"This gathering draws the brightest young talents from every continent," Lan Yu said, voice low as the wind that rustled through the Black Forest's skeletal branches. "It's overseen by experts from the Higher Realm. The top one thousand participants will be granted the right to choose a sect from the Higher Realm. It's the single greatest chance for upward mobility in our age."
Lin Feng's jaw tightened. "I must participate."
"With your strength, you're eligible to represent the Eastern Continent," Lan Yu replied, eyes assessing him like a strategist measuring a battlefield piece.
"You win this time," Lin Feng said to Duan Yun and Jiang Yun with a faint grin, "but if they cross me again, I'll finish them."
"Okay." Lan Yu's tone was calm, almost clinical.
"Let's go, Sun Mei." Lin Feng offered his arm, and they pressed deeper into the forest.
---
"Boss, there's a secret ruin opening ahead—let's hurry!" Fatty called, excitement sharpening his features.
The trio threaded through ancient roots and hanging vines until a low rumble vibrated in their chests. The forest floor cracked, and stones shifted. A narrow fissure of light tore through the earth—a secret ruin breathing to life.
Word spread in tongues: A treasure emerges. Move!
From the gloom a voice cut like a blade. "Qin Xiao — number three genius of the Western Continent — is here."
"Lin Feng's here." A ripple of interest ran through the assembled cultivators. "I heard he defeated Lan Yu. A monster indeed."
Qin Xiao's grin was arrogant and thin. He stepped forward, aura coiling like a spring. "You'd better not cross me inside that ruin," he warned, eyes fixed on Lin Feng.
"I should be telling you that," Lin Feng shot back, laughing lightly.
"Hmph." Qin Xiao snorted, offended.
The earth shuddered as the secret ruin opened fully. A brilliant, crimson light rose like a lance from the ground—and every heart in the clearing stuttered.
"That… that's dragon blood. Pure dragon blood!" someone breathed.
"What intense power," another voice added. A man's face contorted; his bloodline responded like a sleeping beast awakened. In a flash he became a streak of light and vanished toward the source.
"That is true dragon blood—I'll claim it," Qin Xiao said, eyes gleaming, and he looked to Lin Feng like a wolf to fresh meat. "It won't be denied."
Lin Feng felt the nine-headed dragon coil within him—an ancient hunger stirring. It smells of kin—pure, raw dragon qi, the spirit whispered. Feed me.
"Fatty, stay here and protect Sun Mei," Lin Feng ordered without looking back.
"Okay, boss." Fatty planted himself like a bulwark, shoulders squared.
"Be safe," Sun Mei said, voice tremulous but steady.
"The dragon blood is mine," Lin Feng murmured, more to the dragon in his soul than to the crowd.
They all surged forward—dozens of cultivators racing, turning into streaks of colored qi. The forest blurred. Lin Feng's figure sliced through the air; Qin Xiao's shadow streaked ahead to intercept.
"How dare you get between me and my prize—die!" Qin Xiao roared, steel flashing.
Lin Feng snorted and moved like a blade. "Hmph."
The first clash detonated like thunder.
"Azure Sword Art — Kill Any Under Heaven!" Lin Feng roared, his sword carving a dazzling red arc through the gloom.
For a beat, time seemed to slow: the flash of steel, the hiss of qi, the forest holding its breath. Then the collision swallowed sound as the two forces smashed together, sending shards of rock and spirals of faint, ancestral light flaring into the air.