Chapter 5: The Nightmare Realm
The weekend morning arrived without mercy.
Lin Mo woke before sunrise, eyes snapping open the instant consciousness returned. There was no grogginess, no lingering fatigue. His body felt tight—coiled like a blade drawn halfway from its sheath.
He sat up slowly.
The faint shadows in the corner of the room stirred, stretching like living things before settling again.
Real.
Not a dream.
Lin Mo clenched his fist. The shadow beneath his knuckles rippled in response, as if alive. Ever since last night, it had been like this—his senses sharper, his control more precise. The sword talent and shadow talent were no longer foreign forces pressing against him.
They were his.
He exhaled.
"Today," he murmured, "I find my limit."
After a quick wash and a simple meal, Lin Mo strapped his sword to his back. It wasn't an expensive weapon—just standard alloy steel—but the moment his fingers brushed the hilt, a sense of alignment settled into his bones.
Absolute control.
Not strength.
Not brute force.
Control.
He stepped into the morning streets and headed toward the battlefield zone on the city's outskirts.
---
The battlefield was already crowded.
Since Earth's mutation, this place had become a permanent scar on the city's edge—cracked ground, warped air, and the metallic stench of old blood that never truly faded. This was where secret realms most frequently appeared.
Some were opportunities.
Others were death sentences.
Lin Mo blended into the crowd, his presence unremarkable. To everyone else, he still looked like a low-ranked instructor with average spiritual fluctuations.
No one noticed the shadows bending subtly around his feet.
Then the air rippled.
The sky twisted violently, clouds collapsing inward as if swallowed by an invisible mouth. A black vortex tore open, expanding rapidly.
Gasps erupted.
"No—this aura—!"
"A Nightmare Realm!"
"Retreat! Get away from it!"
The vortex stabilized, revealing a swirling entrance of black and crimson, like blood suspended in a storm. The pressure alone sent weaker cultivators stumbling back, faces drained of color.
A Nightmare Realm.
High mortality. Extreme hostility. Monsters that ignored common sense and power charts alike.
People didn't hesitate.
They ran.
Lin Mo remained where he stood.
The panel flickered before his eyes.
[Secret Realm Detected]
Type: Nightmare Realm
Estimated Survival Rate: 7%
Warning: Entry Not Recommended
Whispers spread behind him.
"Is that guy suicidal?"
"He's not even fully awakened—"
"Hey! Stop him!"
Lin Mo took one step forward.
Then another.
The pressure intensified, crashing down like invisible hands. His bones creaked faintly—but did not bend.
At the threshold, the black vortex thunder within him stirred, resonating with the realm itself.
Lin Mo smiled.
"Perfect."
He stepped inside.
---
The world inverted.
Lin Mo hit the ground hard, rolling across ash-black soil before forcing himself upright. The sky above burned crimson, split by lightning that never struck the earth. Distant screams echoed without a source.
Nightmare.
The air stank of decay.
The instant he straightened—
HISS—
A blur lunged from the shadows.
Lin Mo's sword was already moving.
Clang!
Steel met bone. A malformed creature—half-wolf, half-human—was cleaved cleanly in two. Black blood splattered and hissed as it touched the ground.
No hesitation.
Another attacked.
Then another.
Lin Mo moved.
Every step wasted nothing. Every strike ended a life. The sword talent guided his muscles while the shadow talent erased his killing intent, letting him vanish between motions.
The monsters adapted.
They came in packs.
From blind angles.
From above.
From beneath.
Lin Mo was cut. Slammed into broken stone. Raked by claws that tore flesh.
Pain burned—but only sharpened his focus.
"Control," he whispered.
Shadows surged, wrapping around his legs and spine, reinforcing his stance. His blade accelerated, arcs of darkness trailing each swing. One by one, the monsters fell, their corpses dissolving into shadow and being silently devoured.
Time lost meaning.
When the battlefield finally fell quiet, Lin Mo stood alone—chest heaving, clothes shredded, blood soaking his skin.
The panel appeared.
[Progress: 92%]
[Final Area Unlocked]
The ground ahead split open.
Something vast began to rise.
---
The final boss emerged like a god stitched from ruin.
A towering figure clad in fractured black armor, its body fused from countless corpses. Beneath its helm burned a single crimson eye—aware, calculating, hungry.
The pressure alone nearly crushed Lin Mo to his knees.
"This thing…" he muttered.
His sword trembled.
The monster moved.
Too fast.
Lin Mo barely raised his blade before the impact sent him flying. He smashed through stone and cratered into the ground.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
Pain detonated through his ribs.
The boss advanced, each step shattering the earth.
Lin Mo dragged himself upright.
"Not… yet."
Shadows exploded outward, forming a barrier just as the monster's fist came down. The barrier shattered instantly—but it bought him half a second.
Enough.
Lin Mo twisted, blade flashing upward.
The monster's arm was severed.
The wound regenerated.
The boss roared. A shockwave hurled Lin Mo away again.
His vision blurred. Bones screamed.
For the first time since awakening, fear crept in.
I can't win like this.
The panel flickered violently.
[Warning: Vital Signs Critical]
Lin Mo laughed, blood-stained.
"So this is the end?"
The black vortex thunder inside him answered, surging at the edge of death.
"No," he whispered. "Not here."
He stood.
Every shadow in the realm moved.
They converged—not as weapons.
As will.
As control.
Lin Mo stepped forward, sword steady despite trembling arms.
"One strike," he said softly. "Everything."
The boss charged.
Lin Mo did not retreat.
He slashed.
Not fast.
Not powerful.
Perfect.
Steel and shadow merged into a single line of intent. The blade passed through the monster's core.
Silence followed.
Then the armor cracked.
Shadows erupted from within, devouring the giant from the inside out. The massive body collapsed inward—compressed, erased.
The realm shook violently.
Lin Mo dropped to one knee, gasping as blood dripped onto the ash.
A reward chest materialized before him.
Inside were an A-rank monster core, a strange flexible sword, a Dragon Palm skill scroll, a storage ring, and a battle armor set.
He equipped the ring and armor immediately, stowing the rest inside. The armor pulsed with value—and excess.
"I'll sell this," Lin Mo muttered, then laughed hoarsely. "I'm rich."
The panel appeared one final time.
[Nightmare Realm Cleared]
[Survivor: Lin Mo]
The world dissolved into white.
---
When Lin Mo stumbled back into reality, the battlefield had fallen silent.
They stared at him.
The man who entered a Nightmare Realm alone—
And walked out alive.
Lin Mo lifted his head, eyes calm, shadows coiled obediently behind him.
This was only the beginning.