The heavens wept that night.
A storm raged across the Xu Empire, lightning painting the skies in violent flashes. On the northern peak of the Martial Academy, black banners fluttered as the elders gathered in grim silence.
Below, disciples whispered—none dared too loudly.
The Shadow Maze Trial had ended prematurely.
Nearly half of those who entered… never returned.
Elder Wu stood at the edge of the formation pit, staring into the sealed ground. The stone slabs had fused shut, glowing faintly with crimson runes. Beneath them, the maze slept—or festered.
He could still feel it breathing.
"The casualties exceed acceptable limits," said Elder Qian, his tone icy. "You've broken the Sect's reputation across the capital. The clans are demanding compensation."
Elder Wu's jaw tightened. "You think I wanted this? The Maze was never supposed to awaken."
Another voice cut through the tension—low, calm, commanding.
The Supreme Elder had arrived.
His robes were simple gray, his hair white as frost, but every word he spoke made the air grow heavy.
"The Maze did not awaken," he said softly. "Something within it did."
The others turned toward him.
"What do you mean?" Qian asked. "You saw the readings yourself. The Maze reacted—"
"No," the Supreme Elder interrupted. "It responded."
His gaze drifted toward the horizon, where lightning danced.
"There was a will inside the Maze… and it found its vessel."
The words fell like stones.
The chamber went still.
"Vessel?" Wu asked. "You mean one of the disciples—?"
"Yes."
The old man's eyes glimmered faintly with power. "And if I am correct… it chose a very dangerous one."
Elsewhere, in the academy's infirmary, the survivors lay on stone beds under flickering lanterns. Groans echoed through the hall.
Only three from the second trial remained conscious.
Yu Qingxue sat upright, her pale hair damp with sweat. Her gaze was distant, haunted by what she had seen.
"Chen Hao?" she whispered to the healer beside her.
The woman shook her head silently. "No trace found. The Maze closed before his return."
Yu Qingxue's fingers tightened around her sheets.
He had been arrogant, but strong. Too strong to die like that.
And yet… the Maze devoured all without discrimination.
Her mind flashed back to the last moment before darkness took her—the sight of Li Feng, standing in the storm of shadow, eyes glowing black and silver.
The Maze had collapsed around him.
He should've died.
So why did her heart whisper otherwise?
Far below the academy's sealed floors, where no elder's senses could reach, the darkness stirred.
Li Feng opened his eyes.
The light was dim, flickering faintly from cracks in the ceiling. He sat cross-legged in the hollow of a ruined chamber. Dust and fragments of rune stones floated around him like slow snow.
His breath was steady. His pulse, calm.
Only the faint metallic scent of blood lingered.
[System Rebooting…]
[Core Synchronization: 94%.]
[Energy Reserves: Restored.]
[Warning: Hunter Contamination Level Stable – 9%.]
[New Protocol Activated: Shadow Domain Recognition.]
He exhaled, eyes narrowing.
"So, I'm still alive."
The Maze had collapsed—but instead of crushing him, it had absorbed him. Or perhaps, he had absorbed it.
He lifted his hand. The air shimmered faintly, and the world responded.
[New Skill Unlocked: Domain Perception]
[Effect: Allows host to sense life, spiritual energy, and hidden entities within 500 meters.]
[Additional Effect: Shadow entities will not attack unless provoked.]
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
He could feel the Maze around him now—every stone, every echo, every whisper of spirit.
And in that silence, something pulsed beneath the floor.
A crystal.
Pitch-black, glowing faintly.
When he touched it, the system chimed again.
[Hunter Core Fragment Detected.]
[Would you like to assimilate? Y/N]
His hand hovered.
The power radiating from it felt… alive. Predatory.
He thought of the Supreme Elder's cold eyes. The sect's arrogance. The way they had thrown disciples into death for entertainment.
Li Feng's lips curved.
"Yes."
The crystal dissolved into mist, pouring into his veins like fire.
[Assimilation complete.]
[System Evolution Initiated.]
[Mainframe Expansion Unlocked: Path of the Shadow Sovereign.]
His vision dimmed. The world spun.
Then—clarity.
He could see it now: the threads of energy that connected everything—the Maze, the dead disciples, even the lingering fragments of their spirits.
He understood.
The Maze wasn't just a trial.
It was a feeding ground.
And the sect had been feeding something far older than they knew.
Three days later, word had already spread through the empire.
"The Martial Academy's Shadow Maze collapsed!"
