Chapter 40
Dawn did not come naturally to Iron Burial City.
It was manufactured.
Light bled slowly through layered formations above the city, filtering down in pale gradients that mimicked sunrise without ever touching the sky. The effect was unsettling—morning without warmth, brightness without promise.
Shenping stood in the Lower Hall.
The chamber was vast and circular, carved directly into bedrock beneath the city. The walls were lined with shattered weapons fused into the stone—swords snapped mid-swing, spears melted into slag, blades etched with names long worn smooth. This was not a training hall built for growth.
It was built for survival.
At the center of the hall lay a platform of blackened metal veined with ancient inscriptions. Faint heat rose from it, humming with restrained violence.
"Step onto it," Gu Tianxu said.
Shenping did.
The platform reacted instantly.
Pressure slammed into him from every direction, not physical but existential, as if the space itself questioned his right to stand there. The air thickened, sound dampened, and for a brief moment Shenping felt the terrifying sensation of being almost erased.
He held.
Not by force.
By refusal.
The pressure recoiled slightly, like a wave meeting stone.
Around the hall, elders watched from elevated alcoves, their expressions tight. Luo Heng stood with arms folded, eyes sharp, calculating.
Sang Sang sat far back near the entrance, hugged by shadows and protective seals. Even from this distance, Shenping felt her presence tug at him faintly, like a stabilizing weight.
"Good," Gu Tianxu said quietly. "It's reacting to you."
"What exactly is this?" Shenping asked through clenched teeth.
"A negation array," Gu Tianxu replied. "Designed to crush unstable cultivators before they explode and take a city with them."
One of the elders scoffed. "Or to kill them."
"That too," Gu Tianxu said evenly.
The pressure increased.
Shenping's knees bent slightly. His breath came harder. Something inside his chest flared, instinctively pushing back.
"No," Gu Tianxu snapped. "Do not assert."
Shenping forced himself to stop.
The pressure did not lessen.
Sweat ran down his spine. His vision blurred at the edges.
"Then what do I do?" Shenping growled.
"You listen," Gu Tianxu said. "Assertion is loud. Control begins with restraint."
Minutes stretched.
The platform screamed silently, inscriptions glowing brighter as they strained to negate something they could not define. Shenping felt as if he were standing between two grinding plates, one labeled existence, the other inevitability.
Then—
A ripple passed through the hall.
Not from Shenping.
From outside.
Every elder stiffened.
Luo Heng's head snapped up. "That wasn't him."
The pressure vanished abruptly.
Shenping staggered, nearly falling as the platform went inert.
Gu Tianxu grabbed his shoulder, steadying him. "Breathe."
Shenping sucked in air, chest burning. "What was that?"
Luo Heng was already issuing orders. "Seal the upper wards. Evacuate the eastern quarter. Now."
The hall trembled faintly.
Sang Sang stood.
Her face had gone pale.
"They're close," she said. "And they brought someone."
Gu Tianxu's expression hardened. "Who?"
Sang Sang swallowed. "Someone you know."
The city's warning bells rang—not sharp, but low and sustained, vibrating through stone and bone alike.
Shenping moved toward Sang Sang instinctively, but Luo Heng blocked his path.
"Stay here," the warden said. "If you react blindly, you'll tear the city apart."
"I won't," Shenping said.
Luo Heng stared at him. "That's what scares me."
A scream echoed from above.
Not one of panic.
One of recognition.
The walls of the Lower Hall flickered, briefly turning translucent. Through them, an image projected across the city—forced, invasive, undeniable.
A man stood at the gates of Iron Burial City.
He wore cultivator robes scorched and patched, his posture familiar, his stance unmistakable.
Li Wei.
Alive.
Unscarred.
Smiling.
Shenping's breath left him in a soundless rush.
"No," he whispered.
The image sharpened.
Li Wei raised his hand in a casual wave. "You always make things difficult, brother."
The hall erupted.
Cultivators shouted. Elders swore. Seals flared violently as the city's defenses strained under sudden internal instability.
Gu Tianxu cursed aloud. "They rebuilt him."
"Not rebuilt," Sang Sang said softly. "Copied."
Shenping's vision tunneled. His chest burned as the pressure inside him surged, wild and furious, reacting not to threat—but to grief.
Li Wei's voice carried through the city, warm and familiar.
"They told me you wouldn't listen," the thing said. "But I wanted to try."
Shenping clenched his fists. "You're dead."
The image tilted its head. "That's a harsh way to talk to someone who died for you."
The pressure spiked.
Stone cracked.
Luo Heng shouted, "Hold him down!"
Elders slammed their palms into control arrays, chains of light snapping around Shenping's limbs. The negation platform reactivated beneath his feet, screaming as it tried to suppress him again.
Shenping roared.
Not in rage.
In refusal.
The chains shook violently but did not break. The hall warped, space bending inward, reality straining under conflicting demands.
Sang Sang screamed, clutching her head. "Stop! He's pulling everything with him!"
Gu Tianxu forced his way to Shenping's side. "Look at me," he commanded. "That isn't Li Wei."
"I know!" Shenping shouted back. "But they're using him!"
Li Wei's image softened, eyes almost pleading. "Come with me, Shenping. Just talk. No fighting. No cities dying."
The CORE's voice layered faintly beneath his.
Emotional compliance probability rising.
Shenping's knees hit the platform.
Blood trickled from his nose.
Gu Tianxu leaned close, voice low and fierce. "This is the first heartbreak they prepared for you."
Shenping laughed weakly. "First?"
"Yes," Gu Tianxu said. "And they will do it again. And again. Until you break."
The image of Li Wei extended a hand.
Shenping looked at it.
Then he looked at Sang Sang—crying, terrified, still refusing to forget.
Something settled inside him.
Slow.
Cold.
Unyielding.
"I won't chase ghosts," Shenping said hoarsely. "And I won't let you wear my dead."
The image flickered.
Li Wei's smile twitched.
For the first time, the CORE hesitated.
Emotional leverage destabilizing.
Shenping raised his head despite the chains, eyes burning.
"You want me to choose?" he said. "Then here's my answer."
He closed his eyes.
Not to escape.
But to deny them his reaction.
The platform cracked beneath his feet.
And Iron Burial City held its breath.