One Month Later.
The Mist-Shrouded Mountain Range.
The Tower of Heavenly Trials was gone.
Where the obsidian monolith had once pierced the clouds, there was now only a massive, perfect crater, five miles wide and smooth as glass. The earth around it was scorched, radiating a faint, chaotic energy that made spirit beasts flee in terror.
At the edge of the crater stood two titans of the Southern Region.
Ren Tianxing, Sect Leader of the Iron Blood Sect, stared into the abyss, his crimson armor reflecting the sun. Beside him stood Jian Chen, Sect Leader of the Azure Sword Sect, his hand resting on his hilt.
"It is gone," Jian Chen said, his voice tight. "Along with my genius disciple, Ye Qingyu."
"The broadcast showed everything," Ren Tianxing rumbled. "Your disciple was crushed by a fat man. My disciple... Lin Fan... was the one who pulled the trigger."
"Your disciple?" Jian Chen spat. "That thing is a demon. He executed a child. He betrayed his team. He stole the Key to the Heavens. Do you claim him, Ren Tianxing?"
Ren Tianxing looked at the crater. He thought of the Admin Token. He thought of the guns, the strange artifacts, the "Admin Privileges."
"I claim him," Ren Tianxing said, a greedy light igniting in his eyes. "He is a disciple of the Iron Blood Sect. Therefore, the Token belongs to the Sect."
"Heh," Jian Chen sneered. "If you think he will hand it over, you are a fool. The entire world watched him. The Imperial Capital has issued a warrant. The Shadow Pavilion has put a bounty on his head. Your 'disciple' is a walking treasury."
Jian Chen turned to leave, his blue cape snapping in the wind.
"Find him if you can, Old Ghost Ren. But when I find him... I will peel the skin from his bones to avenge my sect's honor."
The Outskirts. A Woodcutter's Hut.
Far from the politics of the crater, in a humble shack at the edge of the forest, Zhang Wei sat by a straw bed.
His younger sister, Xiao Mei, was sitting up. Her cheeks, usually pale and deathly, had a faint flush of color. She was eating a bowl of white porridge made from the Spirit Rice Zhang Wei had brought back from Floor 5.
"Brother," Xiao Mei whispered. "You look... different."
Zhang Wei looked at his hands. They were calloused, scarred. He touched his chest, where the ribs had knit back together.
"I went to a bad place, Mei," Zhang Wei said softly. "I saw terrible things."
He looked at the table. Lying there was the Sun Scepter (Flashlight) and a small pile of Spirit Stones given to him by Su Mei as a severance package.
"But you brought back the medicine," Xiao Mei smiled. "You are a hero."
Zhang Wei flinched.
"No," he whispered. "I am not a hero. I stood by and watched a monster be born. I let him sell me. I let him win."
He stood up and walked to the door. He picked up his rusty iron sword. It felt light now. Too light.
"Eat your rice, Mei," Zhang Wei said, staring at the distant peaks of the Iron Blood Sect. "I have to go chop wood. I need to be stronger. Strong enough that next time... I don't have to be the bait."
In the shadows of the forest, a figure in black leather watched him. Su Mei twirled a dagger, smiling.
"Grow strong, Woodcutter," she whispered. "The Demon King needs a Challenger."
The Iron Blood Sect. The Woodshed.
It was night. The moon was hidden behind storm clouds.
The Sect was on high alert. Patrols roamed the skies on flying swords. They were looking for Lin Fan.
But they were looking at the gates. They were looking at the main halls.
They didn't look at the garbage dump.
The door to the dilapidated woodshed creaked open.
A figure in a tattered Mantle of the Villain stepped inside.
Lin Fan inhaled the smell of mold and dry straw. This was where he had started. This was where he had killed the rat.
"Home sweet home," Lin Fan whispered.
He sat on the pile of straw. He was exhausted. For a month, he had been hiding in the wilderness, waiting for the heat to die down. But the heat never died down. The "Sky Screens" had made him the most famous person on the continent.
He looked at his hand. The Ring of the False King was stuck fast to his finger.
[Luck: -50.]
"No wonder I stepped in every spirit beast trap on the way back," Lin Fan muttered.
He reached into his robe and pulled out the prize.
The Admin Token.
It was a small, golden tablet, heavy and warm. It hummed with the same energy as the Sovereign.
"System," Lin Fan commanded. "Interface."
[Connecting to Tower Network...]
[Error: Tower Offline.]
[Rerouting to: The Sovereign's Vault (Remote Access).]
A holographic menu projected from the token.
[Welcome, Admin Lin Fan.]
[Current Balance: 0 Admin Coins.]
[Exchange Rate: 1,000 Spirit Stones = 1 Admin Coin.]
[Available Blueprints:]
Spirit-Combustion Engine (Car Blueprint): 50 Coins.
Gatling Gun of Mercy (Heavy Weapon): 100 Coins.
Satellite Array (Spy Network): 500 Coins.
Biological Mutagen (Super Soldier Serum): 1,000 Coins.
Lin Fan's eyes widened. This wasn't just a shop. It was an industrial revolution.
"If I build these..." Lin Fan whispered. "I don't need a Sect. I can build an army."
DONG... DONG...
Suddenly, the great bells of the Iron Blood Sect began to toll. Not the morning bell. The Intruder Alarm.
[System Warning: Seal 2 Blueprint Scan.]
[Threat Detected.]
[300 Hostiles surrounding the Woodshed.]
[Leader: Ren Tianxing (Golden Core Stage).]
Lin Fan sighed. "They found me."
He stood up. He checked his internal Qi. His Natal Desert Eagle hummed in his soul. He had refilled his Dantian by eating the cores of beasts in the wild. He was ready.
"Lin Fan!"
Ren Tianxing's voice boomed from outside, shaking the flimsy wooden walls.
"Come out, Disciple! Hand over the Token, and the Sect will protect you from the world! Refuse... and we will take it from your corpse!"
Lin Fan laughed. It was a cold, sharp sound.
"Protect me?" Lin Fan spoke to the empty room. "You want to eat me."
He walked to the door.
He didn't open it. He kicked it off its hinges.
CRASH.
Lin Fan stepped out into the clearing.
Hundreds of torches illuminated the night. On the roofs, on the ground, floating in the air—the entire Iron Blood Sect was there. Elders, Deacons, Disciples.
And in the center, Sect Leader Ren Tianxing, glowing with red power.
"You look terrible, boy," Ren Tianxing sneered. "Where is your arrogance now?"
Lin Fan looked at the army. He looked at the greedy eyes of the men who used to be his "family."
He slowly pulled his hood up. The shadows of the Mantle obscured his face, leaving only two glowing blue eyes visible.
He raised his right hand.
Snap.
The Desert Eagle materialized in his grip, wreathed in violet Void Lightning.
"My arrogance?" Lin Fan asked, his voice amplified by the silence.
He pointed the gun at the Sect Leader.
"My arrogance is right here."
[Current Objective: Survive the World.]
[Villain Arc: START.]
The Sovereign's Palace.
The Sovereign sat on his throne, watching the scene on his obsidian mirror.
"And so," the Sovereign whispered, "The Tutorial ends."
He picked up a new book. The cover was blank.
"The Rat has become a Wolf. The Woodcutter has picked up a Sword. And the World has woken up."
He dipped a brush in golden ink.
"Now... let us write the Tragedy."