He laughed as the group panicked.
One of the damage dealers charged forward.
"CROSS ARROW!!" the human priestess player shouted, her silver armor glowing bright gold as her avatar unleashed transparent arcs of light—manifestations of pure holy magic.
"You truly are vile, Demonic Wu!" she cried, her voice righteous and trembling. "We'll take you down together!"
The party rallied. Talisman users in the backline unleashed flame charms while swordsmen rushed in headfirst, surrounding Liang Wei's avatar.
Liang Wei's character raised his saber.
"Crimson Harvest!!!"
A flaming blade collided with the incoming Cross Slash, the impact erupting into a burst of color—flames twisting into a spiraling inferno.
Liang Wei smirked.
His AOE cooldown had just refreshed.
"Violet Vortex!!!" the system announced as the two ultimates—Crimson Harvest and Phantom's Blaze—merged, forming a storm of violet fire that swallowed the battlefield.
You've slain a player: +1 Infamy
You've slain a player: +1 Infamy
"Linghua, spirit of eternal light—your faithful servant folds his arms in prayer! Grant me strength to aid my allies—Healing Blessings!!!"
"What…?" Liang Wei froze as golden radiance flooded his screen. "Is that a greater healing skill?"
His health bar began dropping rapidly.
He opened his inventory in a rush and clicked an item shaped like a crystal human head—Twisted Blood Tonic. His character drank it, restoring HP in a surge of crimson light.
"Holy magic…?" he muttered.
His ink beasts writhed in pain, their forms rippling as their ink began to melt away. The horsemen broke down into black sludge as well, revealing they had been ink constructs from the start.
Ripppp!
"!!"
His avatar shifted into an assassin's visual ultimate.
A man in a straw hat, clad entirely in brown, appeared from thin air and lunged. His arrival made Liang Wei's fingers twitch against his keyboard.
His pupils narrowed. Click—he tapped his mouse. Then again.
A dodge icon flashed across Liang Wei’s screen—resoluting in another click. The assassin missed. Another icon appeared, this time with a faster timer.
Click. Click. Click.
This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
"Fuck! I’m stun-locked!"
It seemed to be a sure-hit ultimate.
Assassin builds in Dao's Rising were notoriously difficult to counter at close range due to a kill move called Dagger Range. Once engaged, it triggered a reaction mini-game—icons spawning across the screen for both players to click in rhythm.
The sequence wouldn't stop until one side lost tempo… or took the hit.
"You're quick," Liang Wei murmured, eyes darting across the screen. "I'm impressed."
Then he made a decision.
He intentionally let the critical strike land against his chest.
Releasing his mouse, Liang Wei grabbed his digital tablet and twisted the pen tool beside it, switching it on.
The game responded instantly, opening a drawing panel in the corner of his screen.
"Let me show you all why I'm feared."
His avatar pulled out a brush as the tablet synced.
Brush skills appeared along the panel's edge. Liang Wei tapped an icon depicting a man wielding an oversized brush, then drew a single line across the black canvas.
Swish!
His avatar swung a gigantified calligraphy brush.
Ink splashed across the assassin, marking him.
"The world is my canvas!"
Liang Wei's pen moved again, sketching an ink leopard.
"Wild Beast Calligraphy — Pouncing Snow Leopard!!"
The game registered his voice.
The sketch glowed, transforming into a fully rendered illustration with color and shading as his strokes completed the form.
Swish!
The leopard manifested in-game, claws tearing into the assassin's arm before leaping toward five nearby players.
He grabbed his mouse and used the drag mechanic, making his character run and mount his drawing by double-clicking on the leopard.
This was the consequence of activating his tablet. It disabled his keyboard, meaning he couldn't use it anymore and could only drag his mouse and use his sketch pad.
The moment his character mounted, his UI changed once more. Now he had the basic skills of the ink beast added to his screen, but it wasn't enough.
"Open Vitae!" he commanded, prompting his status to open.
