⸻
The night sky was clear over the Inner Sect battlefield training ground, but to those present, it felt as if a storm brewed under their feet.
Li Xuan stepped onto the field.
Every step cracked the earth.
He wore black—not just in robe, but in spirit. The aura around him was different now. No longer Qi Condensation. No longer someone climbing toward Foundation Establishment.
He had shattered the very rules of cultivation.
The Nine Star Core pulsed inside him, drawing chaos into order. His breath was calm, but his blood was boiling.
System Notification:
—New Passive Skill Activated: Chaotic Pulse (Resonates with Killing Intent)—
Around him, his legion stood silently. No cheering. No fanfare. Just silent resolve.
These weren't boys anymore. Not after the special realm's final three days of carnage. They had fought demon disciples, clawed through betrayals, and bathed in death. They had lost brothers and avenged them all.
Now, they stood behind a leader reborn in chaos.
"Legion… ready your blades," Li Xuan said softly.
The sharp whisper of weapons drawn answered him.
[ "Nice," ] Long Chen's voice rang in his mind, amused. [ "Didn't even need to roar like an idiot. The killing intent says enough." ]
⸻
Earlier that day…
System Mission:
—Kill Rank 3 Thunderhide Beasts and harvest their cores—
—Bonus: Turn in at Inner Sect Pavilion for LCP and Contribution Points—
—Failure: Beast core backlash (spiritual poisoning)—
Li Xuan had accepted without hesitation.
He'd taken ten of his elite—those who survived the realm without flinching.
The Thunderhide Beasts were towering, muscular brutes with lightning veins running down their backs. Fast. Deadly. Brutally territorial.
Li Xuan studied them for hours from the Simulation Room before they ever engaged.
[ "No hero charges a thunder beast head-on without a plan," ] Long Chen scoffed. [ "Unless he's a corpse-in-waiting." ]
Through coordinated strikes, traps using spiritual herbs, and burst tactics powered by alchemical pills Li Xuan refined himself, they felled five. Each time, his brothers bled—but none died.
The beast cores they retrieved crackled with volatile power.
System Notification:
—Beast Cores Acquired: +5—
—Long Chen Points Gained: +125—
—Contribution Points Earned: +480—
—New System Shop Inventory Unlocked—
Back in his chambers, Li Xuan refined high-tier Blood Ignition Pills. Not for sale—but for his legion.
They howled like wild wolves under the night sky when the medicine took effect. Bloodline potential boiled. Muscles screamed. Their spirits hardened.
From boys, to soldiers.
⸻
Next day…
Inside the Inner Sect Hall, elders raised their brows as Li Xuan dumped the beast cores on the offering table.
"You're not even an Inner Disciple yet," one scoffed.
Li Xuan ignored him.
He walked past the murmurs, past the disdain, and paused at the mission board.
His eyes locked onto a restricted quest.
—Blacklight Auction House—
—Status: Corrupt—
—Objective: Recover stolen disciples' assets—
—Warning: Elder-backing suspected. Political blowback guaranteed.
—Reward: Random Skill Scroll + LCP x5 multiplier + Sect Quota Token (1)
—Failure: Strip of contribution rank + fine + public punishment—
He pulled it down.
Gasps followed. One inner disciple stood up. "You'll lose everything."
Li Xuan turned, calm and cold. "Then I'll take it back."
⸻
Two nights later, the Blacklight Auction House exploded.
Not just physically—but reputationally.
Li Xuan and his shadow squad infiltrated during a private auction. Inside, chained rogue cultivators were being sold as 'assets.' Among them—an outer sect girl who once gifted his brothers healing herbs when they had nothing.
System Notification:
—Injustice Identified—
—Karma Alignment Triggered—
—Hidden Path Unlocked: Path of Rebellion—
[ "That's more like it," ] Long Chen muttered. [ "Crush corruption from the root. Not with words, but with blade and fire." ]
Li Xuan didn't hold back. The elders who arrived too late found the building still burning, records stolen, the corrupt branch master stripped, beaten, and nailed to the stone gates.
On the charred wall, written in beast blood:
"I do not explain myself."
⸻
System Update:
Cultivation: Nine Star Core Formation – Stage 1 (175/900 EXP)
Long Chen Points: 1062 / ∞
System Shop: Expanded Inventory
Legion Strength: Hardened Core – 15 elite members at Foundation threshold
New Skills Unlocked:
• Burning Blood Will (Team Passive)
• Iron Line Formation (Squad Technique)
Mission Reward: Sect Quota Token to participate in the Sect-Wide Competition
⸻
Back in his courtyard, Li Xuan silently studied a list of names—favored inner disciples. Opponents.
He traced his finger across the top name and smiled.
"…Let's see which of you falls first."