Night fell like a sword over the Hollow Bone Sect.
It was supposed to be silent. Still. Obedient.
Instead, the mountain groaned.
Kael Draven sat atop a cold cliff, his eyes closed, fingers twirling the gold phoenix hairpin left by the Empress-in-hiding. Behind him, the once-crippled beast tamer—now his first follower—tended to a half-dismembered assassin, gagged and trembling.
"I thought he'd last longer," Kael said, tone almost bored.
"Third one tonight," Fodder replied, blood on his sleeves.
Kael stood. His aura didn't flare. It folded around space.
"They're getting bolder."
"They sent a Heaven-Eye Crow Sect Shadow Fiend this time."
"Aren't they extinct?"
Fodder grinned. "Not anymore."
Kael looked up. Stars trembled.
System Prompt – Chaos Report
[Warning: Host is now Class-Alpha Anomaly. World Will attempts to suppress fate trajectory.]
[Interference Detected: Four Assassination Protocols Pending]
[Counter Option: Initiate Shadow Rebellion Protocol? Y/N]
Kael: "Yes."
[Quest Accepted: "Let Shadows Bleed"]
Objective: Unmask the four hidden factions operating within the Hollow Bone Sect. Leave one survivor. Publicly.
Reward: 20 Chaos Points, Authority Upgrade, Empress Affection Modifier +5%
Kael cracked his knuckles.
"Let's turn assassins into messengers."
1st Faction: Crimson Scales – Poison Cult Embedded in Outer Kitchen
At midnight, Kael walked barefoot into the Outer Kitchen, a lowly stone building filled with cauldrons, knives, and corrupted qi. The smell of boiling centipedes filled the air.
The kitchen workers froze as he entered.
"This area is restricted to core—"
Kael raised his hand.
All thirty cooks collapsed, foaming at the mouth.
Only one stood: a bald man with six rings tattooed on his arms. His skin glowed faintly green.
"You shouldn't have come here, boy."
Kael tilted his head. "You put centipede venom in the porridge."
"A test."
"You failed."
Kael vanished.
He reappeared inside the man's shadow, pulling him into his own reflection.
[Chaos Technique: Shadow Skin Reversal - Lv. 1]
When Kael emerged, the man had no face.
Just a trembling spirit floating beside a skin bag.
"Run. Tell the others."
"And start praying."
2nd Faction: Dreamers of Ash – Illusionist Cult Embedded in the Lecture Hall
Kael attended a lecture for the first time.
Not to learn.
To listen.
Elder Su delivered a speech on the ethics of qi control. Her voice pulsed like honey and sleep powder.
Around Kael, disciples began to nod off, drooling. Dream runes activated subtly from the carved dais.
Kael yawned.
"Cute spell. Let's see what happens when I dream back."
[Chaos Field: Memory Invasion Activated]
He hijacked the entire illusion. The dreaming disciples began screaming. Elder Su turned pale.
"What… What are you doing!?"
"You called me into the dream."
"You forgot I brought nightmares."
Reality fractured. Dream runes bled ink. Kael pulled a shard of thought from the dreamscape—proof of the cult's origin.
He handed it to a passing elder.
"One of your 'trusted' lecturers is cultivating madness. Thought you should know."
"Also, she's ugly in real life."
He walked out to applause.
From the terrified.
3rd Faction: The Seven Chains – Slavers Disguised as Disciplinary Division
This one Kael handled differently.
Publicly.
He walked into the Disciplinary Hall during morning inspection.
"I request judgment," he declared.
Elder Fang—head of punishment—arched a brow. "For what crime?"
Kael threw down a leather-bound ledger.
Inside: names, numbers, and soul brand records.
Elder Fang paled.
"That's… restricted—"
"Evidence of slave trades between sects," Kael interrupted. "All laundered through your division."
Gasps.
Disciples froze.
Kael turned to the crowd.
"Every punishment brand you received? Sold for spirit stones."
"Disciples vanished? They weren't expelled. They were auctioned."
Then he threw a corpse onto the platform.
"This was your head enforcer. He confessed."
Elder Fang reached for his weapon.
Kael appeared behind him and snapped his wrist.
"You get to live. To remind others that I'm the law now."
The crowd erupted.
In fear.
In fury.
In awe.
4th Faction: Pale Bloom Sect – High Heaven Assassins Disguised as Alchemists
They attacked him first.
Seven white-robed disciples ambushed Kael as he crossed a bridge over the Skywater Falls.
Their faces were blank.
Their weapons shone with silent poison.
Kael said nothing.
He let them stab him.
Then turned around… with no wounds.
"I already dissected your poison. The first time you tried."
He exploded with counter-force.
[Chaos Surge: Viral Qi Rejection]
Their bodies bloated, bloomed, and burst.
One survived.
Kael bent low.
"Run. Tell your master. If they want to kill me, they'll need to send something stronger than a recycling bin."
The survivor crawled away, sobbing.
System Update
[All Four Hidden Factions Unveiled.]
[Survivors: 4. Chaos Message Spread Across 9 Realms.]
[Reward Claimed: Authority Upgrade – Chaos Rank Ascended to 'System Breacher']
[New Skill Unlocked: Core Rewrite]
— Allows host to overwrite fundamental laws of small-scale systems.
Kael stood in the dark.
The sect trembled beneath him.
Meanwhile: Elder Council Meeting (Emergency Session)
Elder Mo: "We've lost all internal control."
Elder Han: "He's turned their own shadows into soldiers."
Sect Leader Xuan's image flickered in the air.
"We should kill him now."
A voice interrupted:
"Kill who?"
Kael stood in the middle of their formation circle.
He'd walked in unnoticed.
Elder Wu: "H-How did—"
"I didn't break in."
"You let me in."
"Because deep down… you all want this chaos."
"You're just too afraid to admit it."
Sect Leader Xuan's image shattered.
Kael walked out of the circle.
"Hold another meeting if you like."
"But next time, don't whisper."
"I don't like secrets."