The night in the Imperial Capital was usually a spectacle of lantern-lit canals and floating gardens, but tonight, a heavy, unnatural silence had fallen over the Master Teacher Pavilion. The air felt thick, like stagnant water, and the silver mist of the Central Continent had turned into a suffocating, grey shroud.
Inside the Celestial Path Academy's flying boat, Lin Fan sat cross-legged in the center of the deck. His eyes were closed, but his consciousness was expanded across the entire city, fueled by the newly unlocked Level 5 Divine Library.
[Divine Library: Eye of the Creator Active...]
[Detection: 10,000+ Shadow-Lifeforms infiltrating the city's sub-structures.]
[Warning: High Elder Yan's soul-signature is 90% corrupted by Demonic Origin.]
[Hidden Task Detected: The Saintess's Life is in Jeopardy. Protect the Saintess to unlock the 'Sovereign's Military Decree'.]
"Teacher..." Mu Tie stepped out of the shadows, his frost-aura so cold that the deck beneath him was turning to ice. "The guards at the Pavilion gates... they aren't breathing. They are standing still, but their hearts have stopped."
"They are Shadow-Puppets," Lin Fan said, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "The Demon King hasn't just sent an army; he has already replaced the leadership. High Elder Yan is no longer human."
Suddenly, a piercing scream echoed from the Heavenly Music Wing of the Pavilion. It was the frequency of the Saintess, but it was broken, filled with a jagged, soul-tearing pain.
"Ling'er, Lu Bao! Protect the students and the boat!" Lin Fan commanded, his body turning into a blur of light. "Mu Tie, follow me. It's time to show the Pavilion what happens when they touch one of mine."
The Assassination of the Saintess
Inside the Jade Melody Chamber, Saintess Qingya was surrounded by twelve hooded figures. These weren't the Music Elders from earlier; these were Shadow-Seeker Assassins, each at Stage 9.
Qingya stood in the center, her silk robes torn, her veil gone. She was playing her jade harp, but her fingers were bleeding. The 'Silent Note' Lin Fan had taught her was the only thing keeping the black smoke of the assassins at bay.
"Your melody is fading, Saintess," High Elder Yan said, stepping through the shadows. His face was no longer human; black veins crawled up his neck, and his eyes were pits of endless darkness. "The Demon King requires your 'Pure Soul-Essence' to unlock the Void-Gate. Give it to us, and your death will be painless."
"The Music of the Heavens... does not bow to monsters," Qingya gasped, her soul flickering.
Yan raised his black crystal. "Then perish in silence!"
He lunged, his hand turning into a claw of shadow-energy aimed directly at Qingya's heart.
CLANG!
A silver-blue flash of frost-energy intercepted the claw. Mu Tie appeared, his sword vibrating with such intensity that the shadow-claws shattered upon contact.
"A student?" Yan hissed. "You dare interfere with a High Elder?"
"You aren't an Elder," a cold, calm voice echoed from the doorway. "You're just a flawed script that needs to be erased."
Lin Fan walked in. He didn't look like a teacher; he looked like a God of Judgment. His Five Divine Halos were spinning so fast they created a vacuum, sucking the shadow-energy out of the room.
The Hidden Task: Unlocking the Shadow Army
"Lin Fan!" Yan roared, his Stage 9 (Peak) power exploding. "You are just a Stage 5 teacher with a library! I will tear your soul out and use it as a footstool!"
[Divine Library: Analyzing High Elder Yan...]
[Flaws: Infinite. The entity is a composite of 1,000 dead souls.]
[Strategy: Use 'The Eye of the Creator' to dismantle the soul-stitching.]
Lin Fan didn't fight Yan with brute force. He raised his hand and began to draw a complex Array in the air with his finger.
"Mu Tie, protect the Saintess. I am going to perform a 'Soul-Surgery'."
As Yan lunged, Lin Fan's finger tapped the center of the High Elder's forehead.
[Teacher's Skill: The Sovereign's Correction.]
