The drums faded into a grim, rhythmic thunder in the distance. Li Wei stood frozen in the center of his chamber, the echoes of his own command—"Let the mountains run red"—haunting him. He was a man who had never raised his voice in anger, now responsible for a military expedition.
"System," he whispered, his voice hoarse. "Activate 'Eyes of the Unseen Soul.' Passive mode."
A subtle shift occurred in his vision. The world didn't change dramatically, but details gained a new layer. The ambient spiritual energy in the room, previously just a feeling, now appeared as a faint, swirling grey mist. The obsidian of his walls hummed with a deep, earth-attuned energy signature.
He needed to test it. He needed to understand his prison.
He walked to the door, took a steadying breath, and opened it. Two guards stood at attention in the hallway. They were not like Gorim; these were lesser demons, part of the Outer Discipline's rank and file. Horns, scaled skin, eyes burning with low-grade hellfire.
As his gaze fell on them, translucent text superimposed over their forms.
[Guard Luo]
Cultivation: 3rd Stage of Foundation Establishment Realm
Approximate Combat Strength: Low
Emotional State: Fear/Awe (Directed at you)
Immediate Intent: Protect. Obey.
[Guard Huan]
Cultivation: 4th Stage of Foundation Establishment Realm
Approximate Combat Strength: Low-Mid
Emotional State: Fear/Pride (In standing guard for the Lord)
Immediate Intent: Stand vigilant.
It works. The information was a cool balm on his panic. They weren't suspicious. They were just scared, loyal grunts. He could work with that.
He began to walk, his silent guards falling in behind him at a respectful distance. He had no destination. He needed to map his territory, to see the pieces on the board his predecessor had left him.
The Abyssal Peak Sect was built into and atop a monstrous, jagged mountain that speared into a perpetual twilight sky. The architecture was a blend of brutalist stone and eerie organic growth—petrified bone bridges, halls lit by bioluminescent fungi, gardens of shrieking, carnivorous flowers.
And everywhere, demons.
His eyes scrolled data endlessly.
[Lesser Imp – Qi Condensation Realm – Intent: Scuttle, Clean]
[Alchemy Apprentice – Foundation Establishment Realm – Intent: Don't blow up the cauldron]
[Scribe Demon – Foundation Establishment Realm – Intent: Transcribe, Don't make errors]
It was overwhelming, but the sheer normalcy of it was also calming. They were just… people. Working. Living. Terrified of him.
He found himself on a wide balcony overlooking a vast training ground. Hundreds of demons, the Outer Discipline army, were drilling. Swords clashed, spells erupted in bursts of dark fire and shadow, roars filled the air. It was a scene from a nightmare.
At the head of a battalion, he saw Gorim. The giant was not just commanding; he was a force of nature. He moved with shocking speed for his size, his fists shattering training dummies made of enchanted stone.
Li Wei focused his Eyes on him.
[Gorim, The Stone-Skinned – Master of Outer Discipline]
Cultivation: 7th Stage of Core Formation Realm (Early)
Approximate Combat Strength: High (Sect Commander Tier)
Emotional State: Bloodthirsty Anticipation / Ferocious Loyalty
Immediate Intent: Train the Legion. Crush the Scarlet Cloud vermin.
Core Formation. Two major realms above Foundation Establishment. The gap in power was astronomical. And this was just his gatekeeper.
A soft chuckle sounded beside him. Li Wei didn't jump—Mo Ye wouldn't—but his heart tried to escape his ribcage. He turned his head slowly.
It was the woman from the council, Xing Yue, the 2nd Disciple. She had appeared without a sound. Her hair of liquid shadow flowed around her, and her galaxy-swirl eyes held a teasing light.
"Master finds the drills entertaining?" she asked, her voice like silk over a dagger.
[Xing Yue, The Star-Devourer – 2nd Disciple]
Cultivation: 9th Stage of Core Formation Realm (Peak)
Approximate Combat Strength: Extreme (Sect Pillar Tier)
Emotional State: Amused Curiosity / Profound Caution
Immediate Intent: Probe. Observe your condition.
Probe. Observe. The words were a cold splash of water. She was testing him. Right now.
