw twice.
It's a risk. But I have no choice. He took a deep breath. "System. Conduct two Lucky Draws."
[Deducting 100 Apex Points. Points remaining: 0.]
Two virtual slots appeared in his vision, spinning wildly with blurred images of pills, swords, books, and glowing orbs.
The first slot slowed.
[Congratulations! You have obtained: 'Common Grade – Spirit Gathering Pill' x5.]
A basic cultivation aid. Useless to the supposed Demon Lord Mo Ye, but maybe… for the real me?
The second slot clunked to a halt.
The image glowed with a soft blue light.
[Congratulations! You have obtained: 'Rare Grade – Skill: [Eyes of the Unseen Soul].']
Information flooded his mind.
[Eyes of the Unseen Soul (Passive/Active)]
Grade: Rare
Passive Effect: Allows the host to perceive the true cultivation realm and approximate strength of any being, bypassing low-to-mid level concealment arts.
Active Effect (Cost: Qi): Briefly see the emotional state and immediate intent of a target. Higher cultivation realms and strong mental defenses can resist.]
Li Wei stared. This… this is a cheat. An information cheat. In a world of lies and power, where one wrong move meant death, the ability to see levels and intentions was priceless.
For the first time since waking up in this nightmare, a faint, desperate ember of hope glimmered in Li Wei's chest.
He wasn't the Demon Lord. He was a fraud in a dragon's skin, sitting on a mountain of enemies, with a sect to run and a war he just started.
But he had a system. And he had just drawn a card that might let him see the next bluff before he had to make it.
He looked at his reflection in a polished dark metal shield on the wall. The face that stared back was hauntingly handsome, pale, with sharp features and deep, ancient-looking eyes that now held a spark of terrified determination.
"Okay, Mo Ye," Li Wei said to his reflection, his voice a mixture of fear and grim resolve. "Let's see how long we can keep this act going."
Outside, the distant echoes of war drums began to sound as the Third Legion mobilized.
The Demon Lord's day had just begun.