EVIL RISING AGAIN!-Chapter 6: The First Step Toward Domination

---

Chapter 6: The First Step Toward Domination

Morning sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting thin golden lines across Tian Mo's closed eyes. He opened them slowly, adjusting to the glare with the lethargic grace of a predator that had just awakened.

He had cultivated until dawn, the sinister Qi in his meridians stronger and more refined than before. The faint glow in his irises faded as he sat up, his body crackling with dark energy beneath the skin.

He was still far from regaining even one percent of his past strength, but the path forward was clear—and unlike others, he didn't need guidance or favors to walk it. He would carve it out of flesh and steel if he had to.

Today, the game began in earnest.

After showering and dressing in clean clothes, he made himself a light breakfast and checked his email. There it was: confirmation from the lottery board. The winning ticket—already purchased under a false identity—was his.

A slow smirk curled his lips.

One hundred million dollars. Step one: complete.

With that kind of money, even a mortal could shape empires. But for Tian Mo, it was just a means to an end. Money would buy him resources, influence, rare artifacts hidden among human collectors, and perhaps even ancient texts smuggled out of fallen realms long ago.

He sent a few encrypted instructions to a digital ghost—an AI he had cobbled together using code he still remembered from his past life's infiltration of a tech sect. With it, his identity and winnings would be clean, legal, and untraceable. No trails, no loose ends.

Then came school.

Tian Mo considered skipping it altogether—what could a mortal institution offer someone like him? But appearances mattered. He was still a student. Still "just" Tian Mo, the quiet, formerly bullied nobody. He needed the mask to remain intact for now.

At school, the atmosphere was different.

Whispers followed him. Curious glances. A few snickers from the usual trash—the bullies who hadn't yet realized that the sheep they used to torment had grown fangs.

Tian Mo ignored them.

Power didn't scream. It whispered. And soon, it would whisper loud enough to crush them.

He walked through the halls like a shadow sliding between cracks. Teachers noticed something different. Students felt it. A presence, heavy and still, like the quiet before a storm.

Then he saw her—Anna Miller.

She stood near her locker, conversing with her usual entourage. But her gaze kept drifting. Searching.

The moment she saw Tian Mo, her breath caught.

He met her eyes. No smile. No nod. Just a flicker of cold dominance in his gaze.

She bit her lower lip and quickly looked away.

Hooked, he thought. The technique is working faster than anticipated.

As the day wore on, he let the hours pass without issue. That afternoon, he received another notification—his private account had been credited. The funds were officially his. That kind of wealth would send ripples through the financial world soon enough.

But he didn't care about ripples. He wanted waves.

That evening, he returned to his room, pulled the blinds shut, and activated a series of rune diagrams etched invisibly into the walls and floor with diluted demonic ink. A faint red glow filled the room.

This was his sanctum now.

He sat cross-legged at the center and pulled out a black crystal the size of a fingernail—a demonic soul shard he had smuggled from the void pocket last night during a brief dimensional alignment. It was minuscule by cultivation standards, but on Earth, it was more valuable than a mountain of gold.

He placed the crystal over his chest and began chanting.

The room darkened. A vortex of corrupted Qi swirled around him, sucked into his body. His Primordial Chaos Demonic Evil Physique roared to life, the dark energy flooding his meridians. Muscles coiled like springs, veins pulsed with liquid shadow.

His skin burned. Bones cracked. But he did not scream.

He welcomed the pain.

Because pain was the whetstone of evolution.

The crystal shattered—its energy devoured.

And Tian Mo's cultivation surged.

From the initial stage of Body Tempering, he stepped into Stage Two: Qi Awakening.

On Earth, this level of power was already far beyond any mortal comprehension. He could run faster than a car, shatter concrete with his bare hands, and sense emotions and auras in a hundred-meter radius.

But to him, it was nothing.

Still a shadow of what he once was.

He exhaled. The rune circle dimmed.

Then came a knock on his door.

Aunt Maya's voice followed. "Mo, honey? Dinner's ready."

Tian Mo calmed his Qi and erased the circle with a simple wave of his hand. "Coming."

Visit freewёbnoνel.com for the best novel reading experience.

He washed his face and joined her at the table.

Maya smiled warmly. "How was school?"

"Uneventful," he replied with a small smile.

"You're looking healthier," she said, eyes full of pride. "You've been eating better too."

He nodded. "Trying to take care of myself."

She reached over and gently squeezed his hand. "I'm really proud of you, Mo. You've had it rough, but you're still standing strong. That means something."

Tian Mo looked at her for a long moment.

She was genuine. Honest. Someone who truly cared for him.

In his past life, he would've sneered at such weakness.

Now?

He simply tucked it away.

Aunt Maya would remain untouched for now. But eventually, if her affection became an obstacle, he would do what was necessary.

Because his path had no room for softness.

No attachments. No mercy.

Only power.

Later that night, as the city slept, Tian Mo stood atop his apartment building, staring at the stars.

He could sense something beyond them. Distant dimensions. Spiritual threads. A weak connection to Terra, the mid-grade cultivation world that hovered just beyond Earth's veil.

One day soon, he would tear that veil open.

And bring the war to those who had forgotten the name Tian Mo.

He whispered to the stars, like an oath etched in blood and fire:

"This world will kneel. The next will burn."

---