Dawn cracked like a war drum over the Hollow Bone Sect.
For most disciples, it marked another day of routine cultivation, chore rotations, and minor skirmishes.
For Kael Draven?
It was a day to break another law of reality.
He stood atop the central peak—barefoot, shirtless, and bored.
The wind carried incense from the Core Pavilion below. Disciples moved in formation like ants pretending to be dragons. Kael simply watched, smirking.
[System Alert: Chaos Threshold Stable at 48 Chaos Points]
[Predatory Insight: Active – 11 Cultivation Techniques Memorized. Weakness Analysis: 73% Complete.]
Kael yawned.
"Still boring."
A Visitor with Curves and Questions
He sensed her before he saw her.
Fragrance of orchid wine.
Aura laced with lust and layered scripts.
Elder Han's Wife.
She walked up the slope in a blood-silk robe, hair pinned with a gold phoenix comb. Every step was engineered seduction—yet laced with something older. Something hungry.
"Kael Draven. You're quite the storm."
He didn't turn.
"You've been watching me."
"So have the stars."
She circled him slowly, fingers trailing near his back—but never touching.
"I hear you rewrote an illusion array meant to fracture divine minds."
"I got bored."
"And turned a memory of death into a fantasy of domination."
Kael finally turned.
Their eyes locked.
"Let's cut the act, Empress."
She froze.
"You remember."
"Not clearly. But enough. You used to command the skies. Now you hide beneath a coward's bedsheets."
Her smile flickered. Then sharpened.
"I'm not hiding. I'm waiting. For something worthy to shatter this cursed wheel of fate."
Kael stepped forward. Towering.
"Then watch closely. Because I'm not just here to break fate. I'm here to enslave it."
She smiled.
And disappeared.
Only a single gold hairpin remained, stuck in the ground where she had stood.
Back at the Inner Sect Pavilion
Kael returned to his chambers. Or what passed for them—just a stone platform with a roof and too many scrolls about him.
[System Update: Chaos Quest Unlocked – "Corrupt the Core"]
Objective: Infiltrate the Core Pavilion. Learn one forbidden technique. Humiliate one Chosen Disciple. Acquire one scandalous secret.]
Reward: Chaos Points +10 | MILF Radar Upgrade | System Map Unlock
Kael grinned.
"Finally, a quest with flavor."
He donned a tattered cloak, adjusted the gold hairpin into his sash like a trophy, and vanished.
Core Pavilion: Heart of Hypocrisy
The Core Pavilion towered like a sanctum of light—layers of jade architecture sealed in arrays and embroidered curtains.
Only core disciples and elders could enter.
Unless…
You were Kael.
He walked through the main gate.
No badge. No pass.
Just a presence that made reality hiccup.
Guards looked at him—and forgot why they cared.
"Am I even supposed to be here?" one asked.
"Does it matter?" the other replied.
Kael walked past them into the archive.
Section 11: Forbidden Techniques
He found scrolls sealed behind spirit chains.
A sign read:
"Authorized Viewing Requires 5 Spirit Seals and Elder Witness."
Kael touched the chains.
[Chaos Infusion: Bypass Authority Script]
Chains dissolved.
Scrolls fluttered open.
He read in silence. Memorized everything.
[New Techniques Acquired:
— Echo Palm of Time Regression
— Soul Splice Bloom
— Void Art: Kiss of Starfire]
Then came a whisper.
"Who the hell are you?"
Kael turned.
A tall young man stood there—proud jaw, golden robe, and a tiger-shaped spirit weapon floating beside him.
Jin Zhenhai. Rank #1 Core Disciple.
"Are you lost, mutt?" he sneered.
Kael nodded. "Yes. I was looking for intelligence. Found you instead."
Jin's aura exploded.
"YOU DARE—!"
Kael flicked a scroll. It hit Jin's chest.
[Chaos Trigger: Scroll of Reflection Activated]
Jin was flung back by his own spiritual backlash—his tiger spirit growled in confusion.
Kael stepped forward, whispering.
"I've seen a thousand chosen ones.
You all die the same."
"Screaming, confused, and unimportant."
He walked out of the Pavilion as Jin coughed blood.
Guards didn't stop him.
Because their knees were already on the floor.
That Night: Whisper Bloom Garden
Kael stood under the silver tree—rumored to be where sect founders once wept blood into the soil.
The moon turned red above him.
And from the shadows emerged familiar figures:
A blind archer from his trial team.
The crying girl with the broken blade.
The beast tamer named Fodder.
All changed.
All glowing faintly.
"You summoned us," said the archer.
"You gave us a taste of rebellion," said the girl.
"You showed us that trash can devour gods," said Fodder.
Kael studied them.
"Then are you ready to build the sewer into a kingdom?"
"Yes."
Kael raised his hand.
"Then listen well. First we corrupt the core. Then we poison the elders. Then..."
He smiled, voice like thunder and seduction intertwined.
"...we make the Immortals kneel."
Somewhere Far Above
A portal opened in a dimension wrapped in starlight.
A being in a black veil whispered:
"The anomaly has reached Phase 1."
Another replied:
"Prepare the culling teams. No bug grows unchecked."
But deep in the shadows behind them?
A third voice laughed.
"You still think he's a bug?"
"You fools. He's not the error."
"He's the new code."