Location: Outer Ring, Portal CityTime: Two Weeks After System Mutation
The city buzzed like a hornet's nest.
Huge banners waved across the skyline, glowing with animated glyphs:
🏆 [WORLD TOURNAMENT – Entry Gates Now Open]💠 [S-Rank System Users Only] | Reward: Mythic Rank Core Shard⚠️ Portal Collision Zones Expected – Combat Permitted Within Arena Bounds
A sea of cultivators, hunters, and system users gathered. Factions marched in banners of flame and lightning. Golems and beasts guarded imperial coaches. Floating platforms held nobles, kings, and unseen watchers.
This was not just a tournament—it was a global signal: "The strong rise. The weak become fertilizer."
Rishabh's Entrance – Under a False Banner
Clad in black and gold robes with his Qi completely suppressed, Rishabh registered under a false name:
🔒 Name: Daruma (Masked)🔒 System Rank: ???🔒 Combat Class: Martial Soul / AFK Variant
He entered under a "sealed" system profile—his stats read as average. A deception, of course.
✅ AFK Qi: 13,500/sec✅ EP: 8,200/sec🔓 Hidden Buff: [Combat Multiplier – 300x inside Formation Zones]🔓 New Ability Unlocked: [True Void Step] – Move without space or shadow trace
His goal was not to win—it was to trap Arthis, who would never resist such a stage.
But then came the first twist.
Crimson Cult Rising – Massacre at the City Slums
The arena shook—not from the crowd, but from mass spiritual detonation in the southern districts. Cultivators screamed. Screens turned red.
⚠️ "Emergency! A Crimson Heaven Beacon has been activated!"
Through the smoke marched Arthis, his black robes soaked in blood. Behind him followed an army of hooded figures—each bound to a cursed AFK system that devoured innocent bystanders.
"I give you one choice," Arthis said to the crowd. "Join me... or become my experience points."
🔁 Arthis AFK Kill Rate: 100,000 EP/min (Ritual Bonus Applied)🔓 New Skill: [Blood Mirror Technique] – Reflect 80% of incoming damage back to attacker🔒 System Fusion Progress: 37% - Crimson Protocol Ascension Incoming
He was leveling so fast that even the Guild of Eternal Hunters declared a Code Black event.
But it was already too late.
Rishabh's Hidden Power Awakens – Echo of Dharma
At the same moment, deep inside Rishabh's spirit sea, a forgotten gate opened.
The very fabric of his soul shimmered with ancient light.
🧿 You have unlocked: [Forbidden Dharma Echo]🔥 Memory Seal Breaking: 3%... 4%... 5%...✅ Passive Unlocked: [Perfect Karma Reflection] – All negative effects and curses are reversed onto origin✅ Active Technique Awakened: [Seated Void – Thousand Form Meditation]
"You dare use karma to harm?" Rishabh said softly, rising into the air mid-arena. "Then let karma burn you."
He sat cross-legged midair. And in that instant—ten thousand shadow clones of Rishabh appeared, each from a past timeline, past battle, past life.
The crowd gasped.
One clone was a monk from Earth.One was a dragon-eyed warrior from a fire realm.One had no face—just energy.
They chanted together.
"Return all debt. Break all chains. Let the wheel turn once more."
The sky cracked.
World Systems Intervene – System Lords Awaken
From the outer orbits of the world, beings made of raw code, fractal symbols, and divine algorithm began to stir. They were the System Lords—interdimensional architects of cultivation paths.
"Warning," one spoke. "A Forbidden Dharma User has breached Layer 9 of System Truth.""Do we intervene?""Not yet. But mark him. If he reaches Layer 12... he becomes a threat to all paths."
Behind them, another figure stood.
A System Devourer Queen.
She smiled, watching both Rishabh and Arthis from beyond time.
"Two kings in one sandbox," she said. "Delightful. Let them tear each other apart."
Cliffhanger: Arthis and Rishabh Face Off... Indirectly
As Rishabh's echo army ended the first group battle in seconds, the system announced:
✅ Winner: "Daruma"✅ Advanced to Core Realm Finalists❗ New Challenger Approaches – [Arthis: Crimson Heaven Protocol]
But neither attacked.
They stood across the arena. No words. Just silence.
Then Arthis whispered across the wind:
"Your mercy died with your old body, Master. Let's see if your heart still bleeds now."
And with that, a cursed girl Rishabh once saved as Bodhidharma walked out in chains—now under Arthis's control.