A pulse of Holy Qi shot through Yan's body. It didn't explode; it began to "untie" the black veins. Yan screamed as the 1,000 souls inside him began to fight each other, their "Flaws" exposed to the light of the library.
"No! My power! My immortality!" Yan shrieked as his body began to dissolve into grey ash.
[Ding! Hidden Task Complete: Saintess Protected.]
[Reward: Hidden Feature Unlocked—The Shadow Army (Solo Leveling Type).]
[System Note: You have gained the 'Military Decree of the Sovereign'. All fallen foes within the library's scan can now be 'Re-manifested' as Shadow-Soldiers.]
Lin Fan looked at the dissolving shadow-assassins. He raised his hand and spoke the command that would change the novel's power balance forever.
"Arise."
The black smoke on the floor didn't disappear. It began to swirl and solidify. Twelve tall, knight-like figures in black armor with blue-flaming eyes rose from the ground. They knelt before Lin Fan, their swords planted in the jade floor.
[Shadow Army Level 1: 12 Shadow-Knights (Stage 9 Power).]
Qingya looked at the shadow-soldiers in awe. "You... you can command the very shadows that tried to kill us?"
"I don't command shadows," Lin Fan said, helping her up. "I command the Truth. And the truth is, these souls now serve the Light."
The 9-Star Trial: The Void Dimension
Despite the victory, the ground began to shake. The black light from the Northern Continent had reached the Capital.
"The 9-Star Trial..." Grandmaster Mo appeared at the door, his robes scorched. "Lin Fan, the Pavilion's core is being breached. If you do not take the 9-Star Trial now and obtain the 'Grand Seal of the Sage', the Demon King will manifest his physical body in this realm!"
"Where is the trial?" Lin Fan asked.
"In the Void-Dimension," Mo pointed to a swirling vortex of purple and black energy in the center of the Pavilion's peak. "It is a place where time and space do not exist. You must face the 'Echoes of the Nine Sages'. If you fail, you will be trapped in the void forever."
Lin Fan turned to his students and Qingya.
"Stay with the flying boat. Protect the city. My Shadow Army will stay here to assist you."
"Teacher, be careful," Ling'er said, her Phoenix wings glowing with worry.
Lin Fan nodded and stepped into the vortex.
The Void: Echoes of the Nine Sages
Lin Fan found himself standing on a platform of white light in an endless sea of stars. In front of him sat nine figures, each radiating a power that made the 4-Star Grandmaster Mo look like a child. These were the Original 9-Star Master Teachers.
"Lin Fan," the first Sage spoke, his voice echoing through the dimensions. "You have achieved much in a short time. But to be a 9-Star Teacher, you must prove you can teach not just humans, but the Laws of the Universe themselves."
The First Trial: Time.
The First Sage waved his hand. Lin Fan saw the life of a single flower. It bloomed and died in a second. Then it repeated, over and over.
"Teach this flower to bloom forever," the Sage commanded.
Lin Fan looked at the flower.
[Divine Library: Scanning Universal Law—Time...]
[Flaw: Time is a circle, but the 'Law of Decay' is a spiral that leaks energy.]
Lin Fan didn't use a spell. He sat down and began to "Speak" to the flower. He used Soul-Projection Teaching to explain to the flower's essence that it didn't need to follow the spiral of decay.
"The end is but a beginning in a different frequency," Lin Fan whispered.
The flower stopped dying. It stayed in a state of eternal bloom, vibrating with a light that transcended time.
The Second Trial: Space.
The Second Sage moved his hand, and Lin Fan was suddenly in ten different places at once. He was in the desert with Medusa, in the academy with Lu Bao, and in the void.
"Find your true self," the Sage challenged.
[Divine Library: Scanning Universal Law—Space...]
Lin Fan laughed. "I am not in ten places. The ten places are in me. The Library is the Universe, and I am the Librarian."
He closed his eyes and "Synthesized" the ten spaces into a single point—his own heart. The illusion shattered.
