The sun barely touched the horizon, but the forest was alive with movement. Sol Jin had spent weeks observing, analyzing, and manipulating the minor sect prodigies. Today, he intended to test his growing skills against multiple targets simultaneously.
> "Observation alone is no longer enough," he muttered. "I must act, anticipate, and dominate."
Three disciples entered the clearing. Li Mei, Chen Wei, and a new name Sol Jin had noted from his observations—Huo Feng, brother to Huo Lian. Each carried skill, pride, and confidence. Yet, Sol Jin had calculated every habit, every flaw, every reaction.
He stepped into the clearing, silent and composed. The Infinite Schemer's Core pulsed strongly in his chest. Subtle energy ripples emanated from him, feeding his senses, predicting the flow of combat before it began.
> "Let's see how clever you truly are," he whispered, grin curling.
---
The three lunged at once. Coordinated, precise, powerful—but predictable. Sol Jin rolled, dodged, and countered with minimal effort. Each strike he avoided, each maneuver he executed, fed the Core further information. Pain was irrelevant; timing and prediction were everything.
He baited Li Mei with a feint, forcing her to overcommit. Chen Wei stumbled trying to compensate, and Huo Feng's confidence wavered. Sol Jin struck in subtle ways—pushing, pulling, forcing mistakes without directly injuring them. By the end, the three were frustrated, exhausted, and humiliated, though physically unharmed.
> "Victory without blood," he whispered, satisfaction low and controlled. "Fools who think strength alone rules will remember this."
---
From the edge of the forest, Sol Jin sensed another presence. A ripple in the air, subtle yet distinct, unlike the prodigies' predictable aura. Something calculated, controlled, and immensely powerful. He glanced toward the shadows and caught the faint outline of a figure: tall, hooded, unmoving.
The Core pulsed faster, almost warning him. His instincts screamed that this was no ordinary observer.
> "A new player," he muttered, narrowing his eyes. "Stronger than the rest… watching, waiting. Interesting."
The hooded figure did not move. No indication, no challenge—simply presence. Yet Sol Jin felt its power, cold, precise, intelligent, and beyond minor sect limits. He knew instinctively that this genius would not reveal themselves yet.
The prodigies, sensing nothing unusual, fled after their humiliation. Sol Jin remained, curiosity and calculation mixing in his mind. He had been watched before, but never by someone whose aura demanded respect and caution.
---
Back in the shadows of his cave, Sol Jin replayed the encounter in his mind. Every movement, every decision, every small triumph against the prodigies was analyzed by the Core. But a lingering pulse from the forest reminded him: someone was waiting, watching, and capable of turning his triumph into defeat.
> "Fascinating," he whispered, a grin spreading. "I am rising… but I will need more than tricks and tactics for this one. Whoever you are, hooded genius… I will remember you."
The Core pulsed violently, sensing a challenge, yet the full magnitude of this opponent remained hidden.
High above, the cosmic presence stirred. Threads of fate bent sharply toward the boy.
> "Ah… the boy will be tested soon. Stronger, cleverer, and humbled… only then will he truly rise. The hooded genius approaches. The game begins."
---
Night fell. Sol Jin returned to the cave, chest heaving, mind sharp. The Infinite Schemer's Core pulsed like a heartbeat of warning and promise. Every encounter, every scheme, every prodigy manipulated had prepared him, yet something beyond his current perception awaited.
The boy who had been nothing was growing into a schemer of monsters and men—but soon, he would face someone who could unravel even his careful plans.
And the hooded genius, silent, unseen, was already a thread in the tapestry of his fate.