Darius woke up early, before the estate was fully alive. The sun had barely risen, and the halls of the Acheron estate were still quiet. No shouting from the training grounds, no footsteps echoing from the main hall. Just calm, soft light spilling through the windows.
He liked mornings like this. No pressure, no expectations.
He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. The energy inside him pulsed gently, steady and calm. Nothing flashy yet, but he could feel it there—the progress he had made. The system didn't say much. Just that he had reached Tier D, the Foundation Layer. Not impressive to others, but a milestone for him.
He dressed simply—dark grey robes, nothing that stood out. He didn't want to draw attention. Not today.
Downstairs, the sounds of his cousins waking up reached him. Their voices carried through the halls — laughter, shouting, some arguing over who was faster or stronger.
Darius didn't bother joining. He stepped out quietly and made his way toward the training hall. Even though he had no intention to train hard today, he liked to be where things happened.
Once a month, the family gathered for a meeting. It was always the same: elders talking about cultivation progress, ranking members by their power and achievements. The strongest would get better mentors, better resources. The weaker ones got lectures and warnings.
Darius hated these meetings.
He never spoke much. He took a seat at the far end, where no one really looked. It was better that way.
The elders began discussing recent breakthroughs. One cousin after another stepped up proudly, listing their achievements and increases in power.
Then Revan spoke. He was always the loudest in these meetings. Not because he was the strongest — but because he knew how to show off.
"I managed to refine my lightning channel. Increased my flow efficiency by nine percent," he said, looking around the room like he expected applause. "I'll be moving up the rankings soon."
He glanced toward Darius but didn't say it outright. Everyone knew what he meant.
"Some people could try a bit harder instead of relying on their name."
A few cousins laughed softly. Darius didn't react. He already expected this kind of thing.
He folded his hands quietly and listened.
The system gave him some data about Revan — a weak spot in his ki bursts near the spine. But Darius didn't feel like using it. Not now.
The meeting dragged on. More cousins bragged, more elders gave advice nobody wanted to hear.
Darius sat still, watching and waiting.
As the meeting wrapped up, a subtle shift passed through the air.
It wasn't a loud explosion or a bright flash. Just a gentle pulse of energy, like a soft wave washing over the room.
Some people noticed.
"Did you feel that?" a cousin whispered.
"Yeah, what was that?"
"Maybe someone just broke through," another replied.
Elder Veylen stopped mid-sentence, looking around carefully. But no one moved or spoke up.
Darius stayed calm. The ripple came from him — a delayed reaction from his roots syncing the night before. He had expected this to happen eventually.
It was small. Almost invisible.
No one had any idea it came from him.
After the meeting, most people rushed off to their own business.
Elder Veylen approached Darius quietly.
"You're training again?" he asked.
Darius shrugged. "A little."
Veylen nodded slowly, as if weighing his words.
"When your roots change, they leave marks. Be careful not to let others sense it."
Darius nodded in return, but didn't say anything else.
That evening, Darius found his way to a balcony above the estate grounds. The wind was cool, and the sky was painted with orange and pink as the sun set.
From here, he could see the training grounds, the families moving, the small lights flickering on in the estate windows.
He liked watching all of it.
The others were working hard to climb the family ladder — sparring, pushing their limits, trying to get noticed.
Darius wasn't in a hurry.
The system showed him a new feature — something called "Harmonic Flow Mapping." It would let him sense nearby ki patterns and predict small changes in the energy around him.
He ignored it for now.
No point rushing.
He thought to himself, Let them chase after ranks and prestige. I have my own way.
The future wasn't a race to him. It was a long road.
Reflection
He breathed in the cool air and felt the calm energy in his body again.
There was no need to prove anything to anyone.
He had the highest quality cultivation roots in the family — and soon, after he reached the SS tier, they would start evolving to something beyond even the elders' understanding.
That was the real game.
Not fights or family meetings.
It was what he built quietly, out of sight.
And when the time came, no one would be able to ignore him.