The morning mist over the central peak of the Sun-Moon Academy did not carry its usual tranquil purity. It was heavy, damp, and thick with an unmistakable aura of violence. By the time the first rays of sunlight pierced the crimson clouds, the grand arena at the heart of the Inner Sect was already overflowing with thousands of disciples.
News of the duel had spread like a wildfire through all Four Main Peaks. A conflict between an incoming disciple from the Outer Academy and a core genius of the Imperial Dragon Peak was rare enough, but a fight on the Life-and-Death Arena—where only one combatant would walk off the high stage alive—was an event that drew even closed-door elders from their secluded grottos.
"Is it true? The kid Railin actually signed the soul contract without hesitation?"
"He killed Zhao and exposed Deacon Xu, but facing Senior Disciple Feng Wushuang is suicide. Wushuang reached the Third Level of Foundation Establishment months ago!"
"Look up there—even disciples from the Shadow Moon Hall and the Ice Mystic Peak have come to watch."
High above the stone spectator tiers, floating on a carved frost-cloud platform, stood several silver-robed disciples from the Ice Mystic Peak. Among them, Rusunam Rusu stood with her hands folded neatly inside her wide, ice-embroidered sleeves. Her face was as cold as carved jade, her azure eyes fixed impassively on the empty, black-basalt stage below.
"Senior Sister Rusu," a younger disciple beside her whispered softly, "do you truly believe this newcomer stands a chance against Wushuang's Azure Dragon Spear?"
Rusunam Rusu did not answer immediately. Her mind briefly flashed back to the dark, silent interior of Spirit Abode 409—to the pitch-black eyes of the youth who had looked at her with such complete, infuriating detachment, as if she were a total stranger.
"His cultivation base is at the peak of Ninth Level Spirit Refining," Rusu said, her voice dropping like falling icicles. "Logic dictates he will be crushed in three breaths. But his eyes... there is no fear in them. Only hunger."
CLANG!
A massive, bronze ceremonial gong echoed across the central plaza, its reverberations shattering the morning hum.
"Silence!"
A heavy, suffocating aura descended from the highest spectator balcony. An elder dressed in deep purple administrative robes stepped forward, floating down onto the center of the basalt arena. His hair was stark white, but his eyes glowed with the solid, terrifying light of a late-stage Core Formation expert. He was Grand Elder Lu, the Chief Overseer of the Life-and-Death Pavilion.
"Today, under the ancient laws of the Sun-Moon Academy, two inner disciples enter this sacred ring to settle an absolute dispute," Elder Lu declared, his voice booming across the mountain like thunder. "The rules are absolute. Once the blood-soul contract is sealed by both parties, no elder, disciple, or peak lord may step in until one heart ceases to beat."
Elder Lu turned his head toward the eastern staircase. "Core Disciple of the Imperial Dragon Peak—Feng Wushuang. Step forward!"
RUMBLE!
A golden beam of light shot down from the sky, crashing onto the eastern edge of the stage. The stone floor cracked beneath the pressure as the light dissipated, revealing a tall, handsome youth clad in glowing golden-scaled armor. His long hair was tied back with a jade crown, and his hands rested casually on the shaft of a heavy, nine-foot spear wrapped in blue cloth.
Feng Wushuang's aura flared wildly—Third Level Foundation Establishment, fully stabilized and surging with the fierce, volatile attribute of the Azure Dragon. The weaker disciples in the front rows gasped, stumbling backward as the sheer pressure of his spirit sea washed over them.
"Railin!" Feng Wushuang's voice carried a terrifying sonic vibration that rattled the surrounding banners. "Come up and accept your execution! My brother's imprisonment and my family's humiliation end today with your blood!"
The crowd turned as one toward the western path.
From the shade of the quiet pine forest, a single figure walked out into the open sunlight.
Railin wore simple, unadorned navy robes. He carried no grand weapons on his back, no protective golden armor, and no glowing talismans on his belt. His hands were tucked loosely into his sleeves, his pace steady, measured, and entirely unhurried. As he stepped onto the stone stairs leading to the arena, his pitch-black eyes swept over the thousands of spectating disciples, taking in their expressions with the quiet apathy of a predator observing a crowd of cattle.
