The morning sun filtered through thin clouds, casting golden rays across the Feng Clan's outer court training field.
Liu Shen sat motionless at its center, cross-legged on cracked stone. Around him, lowborn disciples and servants kept their distance, whispering behind cupped hands.
"Isn't that the cripple?"
"No. Not anymore."
"But how…?"
Feng Bai stood at the edge of the crowd, his chest still bandaged, hatred burning in his eyes.
He humiliated me in front of everyone... this bastard needs to die.
Beside him stood Feng Muyu, an inner court disciple—and Bai's cousin. Older, stronger, and backed by one of the branch families.
"Cousin," Bai growled, "I want him kneeling. Break him."
Feng Muyu sneered. "A dog that bites must be put down."
He strode into the field.
Liu Shen opened his eyes the moment the man's foot hit the circle.
"I didn't invite company," he said flatly.
"You don't need to," Muyu said, cracking his knuckles. "You think you're something now because you reached Qi Condensation? Pathetic. You've embarrassed my family. So I'll do everyone a favor and return you to the mud."
Liu Shen stood slowly. Calmly. Not a single ripple of fear in his aura.
He's at Qi Condensation Stage 5, Liu Shen noted.
A brute with a heavy fist and no discipline. This won't take long.
The crowd drew in closer.
Feng Muyu raised his fist. "Come, cripple!"
He charged, aura flaring.
Liu Shen didn't move until the last second. Then—he vanished.
Whoosh!
He reappeared behind Muyu with eerie silence, two fingers extended toward the man's spine.
A precise strike landed on an acupoint.
Thud.
Muyu collapsed, knees buckling.
"What… what did you do?!" he shouted, face pale.
"You're not even worth a second move," Liu Shen said coldly. "I struck your lower back's root vein. You won't be able to cultivate for the next three days."
Gasps rang out.
Even Feng Bai looked stunned.
That movement… it wasn't just fast—it was refined.
He's not a servant… he's a monster pretending to be one.
Muyu gritted his teeth. "You dare—!"
Liu Shen stepped forward. His voice dropped to a whisper, heard only by Muyu.
"I am no longer the cripple you mocked," he said. "You may be the first to fall… but not the last."
He turned away, leaving the man shaking on the ground.
The training field went silent.
Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
---
Later That Day – Elder Hall
Inside a jade-walled room, three elders sat in council.
One of them, Elder Mo, slammed a scroll onto the table.
"Qi Condensation. High-speed combat movement. Nerve-strike precision. All from a servant boy who was 'crippled' since birth?"
The eldest elder frowned. "You suspect… reincarnation?"
"No," Mo said, eyes narrow. "I suspect something worse."
He pulled out a talisman, blackened at the edges. "This came from the Reflection Pavilion. The suppression runes overloaded from something inside."
"Black mist?" one of them asked. "Like demonic energy?"
Mo nodded grimly.
"If we don't act soon, this... Liu Shen may rise beyond our control."
---
That Night – Liu Shen's Room
The room was dark once more.
Liu Shen sat quietly, eyes closed, breathing slow.
The Codex whispered again in the void of his mind.
"One layer undone. Nine remain. Shall I begin the second?"
Not yet, Liu Shen thought. The body must stabilize.
He opened his eyes.
They'll come for me soon. But let them. Let them all come.
For in the eyes of dragons… all others are but worms.
Outside, a cold wind blew.
Inside, the Sovereign prepared.