Supreme Overlord System: Godhood Begins

Uninvited Challenger

The deafening strike of the great bronze gong still vibrated in the crisp mountain air. Ye Chen stood before the notice board in the empty entry plaza, his eyes fixed on the official declaration of his own execution. He lowered his hand to the hilt of his rusted sword.

​The Grand Assessment was the singular event that separated the worthless from the elite in the Azure Cloud Sect. It was held within the sunken arena of the Outer Peak, a massive stone basin carved directly into the mountain rock by the founding ancestors. Thousands of disciples gathered there today to fight for resources, for elevated status, and for the rare chance to step into the Inner Sect.

​Ye Chen turned away from the notice board and began walking toward the echoing cheers. His torn, blood stained gray robes flapped wildly in the wind.

​Inside the arena, the atmosphere was electric. Elder Wang stood heavily on the elevated jade platform overlooking the central fighting stage. He wore his finest emerald robes, his rotund belly protruding proudly as he addressed the massive crowd.

​"Disciples of the Azure Cloud!" Elder Wang boomed, his voice amplified by Qi to reach every corner of the stadium. "Today, we test your foundations. We separate the wheat from the chaff. We have recently purged a great evil from our ranks. The traitor Ye Chen, who fell to demonic arts, has been eradicated! Let his pathetic death serve as a reminder. The righteous path tolerates no defiance!"

​Cheers erupted from the sycophants sitting in the front rows.

​Then, the heavy iron gates at the southern entrance of the arena groaned open.

​The sound of the rusted hinges was loud enough to cut completely through the cheering. Thousands of heads turned simultaneously.

​Ye Chen walked through the archway, his footsteps echoing against the sudden, suffocating silence of the arena. He looked exactly like a vengeful spirit returning from the abyss. His gray servant robes were shredded, his skin was pale from frostbite, and he dragged an ancient, rusted sword against the stone floor.

​"Is that him?" a disciple in the stands whispered, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

​"I thought he was dead!" another gasped, shrinking back into his stone seat. "Elder Wang just swore he was executed in the Myriad Beast Forest!"

​"Look at his eyes," a third disciple muttered, clutching his weapon. "That is not the crippled servant we used to beat in the stables. That is a monster."

​Ye Chen stopped at the very edge of the central fighting stage. He looked up at the elevated jade platform, locking his cold gaze directly onto the pale, heavily sweating face of Elder Wang.

​"You celebrate my death entirely too prematurely, Elder Wang," Ye Chen said. His voice carried effortlessly across the silent arena, completely devoid of fear. "Or did your expensive mercenary team fail to deliver my head in a box?"

​Elder Wang gripped the railing of the jade platform so hard the carved stone began to crack beneath his thick fingers. His serpentine eyes darted around the arena, taking in the confused and terrified whispers of the massive crowd. This was an absolute disaster. If Ye Chen survived the forest, it meant Zhang Hu had failed, which meant the secret of the toxic Spirit Vein could be exposed to the public.

​"Seize the ghost!" Elder Wang roared, pointing a trembling, fat finger at Ye Chen. "He is an illusion conjured by demonic arts! Or he is possessed by a beast core! Enforcers, apprehend him immediately and execute him on the spot!"

​A dozen men in dark blue robes drew their weapons and rushed the stage from all sides.

​Ye Chen did not raise his sword to defend himself. He simply reached into his robes and pulled out a heavy, triangular badge forged from black iron. It was stained with old, dried blood. He raised it high above his head for the entire arena to see.

​"I hold the Token of Life and Death!" Ye Chen shouted.

​The charging Enforcers froze instantly in their tracks. A collective gasp rippled through the entire stadium.

​"Where did you get that?" Elder Wang demanded, his voice cracking with genuine, unfiltered panic.

​"I took it from the corpse of the mercenary you hired to murder me," Ye Chen lied smoothly, omitting the truth of Zhang Hu for maximum dramatic effect. "According to the founding laws of the Azure Cloud Sect, any disciple possessing this token has the absolute right to bypass all judicial tribunals. I have the right to challenge my accuser to a duel of life and death to prove my total innocence!"

​"You are a crippled servant!" Elder Wang spat, his face turning an ugly shade of purple with rage. "You have no rights in this sect! You are dirt!"

