The stone beneath Li Xuan's feet cracked as he stepped down from the arena. Each footfall echoed like a war drum. The elders watched, frozen. No one moved. No one dared speak. The corpse of Elder Mo still steamed as qi bled into the ground. The Bone Devouring Flame Serpent coiled lazily around Li Xuan's neck, its tongue flickering with a poisonous hiss.
"Stop him!" Elder Han finally roared, voice trembling. "He's defying the sect!"
But the guards hesitated. Every disciple that had stepped against him was either dead or crippled. That wasn't defiance—it was annihilation.
Li Xuan walked toward the inner sect gates. No badge. No announcement. No request. His red eyes burned with unspoken intent. The gatekeeper stepped in front of him, trying to puff up his core formation aura.
"You're not authorized."
Li Xuan didn't slow.
The gatekeeper raised his hand—
Crack.
A blur, a single step. Li Xuan's palm slapped across the man's face with such force that his skull twisted nearly backwards. He collapsed, foaming, eyes rolled back.
Li Xuan passed through the gate.
Inside the inner sect, disciples gathered like vultures. Rumors had spread like wildfire. "Did you hear? The one who killed Elder Mo—he entered the inner court."
"They say lightning bowed to him."
"Impossible."
"He has no master, no backing."
"But he has blood on his hands. That's enough."
From the shadows of a bamboo pavilion, a figure stepped out. Tall, silver-robed, with a crescent badge on his chest: a personal disciple of the Sect Master himself.
"Find out where he stays," Lu Tian ordered coldly. "I want to see if this wild dog bites when cornered."
Li Xuan reached the top of Black Serpent Peak. He chose the most dangerous, most abandoned cultivation zone. Poisonous fog laced the cliffs, and the wind howled like wolves. Here, no one would bother him.
He dropped into meditation.
[System Silent Mode Deactivated]
Qi root optimization: 83% complete
Forbidden meridian pathways unlocked: 3/7
Divine Flame Serpent Core absorbed.
Host constitution: Evolving.
Warning: Body refinement path deviates from human standard.
Host is becoming… something else.
He didn't flinch.
Let it come.
Pain? He welcomed it. Mutation? He embraced it. As long as it brought strength, he would walk the path barefoot on blades. The system flickered and disappeared again—no explanations, no lights or guiding voice. It helped. That was enough.
Li Xuan opened his eyes. Blood mist danced around his body. His meridians howled like chained beasts. The crimson in his gaze pulsed brighter.
He stood.
Three inner sect disciples watched from the treeline. One scoffed. "He's just meditating. Weak prey."
The second grinned. "Let's break his bones and feed his pet to the furnace."
The third launched a talisman into the air—a green array flared.
They leapt.
But Li Xuan moved first.
He didn't draw a sword.
He didn't even stand fully upright.
He raised one finger.
The wind shattered. A red streak erupted from his fingertip, ripping the talisman in half mid-air. Before the three could react, the Flame Serpent exploded forward, fangs sinking into the first man's throat.
The second screamed—until Li Xuan's knee crashed into his ribcage, cracking it like dry wood. He vomited blood and qi fragments.
The last turned to flee.
Li Xuan appeared behind him.
"Too slow."
He crushed the disciple's leg with a single stomp. Bone jutted from flesh. Li Xuan's hand grabbed his head and drove it into the ground. Over. And over.
When he stopped, the ground steamed with blood.
The Flame Serpent returned, curled around his wrist. Li Xuan didn't look down at the bodies.
He walked back to his meditation circle.
In the main sect hall, Lu Tian's eyes burned. "He's hunting inner sect disciples now?"
"Three dead. Reports say… he didn't use a weapon."
Another elder, face pale, muttered, "He used his finger."
Lu Tian laughed. "Perfect."
That night, the Blood Moon rose.
And with it, a name began to form in whispers.
Li Xuan — the Crimson Ghost.
The following day, a challenge appeared on the blackstone wall. Normally reserved for rivalries, debt duels, or battle for cultivation resources.
This time, it was blank.
Except for one line.
"Crimson Ghost. Midnight. Jade Scar Platform."
A trap.
Li Xuan read it as he passed by, but his face didn't change. His eyes moved once across the name.
Lu Tian.
A dog with too much ambition.
Midnight.
Jade Scar Platform.
Inner sect disciples gathered like moths to fire. This was what they lived for—blood, pride, hierarchy. At the center stood Lu Tian, arms folded, a mid-stage Core Formation aura rippling from his body like an ocean wave.
"I will give you one chance," he announced as Li Xuan stepped onto the platform, barefoot, shirtless. His upper body was wrapped in bloody bandages. The tribulation scars on his back glowed faintly in the moonlight.
Lu Tian sneered. "Kneel. Apologize. Crawl back to the outer sect."
Li Xuan's voice was like cold steel.
"Speak again, and you die without dignity."
Lu Tian laughed. "Then I'll break every inch of you."
He rushed forward, sword unsheathed. It howled like a dragon, qi blade stretching ten feet.
Li Xuan didn't move.
The blade came down.
Li Xuan's hand shot up—
Clang.
Two fingers caught the blade. The platform cracked beneath them.
Lu Tian's expression changed.
Li Xuan leaned in.
"You're not even worthy of being my shadow."
The blade shattered.
Li Xuan's palm struck his chest.
A muffled boom echoed. Lu Tian flew back, smashed through three spirit barriers, and crashed against the mountainside wall. Blood sprayed from his mouth.
Gasps erupted.
"Lu Tian—defeated?!"
"But he's… Core Formation!"
"Li Xuan hasn't even reached the peak of Foundation Establishment!"
Lu Tian struggled to stand, horror in his eyes. "What… what are you?"
Li Xuan walked over.
"I am what comes after weakness. I am what strength becomes when it's born in blood."
He raised his hand.
Crack.
Lu Tian's neck snapped sideways.
The sect fell silent.
Back on Black Serpent Peak, Li Xuan sat in meditation again.
[System Notification]
Host has consumed combat data from Lu Tian.
Ability unlocked: Astral Qi Compression Technique (refined).
Host physique mutation progressing: 54%.
Warning: Soul density approaching flame detonation threshold.
Advancement available.
He ignored it. Let it boil.
Let it burn.
He was not ready to rise.
He would ascend only when there was no one left to block the sky.