Night in the Crimson Asura Sect was never silent.
Crickets chirped in the grass. Wind hissed through the pine needles. Somewhere in the distance, a beast screamed—cut off mid-cry, like it had been swallowed whole.
Lin Shen sat in lotus position in his hut, eyes closed, body relaxed. But his mind was sharp.
> **[Day 3 Survived.]**
> **+1 Caution Point**
> **Caution Points: 3**
> **System Notification: Detected Rising Hostility. Danger Rating: Moderate.**
> **Recommended Action: Defensive Preparations Suggested.**
He didn't need the System to tell him someone would try to kill him tonight.
His match earlier had made waves. Not because he was strong—he wasn't—but because he was smart. Calm. Efficient. That unsettled people more than raw power.
He was a variable.
In a place like this, variables were removed.
---
Earlier that day, he'd walked into the supplies hall and placed a quiet request for talisman materials. Cheap ones. Not worth stealing.
Now those same talismans were placed around his hut—coated in dust, woven into the floorboards, folded into flower pots. The traps wouldn't kill. Just delay.
And delay was all he needed.
> **[Trap Array Complete: Temporary Defense Network Activated.]**
> **+1 Caution Point**
> **System Points: 6**
He waited.
At the third hour of the dog—around midnight—it happened.
A faint creak at the rear.
Another at the side.
They were coordinated. Two attackers.
The floorboard groaned—intentionally. Someone testing noise.
Lin Shen's eyes snapped open.
*Now.*
The back wall talisman lit up with a silent flash. A puff of silver smoke exploded outward, blinding one figure just as they stepped through the window.
"Shit!"
The second attacker burst in from the front, only to find Lin Shen gone.
Or so it seemed.
A faint shadow moved along the rafter above.
> **[Illusion Token Activated.]**
> **Remaining Uses: 2**
Before the intruder could react, Lin Shen dropped behind them and drove a short blade into the back of their knee.
The scream was muffled—barely.
He followed with a strike to the temple. Not enough to kill. Just enough to knock the man out.
The second attacker, still coughing from the smoke, stumbled through the curtain.
Lin Shen didn't hesitate.
A clean stroke across the throat.
Blood splashed the wall. The man gurgled once, fell, and didn't move again.
---
Lin Shen wiped the blade clean and stared down at the corpse.
He didn't feel guilt.
Just... awareness.
This was a line crossed. One that couldn't be uncrossed.
He stepped over the body and bent beside the unconscious attacker. A quick search revealed a jade token with an engraved name:
> **Yuan Qian. Outer Disciple. Subordinate of Bao Liang.**
Of course.
It was retaliation for what happened during the pill distribution.
Amateurs.
He reached into his hidden pouch and pulled out a small sealed envelope—a forged letter addressed to an inner disciple who recently had a public argument with Bao Liang.
He tucked it into Yuan Qian's robes, then dragged the unconscious man outside.
With the illusion still active, he changed his appearance slightly, cloaked himself in shadow, and carried Yuan Qian's limp form across the compound. Not to the infirmary, but to the blood trial grounds.
He dumped him just outside the circle.
Then rang the bell.
---
Morning.
The courtyard buzzed with rumors.
"Yuan Qian was found unconscious near the Blood Grounds?"
"I heard he was trying to sneak into the Inner Sanctum and got caught!"
"No way. Isn't he one of Bao Liang's people?"
Lin Shen sat in the corner of the food hall, quietly sipping broth and listening.
Then the System chimed.
> **[Hostile Action Prevented.]**
> **+2 Caution Points**
> **+2 System Points**
> **New Trait Unlocked: Veil of Justification – Reduces mental strain and backlash from morally gray decisions.**
> **Hidden Trait Progress: Ruthless Calculus – [60% to Unlock]**
Good.
Very good.
He still had blood on his soul, but it wasn't weighing him down.
---
That afternoon, he was summoned.
Elder Lei, head of Law Enforcement for the outer sect, was not known for kindness.
He was thin, skeletal, and always smelled faintly of burnt incense.
"Mo Fan," the man said, fingers laced over a scroll. "You've had quite an active week."
Lin Shen bowed. "I only act to protect myself, Elder."
"Mm." Elder Lei's eyes glimmered. "Tell me about last night."
"I heard a disturbance outside. Investigated. Found Yuan Qian unconscious near the blood field. I assumed he had offended someone... or failed a test. I rang the bell and left."
"So you did not fight him?"
"No, Elder."
"No one saw you?"
"No, Elder."
"You're certain?"
Lin Shen met his gaze calmly. "If someone had, I imagine they would've come forward by now."
The silence stretched.
Then Elder Lei chuckled.
"Very well. You may leave. But a word of advice..."
He leaned forward, breath sour.
"Live like this too long, and the Inner Sect will notice. And they don't like clever dogs."
Lin Shen bowed again. "Then I'll bark less, Elder."
---
Outside, he exhaled.
He'd known that day would come.
But it still unsettled him to feel that gaze—cold, dissecting, almost amused.
> **[Threat Matrix Update: Inner Sect Notice: 4% → 12%]**
It was rising.
He needed to accelerate. Gain strength, secure allies—or useful pawns. Find a hiding place among the crowd.
Or above it.
Later that evening, a new mission prompt appeared:
> **[Optional Mission Unlocked: Orchestrate Another Disciple's Downfall Without Direct Confrontation.]**
> **Reward: +3 Caution Points | +5 System Points | + Hidden Trait Progress**
He stared at the message for a long time.
Then, slowly, a plan formed.
---
He picked his target carefully.
**Liang Cheng.** Loud. Arrogant. Known to bully new disciples and cheat in spars. But not yet punished.
Lin Shen didn't attack him. He simply *observed*.
He watched as Liang Cheng slipped a powder into another disciple's water.
He watched as he extorted pills from a girl with bruised arms.
He watched... and recorded.
Using a basic Sound Recording Talisman, and a slightly enhanced paper charm, he compiled it all into a damning series of evidence.
Then he made it look like it came from *another rival*—one who hated Liang Cheng publicly.
The evidence landed on Elder Lei's desk three days later.
By that night, Liang Cheng was dragged off for "interrogation."
No one questioned how the evidence surfaced.
No one even looked at Mo Fan.
---
> **[Optional Mission Complete.]**
> **+3 Caution Points | +5 System Points**
> **Trait Unlocked: Ruthless Calculus – Host is capable of long-term planning and predictive manipulation.**
> **Effect: Enhances strategic insight. Predict outcomes with 15% greater accuracy.**
> **Store Unlocked: Intermediate Tier Items Now Accessible.**
Lin Shen leaned back under the blood-red moon, watching clouds drift by.
He wasn't a hero.
He wasn't trying to save anyone.
But if he had to kill, frame, lie, or manipulate to survive... then so be it.
In this sect, mercy was suicide.
And he had no intention of dying.
Not yet.