The morning sky above Cloudsky Sect was unusually bright.
Golden clouds drifted lazily across the heavens, yet beneath their peaceful appearance lay an undercurrent of tension that even ordinary disciples could feel.
Today was no ordinary day. Today, the Azure Sky Sect one of the Three Upper Sects would formally arrive.
And at the center of it all…
Wang Li.
He stood before a bronze mirror in his quarters, adjusting his robes for the third time.
"Too formal?" he muttered, tugging at the collar.
The robe was deep black with faint crimson threads running through it like veins of fire. It was a gift from the Sect Master himself—an implicit message to the outside world that Wang Li was no longer just another inner disciple.
Behind him, Mu Qingling leaned against the doorway, arms crossed.
"You're thinking too much," she said. "No matter what you wear, trouble will still find you."
Wang Li glanced at her. She was dressed in a form-fitting crimson battle dress, her hair tied high, eyes sharp and alert.
"You're coming too?" he asked.
She snorted. "Of course. Do you think I'd let you walk into a lion's den surrounded by beautiful women alone?"
Before Wang Li could respond, the temperature in the room dropped sharply.
A thin layer of frost spread across the floor.
Feng Yuling stepped in silently, her pale blue robes flowing like mist. Her presence alone made the air feel crisp and clean.
"I was invited as well," she said calmly. "As a representative of the Ice Phoenix Lineage."
Mu Qingling's eyes narrowed. "Of course you were."
Wang Li raised both hands. "Let's… let's just go before something explodes."
Azure Sky Pavilion – Noon
The Azure Sky Pavilion floated atop a sea of clouds, supported by massive spirit pillars carved with ancient runes. Spirit cranes circled above, and celestial music drifted through the air.
The moment Wang Li stepped onto the pavilion, countless gazes locked onto him.
Curiosity. Scrutiny. Disdain. Interest.
"So that's him?"
"He doesn't look special."
"I heard he crippled Jin Hao with one move."
"Isn't he the one surrounded by women like stars around the moon?"
Wang Li kept his expression calm, but his spiritual sense was fully extended. He could feel it—dozens of hidden auras probing him, measuring him, judging him.
At the center of the pavilion sat a young woman in flowing azure robes.
Her beauty was… dangerous.
Delicate but noble. Gentle but distant. Her eyes were clear like a spring sky, yet held a depth that suggested intelligence far beyond her apparent age.
Princess Yue Xian'er.
She stood the moment she saw Wang Li.
"You came," she said softly, her lips curving into a smile that immediately made half the male disciples forget how to breathe.
Wang Li clasped his hands. "Princess Yue. It's been a long time."
She laughed lightly. "You still speak the same way. Back then, you shared your food with a 'beggar' without asking her name."
Mu Qingling leaned close to Wang Li and whispered, "She's dangerous."
"I noticed," Wang Li muttered back.
Feng Yuling's gaze lingered on Yue Xian'er for a moment before she calmly looked away. "She's hiding her cultivation," she said quietly. "At least two realms higher than she shows."
As the banquet began, wine flowed and music filled the air, but beneath the surface, tension coiled tighter with every passing moment.
Then
A man in azure-gold robes stood.
Tall. Handsome. His cultivation aura surged openly at the late-stage Soul Sea Realm, pressing down like a mountain.
"Ji Fengyu," someone whispered.
He raised his cup toward Wang Li.
"So you are the man who dares stand beside so many peerless women," Ji Fengyu said with a smile that did not reach his eyes. "I must admit, you are… luckier than you deserve."
Wang Li met his gaze calmly. "Luck only favors those who survive."
A ripple of laughter spread through the pavilion.
Ji Fengyu's eyes flashed. "Princess Yue, you traveled all this way for him?"
Yue Xian'er smiled politely. "I came to see someone who once showed me kindness without knowing who I was."
Her words landed like a slap.
Ji Fengyu's smile stiffened.
"Then perhaps," he said slowly, "we should see if that kindness was backed by strength."
Silence fell.
Before anyone could intervene, Ji Fengyu stepped forward, his aura flaring violently.
"A friendly exchange," he said. "Surely Cloudsky Sect won't refuse?"
All eyes turned to Wang Li.
Mu Qingling's fingers tightened.
Feng Yuling's frost qi stirred.
Wang Li exhaled slowly.
He stepped forward.
"If you insist," he said calmly, "I won't disappoint."
The moment Wang Li stepped onto the platform, the world seemed to narrow.
Ji Fengyu's aura crashed down like waves.
"You should kneel," Ji Fengyu said coldly. "I'll spare you humiliation."
Wang Li smiled faintly.
"I've knelt once in my life," he said. "And I swore never again."
He released his aura.
Boom.
Frostfire qi erupted around him icy blue entwined with blazing crimson. The platform cracked under the pressure.
Gasps echoed.
"What kind of cultivation is that?!"
"Dual-element fusion?!"
Ji Fengyu's expression finally changed.
"Interesting," he said grimly. "Then die interestingly."
He struck.
But Wang Li was already gone.
The air split as Wang Li appeared behind him, Shadowfang flashing like a streak of night.
Ji Fengyu barely blocked, stumbling back several steps.
Shock rippled through the crowd.
"He forced Ji Fengyu back!"
Mu Qingling grinned fiercely.
Feng Yuling's lips curved slightly.
Yue Xian'er's eyes shone.
Wang Li stood tall, aura blazing, heart pounding not with fear, but exhilaration.
For the first time
He felt it clearly.
He was no longer chasing power.
He was standing at its threshold.