"Half the disciples died, some vanished entirely!"
"They say an Elder tried to awaken an ancient spirit—and it turned on them!"
Whispers filled taverns, tea houses, and markets.
Even in the royal palace, courtiers murmured behind painted fans.
In the Xu capital, every rumor was a weapon.
And the academy's prestige had just taken a blade to the throat.
The Emperor's spies delivered reports by dawn.
By dusk, the great clans had begun maneuvering.
Some demanded investigation.
Others… saw opportunity.
At dawn, Yu Qingxue stood before the sealed gates of the academy's Maze formation. Her injuries had healed, but her eyes were hollow.
She bowed slightly as Elder Wu approached. "Elder, I request permission to descend."
Wu frowned. "Denied. The Maze is sealed by order of the Supreme Elder. Any disturbance could reawaken it."
"Then why not destroy it?" she asked quietly.
Wu hesitated.
Because they couldn't.
Because the thing beneath it wasn't just dangerous—it was sacred.
"The Maze is an ancient relic," he said finally. "It predates the sect itself. None can command its will."
Yu Qingxue turned to leave—but as she did, a faint pulse of energy rippled beneath the stone. Her breath hitched.
A whisper brushed her mind.
Still alive.
She froze.
For a long moment, she didn't move. Then she whispered, almost to herself—
"Li Feng…"
Below, the Maze trembled as Li Feng completed the assimilation.
Dark light flared behind his eyes.
[System Evolution Complete.]
[New Title Acquired: Shadowborne.]
[Description: One who has merged human will with the Hunter's essence. Neither prey nor predator.]
[Passive Effect: Resistance to mental corruption increased by 150%.]
[Active Skill: Shadow Rift – Open a temporary gate connecting two distant points within 200 meters.]
[Cooldown: 30 seconds.]
The data flickered before his eyes like starlight. His breathing deepened, steady and powerful.
He stood slowly. The faint aura of darkness that once devoured him now wrapped around him like a cloak.
[Quest Update: Survive First Contact – Completed.]
[New Quest: Rise Amid the Silence.]
[Objective: Return to the surface. Discover the sect's truth. Optional — Eliminate Witnesses of the Hunter.]
[Reward: ???]
He stared at the screen for a long time.
Then he chuckled softly.
"'Eliminate witnesses,' huh? Even my system doesn't trust them."
He summoned his blade—a simple weapon now laced with a faint black edge. When he swung it lightly, the air split with a whispering hum.
But something else caught his attention.
The Maze was no longer resisting him.
Instead… it was obeying.
He followed the energy threads, deeper and deeper until he reached a wall covered in runes that pulsed faintly with blood-red light.
When he pressed his palm against it, the wall shivered.
[Shadow Rift recognized Host authority.]
[Opening gate.]
The stone melted like wax, revealing a narrow staircase spiraling upward.
He smiled faintly.
"Seems the Maze still wants to play."
He climbed.
For hours he ascended, until light—real light—pierced through the cracks above.
When he emerged, it was night. The stars shone coldly, and the academy's towers loomed in the distance.
He had surfaced outside the sect's boundary.
No guards. No witnesses.
Perfect.
ar above, inside the council chamber, the elders knelt before the Supreme Elder once more.
"The Emperor's envoys demand an explanation," Wu said carefully. "They threaten to withdraw imperial funding."
The old man nodded faintly. "Let them. We no longer need their coin."
Elder Qian's brow furrowed. "You mean to—"
"Yes," the old man interrupted. "The Maze's awakening confirmed it. The ancient seal has weakened. The 'Hunter' bloodline still exists… and now, it's walking among us again."
A hush fell.
"Then the rumors were true," another elder whispered. "A descendant survived the Purge."
The Supreme Elder's gaze was distant. "Not a descendant… a vessel."
He raised a trembling hand, drawing a glowing symbol in the air—a sigil of black and crimson flame.
"The moment he surfaces, bring him to me alive."
Under the cover of night, a lone figure walked along the outer cliffs of the sect. His clothes were tattered, his blade dull—but his eyes glowed faintly with silver fire.
The wind howled around him, carrying the scent of rain and blood.
Li Feng looked up toward the distant peaks, where lights shimmered faintly. The academy. The empire's pride.
His lips curved.
"They buried me once," he murmured. "Let's see what they do when the grave opens."
He stepped forward—and his shadow rippled. For an instant, it split into two, moving against the light.
Then both vanished into the night.