Chapter 40: The Hidden Stage

Japan, Osaka, the Miyamoto residence.

This estate, located in the outskirts of Osaka, was built entirely in the architectural style of Japan’s Warring States period, using solid timber for every structure. Over a hundred wooden houses were constructed here. Among them stood the largest, occupying over a thousand square meters: the renowned Miyamoto Dojo.

Miyamoto Musashi himself was the master of this dojo. At this moment, he stood bare-chested, demonstrating his two-sword technique. In his school, the “two swords” represented the sun and the moon: yin and yang, embodying opposing forces. Musashi wielded a katana in each hand, his movements mirror images—opposed, yet perfectly synchronized, like two sides of a reflection. This was the essence of the dual-sword style.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Musashi’s blades struck the air around a wooden stake with the ferocity of a storm, the flashing steel so swift and dizzying it put an electric fan’s spinning to shame. Yet the most astonishing part was that despite the blinding speed and relentless flurry, not a single blow landed on the stake—every strike passed perfectly by, never so much as grazing the wood. This, more than anything, showed Musashi’s absolute mastery over the precision of each cut.

“Master!” A young woman in a white training robe knelt respectfully on the floor.

Musashi casually tossed both swords into the air; they traced two straight lines before plunging perfectly into the scabbards on the nearby weapon rack. He turned to address his final disciple. “What is it, Miyu?”

Sakurai Miyu kept her head bowed, her voice trembling. “Master, there’s been a change at the top of the rankings.”

Musashi allowed himself a faint smile. “Oh? Was it James from America, or Yi Sun-sin from Korea?”

Miyu shook her head. “Neither. It’s the Demon King from the Chinese region.”

“The Demon King?!” Musashi’s expression twitched. “The one who unlocked Hell Difficulty? That Demon King?”

“Yes, Master. It’s him,” Miyu stammered, trembling.

Musashi opened the Evolution Forum and entered the instance leaderboard to see the latest rankings.

[Global Leaderboard]

[1. Demon King == 5100 meters]

[2. Miyamoto Musashi == 2500 meters]

...

“No! Impossible!” The dignified, composed Musashi lost control in an instant. With a grasping motion, his twin swords flew from the rack into his hands. “Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could that guy reach 5100 meters?! It can’t be!”

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The blades flashed, and the untouched wooden stake was reduced to sawdust in an instant—so fine and thin it was like shavings from a fingernail. The floor was covered in it. Such speed, such precision!

“Sakurai Miyu,” Musashi called in a low voice.

“Here, Master!”

“You are to depart for China immediately. I have already arranged a new identity for you there. Your mission is to find out who this Demon King is. Once you do, do not act rashly. I must capture him alive; I want all of his secrets!”

“Yes, Master. I will accomplish the task!”

...

Within the instance, the Demon King had exhausted his three challenge attempts. Chen Mo was content—time was on his side, and there would be plenty of chances ahead; this so-called Hell Difficulty would fall to him sooner or later.

The reason Chen Mo had not been teleported out by the elven girl was that he had switched to his alternate account, the Little Prince. He had saved one challenge attempt specifically to rack up a score for the Little Prince.

After braving Hell Difficulty, returning to the rookie instance felt like a god in full gear descending upon the novice village.

The elven girl announced, “Third challenge begins!”

Chen Mo remained still.

Though using the Little Prince’s ID, his attributes, skills, and equipment were all inherited—his main and alternate accounts shared everything. The main account could use all the skills and gear from the alts, and vice versa, or not, as he pleased. It was a level of freedom only the latest generation AI could provide.

Five black gorillas charged from the temple, enraged to find this frail human not fleeing. They swung their massive claws at Chen Mo.

Chen Mo shook his head. “Little monkeys, you’re far too slow.”

Whoosh—

With a single backward glide, he dodged effortlessly.

The gorillas, their pride wounded, flew into a frenzy, battering at Chen Mo with wild abandon.

Having trained in Hell Difficulty, Chen Mo had mastered the art of movement: even under a hail of meteor-like attacks, he could find an opening. Dealing with a few mere gorillas was trivial. He weaved through their ranks: slipping back, sliding sideways, spinning, rolling forward and backward, darting diagonally, gliding left and right—his footwork was as smooth as a devil’s dance, moving among the five with ease.

The gorillas grew more frenzied, their speed increasing with time, and even Chen Mo began to find it taxing; several times, their attacks brushed past him.

Enough! Like a rocket, Chen Mo shot out, covering 500 meters in just ten seconds.

Wait.

He paused, considering—if he shattered records too quickly, it might raise suspicion. Gradual progress would make the instructors believe he was improving through hard work. With that in mind, he decided to set a modest record of 1000 meters first.

A wall of fire rose to block his path. With a swipe of his claw, it was instantly extinguished.

Spikes erupted from the ground, but with a flick of his cloak—bang, bang, bang!—the earth shattered, collapsing entirely, not just the spikes.

Unhurried, Chen Mo transformed into a bat and soared easily upwards—an utterly unfair advantage! In this form, he bypassed the preset route altogether, flying straight into the sky.

The bat form had a 30-second limit. As the time dwindled and he prepared to fall, challenge failed, suddenly, before him, a dazzling light appeared: a road materializing among the clouds, made entirely of diamonds.

Chen Mo was dumbfounded. Was this... could this be the hidden stage mentioned in the Evolution Forum?

He’d actually stumbled upon it!

Honestly, no one but Chen Mo would have found this diamond path—who else could fly like him?

His heart pounded with excitement. There had to be a treasure chest!

With the final second of his bat form, he landed on the diamond road.

The elven girl appeared, smiling sweetly. “Congratulations, player! You have discovered the hidden stage in Temple Run—Temptation of Diamonds!”

[Hidden Stage—Temptation of Diamonds]

[Traverse the diamond road, evade the diamond people’s pursuit, find the diamond treasury, and you will receive a mysterious grand prize.]

Click, click, click!

Diamonds along the path rose up, joining together to form a humanoid figure, complete with a diamond sword.

“Intruders will die!” the diamond man declared in a mechanical voice, brandishing its weapon with fierce intent.

Double Gale Thrust!

After so much time in Hell Difficulty, Chen Mo’s first instinct was not to flee, but to counterattack.

His bloodthirsty strike split into two shadows, triggering the Berserker’s Wrath trait—two became four, the illusions stacked, damage multiplied!

Slash!

The diamond man was cut clean in half, collapsing to the ground.

The elven girl’s program glitched on the spot! According to her programming, this was a beginner’s instance, accessible only to novices. The diamond man, though not strictly invincible, was supposed to be unbeatable for rookies. She never expected to encounter a cheater like Chen Mo—already a master of Hell Difficulty, yet returning to play a newbie stage!

Evade the diamond people’s pursuit? Out of the question!

Bang, bang, bang!

With three swift claws, he shattered the heads of the next three diamond men as soon as they formed.

Chen Mo turned his gaze to another diamond man, who actually shrank back instinctively. Was it... was it afraid?