EVIL RISING AGAIN!-Chapter 4:Embers Beneath the Ashes

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Chapter 4: Embers Beneath the Ashes

Three days passed in silence.

Tian Mo lived simply—attending classes, watching, listening, always observing. He spoke little, smiled rarely. Most assumed the beating had broken him.

But they were wrong.

He was listening. Hunting. Remembering.

Every slight. Every insult. Every weakness exposed around him became a piece in the puzzle of vengeance.

That morning, he stood behind the school library's old structure, holding a low-grade spirit stone stolen from the maintenance department.

A rare find in modern Earth. Most cultivators would sell it instantly.

Tian Mo crushed it.

The spiritual energy flowed into his body, and the Primordial Chaos Divine Sins Emperor Technique activated, greedily absorbing even the stone's impurities.

He crossed his legs and began circulating Qi. Unlike the brutish methods used by Earth's sects, his technique refined Qi in nine cycles—one for each divine sin. Pride. Greed. Lust. Wrath. Sloth. Envy. Gluttony. Despair. Chaos.

Each cycle crushed the energy further, refining it into something sharp. Something cruel.

After hours of cycling, the Foundation Establishment barrier loomed.

He didn't rush.

Most cultivators broke into the next realm by force, risking flawed cores and spiritual backlash. Tian Mo slowed instead, compressing his peak-stage Qi Condensation energy into a near-perfect vortex.

Only when it became a dense liquid flame did he allow the final push.

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A sharp crack echoed in his core.

His meridians expanded. His dantian solidified.

Foundation Establishment – Early Stage.

The world became clearer. He could now sense Qi threads in others—their strengths, weaknesses, spiritual flaws.

He stood up, calm and unreadable. Earth had far more to offer than it seemed—buried relics, forgotten legacies, and plenty of people to use.

But he had to remain in the shadows. Premature exposure would only draw attention from higher forces—the Hidden Circle, Earth-tier sects, government-aligned cultivators.

He wouldn't allow that.

Not yet.

That afternoon, Anna approached him behind the school cafeteria, her eyes softer now, lips unsure.

"I had a dream," she said quietly. "You were there. We were... different. You called me yours."

He didn't deny it.

"Dreams show what you truly desire," he said, brushing past her.

She shivered.

The seed was growing well.

—

That night, Yin Hua returned from her mission.

She emerged from the shadows of Tian Mo's apartment, kneeling in silence.

"The Hidden Circle node in City G is led by Wei Tong," she said. "Mid-Foundation Establishment, peak-body refinement. He's careless. Drinks. Cheats. Has a mistress tied to an enemy sect."

Tian Mo's eyes narrowed.

Wei Tong.

He remembered that name. In his past life, Wei Tong had betrayed dozens of allies, selling them for promotions and rare techniques. He'd grown rich stepping on others' corpses—and had once laughed as Tian Mo was hunted down in the True Immortal World.

So this was where the roach had crawled from.

"Leave him untouched," Tian Mo said.

"For now."

Wei Tong would die. But only when it caused maximum chaos.

Yin Hua also brought a second report.

"There's a movement in the Zhou Consortium. Elena Zhou's spiritual aura has fluctuated recently. She may be cultivating again."

Tian Mo's eyes lit up faintly.

Elena Zhou. Earth-grade Ice Lotus Constitution. Powerful, elegant, isolated.

Another perfect candidate.

He nodded. "Begin monitoring her."

"And your next order?" Yin Hua asked.

"Expand the network," he said. "We're no longer operating alone. Begin recruiting."

"Who?"

"Women," Tian Mo said with a cruel smirk. "Influential. Talented. Broken. I'll shape them into the roots of an empire that no man can see coming."

He walked to the window, watching the smog-choked stars above.

One realm down. Many to go.

But he had time.

He would not ascend quickly.

He would savor every step.

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