The gorge blazed red as Qiu Ran's second talisman ignited. The runes pulsed like veins of molten fire, heat rolling outward in suffocating waves. Stone cracked beneath the surge of power.
Disciples staggered back, shielding their eyes. Wu Ming's teeth chattered even as sweat poured down his face.
"Senior Brother… that thing could roast a bull whole!"
Qiu Ran's laughter echoed, wild and triumphant. "This time, not even your tricks will save you. Burn and vanish, Lin Xuan!"
He hurled the talisman forward. A tidal wave of fire qi surged, swallowing the gorge in crimson.
Lin Xuan's Breaking Point
Lin Xuan's knees trembled. His qi reserves were nearly empty, his wounds aching with every breath.
[System Alert: Qi insufficient for defense. Recommend evasive action.]
Evasion meant abandoning the disciples at his back. It meant running while the weak burned.
His fingers clenched the spear tighter. No. If I flee, I lose myself. If I strike, even at the edge of death, I am still Lin Xuan.
He inhaled, blood dripping from his lips. "System… override. Force fusion."
[Warning: Fusion unstable. Risk of backlash – meridian collapse, permanent injury.]
"Do it."
[System Command Accepted.][Fusion Protocol: Triple Overlay Initiated.]
Techniques flared in his mind: Crane Step, Gale Slash, Stone Palm. They twisted, overlapping, refusing to align. Pain lanced through his meridians, white-hot and tearing.
[System Notice: Fusion incomplete. Efficiency unstable – 68%. Warning: Backlash probability 74%.]
Lin Xuan's vision blurred, but his grip steadied. He forced his qi into the weave, holding the chaos together with sheer will.
Spear, step, strike — three arts in one impossible form.
The tidal fire bore down. Lin Xuan roared, the first sound of raw defiance tearing from his throat. His spear thrust forward, carrying the weight of storm, stone, and flight.
Qi exploded outward. The unstable fusion ripped the air apart, twisting into a spiraling spear of wind and stone wrapped in a jagged storm of flame.
When the two forces collided, the gorge itself shuddered. Fire shrieked against storm, stone shattered, wind howled. Disciples were thrown to the ground, shielding themselves from the shockwave.
The Alpha's corpse was consumed in the blast, black blood vaporizing into steam.
When the light faded, Lin Xuan stood swaying, spear planted in the stone like his last anchor to the world. Blood dripped steadily from his arm, his chest, the corners of his mouth.
But he was alive.
The talisman's fire had been torn apart. Qiu Ran stumbled back, disbelief etched across his face. "Impossible… no one… no cripple could…"
The disciples stared, wide-eyed, trembling. The timid girl whispered, "He… he broke a Core talisman."
Zhao Kun's lips parted, hatred and awe warring in his eyes. Wu Ming leapt up, pointing dramatically. "Behold! Senior Brother Lin, breaker of wolves, slayer of fire scrolls! Fear his spear, fear his stomach, fear everything!"
Lin Xuan's spear slipped in his grip. His knees nearly buckled. Inside, his meridians screamed, qi lines scorched by the forced fusion. Pain gnawed like fire ants under his skin.
[System Alert: Host meridians damaged. Recommend immediate recovery. Warning: Overuse of forced fusion will shorten lifespan.]
Lin Xuan exhaled slowly, steadying himself. So even miracles demand blood.
But his gaze never left Qiu Ran, who still clutched the fragments of his broken plan.
The gorge was silent but for the hiss of cooling stone. Every disciple present now knew: Lin Xuan was no cripple, no lucky survivor. He was something else entirely.
Qiu Ran's face twisted into fury. He tore yet another talisman free, his last, its glow even darker, heavier. "Then die for real, Lin Xuan!"
Lin Xuan straightened, though his body screamed. His calm eyes met Qiu Ran's with the weight of mountains.
The next blow would decide everything.