For a moment, the world held its breath.
Dust floated in the air.
Li Yun staggered backward, his crimson robe torn across the chest where Luo Feng's palm had struck. The mark wasn't bloody—but it burned, ironically, with pressure instead of fire.
He clutched his ribs, blinking as if trying to understand how someone "crippled" had gotten past his first three layers of defense.
"You—" he hissed, "you moved without spirit energy. Without even surging aura."
Luo Feng didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
The crowd was already murmuring in disbelief. Even a few Inner Elders watching from high above leaned forward.
"He moved through the suppression…"
"Is he… walking the technique?"
"Impossible. Phantom techniques require high-speed qi control. He should've collapsed instantly."
Li Yun growled.
The fire around him surged higher.
"Fine then," he spat. "If the Sect won't stop you, I will."
He lifted his hand to the sky.
A red scroll burst from his sleeve, unfurling midair. Glyphs blazed to life—each one a talisman etched in demon-crimson ink, glowing like molten blood.
Warning: Forbidden technique detected. Soul-burn attribute present.System alert: "Flame King's Binding Seal – Variant" contains backlash risk of 52%.Threat Level: High.
Luo Feng's eyes narrowed.
This was no ordinary Outer Hall technique. This was stolen knowledge, hidden from the core of the Sect's records. Techniques like this weren't granted—they were bartered… or stolen.
The sky cracked open.
A fire construct—shaped like a coiling dragon with six eyes and a skeletal body—descended with a shriek.
The temperature across the arena spiked. The wind fled. Even the cracked stars etched into the platform began to shimmer under the heat.
A-Yan's hand twitched toward her dagger.
Bai Xueyin's fingers wrapped around her icy hairpin.
Neither moved.
Not yet.
Li Yun screamed, feeding the scroll with his own blood. His veins lit up crimson, and the flames surged to surround him in a twisting cyclone of heat and rage.
"You want to walk through this, coward?" he shouted. "Let's see you survive this with your petty tricks!"
The fire beast dove.
Luo Feng didn't flinch.
He stepped forward.
Once.
Then again.
And again.
Each step carved silence into the flames.
He moved like a shadow learning how to breathe, slipping between the dragon's coils—each flicker of heat becoming a guidepost rather than a threat.
System prompt: Host has adapted technique "Phantom God Movement" under suppression field.New technique generated: "Void Trace – Ascending Lotus Step."Effect: Allows Host to move between dimensional echoes for short bursts of time.Status: UNIQUE. This technique does not exist in current world cultivation archives.
Time slowed.
To the crowd, Luo Feng vanished.
To Li Yun, he was everywhere.
Above. Behind. Left. Right.
And then—inside the fire beast itself.
The flames howled, distorted and confused, lashing at their own creator in a panic.
"What—?! No, no, no!"
Luo Feng's voice rang out calmly from within the storm.
"You rely too much on power you don't understand."
Then—
A shockwave.
The fire dragon imploded in a burst of red light and scattered glyphs. The scroll crumbled to ash. Li Yun dropped to one knee, smoke pouring from his arms and chest as backlash ripped through his core.
He coughed blood.
His eyes darted wildly.
"You—you cheated…!"
Luo Feng appeared behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder—not to strike, but to steady him.
"No," he said, voice low. "I adapted."
Ding! Battle suppression resistance improved. Spatial mastery increased. Host gains permanent +5% resistance to soul-burn techniques.New technique stored: "Void Trace – Ascending Lotus Step."New title unlocked: "Walker Between Pressure."
The crowd fell silent.
Utterly, completely still.
No one had ever defeated a forbidden fire construct—let alone walked into it and undone it from the inside.
But the battle wasn't over.
Not in the way Luo Feng understood.
Because on a cliffside far above the arena, an old figure in dark robes rose from his seat—Elder Mo—and made a subtle gesture with two fingers.
A secondary glyph beneath the arena platform pulsed red.
System Alert: Secondary suppression array activating.Host movement reduced by additional 20%.Ambient qi distortion field engaged.Disciples Bai Xueyin and A-Yan affected: cultivation flow disturbed.
Bai gasped, holding her chest as a ripple of nausea passed through her.
A-Yan stumbled, her spatial sense shattering like broken glass.
"Master—something's wrong," she whispered.
Luo Feng's body tensed.
He turned to the elder on the arena platform, who held the jade talisman—and watched without blinking.
"You want to cheat?" Luo Feng said softly, almost to himself.
He looked up, straight at Elder Mo's cliffside pavilion.
"You think I'm alone?"
He raised his hand—and snapped his fingers.
From the cave beneath the platform, where his tools had been set for days, a surge of qi burst outward.
Luo Feng's homemade spirit anchor formation—low-grade, barely stabilized—flared to life.
But it didn't need to be perfect.
It just needed to respond.
A flicker of ice and void shot out from it—resonating with A-Yan and Bai.
Ding! Disciples linked via anchor rune.Void-Ice synergy restored. Passive suppression neutralized for bonded disciples.Disciples empowered: +20% resistance to field effects.
A-Yan's eyes widened.
Her body stabilized.
She blinked forward—her step now sharp, decisive.
Bai Xueyin rose like a ghost, frost spinning from her fingers.
Together, they stood at the edge of the platform.
Not interfering in the duel—yet—but present.
Visible.
Declaring allegiance.
The message rang louder than any blade:
Luo Feng is not alone.
Li Yun looked up from his knees, his aura in tatters, his flame seal broken.
He looked at Luo Feng—untouched. Steady. Surrounded by loyalty.
Fear crept into his heart.
But worse than fear…
…was envy.
"You… shouldn't exist," he whispered.
Luo Feng knelt beside him.
"I agree," he said.
"But I do."
He placed a jade pill in Li Yun's hand—not out of mercy, but to stop him from dying before the elders could explain why they tried to rig the match.
Ding! Duel complete. Host victory confirmed.Battle Reputation increased. Sect hierarchy shift detected. Hidden Rank increased.You have earned 1x "Celestial Stone of Judgment" – convertible into technique, weapon, or disciple reward.
As the audience sat frozen, and whispers began anew, Luo Feng helped Li Yun to his feet and guided him to the edge of the platform.
He didn't gloat.
He didn't boast.
He simply stood beside his disciples.
And watched the Sect try to understand what had just happened.