Lin Feng stood in the Dao Sect's outer court training grounds, the crescent banner fluttering above as dawn painted the peaks of the Great Yan Empire. At twelve, he had survived the Ironwood Crucible, earning his place among prodigies like Xiao Liyao and Mu Lingshan. His cultivation had surged to the Yuan Power Realm, Late Stage, fueled by the secretive Star Sovereign System. Yet, as he practiced the newly acquired Starshatter Step, a swift movement technique, a familiar mechanical voice echoed in his mind, heralding a seismic shift.
**[System Update Complete: Star Sovereign System 2.0 Activated. New Features: System Shop Unlocked. Instant Technique Mastery Enabled. Breakthrough Points (BP) System Introduced. Disturbance Detection Enhanced. Host: Lin Feng. Objective: Ascend to the pinnacle of the Myriad Realms. Warning: System remains concealed, unable to detect others' power. Host must rely on instinct.]**
Lin Feng froze, his staff mid-swing, as a shimmering interface materialized in his mind. The System Shop displayed a dazzling array: martial arts, elixirs, weapons, and even rare talismans, all purchasable with Breakthrough Points (BP). A new tab explained BP acquisition: slaying demonic beasts, completing missions, defeating enemies, or disrupting "disturbed individuals"—those whose actions threatened the realm's balance, often marked by greed or malice. The system's Instant Technique Mastery meant any technique he learned could be perfected in a second, a cheat defying the Great Yan Empire's norms. Yet, Lin Feng's Earth-born cunning urged caution. This power was his alone, hidden even from allies.
**[System Shop Sample: Iron Star Fist (Mid-Tier Martial Art, 50 BP), Yuan Essence Pill (Boosts Cultivation, 30 BP). Current BP: 10 (Earned from Ironwood Crucible). Mission: Defeat a Disturbance Target in the Outer Court. Reward: 20 BP, Starlight Veil (Defensive Skill).]**
Lin Feng's eyes gleamed. The Dao Sect, where Lin Dong once rose, was his stage, but whispers of its fragility grew. Rival sects—the Nine Heavens Palace and Iron Cloud Sect—coveted its relics, plotting its disbandment. Smaller threats festered within, as petty villains among the disciples schemed for power. Lin Feng, aspiring to emulate Lin Dong, knew only his ancestor's legend, blind to the Great Thousand World's heroes like Xiao Yan, Zhou Yuan, or Mu Chen. His path would soon lead to Zhou Qingyue, Zhou Yuan's granddaughter, his destined first wife, but for now, he faced the sect's trials.
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### A Petty Villain's Challenge
The outer court buzzed with activity as disciples sparred, their Yuan Power clashing in bursts of light. Lin Feng, practicing Starshatter Step, drew envious glares. Among them was Lei Hao, a burly fifteen-year-old from the Lei Clan, a Nirvana Realm hopeful with a grudge against the Lin Clan's rising star. Lei Hao, marked by the system as a "Disturbance Target" for bullying weaker disciples and hoarding resources, sneered at Lin Feng. "A country bumpkin thinks he's Lin Dong?" he taunted, flanked by two lackeys, Wang Chen and Zhao Li, both at the Yuan Power Realm, Early Stage.
Lin Feng ignored them, but the system pinged. **[Disturbance Detected: Lei Hao and allies disrupt sect harmony. Defeat them to earn 20 BP.]** Lei Hao, mistaking Lin Feng's silence for fear, lunged, his Iron Mountain Fist roaring with Yuan Power. The crowd parted, sensing a beatdown.
Lin Feng activated Starlight Sense, his perception sharpening. With Starshatter Step, he sidestepped, his movements a blur. **[Instant Mastery: Iron Star Fist purchased for 50 BP (Debt: 40 BP). Technique mastered.]** In a second, the system imprinted the fist technique, its power flowing through him. He countered, his fist glowing with starlit energy, smashing Lei Hao's attack. The impact sent Lei Hao sprawling, his arm bruised.
Wang Chen and Zhao Li charged, but Lin Feng's Starlight Throw sent glowing pebbles cracking into their knees, dropping them. The system chimed. **[Disturbance Neutralized. Reward: 20 BP, Starlight Veil acquired. Current BP: 30 (Debt: 20). Cultivation increased to Yuan Power Realm, Peak Stage.]** A defensive skill, Starlight Veil, formed a faint shimmer around him, deflecting weak attacks.
The crowd murmured, awed. Xiao Liyao, watching from afar, smirked. "Not bad, kid." Mu Lingshan's serene gaze lingered, unreadable. Neither knew their ties to Xiao Yan or Mu Chen, nor that Lin Feng's power stemmed from a system he'd never reveal.
Lei Hao, humiliated, spat, "This isn't over, Lin!" He fled with his lackeys, but Lin Feng sensed a darker gaze. High on a peak, Xue Wuya's black mist flickered, his crimson eyes fixed on the boy. "The Love Crystal draws near," he muttered. Zhou Qingyue, her power capped at Nirvana Realm by Lin Dong's laws, was closing in on the Blackwater Forest, unaware her encounter with Lin Feng at sixteen would bind them through the crystal's love.
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### The Sect's Shadow
That night, in his spartan dormitory, Lin Feng explored the System Shop. He purchased a Yuan Essence Pill (30 BP, Debt: 50 BP), swallowing it to stabilize his peak-stage cultivation. The system's debt system meant he'd need to hunt more disturbances or beasts to balance it, but the power was worth it. **[Mission: Excel in the Outer Court Ranking Battle in one month. Reward: 100 BP, Mid-Tier Weapon—Starforge Spear.]** The ranking battle would elevate him to the inner court, but the Dao Sect's decline loomed. Rival sects had bribed elders, sowing discord, and Xue Wuya's whispers fueled their greed.
Lin Feng meditated, his thoughts on Lin Dong. The Martial Ancestor had faced similar trials, rising amidst chaos. Lin Feng's path would mirror his, but with Zhou Qingyue as his first wife, and two upper-realm wives—prodigies tied to Xiao Yan and Mu Chen—awaiting in the Great Thousand World, his destiny was grander. At sixteen, he'd meet Qingyue, their dual cultivation sparking love and conflict, his vow to marry her driving him upward. The Abyssal Monarch's shadow grew, its plans threatening the Dao Sect's relics and the Love Crystal.
As stars gleamed above, Lin Feng gripped his staff, his system's power a hidden flame. The Dao Sect's fall was coming, but like Lin Dong, he would rise from its ashes, his saga etched in the Myriad Realms.