Leaving the Great Forge was like wading through a pool of thick, cloying honey. Every disciple I passed averted their gaze and bowed deeply, their faces a mixture of fear and reverence. Their respect was a physical weight, pressing down on me, tightening the thorny chains around my soul.
Stop it. Please, just stop it. Somebody, throw a rock at me. Call me a fraud. Anything. I'm begging you.
But my reputation had undergone a phase transition. I had gone from 'enigmatic master' to 'living scripture.' Doubting me was no longer a matter of opinion; it was a sign of poor spiritual comprehension.
I walked with purpose, my external persona a mask of icy resolve. My destination: the infirmary. I needed my Chaos generator. I needed my rage-battery. I needed Chen Wei.
The infirmary was a quiet, sterile building that smelled of bitter medicinal herbs. The head physician, a wispy old man named Elder Liu, met me at the door. His eyes were wide with the same terrified awe as everyone else's.
"Master Li," he whispered, bowing so low his beard brushed the floor. "An honor. A profound honor."
"I am here to see Chen Wei," my voice stated, flat and devoid of emotion.
Just checking on my victim! Making sure he's still breathing so I can mentally torture him some more. Don't mind me!
"Of course, of course!" Elder Liu fussed, scurrying to lead the way. "Young Master Chen is stable. He suffered from... ah... acute spiritual feedback and severe shock to his pride meridian. Ahem. A unique case. He has yet to awaken."
We entered a private room. Chen Wei was lying on a cot, pale and still. A faint frown was etched onto his face, as if he were having a nightmare about being condescended to. He looked so peaceful.
It was a pity I had to ruin it.
"Leave us," I commanded the elder.
"At once, Master Li!" He bowed himself out of the room, closing the door softly behind him.
I was alone with my unconscious nemesis.
Now what? The System hadn't issued a mandate yet. It often waited for the most dramatic possible moment. This meant I had a rare opportunity: a chance to act on my own. To try and control the narrative, just for a moment.
My goal was simple: wake Chen Wei up and make him furious. But how? Shaking him awake seemed too crude for my 'master' persona. A bucket of cold water was out of the question.
I looked around the room. On a side table was a tray with a bowl of steaming, pungent medicinal soup. It was probably meant to soothe his spirit and calm his mind.
A terrible, wonderful idea began to form.
I walked over to the cot. I looked down at Chen Wei's slack face. Internally, I rehearsed my apology.
Chen Wei, old buddy, old pal. I am so, so sorry about the whole 'your sword art is for firewood' thing, and the patting, and the spiritual collapse. It was all a misunderstanding driven by a malevolent god in my head. Let's let bygones be bygones, shall we?
Externally, I reached out a hand. Not to pat him again—that would probably kill him—but to check his pulse, a seemingly benevolent gesture.
My fingers brushed against his wrist.
And I secretly, very deliberately, channeled a tiny sliver of the new spiritual energy the System had given me directly into his meridians. It was a chaotic, agitating pulse, the polar opposite of the calming soup. It was like injecting a shot of pure espresso directly into his soul.
Chen Wei's eyelids fluttered. He groaned. A flicker of consciousness returned.
His eyes slowly opened, blurry and unfocused. They landed on my face, standing over him. For a moment, there was just blank confusion.
Then, memory came flooding back. The training ground. The firewood comment. The final, soul-shattering pat.
His eyes widened in sheer, undiluted horror.
"You…" he gasped, his voice a hoarse croak.
This was my chance. Act now, before the System could.
My face adopted an expression of what could be interpreted as profound, sorrowful regret.
"Young Master Chen," my voice said, soft and low. "I have come to... apologize."
He stared, utterly baffled. Apologize? This god-like monster who had shattered his world was apologizing?
Yes! Believe it! I'm sorry! Let's be friends! We can bond over our mutual hatred for the Supreme Grandstanding System!
"I was… too harsh," I continued, my gaze distant, as if recalling a painful memory. "My methods were crude. I failed to consider the fragility of your martial heart."
Every word was a perfectly crafted insult wrapped in the guise of an apology. I was calling him weak, fragile, and pathetic, all while pretending to take the blame. It was a masterpiece of passive aggression.
Chen Wei's confusion began to curdle. A flush of angry red started creeping up his neck. It was working.
"In my pursuit of demonstrating a greater truth," I went on, my voice laced with fake melancholy, "I forgot that not all vessels are strong enough to contain it. I have broken you, and for that, I carry a sliver of regret."
I paused, letting the words sink in. A sliver. Not a lot of regret. Just a tiny, insignificant amount. Like one might regret stepping on an ant.
The red on Chen Wei's face deepened. He was starting to tremble.
This was the moment for the killing blow.
"I hope that, in time," I said, my voice dropping to a near-whisper, "you can rebuild. Perhaps, start with something simpler. A technique more suited to your... capacity. Like wood-chopping, for instance. It builds character."
BOOM.
Chen Wei shot upright in the bed, his eyes blazing with a fury so intense it dwarfed his earlier rage. This was no longer just the anger of a humiliated prodigy. This was the soul-deep hatred of a man who had been utterly dismantled and was now being pitied by his destroyer.
"YOU—!" he roared, his voice cracking with the sheer force of his emotion.
The infirmary windows rattled. The herbs on the shelves trembled.
A glorious, beautiful blue screen appeared before my eyes.
[Self-initiated Grandstanding successful! Target's Rage has exceeded previous limits!]
[Emotional State: Pure, Weaponized Hatred. Chaos conversion initiated.]
[You have angered him so profoundly that his soul is screaming. Excellent work.]
[Reward processing... A boon suitable for fighting a magical beast is being prepared.]
I had done it. I had used my own cunning to manipulate the System's mechanics. For the first time, I felt a sliver of control. A tiny spark of hope in the suffocating darkness.
Chen Wei lunged at me, his hands clawing, his face a mask of primal fury. "I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!"
Elder Liu and several other physicians burst into the room, alerted by the commotion. They saw their patient trying to strangle the sect's new living legend and rushed to restrain him.
"Young Master Chen, calm yourself! Your meridians can't take it!"
"GET OFF ME!" Chen Wei screamed, struggling against their grip. His eyes, burning with madness, were still locked on me.
I simply stood there, watching the chaos unfold with a calm, detached expression. I had what I needed. It was time to leave.
I turned to go, but as I reached the door, I paused. I looked back at the struggling, screaming Chen Wei.
"See?" my voice said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "The fire has returned to his eyes. My therapy was a success."
And with that final, devastatingly condescending parting shot, I walked out, leaving a trail of absolute chaos in my wake. The reward was cooking. I might just survive the fox.
I might have been a puppet, but I was finally learning how to pull my own strings.