[Book 1 Complete!!] Silent Dao Sovereign [Xianxia Cultivation]

"If you don't want to answer, you can go back now." Xu Mo leaned back against the wooden backrest of his chair, letting out a silent sigh. He already had a rough idea of what Li Xueya was thinking, but explaining things might only make it worse.

What he was almost certain of was that she had misunderstood his goodwill as guilt—as if he had killed her brother. He was convinced that she was sticking close to him not out of trust or gratitude, but to find a chance to kill him or gather evidence to expose his true self to the world.

Li Xueya's bangs shaded her eyes. She had her head slightly bowed as she turned and walked out of the room without a word.

'System,' Xu Mo called out silently in his mind.

There was no response.

Just as he had expected.

'Looks like I'm back to being a lone warrior,' he thought, shaking his head. He had known this day would eventually come ever since he had bound himself to the system. Still, he hadn't expected it to end after just two years.

The system had informed him some time ago that it had located a new, more suitable host—a Son of Destiny from the Upper Plane. It would unbind from Xu Mo in a few days. At the time, Xu Mo hadn't felt much. He had simply asked the system to empty its inventory before vanishing, which it did.

Luckily, over the past two years, Xu Mo had found a way to make use of the system's resources without becoming reliant on it. That was why he wasn't concerned about his cultivation being stripped away along with it.

He had auctioned off treasures—rare ones that couldn't be easily found—to the major auction houses. There were moments when he felt tempted to keep those items for himself, but he always bit his tongue and reminded himself of the bigger picture. That discipline allowed him to accumulate a vast sum of wealth, which he then used to purchase similar treasures of slightly lower quality, enough to ensure steady cultivation.

And so, Xu Mo rose to become a respected cultivator who had successfully formed a Golden Core. But because he hadn't undergone a proper tribulation, the world had no idea what grade of core he had formed. Even the Hidden Dragon Sect believed it to be a Seventh Grade Core.

In reality, it was a Ninth Grade Core—mythical, nearly unheard of—the true source of Xu Mo's quiet confidence.

It brought him a sense of relief, knowing that as long as he avoided entanglements with those so-called children of destiny, he would be able to continue cultivating and eventually reach the end of his path.

Xu Mo had read many historical texts and knew that a Ninth Grade Core was considered the bare minimum requirement to become an immortal and ascend to the place the system called the Upper Plane. Still, questions lingered in his heart.

Why not just have everyone be born in the same realm? Why separate us into different planes? Are people in the Upper Planes born already at the Qi Condensation stage?

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His thoughts drifted as he stared at a pile of papers on his desk—documents submitted by the sect elders requesting increased budgets for various departments. The number of disciples had surged recently, but funds were finite.

The spiritual stone mine, once the Hidden Dragon Sect's primary source of high-grade stones, had mysteriously dried up. Xu Mo had already spoken with Elder Long Bai, whose experience suggested the mine was finished. Long Bai had advised shutting it down or selling it off to a smaller sect or family before it became a financial burden.

But Xu Mo hesitated. Mines didn't just stop producing resources. Something was off.

He had considered visiting the site himself—not just to investigate the anomaly, but also to check on how the mortal laborers were being treated by the elder in charge. The system used to provide him with hints in situations like this, but now he had to rely entirely on himself. Still, he believed that one didn't need a system or luck to become a legend.

"Wu Ming."

"Yes, Master." A figure clad in loose black and dark purple robes appeared silently, bowing respectfully.

"How long would it take to reach the mine if we departed today?"

"Master, it would take ten days on foot, five days by flight, and one day if I used my full power."

"Hmm..." Xu Mo rubbed his chin, deep in thought. Leaving the sect was risky. Without the system, he no longer had a reliable warning mechanism when someone with immense luck approached. Every decision now was like shooting arrows into the abyss.

"You go investigate the cause of the anomaly," Xu Mo finally said. "I'll stay here."

"…"

"Master, you haven't left the sect in two years."

"And?" Xu Mo looked at him, unsure where he was going with this.

"There have been... rumors," Wu Ming began carefully, "that you've become a tyrant, indulging in pleasures day and night. That you're too afraid to step outside because of the enemies you've made. Some say you've suffered a backlash from cultivating demonic techniques and that your face has been ruined. Others believe you've become drunk on power. And—"

"Stop. Stop..." Xu Mo raised his palm to silence him. He couldn't believe it. He hadn't even done anything, yet the world already saw him as a villain.

Once a villain, always a villain, huh?

He was merely working tirelessly for the sect. And what was this nonsense about indulging in pleasures? He respected every male and female disciple like a sibling.

And how had he become a tyrant?

Xu Mo glanced around his modest surroundings. A tyrant lived in opulence, not in a simple room like this.

"Master, please don't take it to heart. These are just lies spread by rival sects—jealous of your dedication to cultivation and governance. Their successors can't even match your shadow."

Wu Ming meant well, but Xu Mo felt a strange unease. It was fine when he didn't know how the world perceived him, but now that he did, he couldn't shake the fear that some self-righteous cultivator might show up, declaring justice, and treat him as a stepping stone on their path to glory.

"Wu Ming, in the past two years, I've done many things for the benefit of the sect's disciples, elders, and even the mortals who live around our borders. Haven't I?"

"...You have, Master. But all of it was done under an alias. And even within the sect, you made every disciple swear not to reveal your name. So, to the outside world, it appears as though Li Xueya and I are the ones responsible for all the recent changes and progress. You're just the silent figure they serve."

Xu Mo fell silent.

He hadn't wanted Li Xueya to hear his name or be burdened by his presence. That was why he'd kept his identity out of things. Even when he had investigated the symbol worn by the woman who took his childhood friend away, no one—not even the Ancestor—recognized it.

The Ancestor had only given him a cryptic warning: If that symbol truly belonged to the organization you suspect, then forget your friend. Even the Verdant Sky Hall cannot protect you if you pursue this further.

So Xu Mo had chosen silence. But now he realized—despite his efforts to stay anonymous—his name had still spread.

Only... it had spread in the worst way possible.

Were people really so idle that they had time to make up such stories?