Opening his Skill Tree, he was greeted by a glowing web of interconnected icons centered around the Vitae Stone, with five branching base skills:
Beginner Ultimate Move: Impact
Beginner Skill: Soft Strike
Beginner Skill: Dao Burst
Beginner Movement Skill: Dash
Demonic Cultivation Manual Technique: Twisted Flame Alchemist Arts
Spirit Beast Refinery: Ink Crafting Art
Each of these formed branches that evolved into advanced chains.
Liang Wei navigated the Dao Burst branch, climbing through four tiers—Ember Infusion, Fire Burst—and toward the sword path derived from Heavy Strike, the advanced form of Soft Strike.
The two lines converged into a fusion skill: Ember's Blade, which later evolved into Crimson Harvest.
He quickly unequipped Crimson Harvest and regressed to Ember's Blade, which wasn't on cooldown.
"Perfect."
He dashed through the fading effects of the healing light, his brush now wreathed in flickering embers.
Swish. Swish. Swish.
Rapid slashes traced fiery arcs through the air, leaving trails of burning damage even as the clerics struggled to heal their allies.
"I'll end your little healers first," Liang Wei murmured, dashing forward.
His black fur cloak hung from his shoulders, and a bull skull crowned his head like a war trophy, making him look like a god of war riding his mount into battle.
"Not so fast, demon!" shouted ZhangRui34.
His avatar stood out in blue and silver robes—a sharp contrast to Liang Wei's dark attire: an all-black hanfu layered with leather armor, a chestplate, and arm guards.
Above him glowed a shimmering title that dwarfed his username:
魔巫 (Mó Wū) — Demonic Sorcerer
It was a play on his in-game name, ZhenWu67, and his rising infamy, which had earned him a World Title.
"Just because you're level twenty doesn't mean you can beat all of us!" Zhang Rui yelled, parrying Liang Wei's swing and blocking his advance toward the backline casters.
Liang Wei smirked. "Why don't we test that?"
He dragged his leopard and sidestepped a sword strike before countering with a swift slash of ink—enchanted by ember—shaving off part of Zhang Rui's HP before dashing away from another attacker.
Liang Wei didn't stop. He continued to draw slashes on his pad that carried into the game as slash effects by holding the side buttons of his drawing pen and releasing when he was done.
This triggered his basic calligraphy starter skill: Brush Strokes.
A message appeared at the bottom right.
(1) Message from (Auntie): I know you said you were busy. But when Xiǎo Xuě calls, can you answer the FaceTime right away?
Lin Xue?
What does she need? Maybe extra pocket money?
Liang Wei thought, looking up only to find himself bound by rusted chains.
Talismans hovered in the air—one party member had cast a Stun Charm.
Behind them, the healers—Sushi07 and Priestess Linghua00—focused on their roles, channeling radiant spells. The damage dealers pressed in, closing the distance when Liang Wei inevitably broke free, while sorcerers bombarded him from afar with flaming talismans.
"CROSS SLASH!!!"
"Talisman Net!!!"
"Linghua, your faithful servant prays once more! Grant me divine strength—Healing Blessings!!!"
"Phantom's Blaze!!!" Liang Wei roared, flames erupting wildly around his avatar."Ember Rush!!!"
"Art of Calligraphy, Dancing Beast Illusion."
He activated a unique fusion ultimate, merging Phantom's Blaze, Dancing Beast Illusion, and Ember's Blade.
The result was a blinding inferno—smoke, sparks, and violent leopard slashes blending into a chaotic tempest. Each strike landed with explosive burn stacks that melted through armor.
You've slain a player: +1 Infamy
You've slain a player: +1 Infamy
You've slain a player: +1 Infamy
You've slain a player: +1 Infamy
Liang Wei's avatar swung his brush madly, birthing leopard after leopard in a tapestry of deception to hide the real one that left it.
"Roarrr!" "Roar!" "Rooar!"
"Kill them all!" the woman who had vowed to end Liang Wei's tyranny lifted her bow. "Arcane Volley!!!" She released a torrent of magic arrows that pierced his illusory ink clones, the attack landing with blinding damage and healing.
Healing her comrades and killing his army of leopards.
[Player: RadiantDaoEmpress] [Lv. 22]
