The days after the Rift Trial were quiet on the surface.
Students whispered about the rankings, about how a newcomer with cold silver eyes and a black katana had claimed first place with terrifying ease. About how even Kai Tenrou, the lightning spear genius, had fallen silent around him. About how Alice White, once the shining gem of White Leaf, now followed quietly in his shadow.
---
Muzan spent the early mornings in the ACI's Gravity Training Chambers, the Onyx Edge slicing through air so dense it cracked with each swing. Flames and lightning sparked around him, controlled, contained, refined.
> [Draconic Flame Body Tempering Art: Intermediate Stage 12%]
Within his Soul Space, Varan's laughter echoed:
> "You're getting sharper, kid. That blade's starting to match your eyes."
Veldora's deep voice rumbled:
> "Do not let your mind dull, Muzan. Power is nothing if you cannot see the blades behind the smiles."
Muzan's silver irises reflected the training hall lights as he sheathed his blade, sweat evaporating instantly under his cold aura.
---
The system window flickered open:
> [Intermediate Tier Shop Available]
Sovereign Points: 8,600
He opened the shop calmly.
Shadow Veil (Intermediate Stealth Art) – 3,000
Flame Lightning Step (Advanced Movement Technique) – 5,000
Soul Piercing Gaze (Spirit Pressure Technique) – 2,500
Draconic Flame Forging Art (Weapon Enhancement) – 4,500
Muzan's eyes narrowed.
> "Buy Flame Lightning Step."
> [Purchase Complete: Sovereign Points Remaining – 3,600]
Lightning crackled around his feet as the technique integrated into his meridians, veins burning as they adapted to the new speed and layered flame-lightning movement.
---
That evening, an ACI assembly was called in the massive open-air coliseum.
Tens of thousands of students gathered under the twilight sky, mana lanterns floating above like distant stars. The stage was lined with instructors and elders in flowing black robes, but it was the man in the center who made the air feel heavy.
He wore a simple black robe, no ornaments, no rank badges. Yet the mana around him felt like an ocean, pressing down on every student's shoulders.
His hair was silver, like Muzan's, though streaked with black, and his dark blue eyes swept the crowd with calm authority.
High Instructor Icarus Raine, the ACI's Head Examiner.
---
His voice was soft, yet it carried across the entire coliseum, making the lanterns flicker.
"You stand here, children, not as nobles or peasants, but as cultivators seeking ascension. Some of you will reach it. Most will fail."
His eyes paused as they swept across Muzan's section, lingering for a fraction of a second before moving on.
"A test approaches. In one month, the Intercontinental Novice Examination will begin. Only the top 500 will be allowed to participate."
Whispers rippled through the students.
"Those who qualify will face teams from other continents—Arathorn, Ysveil, Kurogane, Tristane, and the Dominion of Orias. This is your chance to prove your worth before the eyes of the world."
His gaze sharpened.
"And before the eyes of the Monarchs."
---
The word fell like a blade, silencing the coliseum.
Muzan's eyes narrowed, the cold wind lifting his hair. He felt it, faint but present—a pressure watching him, far above, beyond the clouds.
Within his Soul Space, Veldora's voice rumbled:
> "They're watching already. Be careful, Muzan."
Varan's playful tone was gone, replaced with quiet seriousness:
> "You think they'll let you grow freely, kid?"
Muzan closed his eyes, the system window flickering with a new mission:
> [Mission Generated: Qualify for the Intercontinental Novice Examination]
[Optional Objective: Rank Top 10 in Preliminaries]
[Reward: Sovereign Points +5000, Sovereign Core Expansion]
---
As the assembly ended, the students dispersed into the cold night, tension thick in the air.
Alice approached him as he walked toward the dorms, her blue eyes searching his cold silver ones.
"Muzan… what will you do?"
His eyes flickered, pausing on her for a moment.
"Ascend."
And he turned, his black coat vanishing into the night, the Onyx Edge humming softly, hungry.
---
That night, as he meditated, focusing mana through the Draconic Flame Body Tempering Art, Muzan felt it—a faint, ancient mana probing around him.
A whisper, distant yet filled with intent:
> "So, Kibutsuji's spawn still lives…"
His eyes opened, silver irises glowing faintly in the darkness.
"If you're watching, then watch closely."
Lightning and flame gathered around him as he resumed his cultivation, the world outside unaware that beneath the cold gaze of a lone student, a storm was quietly brewing, ready to swallow Monarchs and kings alike.
---