Li Wei kept his face a mask of ice. He looked back at the training grounds. "Efficiency is lacking," he stated, picking a critique at random from Mo Ye's memories. "Formation shifts are slow by 0.3 seconds. It will cost lives."
He felt, rather than saw, her slight pause. Had he guessed right?
"The Master's perception is, as always, impeccable," she said, her tone not changing. "This disciple will have Gorim drill them until their bones remember the correct tempo."
She was still watching him. The 'Eyes' showed her Caution spiking.
"Your own cultivation," Li Wei said, turning to face her fully. He let his gaze, now armed with the system's insight, rest on her. He saw the vast, swirling core of energy within her, a miniature cosmos contained in her dantian. It was terrifyingly beautiful. "You linger at the peak. The bottleneck to Nascent Soul is not a wall to be headbutted, but a door to be unlocked with the correct key."
He was spouting generic cultivation nonsense, but it was the kind of vague, profound advice a master would give.
Her galaxy eyes widened a fraction. The Amusement faded, replaced by Sharp Interest. "This disciple has been contemplating the Void-Devouring Scripture's third paradox. The key eludes me."
Shit. She's asking for specific advice. I don't know what the Void-Devouring Scripture is!
He was silent for a long moment. He channeled all his fear into making that silence feel heavy, profound. Then he spoke, his voice dropping to a whisper meant only for her. "You seek to devour the void. But have you considered… that you must first let the void devour you?"
It was absolute, meaningless philosophical drivel. But said with enough conviction by the Demon Lord, it sounded like ultimate wisdom.
Xing Yue's breath hitched. Her entire aura stilled. The swirling galaxies in her eyes slowed. She stared at him, then slowly, deeply, bowed. "A revelation," she murmured, her voice tinged with real awe. "Thank you, Master. This disciple… has much to ponder."
She melted back into the shadows, leaving Li Wei alone on the balcony, his back clammy with cold sweat.
Holy hell. That worked?
[Interaction Complete: Identity Reinforced. Apex Points +50 for successfully navigating a high-level probe.]
[Current Apex Points: 50]
The points were a comfort, but the close call was a stark warning. He couldn't rely on bullshitting his way past the Disciples forever. He needed real knowledge. He needed to understand this world's power system, its history, its politics. And he needed to do it without looking like he was studying it for the first time.
An idea struck him. The library. Every grand sect had a massive archive.
He summoned a passing imp. The creature flinched and prostrated itself. "The Grand Archive," Li Wei commanded. "Lead me."
The archive was not a quiet hall of books. It was a cavernous, multi-leveled chasm, its shelves carved into the living rock, stretching up into darkness. The "books" were jade slips, spirit stones etched with information, scrolls made of preserved monster hide, and floating orbs of condensed memory.
The archivist, an ancient, hunched demon with eyes like milky pearls and four arms constantly cross-referencing slips, nearly tripped over himself kowtowing.
"Leave me," Li Wei ordered.
Alone, he finally let his shoulders slump. He was safe, for a moment. He reached for a jade slip randomly. As his spiritual sense touched it, information flowed into his mind: 'Treatise on the Corrosive Properties of Netherwater.' Useless.
He needed a foundation. He searched, using the vague memories of Mo Ye as a guide. He found a basic primer: 'The Great Dao: A Cultivator's Primer.'
He absorbed it.
The world had Qi, spiritual energy. Cultivators refined it through stages:
Qi Condensation (Gathering energy)
Foundation Establishment (Solidifying one's base)
Core Formation (Condensing a core of power)
Nascent Soul (Birthing a spiritual avatar of oneself) – This was where Mo Ye had been.
Soul Transformation (A legend)
And beyond…
Realms were divided into Early, Mid, Late, and Peak stages of each layer. The power difference between each small stage was significant; between whole realms, it was often insurmountable.
There were also Disciplines—the paths one walked. The memories confirmed he had twelve. Not just students, but twelve philosophies of power he had mastered and embodied: Shadow, Blood, Bone, Soul, Plague, Space, and others he couldn't fully grasp yet. Each Disciple represented one. He was supposed to be the master of all.
It was horrifically complex.
He was about to reach for another slip when a sharp, discordant chime echoed through the mountain, followed by a distant, powerful explosion that made the archive tremble.
ALARM.
