DEMON GROUPI ACCIDENTALLY ENTERED THE EVIL CHAT!

Every step Yuan Lin took toward the old man in the park was charged with tension and arrogance.

He walked slowly.

Not out of respect, but to give himself time to formulate his "irresistible" offer.

"Alright, how do I start?"he thought, his mind racing.

"Good morning, Grandmaster. I've noticed you have a little bit of power, and I, as a disguised demon lord, would like to recruit you into my faction. Benefits include potential immortality and the chance to watch worlds burn. Are you interested?' No, that's too direct."

He sighed internally.

"Maybe I'll start with a compliment. 'What graceful moves! You remind me of one of my demon generals... before I had to banish him for looking at me the wrong way.'"

This was harder than he expected.

How does one casually make an offer to recruit an eternal subordinate?

He finally reached where Master Chen was waiting.

The old man stood calmly, his hands behind his back, a faint, unreadable smile on his face.

"You took your time," Old Man Chen said in a quiet voice, breaking the silence.

"The tea at that café must have been very good."

Yuan Lin felt as if the man could see right through him.

"The view was... informative," Yuan Lin replied, trying to regain his composure.

He decided to be bold.

"Master Chen, your control over your internal force is impressive... for this era."

It was pure arrogance, a way to declare that he was on a different level.

Old Man Chen raised an eyebrow, the smile never leaving his face.

"And your power, young man, is like a thunderstorm. Powerful, yes, but chaotic, untamed, and dangerous to yourself and those around you."

He had calmly refuted him, neutralizing his attempt to show off.

Yuan Lin realized that mind games wouldn't work here.

He decided to get to the point, wrapping his offer in an aura of grandeur and mystery.

"I am walking a path to reclaim what was lost," Yuan Lin said, his tone growing more serious.

"A path that will lead me beyond the borders of this world. I am here today to offer you a chance to walk this path with me. To serve a cause greater than this park, greater than this city."

Master Chen listened patiently, without interrupting.

When Yuan Lin finished, the old man looked at the distant trees, then brought his gaze back to Yuan Lin.

His eyes held a deep wisdom and sadness.

"You speak of power, young man," he said quietly.

"And I know the kind of power you speak of. I have seen what it does to souls."

"I walk my path not to conquer worlds, but to find peace in my own heart."

"Your path is paved with chaos, and my path is paved with tranquility. They do not lead to the same destination."

Yuan Lin felt a slight shock.

"I thank you for your offer, whatever its true nature may be," Old Man Chen continued.

"But I must respectfully decline. I am the master of my own small world, and I have no desire to be a servant in someone else's."

Rejection.

Yuan Lin had not expected this.

In his new world, where he was the "Lord of Chaos" whom everyone obeyed, the thought that his offer to a "lesser being" could be refused had never crossed his mind.

He felt insulted, angry, and a little confused.

"He refused?" he thought in disbelief. "An old man doing what looks like slow-motion yoga... just rejected an invitation from the Lord of Eternal Chaos?"

"Be careful, young storm," Old Man Chen said as a final word.

"Power that has no strong roots... eventually consumes itself."

Then, he simply turned and began to walk away, leaving Yuan Lin standing alone, seething on the inside.

His plan had failed. The "good" way, the way of persuasion and mutual respect, had failed.

He looked at the old man's back as he walked away, and felt something cold and dark grow in his chest.

"Voluntary consent..." he thought with contempt. "What a naive idea. Power doesn't ask for consent. Power takes."

In that moment of anger and humiliation, he made a decision.

He opened his mental interface and went straight to the chat group.

[Lord of Eternal Chaos]: "@Dark Fairy Queen Xue. Your report on the oaths of fealty was... incomplete".]

It was an accusatory message, powerful and direct.

Her reply came instantly, and her mental voice in his head carried a tone of cunning curiosity, as if she sensed an opportunity.

[Dark Fairy Queen Xue]: My Lord? In what way was your humble servant's knowledge lacking?]

[Lord of Eternal Chaos]:" You spoke only of oaths based on voluntary consent. A childish notion. Tell me of the other kinds. The kinds used when persuasion fails. The oaths of true masters".]

Yuan Lin felt a wicked glee in her next reply, as if she had been waiting for this moment when her master would reveal his true fangs.

[Dark Fairy Queen Xue]: "Ah... I see. You speak of the "Seals of Subjugation." They are forbidden arts, my Lord, because they do not ask for consent. They force it. They are... wonderfully cruel".]

And with her words, a new file she had sent appeared before him.

[File Received: Manuscript of the Ninth Hell's Blood Thorn Seal]

[Dark Fairy Queen Xue]: "This technique forcibly brands the target's soul with a seal of loyalty. But it is extremely dangerous. It requires you to completely overwhelm the target's will, and there is a high probability it could backfire, or that you could destroy the target's mind and turn them into a mindless puppet. It is the ultimate tool of control... or destruction".]

Yuan Lin stared at the description of the forbidden technique.

The System flashed a warning before him.

[Warning: Use of forbidden arts may lead to the corruption of the host's soul and unpredictable side effects.]

He ignored the warning.

His pride was wounded, and the rejection had pushed him beyond the edge of his old morals. He no longer saw this technique as evil, but as a necessary tool.

He looked in the direction Master Chen had left, a cold, predatory glint in his eyes.

"If you won't kneel to me voluntarily, Master Chen..." he thought, his inner voice terrifyingly calm. "...then I will simply have to force you to."

He had failed at diplomacy.

And now, he had turned to tyranny.