​"The founding ancestors did not distinguish between servants and elites when they forged this token," Ye Chen countered, his voice ringing with absolute, unyielding authority. "The token demands a trial by combat. If you refuse it, you break the sacred covenant of the Sect Master. Are you placing your own authority above the Sect Master, Elder Wang?"

​The crowd began to murmur loudly. The trap was perfectly set. Elder Wang could not openly defy the founding laws in front of thousands of witnesses, especially not with Inner Sect spies potentially watching the assessment from the shadows. Ye Chen was using the very laws they used to oppress him as a shield.

​"Fine!" Elder Wang bellowed, waving his hand violently to dismiss the Enforcers. "You want to die on the assessment stage? I will grant your final wish, trash. But as a governing Elder, I am exempt from fighting a junior disciple. I name my personal disciple as my champion."

​Ye Chen stood alone in the center of the massive stone arena. The mountain wind howled through the arena. He looked at the thousands of faces staring down at him. Three years ago, these same people had mocked him, spat on his food, and ignored his suffering when Su Rou ripped his spiritual bone from his body. Now, they looked at him with undeniable dread.

​[Ding!]

​The mechanical voice echoed in his mind, followed by the familiar glowing blue screen.

​[Special Condition Met. Host actions have influenced the collective psyche of a massive population.]

[System Progression: Reputation Feature Unlocked.]

[Current Reputation: Awe and Fear generating.]

[The accumulation of fear from your enemies will passively generate System Points over time. Current passive generation: Ten points per hour.]

​Ye Chen smiled internally. Even simply standing his ground and defying the corrupt authority was making him stronger. He thought of his parents, who had left him nothing but a rusted iron ring. He thought of the toxic cavern below, and the horrifying truth he had uncovered about Su Rou stealing his lingering resentment.

​"Send your champion down to the stage, Elder Wang," Ye Chen called out, resting his rusted sword casually on his shoulder. "Let us see if your students are exactly as cowardly as their master."

​Elder Wang sneered, his eyes flashing with cruel delight. "Lei Bao! Go down there and tear his limbs off. Do not kill him immediately. I want him to scream for mercy in front of everyone."

​A massive figure vaulted over the railing of the jade platform, falling twenty feet and landing heavily on the stone stage. The impact shook the entire arena, cracking the solid granite beneath his heavy iron boots.

​The man stood well over six feet tall. His upper body was completely bare and covered in intricate tribal tattoos that seemed to pulse with raw, violent energy. He cracked his knuckles, and actual sparks of blue lightning arced between his thick fingers. This was Lei Bao, the Thunder Fist. He was an absolute legend in the Outer Sect, a brute known for literally tearing his opponents apart during sparring matches.

​"System," Ye Chen muttered, narrowing his eyes at the giant. "Analyze him."

​[Affirmative. Scanning target.]

[Target: Lei Bao. Title: Thunder Fist.]

[Cultivation: Body Tempering Stage 9. Peak level.]

[Combat Power: 180.]

[Warning. Target combat power is significantly higher than Host. Target possesses an innate lightning affinity, granting him explosive speed and paralyzing strikes. Evasion will be incredibly difficult. Defense parameter will be severely tested.]

​Ye Chen tightened his grip on the rusted sword. A combat power of one hundred and eighty was no joke. Zhang Hu had only been a hundred and twenty, and he had been severely weakened by his broken ribs. Lei Bao was at absolute peak physical condition, rested and waiting for this exact moment to display his dominance.

​Lei Bao rolled his massive shoulders, stepping slowly toward Ye Chen. The air around him smelled strongly of earth and burnt rock. The crowd had gone entirely silent again, holding their breath as the giant loomed over the seemingly frail servant boy.

​"You are a very stubborn piece of trash, Ye Chen," Lei Bao whispered. His voice was a deep, rumbling thunder that only Ye Chen could hear over the wind. "You really should have stayed dead in the forest. It would have been a lot less painful for you."

​"Many people have told me to die recently," Ye Chen replied calmly, not giving a single inch of ground. "None of them are breathing anymore."

​Lei Bao grinned widely, revealing a row of crooked, yellow teeth. Small arcs of electricity danced across his thick forearms as he settled into a wide, highly aggressive fighting stance. The raw power radiating from him made the very air on the stage feel heavy and suffocating.

​"My Master said to make it slow," Lei Bao whispered, his eyes wide with sadistic joy. "I am going to start with your legs.”