The archivist scrambled back in. "M-my Lord! Forgive the intrusion! The sect's perimeter wards in the Eastern Vein… they've been breached! An attack!"
The Scarlet Cloud Sect? So soon? Retaliation?
Fear clenched his gut, but another part, the part that was learning to wear the crown, assessed coldly. This was a crisis. The Demon Lord would respond.
He strode out of the archive, his robe flowing behind him. As he moved towards the source of the disturbance, his mind raced. This was it. His first real test. Not a council of words, but a battle. He had no combat skill. He had only his aura, his acting, and his new Eyes.
He reached a high parapet overlooking the eastern foothills. Below, a scene of chaos unfolded. A section of the dark, thorny perimeter forest was on fire with unnatural green flames. Figures in light blue and white robes—Scarlet Cloud disciples—clashed with his demonic guards. But at the vanguard of the enemy was a single, older man on a floating sword. His aura was a blazing pillar of sharp, metallic intent, cutting through the demonic Qi.
Li Wei focused his Eyes.
[Elder Bai Feng, Scarlet Cloud Sect]
Cultivation: 5th Stage of Core Formation Realm (Mid)
Approximate Combat Strength: High (Elder Tier)
Emotional State: Confident Contempt / Burning Rage
Immediate Intent: Decapitate the demon commander, break morale, retreat.
The demon commander was Gorim, who was holding a defensive line but was being forced back, his stone skin cracking under a hail of luminous sword beams. Gorim was stronger, but the elder had the advantage of range and a lethal flying sword.
The gathered demons on the walls were watching. His own Disciples would be sensing this. Their Master's response was being judged.
Li Wei's mouth went dry. He had to do something. Something decisively Mo Ye.
He remembered a fragment. A simple technique. Not an attack, but a demonstration of absolute dominion. A Nascent Soul realm pressure release.
Could he do it? Did the body remember?
He had no choice.
Li Wei closed his eyes. He reached inward, not to his own non-existent core, but to the dormant, vast reservoir of power left in Mo Ye's body. It was like trying to steer a tectonic plate. He couldn't control it, but he could… nudge it. He could open a valve.
He stepped to the edge of the parapet. He opened his eyes, and he let go.
It wasn't a wave. It was the sudden, crushing presence of the deep ocean descending onto a pond.
An invisible, soundless WHOOM emanated from him.
The green flames snuffed out instantly. Every single Scarlet Cloud disciple below, except for the Elder on the sword, dropped to their knees, vomiting blood, their Qi in disarray. The flying sword aimed at Gorim wobbled and lost its glow.
Elder Bai Feng's face went from contempt to sheer, unadulterated terror. He looked up, his eyes finding the lone figure on the high wall.
Li Wei stared down. He didn't speak. He didn't gesture. He simply looked, pouring every ounce of the system-granted insight into that gaze, making it not just powerful, but knowing. He saw the Elder's cracked foundation, his fear of death, his ambition that had led him here.
Under that gaze, Elder Bai Feng's confidence shattered. He spat out a mouthful of blood, turned his sword, and fled like a scalded dog, abandoning his disciples.
Absolute silence fell on the battlefield.
Then, a roar erupted from the demon forces. A roar of triumph, of worship.
Gorim looked up at him, his yellow eyes blazing with fanatical fervor. "THE SOVEREIGN!"
On the walls, Li Wei saw several of his Disciples had appeared. Xing Yue was there, her expression unreadable. The sickly Feng Ji. The brute with volcanic skin. They had felt the pressure. They had seen the result.
Li Wei turned and walked away from the edge, back into the shadows of the fortress. The moment he was out of sight, his legs buckled. He caught himself on the wall, his whole body trembling, a searing pain lancing through his spiritual channels. He had overextended. The body had power, but his soul couldn't handle directing it.
[Warning: Host's soul strain at 45%. Minor spiritual backlash detected.]
[Achievement Unlocked: 'Apex Display' – Cowing a Core Formation Elder with presence alone.]
[Apex Points +200.]
[Current Apex Points: 250]
He had done it. He had survived the first attack. He had played the part.
But as he slumped against the cold stone, listening to the cheers of a army he now commanded, Li Wei felt no victory. Only a deeper, more profound exhaustion, and the chilling certainty that the eyes watching him from within his own sect were even more dangerous than the enemy outside.