Wei Liang's multiverse had reached stable complexity—seventeen interconnected realities, each supporting billions of civilizations. The First Trial seemed near completion when he sensed something wrong. A subtle resonance in his creation that shouldn't exist.
"Architect," he called, his blood-form materializing in the garden where his teacher observed. "There's an anomaly in my multiverse. Foreign energy signatures I didn't create."
The Architect's expression remained neutral. "Show me."
Wei Liang led him to the observation point where his seventeen universes hung like jewels in the void. With enhanced perception, he pointed to the subtle threads of energy weaving through his creation.
"There—those connection patterns. They're not from my self-originated power. Someone else has been... supplementing my work."
"Perceptive," the Architect said, and his voice carried a note Wei Liang had never heard before. Cold calculation. "You were struggling with inter-dimensional stability. I merely provided minor adjustments."
Wei Liang's blood began to boil as the implications struck him. "You've been interfering with my trial. The Council's test was meant to prove I could create without consuming others' power, but you've been feeding me energy all along!"
"Not feeding," the Architect corrected clinically. "Guiding. Your natural development required... assistance to reach acceptable parameters within the time limit."
Rage exploded through Wei Liang's consciousness. Every achievement, every breakthrough in his creation work—all of it tainted by hidden manipulation. The Architect hadn't been teaching him to transcend consumption; he'd been using him as a puppet to create what the Council wanted to see.
"You made me into a fraud," Wei Liang snarled, his form expanding into a crimson tide of fury. "Everything I built was a lie!"
"Everything you built was necessary," the Architect replied without emotion. "The Council requires specific demonstration of capability. Your natural development path would have resulted in pattern dissolution. I merely ensured a more favorable outcome."
Wei Liang's scattered consciousness recoiled in horror. The being he'd trusted as a teacher had been manipulating him from the beginning. Worse, the Architect showed no shame about the deception—only cool pragmatism about ensuring Wei Liang's survival.
"The Second Trial begins soon," the Architect continued. "Integration with existing powers requires—"
"NO!" Wei Liang's roar shattered the peaceful garden atmosphere. His blood-form coalesced into solid humanoid shape, the Heavenly Demon Blood Spear materializing in his grip. "I refuse to be your puppet any longer!"
The spear erupted with every technique Wei Liang had ever mastered. Conceptual Consumption, Reality Severing, Soul Annihilation—all channeled through his tenth-stage self-origination abilities. The weapon became a lance of pure destructive intent that could unmake fundamental principles.
This time, the Architect didn't catch the blade between his fingers. Instead, he stepped backward, his expression shifting to something like regret.
"I had hoped you would be more reasonable," he said sadly. "Very well. If you insist on rejecting guidance..."
The Architect's form began to change. The kindly sage facade dissolved, revealing something vast and terrible beneath. This was Design incarnate—the principle that gave structure to structure itself. And Wei Liang was attacking it directly.
The garden exploded into chaos as Wei Liang's assault met the Architect's true nature. Reality-trees withered and died as fundamental organizing principles warred against each other. Ling Tian dove for cover as space-time itself began to unravel.
"You fool!" the former Demon Emperor shouted over the cosmic devastation. "You cannot destroy Design without destroying everything else!"
But Wei Liang was beyond reason, consumed by the fury of betrayal. Every technique he'd learned, every power he'd accumulated, every scrap of wisdom gained through suffering—all turned against the one who had claimed to guide him toward transcendence.
The Architect weathered the assault with increasing difficulty. Wei Liang's tenth-stage abilities, combined with his accumulated power from consuming Creator Gods, created forces that even fundamental principles struggled to contain.
"Enough," the Architect finally declared, and his voice carried the weight of absolute authority. "If you will not accept guidance, then face the consequences of your choices."
He gestured, and Wei Liang felt his connection to the multiverse he'd created suddenly severed. Worse, the energy he'd invested in that creation—nearly all of his self-originated power—was being drained away by the Architect's manipulation.
"What are you doing?" Wei Liang gasped as his blood-form began to dim.
"Ensuring proper allocation of resources," the Architect replied coldly. "Your multiverse will be reassigned to a more cooperative student. You will face the remaining trials with only your original cultivation base."
Wei Liang felt his tenth-stage advancement collapsing as the stolen energy was stripped away. The self-origination abilities that had seemed so revolutionary were revealed as dependent on the Architect's hidden support. Without that foundation, his transformation began to unravel.
"This is impossible," he whispered, watching his accumulated power drain away like water through broken vessels. "I earned this strength through my own efforts!"
"You earned nothing," the Architect stated with brutal honesty. "Every advancement beyond the ninth stage was my gift to you. Now that gift is withdrawn."