The night was thick with silence, broken only by the rustling of leaves in the wind.
Lian Ren sat cross-legged beneath the ancient pine, his mind drifting into meditation. The world around him faded, replaced by the vast expanse of his inner realm.
Within this void, a presence stirred.
A fragment of his former self—Wrath—emerged, cloaked in shadows and burning with a fierce intensity. Its eyes glowed with a crimson light, and its voice was a whisper of thunder.
"You were a god once," Wrath hissed.
"Feared and revered. Why do you now cower among mortals?"
Lian Ren's heart pounded, but he remained calm. "I seek balance, not domination."
Wrath sneered. "Balance? Is that what you call this weakness? You let them mock you, hurt you. Where is your pride?"
Images flashed before Lian Ren's eyes—memories of past humiliations, of rivals' sneers, of his own suppressed rage.
"Embrace me,"Wrath urged. "Let me guide your hand.
Together, we can reclaim our rightful place."
Temptation surged within him, but Lian Ren clenched his fists, grounding himself. "No. I won't become what I once was."
Wrath's form wavered, its fury palpable. "Then suffer the consequences."
With a final glare, it vanished into the void.
Lian Ren gasped, returning to the physical world. Sweat dripped from his brow, and his heart raced.
A system notification appeared:
[Skill Unlocked: Pressure of Divinity]
Causes enemies below your level to tremble.
He felt a new weight settle upon him—a reminder of the power he once wielded and the path he now chose.
The next morning, a bitter wind swept through the training grounds of the Vermilion Branch Sect.
Disciples bustled with early drills, but Lian Ren moved like a ghost among them—quiet, distant, changed.
They sensed it.
"Did you hear?" whispered one. "He was meditating all night again. Weird."
"He gives off a… pressure now. Like something is watching through him."
Whispers didn't matter to Lian Ren. He could still feel the echo of Wrath within him—dormant now, but not gone.
That fragment was part of him, sealed away like a tiger in a cage of willpower.
He watched his old rival, Fen Yao, sparring with reckless power. Just seeing him stirred something in Lian Ren's chest.
He hurt that child last week just to prove dominance.
Lian Ren's hands twitched.
One strike. I could silence him forever.
The pressure flared around him like a tide. Several outer disciples near him stumbled, clutching their chests.
"W-What was that?!"
Fen Yao turned, narrowed his eyes. "You trying to scare someone, trash?"
Lian Ren took a breath and turned away. He would not strike.
Behind him, the system chimed softly:
[Karmic Resistance Check: Passed]
[Wrath Suppressed: +0.3 Karmic Resonance]
[Warning: Divine Fragment remains unstable]
He exhaled slowly. The rage hadn't vanished. It had simply bowed—for now.
But even suppressed, the mark left behind had weight.
Disciples whispered that his presence made them feel small, uneasy. Some avoided him. Others, fools blinded by ego, plotted against him.
Wrath watched from the cage, waiting for the day he slipped.
And Lian Ren knew… next time, resisting might not be so easy.
Later that night, Lian Ren sat in quiet meditation beneath the old willow behind the sect's Spirit Spring.
The air was calm, but his heart was not. The mark of Wrath pulsed beneath his ribs—a heat that never fully faded.
Then the voice returned. Not like before in the dream… this time, it whispered directly into his thoughts.
"You suppress me. You fear me. Yet without me, you are nothing."
Lian Ren's eyes shot open.
"You are not real," he said aloud.
"I am the part of you that won.
The god that raged through armies, who took revenge when none would.
You were feared. Worshipped. And now you beg mortals for approval?"
Lian Ren clenched his fists. The grass around him withered slightly, aura flaring unintentionally.
"No," he said through gritted teeth. "I chose this path."
There was silence—then bitter laughter in his head.
"So be it, coward. But know this: the day will come when they will beg for wrath. And when they do, you'll open my door."
The voice faded.
Suddenly, a new system prompt appeared:
[Divine Fragment Suppressed: Wrath (Stage 1)]
[New Skill Acquired: Pressure of Divinity – Enemies below your cultivation tremble in your presence. (Passive)]
[Warning: Further suppression will require stronger karmic intent.]
Lian Ren exhaled, calming his aura.
He would not give in. Not now. Not yet.
But the path of karma was not about denial. It was about balance.
And Wrath… would wait.