"He's so calm... is he insane?"
"Look at his aura! He broke through to the Ninth Level of Spirit Refining! How is that possible in just a few days?!"
Shocked whispers erupted through the crowd. Just a week ago, Railin was at the Eighth Level. To reach the peak of the Ninth Level so quickly was unheard of without causing massive, permanent damage to one's meridians.
Railin stepped onto the western edge of the basalt stage, stopping thirty paces from Feng Wushuang.
"Your breath is noisy," Railin said smoothly, his tone flat, indifferent, and ringing clearly across the quieted arena. "If you are eager to join your brother, sign the parchment so we can begin."
Feng Wushuang's eyes burned with sudden, lethal fury. "Arrogant scoundrel! You think killing a few useless outer deacons makes you invincible? Today, I will tear your limbs apart and feed your soul to my spear!"
Elder Lu flicked his sleeve, sending a hovering, crimson parchment floating between the two combatants. "Place your blood-soul signatures upon the contract."
Feng Wushuang bit his thumb without hesitation, pressing a bloody streak onto the right side of the scroll. "Sealed!"
Railin stepped forward. He raised his right index finger, pressing a small drop of dark, crimson blood onto the left side. As his blood touched the parchment, the crimson paper flared into violent black and red flames, burning away into two thin streams of light that shot into the foreheads of both fighters.
BUZZ!
A translucent, blood-red dome of energy erupted from the edges of the basalt stage, shooting hundreds of feet into the air and sealing the arena completely from the outside world. The grand Life-and-Death Array was fully activated.
"The contract is bound!" Elder Lu's voice boomed from outside the barrier as he retreated to the upper balcony. "Let the duel commence!"
The instant Elder Lu's voice faded, the air inside the crimson dome detonated.
BOOM!
Feng Wushuang didn't wait. He stomped his right foot, shattering the basalt floor as his body transformed into a golden blur. The Third Level Foundation Establishment energy within his body erupted like an overflowing volcano, coating his arm in swirling, golden dragon-scales.
"Die! Dragon-Tearing Claw!"
A golden energy claw thirty feet wide condensed in mid-air, tearing through the atmosphere with a screeching sonic boom as it plummeted directly toward Railin's head. The sheer physical pressure of the attack crushed the air beneath it, threatening to flatten anyone below the Foundation Establishment realm into paste.
Railin's eyes remained icy and sharp.
SWISH!
His body flickered like a phantom shadow. Seven Void-Severing Steps!
Three dark residual images appeared simultaneously on the stage, scattering in three different directions. The massive golden claw slammed into the center of the arena, shattering half a dozen heavy basalt slabs into flying shrapnel, but hitting nothing but empty air.
"Evading?" Feng Wushuang sneered, his body spinning in mid-air with unnatural grace. "In front of a true Foundation Establishment cultivator, your speed is nothing more than a child's dance!"
Feng Wushuang reached back, grabbing the blue cloth wrapping his spear. With a fierce pull, the cloth shredded into fine threads, exposing a stunning, dark-blue spear forged from deep-sea cold iron. The blade of the spear was shaped like an opening dragon's jaw, radiating an ancient, chilling pressure.
The Azure Dragon Spear!
"Sea-Dragon Sweeps the Heavens!"
Feng Wushuang thrusted his spear forward a dozen times in a single second. Dozens of blue, razor-sharp light beams erupted from the tip, forming a dense, overlapping mesh of deadly energy that swept across the entire left half of the stage, leaving Railin nowhere to dodge.
CLANG! CLANG! BANG!
Railin didn't retreat this time. His pitch-black pupils dilated as his Seventh Level soul sense accurately read the trajectory of every single energy beam. He drew a short, dark iron dagger from his sleeve, his hand turning into an imperceptible blur as he deflected the edges of the energy beams with terrifying precision.
Every time his blade made contact with the spear's energy, a faint thread of dark Ashen Devouring Qi seeped from Railin's fingers, absorbing a fraction of the raw spirit energy before dispersing the rest into the ground.
Thump! Thump!
Inside Railin's lower dantian, the black liquid sea churned happily, digesting the incoming Foundation Establishment energy and turning it into fresh power.
