Reincarnated With The Degenerate System-Chapter 217: The Tower Part 5

Master Tang’s hands were clenched, but he didn’t interrupt. He learned by now that arguing with me was like wrestling a storm that decided to pour down droplets of toxic acid instead of water.

I leaned back, the cup of sake hovering just above my lips.

"You fear repercussions. I understand. That’s human nature. But fear doesn’t solve problems—it just delayed it."

"What the Order should do is attack them head‑on. Hit them where it hurts. Force them out of the shadows. Make them show themselves in the open."

The elders stiffened at once.

"Senior," Elder Mu said carefully, "that would provoke them. Darkness would start killing our allies, and things would blow out of proportion in no time."

I looked at him, then sighed.

"Do you hear yourself? You’re afraid they’ll do what they’ve already been doing."

I let that sink in before continuing.

"So, it’s acceptable for them to experiment on people you aren’t related to, but the moment there’s a chance they might target your family, now you hesitate?"

No one spoke.

"That’s not being logical. That’s convenience dressed up as morality."

Elder Mu’s jaw tightened. He didn’t look away, but he couldn’t argue either.

"What should we do?" he forced the words out.

"Kill them all first," I declared. "If they assassinate one of our allies, we assassinate ten of theirs."

Elder Mu shifted nervously. "Senior... you intend to fight them openly? That will create instability. A civil war will be next."

I looked at him for a long moment, then laughed.

"So, what if it’s a civil war? This nation is rotten to the core. So, we might as well burn everything down and start anew."

The words landed like a blade on bone.

No one spoke. No one even breathed too loudly. It wasn’t the threat that frightened them—it was the certainty behind it.

Master Tang slowly lifted his head. His face had gone pale, but his eyes were determined.

"Senior... that would mean countless innocent lives."

I sneered in contempt. "And leaving things as they are means countless more will die in the future."

"Tell me—which outcome do you think history forgives?"

No one answered.

"That’s right. History doesn’t forgive. It forgets. Only the winners get remembered, and they get to decide what was ’necessary.’"

Elder Mu clenched his fists. "You speak as if destruction is... acceptable."

"It’s inevitable," I corrected. "You can either prune a dying tree or wait for it to collapse and crush everything beneath it."

I paused, then added lightly, "I simply prefer choosing where it falls."

They finally understood the scale of what stood before them. A walking god of destruction.

Now that the stick had been thrown, it was time for the carrot.

"Listen very well. If you swear to ally with me, I can guarantee this much—raising hundreds... no, thousands of S‑Ranks will be easy."

A few of them lifted their heads without thinking. Others froze outright, unable to believe my claim. Well, they shouldn’t—because I was pulling those numbers straight out of my ass.

"Forget Darkness. Once you learn the true method of cultivation, there won’t be a war. It will be a one‑sided slaughter."

That did it.

Fear shifted into something far more dangerous --ambition.

I let my Qi surface again, not violently this time, but refined. Controlled. Vast. It pressed on them like a deep ocean—no crushing force, just endless depth.

Not just that—they felt rejuvenated.

It was subtle at first: a warmth that settled deep in their bones, a pulse that synchronized with their own body. Their limbs felt lighter, their minds clearer, as if years of exhaustion and doubt were being pulled out.

The same current that could tear flesh apart could just as easily knit it back together.

The force meant to shatter bones could be softened, reshaped, turned into warmth that washed through the body and restored what time had taken.

"You think S‑Ranks are rare because fate is stingy," I said. "Wrong. They’re rare because humans are flawed in nature. Half‑finished. Designed to cap growth, not nurture it."

Their eyes widened.

"Why do you think Darkness is obsessed with experiments?" I asked. "They’re trying to brute‑force what I already mastered."

Their eyes began to flash, one by one, as my influence finally took root in their minds.

"Do you all want to reach immortality without relying on twisted methods or actions that demand human sacrifice?"

They bowed their heads in earnest.

"Senior," their voices overlapped, no hesitation left, "please guide us into the new era."

I didn’t answer right away.

Instead, I let the silence do the work. Let them seek my approval.

