The next day.
He stood beneath the ruins of what was once the Astaroth Clan's main hall. Stone statues of long-forgotten ancestors lay broken. The clan's black banners had been torn down, replaced with the symbols of other families.
His sister remained behind, recovering.
He didn't tell her he would return—because he wasn't sure if he would.
But now… now he knew.
This land, once sacred to the Astaroth bloodline, now crawled with thieves.
Dozens of demons lounged inside the shattered compound. Some wore the mark of the Bonecinder Clan. Others from the Ashhide mob. All smug. All arrogant.
"Get out of here, worm," a bulky demon snarled as the MC stepped through the shattered gate.
He didn't reply.
He just stared.
The same kind of stare that had once terrified humans on Earth.
"Fear Detected.
Triggering System Evolution — Stage 1 Complete.
Skill Gained: Dread Sense."
The air around him shifted. The demon's smirk faltered.
"I said—get the fu—"
A sharp, black tendril of energy erupted from the MC's shadow. It pierced the demon's chest. The fear in his eyes bloomed like a flower.
"Fear converted: Minor Qi Boost."
The MC stepped over the twitching body, eyes dead calm.
"Anyone else claim Astaroth land?" he asked coldly.
No one answered.
But six attacked.
Too slow.
He ducked, twisted, and struck—dirty, brutal, efficient. One lost his throat. Another was disemboweled with a shard of broken stone.
"Fear levels rising.
Initiating Skill Fusion:
Dread Sense + Residual Trauma = Terror
Pulse (Unlocked)."
He activated it.
The remaining demons screamed and fled, clawing their own faces. Some collapsed, foaming at the mouth, haunted by illusions only they could see.
He stood alone in the blood-slick hall.
His breathing was steady.
"This is mine," he said softly. "And this is only the beginning."
The Astaroth Clan would not be forgotten.
They would become feared again.
Not through nobility.
Through domination.
And The corpses still twitched.
Flies swarmed over the broken demons, feeding on what remained of the intruders who had dared to squat in Astaroth ruins.
But the MC wasn't done.
Not yet.
"Territory reclaimed," he muttered, standing atop the highest shard of blackstone left from the main hall's roof. "But this is just soil… I want dominion."
He needed more.
Power, fear, submission.
His system pulsed in response.
"Fear Level Detected in Nearby Zone: Scavenger Camp (72 beings).
Warning: Target strength varies. Peak = Inner Realm (High).
Suggestion: Strike during low-guard hours."
He moved without hesitation.
Night fell.
The scavenger camp was a scattered mess of tents and broken stone towers, a haven for rats and rogue clans that hunted the weak.
They laughed around bonfires, roasting meat.
They didn't hear the first one die.
They noticed when the second exploded into a scream of blood and bone.
And then—
"Terror Pulse Activated."
The shadows moved like serpents. The MC walked through them, eyes gleaming like dying stars. His hands tore through flesh. His smile never changed.
Some begged.
He said nothing.
One tried to run—he used a severed arm to bring him down.
Blood soaked the soil.
"Fear converted: Cultivation boost received.
System advancing toward Stage 2…"
By dawn, none were left alive.
He stood in the center of the ruin, surrounded by silence and ash.
"This land belongs to me now."
He drove his hand into the earth.
Dark mist rose—his aura sinking into the soil, branding it with his will.
"Territory Claimed.
Name your Domain."
He didn't hesitate.
"Heavenly Demon Domain."
"Heavenly Demon Domain registered.
Passive Skill Unlocked: Fear Bloom (Weak-minded enemies suffer Qi suppression in domain)."
A new power settled around him. The air thickened. Even the scavengers' bones cracked under the pressure.
This was just the beginning.
He wouldn't just survive.
He would reign.