"He... he deflected Senior Disciple Feng's sweeping spear attack?!" a disciple shouted in disbelief. "With a short dagger?!"
Above the arena, Rusunam Rusu's eyes narrowed slightly. "He isn't just deflecting it. He's analyzing the rhythm of the spear."
On the stage, Feng Wushuang felt a subtle drop in his spirit qi efficiency. Every time his attacks brushed near Railin, a strange, suffocating suction force seemed to drag at his weapon, making his movements slightly heavier than usual.
"Tricks!" Feng Wushuang roared, his golden armor flaring with brilliant light as he leaped fifty feet into the air. He held the Azure Dragon Spear high above his head with both hands, his spirit sea churning at maximum capacity.
"I will see how you deflect this! Imperial Dragon Art: Heaven-Piercing Dragon Strike!"
A massive, hundred-foot illusory azure dragon formed around Feng Wushuang's body, roaring with a sound that caused the protective crimson barrier to ripple violently. The pressure was so intense that the stone floor beneath Railin began to sink and crack under the weight of the aura alone.
The entire audience held their breath. This was a peak-tier High-Human rank martial art powered by Third Level Foundation Establishment spirit energy. Even a First Level Foundation cultivator would be blasted into ash by a direct hit!
Railin stood in the center of the sinking floor, his navy robes whipping violently in the gale-force winds. Instead of fleeing or drawing defensive talismans, he slowly lowered his dagger.
His eyes flared with a deep, bottomless darkness.
In his upper dantian, the dark, mirror-like sphere forged from The Eclipse Soul Scripture began to spin rapidly.
"You speak too much," Railin whispered softly.
BUZZ!
An invisible, razor-thin needle of pure, compressed mental energy shot from Railin's forehead, tearing through the air instantly without raising a single breeze or light reflection.
Eclipse Soul Scripture: First Form — Soul-Piercing Needle!
The invisible needle bypassed the massive azure dragon illusion, bypassed Feng Wushuang's golden armor, and struck directly between Feng Wushuang's eyebrows, plunging straight into his sea of consciousness!
"AARGH!"
In mid-air, right at the climax of his ultimate technique, Feng Wushuang suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream.
To him, it felt as though a red-hot iron spike had been driven violently through his skull, shattering his mental focus into a thousand pieces. The massive, hundred-foot azure dragon illusion flickered violently, its form collapsing into wild, uncontrolled bursts of energy that scattered uselessly across the sky.
His eyes lost focus for a fraction of a second, his body freezing in mid-air as his spirit qi flow momentarily stalled.
A fraction of a second was all Railin needed.
SWISH!
Railin vanished from his spot, leaving behind a dark residual shadow.
Before Feng Wushuang could recover from the blinding agony in his brain, Railin appeared directly in front of him in mid-air. Railin's left hand shot out like a striking viper, his fingers turning black as charcoal as he clamped his palm tightly onto Feng Wushuang's throat!
"What—" Feng Wushuang gasped, his eyes wide with sudden, instinctual terror as he looked into Railin's dark, pitch-black pupils.
"Your energy sea is quite rich," Railin murmured into his ear, his voice calm, predatory, and chillingly intimate. "Thank you for the meal."
RUMBLE!
The Ashen Devouring Technique erupted at full power!
A violent, black void vortex expanded from Railin's palm, completely wrapping around Feng Wushuang's upper body.
"AAAAGHHH!"
A scream of pure, unadulterated agony shattered the silence of the arena.
The spectating disciples watched in sheer horror as Feng Wushuang—the proud, invincible core genius of the Imperial Dragon Peak—hung helplessly in mid-air, his body twitching violently as visible streams of golden and blue Foundation Establishment energy were violently ripped from his pores, flowing rapidly into Railin's hand!
Feng Wushuang's golden armor dimmed and cracked. His robust muscle tone began to shrivel at a visible rate, his smooth skin turning pale, wrinkled, and dry as his vitality, spirit qi, and blood essence were systematically extracted and consumed!
"He's... he's devouring Senior Disciple Feng's cultivation base!"
"Stop him! He's draining his soul foundation!"
