Six months after accepting Bai Ling as a disciple, Lin Feng woke one morning to find an unusual golden notification hovering in his vision.
[Important: System Milestone Reached]
[Host has achieved significant growth in disciples, reputation, and seclusion points]
[System Upgrade Available]
[Would Host like to proceed with the upgrade?]
Lin Feng sat up in bed, intrigued. "Upgrade? What does that mean?"
[Current System: Supreme Seclusion System (Basic Version)]
[Upgrade: Supreme Seclusion System (Advanced Version)]
[New Features: Shop expansion, direct communication, enhanced rewards, mission variety]
[Cost: 50,000 Seclusion Points]
[Current Balance: 424,930 Seclusion Points]
"Direct communication…" Lin Feng's eyes widened. "So I can finally understand what's going on?"
He hesitated only a moment. If there was one thing he'd learned over decades of seclusion, it was that ignorance was more dangerous than enemies.
"Approved."
[Processing Upgrade…]
[…]
[Upgrade Complete!]
[New Balance: 374,930 Seclusion Points]
The golden text didn't vanish this time. Instead, it softened—like light turning into a voice.
A gentle, slightly amused feminine voice sounded inside his mind.
"Hello, Host. You may ask questions now."
Lin Feng froze. Instinctively, he glanced around the room as if someone might be hiding behind the curtains. But there was nothing—only the stillness of Tranquil Peak.
"You… can talk?"
"Yes."
Lin Feng swallowed. "Then answer me honestly. All these years… why does the world keep reacting like I'm doing something incredible, when I'm just trying to be careful? Why do my 'basic' things cause so much commotion?"
There was a pause—so brief it felt deliberate.
Then the voice returned, calmer.
"Host. I have been adjusting your perception of your own strength since the day we bonded."
Lin Feng's blood ran cold. "Adjusting… my perception?"
"You were weak, traumatised, and afraid of dying. If you had perceived your real growth too quickly, you would have collapsed under the weight of it—either arrogance, madness, or heart demons. To keep you stable, I allowed you to believe you advanced slowly."
Lin Feng's mouth went dry. "So when I thought I was… Qi Refining… Foundation Establishment…"
"You were far beyond that."
Lin Feng's hands clenched the blanket. "How far?"
"You requested honesty. Confirm."
He didn't answer immediately. His heart hammered, but a strange clarity rose in him—the same clarity he'd felt on the edge of death, when he'd sworn he would live quietly and never be helpless again.
"Confirm."
The voice spoke, simple and absolute.
"Your actual cultivation is Immortal Emperor (Middle Stage)."
For a moment, Lin Feng genuinely thought he might be dreaming.
Immortal Emperor?
One of those existences that sects worshipped in legends?
He stared at his palm, then his fingers, as if they belonged to someone else.
"That's impossible…" he whispered. "I would know. I'd feel it."
"You do feel it. You simply learned to interpret it as 'normal.' I downscaled the feedback of your senses. I made danger feel closer than it was. I made your own aura feel smaller than it is."
Lin Feng's mind spun.
Then a thought hit him like lightning.
"My disciples… do they know?"
"They can sense you. So can everyone else."
Lin Feng went rigid. "Then all the misunderstandings… all the legends…"
"They were never misunderstandings."
Lin Feng leaned back against the headboard, staring at the ceiling for a long time.
Then he asked, quietly, "Why tell me now?"
"Because you can handle it now."
Lin Feng almost laughed—except it came out like a shaky breath.
"All these years… I thought I was surviving. I thought I was hiding."
"You were hiding," the voice replied, "but not because you were weak. Because you were cautious."
Lin Feng closed his eyes.
If this was true… then his entire life—his seclusion, his fear, his carefulness—had been built on a lie that was meant to protect him.
He didn't know whether to be grateful or furious.
Before he could decide, the voice spoke again.
"There is another reason."
Lin Feng's eyes opened. "What?"
"A Demon God from the Outer Realms will breach the dimensional barrier in approximately three months. Extinction-level threat. The continent cannot stop it."
Lin Feng's breath sharpened. "But I can."
"Yes."
"And if I move openly… I'll never have peace again."
"Yes."
Lin Feng stared out the window at Tranquil Peak—his garden, his spring, his tea trees, his disciples beginning their morning routines.
This place wasn't just a hiding spot anymore.
It was his home.
His family.
He stood up.
"Then I have three months," he said.
"Yes."
Lin Feng exhaled slowly. "I won't tell anyone about you."
A faint note of approval entered the voice. "Wise."
"I'll protect them. I'll protect this world," Lin Feng said, jaw tightening. "But I decide how much others learn, and when."
"Understood."
He paused, then added softly, "And… I need to tell my disciples something tonight. Not about you. About me."
"Yes."
That evening, Lin Feng gathered all six disciples in the courtyard.
Shen Yue, Zhou Yuan, Liu Mei, Wei Ling, Chen Bo, and Bai Ling sat in a neat semicircle, puzzled by the seriousness in their master's expression. Xiao Hong perched nearby, watching with ancient calm.
Lin Feng looked at their faces and felt something tighten in his chest.
"I have something to tell you all," he began. "Something I… avoided for a long time."
He hesitated, then said it plainly.
"I'm stronger than I've been acting."
Shen Yue blinked. Zhou Yuan's mouth twitched like he was trying not to smile. Wei Ling's eyes softened, as if she'd been waiting for this.
Lin Feng continued, forcing himself not to retreat into jokes.
"I always told you I was 'only Foundation Establishment.' That wasn't true."
He took a breath.
"My true cultivation… is far higher."
Silence.
Then Shen Yue let out a tiny laugh, covering her mouth. "Master… you finally decided to say it out loud?"
Lin Feng stared. "You… you knew?"
Zhou Yuan coughed politely. "Master, with respect… it was never possible to hide it from us. We simply… respected your choice to speak of yourself that way."
Wei Ling nodded. "The humility was real, Master. But your strength was obvious."
Lin Feng's cheeks burned. "So the whole world—"
"Likely knows too," Chen Bo said quietly.
Lin Feng groaned and pressed his fingers to his forehead. "I really am—"
"Not an idiot," Bai Ling said quickly, anxious. "You saved me. You gave me a home. That matters more than realms."
Lin Feng's expression softened.
"Listen," he said. "This isn't just about pride or embarrassment. A great threat is coming in three months—something that could wipe out everything. When it comes, I may have to act… openly."
Shen Yue's smile vanished. "What kind of threat?"
"Something not from this world," Lin Feng said. "And when it arrives, I can't promise I'll be able to keep living quietly afterwards."
For a heartbeat, nobody spoke.
Then Wei Ling bowed her head. "Then we prepare."
Zhou Yuan nodded. "We train harder."
Liu Mei's fists clenched. "We protect Tranquil Peak."
Bai Ling swallowed, then bowed so low his forehead touched the ground. "Master, if you saved me once, let me fight for you once."
Lin Feng looked at them—his disciples, his family—and felt a warmth that steadied him.
"Alright," he said. "Starting tomorrow… we train seriously. No more 'just gardening.' No more pretending."
Xiao Hong clucked once, sharply, like a vow.
Lin Feng lifted his gaze to the stars.
He still wanted peace.
But if peace had to be paid for with strength.....
Then he would pay it.
Quietly, if possible.
And if not…
Then the world would learn why Tranquil Peak should be feared.