Chapter 5: Shadows of the Abyss and the Silent Strike
The night over the Celestial Sage Academy was unusually heavy. A thick, ink-like fog had rolled in from the surrounding mountains, swallowing the starlight and muffling the sounds of the nocturnal insects. Inside the Western Archives, the air was still. Tian Mo sat cross-legged on a simple reed mat, the Divine Library humming softly in the depths of his consciousness.
Across from him, Li Feng and Princess Ling'er were deep in meditation. Li Feng's aura was like a dormant furnace, occasionally sparking with golden Qi, while Ling'er's presence was cool and ethereal, the tiny Lightning Lizard curled asleep on her shoulder.
Suddenly, Tian Mo's eyes snapped open. The calm, scholarly warmth in his gaze was replaced by a cold, predatory sharpness.
[WARNING!]
[Detection: High-Level Killing Intent. Distance: 300 meters. Target: The Library's Archive.]
[Identity: Shadow-Stalker Assassin (Otherworldly Demonic Tribe - Minor Branch).]
[Potential Flaws in Enemy: 14...]
Tian Mo stood up, his movements as silent as a ghost. He didn't wake his students. This wasn't a lesson for them—not yet.
"Janitor Lu," Tian Mo said, his voice a low vibration that seemed to travel through the floorboards.
Lu, who had been sleeping in the corner, scrambled up, rubbing his eyes. "M-Master? What is it?"
"Take the students to the inner sanctum. Do not come out until the sun touches the library gates," Tian Mo commanded. His tone left no room for argument.
Lu saw the look in Tian Mo's eyes and felt a chill that had nothing to do with the weather. He quickly ushered the confused Li Feng and Ling'er into the hidden room behind the bookshelves.
The Uninvited Guest
The moment the door to the sanctum clicked shut, the temperature in the main hall dropped by twenty degrees. The shadows in the corners of the room began to writhe and stretch, detaching themselves from the walls.
From the darkness emerged a figure draped in tattered, charcoal-colored robes. His face was hidden behind a bone mask, and his eyes glowed with a sickly, violet light. This was a Demonic Assassin, sent to erase the "anomaly" that had been fixing the laws of the Hung Kingdom.
"Tian Mo," the Assassin hissed, his voice sounding like two stones grinding together. "You have played the part of a Master well. But you have touched things that do not belong to mortals. The Great Way cannot be edited by a trash teacher."
Tian Mo stood in the center of the hall, his hands clasped loosely behind his back. Even in the face of a demonic entity, his handsome face remained indifferent, almost bored.
"The Great Way is full of holes, Assassin. I am simply patching the leaks," Tian Mo replied. "But I am curious... did your masters send you here to kill me, or just to see how I die?"
The Assassin didn't bother responding. He vanished.
Swish!
A blade made of condensed shadow materialised inches from Tian Mo's throat.
[Divine Library: Flaw detected in 'Shadow Step'. The Assassin's weight shifts to the right heel during the strike.]
Tian Mo didn't draw a weapon. He simply tilted his head two inches to the left. The blade whistled past his ear, cutting a single strand of his black hair. Without looking, Tian Mo extended two fingers and tapped the air behind him.
Thwack!
The Assassin gasped as he was forced out of his invisibility, staggering back. "How... how did you see my position?"
"I didn't see you," Tian Mo said, turning around slowly. "I saw the error in your movement. You are fast, but your soul is noisy."
The Awakening of the Shadow (Early Stage)
The Assassin roared, his violet eyes blazing. He realized this was no ordinary teacher. He bit his tongue, spitting blood onto his daggers, which began to vibrate with a terrifying, corrosive energy.
"Demon Art: Thousand Devouring Shadows!"
The entire library was plunged into absolute darkness. Thousands of shadowy hands reached out from the floor and ceiling, clawing at Tian Mo's aura. Each hand carried enough poison to kill a 5th Stage cultivator instantly.
Tian Mo sighed. "You people always rely on the same tricks. Darkness is just a lack of information."
He closed his eyes.
[Divine Library: Initializing 'Shadow Extraction' (Prototype Phase).]
[Requirement: Overpower the enemy's Will. Consume 500 Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.]