Panicked screams erupted among the disciples of the Imperial Dragon Peak in the spectator tiers.
Inside Railin's lower dantian, a catastrophic transformation was taking place. The massive influx of high-tier, refined Foundation Establishment essence was like pouring liquid gold into a raging fire. The black liquid pool in his dantian expanded to its absolute limit, churning violently as it began to condense, solidify, and transform under the immense pressure!
Ninety-five percent... ninety-eight percent... ONE HUNDRED PERCENT!
BANG!
A deep, internal explosion echoed within Railin's body. The barrier of the Spirit Refining realm shattered like thin glass!
The black liquid pool in his dantian violently compressed into a dense, solid, rotating sea of dark void energy—a true, undeniable Foundation Establishment Core!
BOOM!
A terrifying wave of dark, suffocating pressure erupted from Railin's body, shattering the basalt floor fifty feet around them as his aura officially crossed the threshold, stepping directly into the First Level of the Foundation Establishment Realm!
"Ah... Foundation," Railin murmured, his eyes glowing with an ancient, dark brilliance as he felt his physical strength, spirit sense, and lifespan multiply several times over.
Feng Wushuang was now nothing more than a shriveled, white-haired shell, his cultivation entirely stripped, his meridians destroyed beyond repair. He twitched faintly in Railin's grasp, his eyes wide with empty, vacant despair.
Railin raised his right hand, his fingers forming a claw aimed directly at Feng Wushuang's heart to finish the execution.
"STOP, YOU MONSTER!"
BOOM!
A roar of intense, mountain-shaking anger thundered from the highest spectator balcony.
The sky above the arena split open as a giant, golden palm made of pure Core Formation energy plummeted from the clouds, slamming directly into the red Life-and-Death barrier in an attempt to crush Railin on the spot!
It was the Grand Elder of the Imperial Dragon Peak—Elder Feng!
CRACK!
The ancient blood-soul array groaned under the illegal impact, spiderweb cracks spreading across the red energy dome.
Railin did not panic. His sharp eyes glanced up at the descending golden palm, then down at the dying Feng Wushuang in his hand. With a subtle, dark smirk, Railin casually tossed the shriveled, unconscious body of Feng Wushuang across the stage like a piece of useless garbage, letting it roll to a stop at the edge of the arena.
The moment Feng Wushuang's body left Railin's grip, Elder Lu—the Pavilion Overseer—stepped into mid-air, waving his sleeve to disperse Elder Feng's illegal golden palm before it could shatter the barrier completely.
"Elder Feng! Restrain yourself!" Elder Lu shouted, his voice stern and cold as he faced the furious Core Formation elder. "The Life-and-Death contract was sealed under academy law! Any further interference will be treated as treason against the Grand Council!"
Elder Feng stood on the high balcony, his face dark as a thundercloud, his body trembling with uncontrollable rage as he looked at his shriveled, ruined nephew lying on the stage, and then at Railin, who stood calmly in the center of the arena, dusting off his navy sleeves.
The Life-and-Death barrier slowly dissolved into crimson sparks.
The entire central peak was dead silent. Thousands of disciples stared at the scene with wide, horror-struck eyes. A Ninth Level Spirit Refining youth had not only survived against a Third Level Foundation genius—he had devoured him, broken through to Foundation Establishment on the stage, and permanently crippled his opponent under the strict protection of the academy's ancient laws.
High above the arena, Rusunam Rusu turned her back to the stage, her frost-white robes floating softly in the mountain wind as she began walking away.
"He did it," her junior sister whispered in awe. "He actually broke through to Foundation Establishment..."
Rusunam Rusu paused for a fraction of a second, her icy blue eyes glancing back one last time at the dark-haired youth standing amidst the ruined basalt stone.
"This is only the beginning," Rusu said softly, her voice fading into the cold fog. "The noble families will not let this rest. And when the Grand Inner Sect Assembly opens... he will face monsters far worse than Feng Wushuang."
On the stage, Railin turned his back on the ruined arena and walked toward the western exit. His new Foundation Establishment spirit sea pulsed with dark, unyielding power, his mind already calculating his next move.
The Inner Sect was no longer just a training ground. It was his personal hunting territory.
See you in next chapter.....