The duel ended in silence.
That was what unsettled everyone the most.
No cheers.
No outrage.
No triumphant roar.
Just the image of the Fifth Brother collapsing—eyes empty, body shaking—as if something had reached inside him and crushed what made him human.
By nightfall, the Crimson House was no longer quiet.
It was buzzing.
“He didn’t overpower him…” “He erased his will.” “That aura—did you feel it?” “I couldn’t breathe.”
Rumors spread faster than force ever could.
Some claimed Daniel had used a forbidden demonic art stolen from an Outer Sect.
Others whispered that the Patriarch had secretly nurtured him as a hidden successor.
A few, braver—or more foolish—voices murmured something worse.
“That wasn’t just cultivation.”
“That was domination.”
Fear Has a Shape
The Fifth Brother did not wake until midnight.
When he did, he screamed.
Servants rushed in. Elders followed. Physicians checked his body again and again.
Nothing was broken.
Nothing was damaged.
Yet he refused to close his eyes.
“He’s afraid,” one elder said quietly.
“Afraid of what?” another asked.
The Fifth Brother’s lips trembled.
“Him.”
No one laughed.
Fear caused by force faded.
Fear carved into the soul did not.
Political Pressure
The next morning, the elders convened without being summoned.
“This cannot continue,” one said sharply. “A Sword Beginner is one thing. But that art—”
“—is unclassified,” another finished. “No lineage, no record.”
“And the title,” a third added. “That fear effect wasn’t illusionary.”
( In this world title is something that is bestowed by God )
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Eyes slowly turned toward the Patriarch.
“You knew,” someone accused.
The Patriarch did not deny it.
“I knew he was changing,” he said calmly. “Not what he would become.”
Silence followed.
Finally, one elder spoke carefully.
“If he is allowed to grow unchecked, succession balance will collapse.”
The Patriarch’s gaze hardened.
“Then perhaps,” he said, “the balance deserved to collapse.”
No one argued further.
Daniel Maxim — Alone
Daniel sat cross-legged in his room, lantern dim.
The world outside buzzed with fear and speculation, but none of it reached him here. He closed his eyes and circulated Demonic Energy.
It answered immediately.
Smooth.
Dense.
Heavy.
Too heavy.
The flow felt… different than before the duel. Not stronger—deeper. As if something had taken root at the center of his chest.
Daniel’s brow furrowed.
“…What changed?”
He focused inward, slowing the circulation until the pressure condensed into a single point.
Then—
Ding.
A window surfaced silently.
[ Reward Registered — Duel Victory Confirmed ]
[ Unique Item Assimilated: ??? ]
Daniel stiffened.
“Assimilated?” he whispered.
The system responded.
Ding.
[ Item Identified: Demon God Heart ]
The name alone made his breathing hitch.
Before he could react, another line appeared—cold, precise.
[ Status: Integrated ]
[ Removal: Impossible ]
Daniel opened his eyes sharply.
“…Heart?”
A slow, unfamiliar pulse echoed inside him—not his own heartbeat, but something layered atop it. Older. Heavier. Patient.
The system continued, uncaring.
Ding.
[ Demon God Heart — Passive Effects Active ]
[ Effect 1: Demonic Energy Amplification ]
[ ? Every 1 stat allocated into Demonic Energy is treated as 2 ]
Daniel’s fingers tightened slightly.
“So it compounds…”
Another line appeared.
[ Effect 2: Universal Reinforcement ]
[ ? Strength +5 ]
[ ? Agility +5 ]
[ ? Mentality +5 ]
[ ? Intelligence +5 ]
[ ? Demonic Energy +5 ]
The lantern flickered.
Daniel did not smile.
He didn’t even feel relief.
“…This wasn’t a reward,” he murmured.
It was too complete. Too final. As if the system had confirmed something rather than gifted it.
His attention drifted back to the duel—the instant when the Fifth Brother’s resistance collapsed, not physically, but existentially.
“That moment…”
Daniel’s eyes darkened.
“That wasn’t just Soul Annihilation.”
The system reacted.
Ding.
[ Soul Annihilation Art — Analysis Mode ]
[ Source Confirmation: Demon God Heart Resonance ]
[ Note: Art efficiency increased due to compatibility ]
[ Warning: Compatibility does not imply safety ]
Another line surfaced—slower this time.
[ Dominance imprint risk increased ]
Daniel exhaled carefully.
“So the heart makes it easier,” he said quietly. “Easier to erase. Easier to decide.”
Easier to stop seeing people as people.
His chest felt heavy—not with power, but with presence. As if something vast sat behind his ribs, watching the world through him without emotion.
He placed a hand over his sternum.
“…I didn’t earn this.”
The Demon God Heart didn’t answer.
It simply beat—once—deep and steady.
Sword Beginner — Not a Finish Line
Daniel looked down at his hands.
They were steady.
Too steady.
“I became a Sword Beginner,” he murmured.
“But this isn’t cultivation.”
It was assimilation.
Strength could be trained.
Technique could be refined.
But this?
This was a foundation that wanted to replace him if he stopped paying attention.
People no longer looked at him with envy.
They looked at him the way prey looked at something that didn’t need to chase.
Daniel clenched his fist—and deliberately suppressed his aura.
The pressure resisted.
Then relented.
Good.
“I won’t let you decide for me,” he thought calmly.
“Not the system. Not the heart.”
He would move slower.
Train quieter.
Anchor himself before the weight dragged him somewhere irreversible.
Outside, forces shifted.
Inside, something ancient listened.
Five days until the next phase of the succession war.
Five days to stabilize something that shouldn’t exist.
Five days before someone tried to measure him again.
Daniel opened his eyes.
“Let them come.”
[ STATS WINDOW
STRENGTH - 32
AGILITY - 32
MENTALITY - 42
INTELLIGENCE - 35
DEMONIC ENERGY - 42 ]
[ System Notice:
Reach 75 in every stat to reach Sword expert ]