"The new era you seek will be soaked in blood and corpses. Thousands of children will grow up without parents. Wives will become widows. Men will waste their lives for governments that see them as numbers."

"And even then," I continued, "we will slaughter them all the same. We will behead those who lead. We will crush those who resist. And their corpses will become the foundation of the new era."

The room absorbed the truth in silence, each man measuring the cost against the future I had laid bare.

I studied them, searching for doubt. I found none.

"I’ll return after my student conquers the Fifteenth Floor. After the world sees what it truly means to bear my teachings, even those who wish to oppose me won’t be able to do anything."

"And remember...tell no one my identity yet. No one is to know of my connection to the Order or my relationship with my disciple."

They all nodded, eyes filled with fear and reverence.

Before any of them could speak again, my form blurred—then vanished outright, leaving nothing behind but a lingering pressure that made the air feel heavier than it should.

Back in my guild building.

"I’m fucking cool!"

I shot upright in bed, heart pounding, breath uneven, a grin splitting my face.

No way. No damn way.

I ran a hand through my hair, half laughing.

Acting like a ruthless cultivator—commanding elders, threatening to destroy the nation was absurdly fun.

"So, this is why," I muttered, staring at the ceiling. "So this is why novels back in my world loved this genre."

The authority. The drama. The sheer, shameless cool factor.

It was addicting.

***

***

***

Days passed, and with the matter of the Order settled, preparations moved forward smoothly.

The factions that were against me were silent. Not because they suddenly learned how to be friendly—but because I began making troubles for them to keep them busy.

The Mythical Guild’s buildings were burned by me.

After that, I turned my attention to what was left of Darkness. Their smaller bases didn’t even get the chance sound the alarm.

One by one, I struck them down, uprooting every nest I could find and forcing the survivors to flee the city like rats driven from a sinking ship.

By the time they realized they were being systematically exterminated, the damaged was already too much.

And I hadn’t even broken a sweat.

"We are ready," Alexa announced.

The doors of our state‑of‑the‑art bus slid open with a soft hiss.

A series of noise slammed into us the moment we stepped outside. Reporters leaned forward, flashes erupting so rapidly it felt like daylight had fractured into a thousand pieces.

"MR. CHASE—IS IT TRUE YOU’RE LEADING THE EXPEDITION YOURSELF?"

Right now, I was using my clone, so I had to act like a devilishly handsome man.

I straightened my posture, relaxed my shoulders, and let a slow, devil‑may‑care smile curve across my face.

Not forced. Not flashy. The kind that looked effortless, like confidence was my default state rather than something I put on for show.

A killer smile.

The effect was immediate.

"Let’s keep things orderly," I said lightly. "I promise I’ll answer as much as I can."

That single sentence did more than any security line ever could, especially with the opposite sex.

The first reporter leaned forward.

"Why were you chosen to lead this expedition? We all know you’re an S-Rank, yes—but based on rumors, Miss Alexa seems much closer to your Guild Master."

"Well...I like to believe our very competent Guild Master saw something in me." I met the reporter’s gaze, voice warm and certain. "And I don’t intend to disappoint him."

My answer was perfectly safe. I already knew that if I said too much, one of the feminist reporters would cry foul—accusing me of being unfair for choosing a male leader over Alexa.

So I played it just right: respectful, humble, and a little teasing. Enough to satisfy their curiosity without handing them a reason to attack.

"Do you have any plans for today’s raid?" another reporter asked.

"Plans?" I repeated and then turned around. "This is our plan."

On cue, the busses doors slid open, revealing the entire raid team.

They were decked out from head to toe—armor, weapons, gadgets—every piece meticulously arranged.

The colors matched so perfectly it was obvious they were custom sets, designed as a single unit. Even among top-tier guilds, such uniformity was rare.

Cameras clicked and flashed nonstop, capturing every detail.

"As you can see," I said, taking off my jacket to reveal the sleek black and green nano-suit beneath, "our Guild Leader spares no expensed to maximize our survival and success."

I let the suit catch the sunlight, the subtle shimmer of the nanofibers speaking louder than words.

One of the reporters I paid beforehand shouted.

"This is unbelievable... isn’t that the newly built Nano Suit by Artemis? I heard each one costs over a billion!"