The Final Trial: The Demon King's Reflection
The Ninth Sage, the most powerful one, stood up. He didn't look like a sage. He looked exactly like Lin Fan, but with black eyes and a crown of thorns.
"The final lesson," the Ninth Sage said. "Is to teach your own shadow. If you cannot educate the darkness within you, you cannot save the world."
The shadow-Lin Fan attacked. It used the Divine Library! It knew every flaw Lin Fan had. It moved with perfect 10-to-1 synthesis.
"I know your every thought," the shadow hissed. "I am the part of you that wants the power for yourself. I am the part of you that wants the 7 wives to serve you, not to love you. I am the Greed of the Master."
Lin Fan took a hit, his golden robes tearing. He was bleeding. For the first time, the library was struggling.
[Warning: Soul Integrity at 40%. The Shadow-Self is utilize 'Forbidden Synthesis'.]
"You are right," Lin Fan said, coughing up blood. "I am greedy. I am ambitious. I want to be the Master of All Realms."
The shadow smirked. "Then give in. Let the Demon King take over, and we will rule—"
"But," Lin Fan interrupted, standing up. "My greed is not for gold. It is for Knowledge. My ambition is not for slaves; it is for Students. I am the Master because I am the Eternal Student."
Lin Fan didn't attack the shadow. He Embraced it.
"I don't need to defeat you. I need to Teach you."
He used his Level 5 'Eye of the Creator' to see the flaw in his own shadow—it was lonely. It was the part of him that felt the weight of being a transmigrator in a world where he had no family.
Lin Fan shared his memories of his 15 students, of Medusa's smile, of Qingya's tear, and of Lu Bao's buns.
The shadow-Lin Fan began to cry. The black eyes turned golden. It dissolved not into ash, but into pure light that merged back into Lin Fan's soul.
[Ding! 9-Star Trial Complete.]
[Status: 9-Star Master Teacher Rank Achieved (Honorary).]
[System Level Up! Level 5 → Level 6.]
[New Feature Unlocked: 'The Universe Blueprint Synthesis'—Can create new laws of nature.]
The Return: The Shadow Army Evolves
Lin Fan stepped out of the vortex back into the Master Teacher Pavilion. But he was different. He now had Nine Divine Halos behind him, so massive they could be seen from the borders of the Central Continent.
The Demon Army was at the gates. Thousands of shadow-beasts were tearing through the city's defenses.
"Teacher! You're back!" Ling'er cried out, her Phoenix wings scorched from battle.
Lin Fan looked at the horizon. "It's time to end this skirmish."
He raised his hand and pointed his finger at the Demon Army.
"My Shadow Army... Evolution."
The 12 Shadow-Knights he had created earlier suddenly transformed. Their black armor turned into Dark-Gold Plate, and they grew in size until they were ten meters tall. Behind them, thousands of new shadows rose from the fallen demons on the battlefield.
"Igris! Beru! Tusk!" (Lin Fan named his top commanders).
The Shadow Army charged. It wasn't a battle; it was a harvest. The demons who had terrified the world for a thousand years were being hunted by their own shadows.
The Comedy of the Aftermath
As the last demon was pulled into the shadow-void, the city began to cheer. Lu Bao came running up to Lin Fan, carrying a scorched but still steaming tray of buns.
"Teacher! Teacher! Look! During the fight, I accidentally used my Bottomless Void to suck in a Demon General's fire-breath. I used it to bake these 'Shadow-Flame Buns'!"
Lin Fan took a bun. It was black, glowing with purple light, and smelled like... spicy charcoal?
"Lu Bao," Lin Fan said, taking a bite. "It's... surprisingly good. But you just fed a 9-Star Master Teacher a demon's breath."
"Well," Lu Bao grinned. "A Master Teacher should be able to digest anything, right?"
Qingya walked up to Lin Fan and gently wiped the soot from his face. "Master Lin... the Demon King has retreated to the Northern Continent. But he has taken the Origin Core's Key with him. To get it back, we must cross the Dead Sea."
Lin Fan looked at his group—his students, his first two wives (though they didn't know it yet), and his growing shadow army.