Feng Zhiming sat in Ryes’s abode, his eyes narrowing as he rubbed his chin, deep in thought. The dim glow of moonlight spilling through the windows cast long shadows across the room, reflecting the weight of the dilemma he found himself in. The situation had spiraled into something far more intricate than he had initially anticipated.

  "Let's break this down, step by step," he muttered under his breath, beginning to mentally list his mounting concerns.

  “Survival takes priority, which means getting the seal of beast suppression to my main body as quickly as possible. Without it, I’m vulnerable. And then there’s Raja... I can only communicate with him through this body. I can't simply disappear or sever this link. But the question remains... should I just kill him?”

  His foot began tapping rhythmically, a subtle indication of his growing frustration, as his mind churned through the next obstacle. "The sect leader… he's become a serious roadblock. And on top of that, I haven't managed to recruit even a single Dao Lord yet."

  As he deliberated, a voice resonated within his mind, calm, detached, but undeniably present.

  {A difficult situation indeed,} the scholar of black observed.

  Feng’s brow twitched. "Don’t sit there commenting like a spectator, old man. If you’ve got a suggestion, now’s the time to speak up," he growled, his patience thinning.

  {You must really be desperate if you’re asking me for help.}

  Feng clenched his fist, fighting the rising tension in his chest. “I don’t need your amusement right now. What’s the play? What can we do?”

  Silence filled the room, the weight of his predicament pressing down on him, amplified by the steady beat of his foot against the cold floor.

  The silence lingered, thick and oppressive, as Feng Zhiming waited for the scholar's response. The room felt smaller, the air heavier, as if the very walls were closing in on him.

  Finally, the scholar's voice returned, quieter this time, as if considering the gravity of the situation.

  {If you want my advice, I'll give it. But remember, the path I suggest won’t be easy. You’re entangled in too many threads, and each one has the potential to strangle you. The first step is to simplify. Cut the ties that don’t serve your purpose.}

  “With all your years of experience, you present such a primitive option. Forget it,” Feng scoffed, a mix of frustration and impatience in his tone. The idea of cutting loose ends seemed too basic, too straightforward for the labyrinthine game he was caught in.

  {Bah, you brought this on yourself,} the scholar retorted, his voice dripping with condescension.

  “What I need is... what I need to do is find a way to send Raja away, for now,” Feng muttered, tapping his fingers against his temple, his thoughts beginning to crystallize. “The only way to deal with so many variables is to get rid of them one by one.”

  His mind shifted into a higher gear, and without hesitation, he invoked the art of Demonic Cognizance, a technique honed to sharpen the mind’s ability to process multiple complex threads at once, to turn chaos into clarity. His eyes darkened as his consciousness expanded, ideas and possibilities flooding in.

  “Send him away... yes, that buys me time. But then... a distraction. No, not just a distraction, a catastrophe. One large enough to consume the sect's entire focus, enough to allow me to slip through unnoticed.”

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  A sly smile crept onto his face as the solution began to take shape, a dark, insidious plan unfurling before him.

  "Yes," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "Create a diversion... one massive enough to shatter the sect’s very foundation. A calamity so great, they won’t even have time to think about me. While the chaos unfolds, I’ll feign my death in this body, and no one will suspect I’m still alive. And when the dust settles, I’ll still have the seal and remain unnoticed."

  {Now you’re thinking like a true schemer,} the scholar murmured, almost approvingly. {But be warned—chaos is unpredictable. You may start it, but you won’t be able to control where it leads.}

  Feng rose from his seat, his expression resolute. “Chaos and order, two sides of the same coin.”

  He walked towards the window, gazing out into the moonlit night. The plan was dangerous, reckless even, but it was the only path forward. Raja would be the first to be dealt with. Then, the real storm would begin.

  ...

  Feng Zhiming wasted no time summoning Raja to the secluded training grounds behind the academy. The moon hung high, casting pale light over the field as the cool night breeze whispered through the trees.

  "Instructor Ryes, what’s so important that you called me at this hour?" Raja asked, surprise evident in his voice as he approached. His brow furrowed, sensing an unusual urgency in the air.

  Feng Zhiming stood still, his posture calm but deliberate, hands clasped behind his back. He gazed up at the sky, as if searching for the right words in the constellations above. Channeling every ounce of his acting skill, he kept his expression composed, yet solemn.

  "Disciple Raja," Feng began, his voice low but heavy with the weight of unspoken tension, "do you trust me?"

  A brief silence followed, stretching just long enough to fill the air with doubt. Raja, though hesitant, slowly nodded. His eyes searched his instructor's face, but Feng's gaze remained fixed on the horizon.

  “Then listen closely,” Feng continued, his tone dropping even lower, drawing Raja in. “Leave the sect. A civil war is brewing.”

  Raja’s eyes widened, shock written across his face. Before he could form a question, Feng Zhiming continued, his words laced with grave urgency.

  "Grand Elder Claris and Disciple Orion have both become disillusioned with the Sect Leader. The unrest has been growing for some time, and now even the Headmistress is aligning herself with them. The factions are forming as we speak. Staying here will only lead you down a path of destruction."

  Raja stumbled backward, the weight of the revelation hitting him like a physical blow. “But... I-I haven’t heard anything—why would they go against the Sect Leader? This—this doesn’t make sense,” he stammered, his mind racing to comprehend.

  Feng turned to face him for the first time, his expression cold and unreadable, betraying none of the scheming that lay beneath his words. "You haven’t heard because they don’t want it to be public yet. But soon, the sect will be divided, and when it happens, there will be no going back. Those loyal to the Sect Leader will be purged, and anyone caught in the middle... will be collateral damage."

  The wind rustled the trees, but Raja stood frozen, the weight of the warning paralyzing him. He trusted Feng, his mentor and guide within the sect, but the idea of leaving everything behind felt impossible to process.

  "I... I don’t know what to do," Raja admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.

  Feng stepped closer, his tone softening just enough to seem genuine. “I know it’s hard, Raja. But the best chance for your survival is to leave, for now. Disappear. I will cover for you, but you must act quickly, before it’s too late.”

  Raja swallowed hard, his mind a whirlpool of fear and doubt. “Where would I go? What would I do?”

  “Go south,” Feng instructed, his voice like steel now, firm and commanding. “South Haven Spire. Stay there until I send word. I’ll be in touch when things calm down.”

  Raja hesitated, still torn between loyalty and fear. But the look in Feng’s eyes, that mixture of conviction and care, pushed him over the edge.

  “Okay,” Raja finally said, his voice shaky but resolved. “I’ll leave tonight.”

  Feng nodded, turning back toward the moonlit horizon. “Good. Now go. And remember, not a word to anyone. The moment they suspect you know, your life will be forfeit.”

  Raja took one last lingering look at Feng before turning and sprinting into the darkness, his figure vanishing into the shadows of the night.

  Feng Zhiming exhaled, his face still impassive, but inside he felt a surge of satisfaction. The first piece had been moved. Now, the real game would begin.

  “Now instructor Laizu, I wonder if your love is deep enough for you to have worked quickly.”