The brutal annihilation of Gaius Trak and his guard detail became known instantly across Neo-Terra as the Obsidian Purge. News spread not through official channels, but through the psychic network linking all cultivators: a new Epic-Warrior had emerged, one capable of overwhelming force, and his power was aimed squarely at the established guilds.
The name "Viktor D. Harper" was still linked to the worthless "Novice" record, causing mass confusion. Guilds began reviewing decades of talent reports, trying to understand how a failure could jump from Stage 1 to Epic-Warrior in less than a month.
The Upper Sectors—the domains of the Kings, Emperors, and the solitary Monarch—remained silent, but their attention had sharpened. The Monarchs rarely cared about the skirmishes of the lower realms, but an Epic-Warrior capable of such precise, brutal destruction was a variable they could not ignore.
The Home Front
Viktor returned to his apartment, the blood washed clean, his demeanor outwardly calm. Elara was sitting by the tiny television, her face pale, watching the endless, looping footage of the Obsidian Shield Citadel wreckage. She didn't look at him, but she knew he was there.
"That power," she whispered, her hands shaking slightly. "It was... terrifying."
"It was necessary," Viktor said, his tone devoid of emotion. He was protecting her, and sometimes protection meant showing the world the teeth of their protector.
"Gaius Trak," she murmured, reciting the news reports. "They said he was destroyed by a new Epic-Warrior. But they said the attack was so precise, so fast..." She finally looked at Viktor, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and awe. "Was that you, Brother?"
Viktor did not lie, but he did not tell the full truth. He simply showed her his system status, allowing only the top line to shimmer into her mind's eye.
$$\text{EPIC-WARRIOR}$$
"I have been hiding my true abilities," Viktor stated flatly. "I am not a Novice. I ascended quickly. The world must believe I have always been strong, just concealed. Now that I have revealed myself, no one will dare harm you, Elara. Not the Crimson Fangs, not the Obsidian Shield, not anyone in this sector."
Elara stared, her breath catching. The relief was palpable, overcoming the shock. She rushed forward and hugged him tightly, burying her face in his chest.
"You risked yourself... for me," she mumbled.
"Always," Viktor affirmed, his voice soft only for her. He used his immense, hidden power for her safety, but he would use his overwhelming strength for his own boundless ambition.
Consolidating Power
With his new power, Viktor immediately moved them. He confiscated a slightly larger, undamaged apartment in a mid-level residential block—one that had belonged to a now-deceased Epic-Warrior who had unwisely challenged one of Reye's rivals.
He set up energy-dampening fields around the apartment (using basic techniques scraped from his network knowledge) to ensure his rapid cultivation remained absolutely undetectable. He needed to reach Stage 9 Epic-Warrior and be ready to break through to the Master Realm before the Upper Sector decided to investigate him personally.
His current cultivation rate was phenomenal, but he had a glaring weakness in his abilities: he only had combat and defensive passives. He needed utility.
The Next Target: The Special Talent
Viktor required a Special Talent that would provide him with informational power and allow him to bypass security systems, track high-level targets, and facilitate the acquisition of the Prime Essence Treasure needed to eventually upgrade his Systematic Replication talent.
He reviewed his target list.
Target for Day 30:Master Archivist Lena Corvus. An old, retired Master Realm Cultivator who had stepped down from the city's main library.
Public Talent:Top-Tier Eidetic Memory. (Good, but not his target.)
Hidden Talent (The Goal):Epic-Tier Sensory Talent: All-Sight Scrutiny.
All-Sight Scrutiny was a unique informational Talent. It allowed the user to perceive and process all latent energies, digital signals, and hidden mana streams in a wide radius, essentially granting perfect surveillance and security bypassing capabilities.
Lena Corvus was currently working as a private data broker, protected by a highly complex, multi-layered security system. She was untouchable to common thieves. But Viktor was not a thief; he was an Epic-Warrior who would arrive with Epic-Tier force.
The challenge: Lena Corvus was a Stage 1 Master. His Stage 1 Epic-Warrior rank was equivalent to her power, meaning this would be his first fight against a true Master Realm cultivator—a risky prospect, even with his overwhelming talents.
The key was precision: attack her location when she was most focused on information processing, using the Phantom Blade Barrage to end the fight instantly, and ensure she was touched before she could mount a defense.
He had 30 days to ascend to Stage 4 Epic-Warrior and prepare for the overwhelming conflict with a Master.