The Spirit Essence Stone Tian Mo had received from the Queen began to glow inside his sleeve, its energy being drained at a visible rate. Tian Mo's own shadow began to expand, not because of the light, but because it was becoming solid.
"Arise," Tian Mo whispered.
The shadows attacking him suddenly froze. The Assassin felt a terrifying pressure—a Sovereign's Intent that was billions of times more ancient than his own demonic bloodline.
Tian Mo's shadow rose from the floor, taking the shape of a tall, faceless warrior clad in translucent black armor. This was the first manifestation of his Shadow Army. Although it was only one soldier, its aura made the library's foundation tremble.
"Kill him," Tian Mo commanded.
The Shadow Warrior moved. It didn't use a technique; it was the technique itself. In a flash of black lightning, it bypassed the Assassin's daggers and drove a fist through the bone mask.
CRUNCH.
The Assassin was sent flying through three rows of bookshelves, coughing out purple blood. He looked up in horror at the black figure looming over him. "This... this is a Soul-Contract? No... this is something higher! Who are you?!"
Tian Mo walked over the fallen books, stopping in front of the dying demon. He looked down at him with a gaze that felt like a mountain pressing on a blade of grass.
"I am the one who finds the flaws in your existence," Tian Mo said.
He raised his hand, and the Divine Library projected a golden seal in the air. "You wanted my students to stay in the dark. But now, you will be the darkness that serves them."
[Shadow Extraction: Successful.]
The Assassin's body dissolved into violet smoke, which was immediately absorbed into Tian Mo's shadow. The faceless warrior grew slightly taller, and a faint violet gem appeared on its chest.
The Morning After
When the first rays of dawn touched the library gates, Janitor Lu cautiously opened the door of the sanctum. He expected to find blood and destruction.
Instead, he saw Tian Mo sitting at his desk, calmly sipping a cup of tea. The library was perfectly clean—not a single book was out of place. It was as if the battle had never happened.
Li Feng and Princess Ling'er stepped out, looking refreshed.
"Master, did something happen last night?" Ling'er asked, her Lightning Lizard chirping curiously.
"Just some pests in the garden," Tian Mo replied, setting his cup down. He looked at his two students. "Your basic training is over. Today, we leave for the Myriad Kingdom Alliance. The tournament starts in seven days."
Li Feng's eyes lit up. "The tournament? But Master, only the top geniuses of the twenty kingdoms are allowed to enter. We aren't even officially registered!"
Tian Mo stood up, his white robes shimmering in the morning light. He pulled out a gold-embossed badge from his sleeve—the 3-Star Supreme Teacher Badge that had been delivered by the Appraiser's Guild at midnight.
"I am a 3-Star Supreme Teacher," Tian Mo said, his voice carrying an undeniable authority. "My students do not need to register. We are the ones the tournament was built to challenge."
He looked at Janitor Lu. "Pack the carriage. And Lu... try not to fall off the seat this time."
The Road to the Alliance
As their carriage—drawn by two Wind-Chasing Horses provided by the Queen—passed through the capital gates, the citizens bowed in reverence. The "Trash Teacher" was leaving as a Legend.
Inside the carriage, Tian Mo looked at the iron key he had taken from the Auction House.
[Divine Library: Target: Iron Key.]
[Identity: Key to the 'Library of the Forgotten Sage' located in the center of the Alliance Capital.]
[Contents: 50,000 Ancient Manuals. Current Scan Status: 0%.]
Tian Mo's lips curled into a faint smile. To others, the Myriad Kingdom Tournament was a place for glory. To him, it was a massive data-mining trip.
"Master," Li Feng said, looking out the window at the passing landscape. "I heard that the Prince of the Blue Frost Kingdom has reached the 9th Stage of Qi Sensing. He is said to be the favorite to win."
Tian Mo didn't even open his eyes. "A 9th Stage? He has 400 flaws in his foundation. You will defeat him in three moves, Li Feng. If you take a fourth, you will spend a month cleaning the library floors with Janitor Lu."
Li Feng shivered, but his grip on his spear tightened. He believed his Master. If Tian Mo said three moves, it would be three moves.
As the carriage disappeared into the horizon, heading toward the heart of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, a new era was beginning—an era where knowledge was the ultimate weapon, and a teacher was the most dangerous man alive.