The Blood Pit was less of a tournament and more of a slaughterhouse floor. It was a massive, circular depression carved into the jagged obsidian of the sect's mountain base. The air down there didn't just smell of blood; it felt heavy, thick with the unrefined, vengeful energy of thousands who had died in the dirt.
Li Feng stood at the edge of the pit, his hood pulled low. Around him, the "trash" disciples of the Outer Circle were shivering, but he was busy doing a mental audit of the arena.
[System Status: Qi Condensation Level 2 (Peak).]
[Current Objective: Locate a 'High-Quality Battery' for Foundation Establishment breakthrough.]
[Warning: The next level of 'Rotting Bone' cultivation will cause total marrow liquefaction. Host requires a target with high physical vitality to survive the displacement.]
"Ladies and gentlemen of the mud," a voice boomed. A Sect Elder with eyes like yellowed parchment stood on a hovering bone-cloud above the pit. "The rules are simple. One hundred enter. Ten leave. The survivors get a week's worth of Spirit Pills. Begin."
There was no bell. Just a sudden, violent explosion of movement.
The Massacre
Li Feng didn't move. He stayed by the obsidian wall, watching the chaos. A disciple with a jagged rusted blade lunged at him, screaming in a desperate frenzy.
Li Feng didn't even draw a weapon. He used the Shadow-Sinking Step.
In the eyes of the crowd, Li Feng simply flickered like a candle in a breeze. The blade passed through empty air. Li Feng reappeared behind the boy and tapped a specific point on his spine.
[System: Minor 'Neural Shock' transferred. Target: Senior Brother Gu (Barracks).]
Three miles away in the infirmary, the sleeping Gu Yan suddenly jerked and fell off his bed, his legs paralyzed. In the pit, the disciple who had attacked Li Feng simply collapsed, his momentum carrying him face-first into the dirt.
Li Feng didn't kill him. Killing was a waste of resources. He needed "links."
"You there!" A roar shook the pit.
A massive disciple named Iron Bear stomped toward Li Feng. He was at the 3rd Level of Qi Condensation and practiced a body-tempering technique that made his skin look like dull lead. He was the perfect target—a massive reservoir of physical health.
"You're the one who's been making Gu Yan look like a shriveled prune, aren't you?" Iron Bear grinned, his teeth yellow. "I'll break your neck and take your spirit stones."
The High-IQ Trap
Li Feng looked up, his face a mask of calculated fear. "Please, Brother Bear. I have nothing. I'm just Level 2."
"Level 2? Then you're just a snack!" Iron Bear lunged, his fist glowing with a dull, heavy light.
Li Feng didn't dodge this time. He raised his arms in a "weak" block.
CRACK.
The sound of bones breaking echoed. The crowd cheered, expecting Li Feng's arms to be shattered. But Li Feng didn't even flinch.
[Warning: 500kg of force detected. Impact would result in shattered radius and ulna.]
[Displacing 100% of Kinetic Shock... Target: Iron Bear.]
Iron Bear's grin froze. He hadn't felt his fist hit anything solid; it felt like he had punched a void. Suddenly, his own forearm snapped. The bone pierced through his leaden skin. He screamed, clutching his ruined arm.
"What... what did you do?!"
"I told you," Li Feng whispered, stepping closer so only the giant could hear. His eyes were cold, devoid of any human warmth. "I have nothing. But you? You have so much health to give."
Li Feng placed a hand on Iron Bear's chest.
[System: Establishing 'Permanent Karmic Link'. Target 'Iron Bear' identified as Primary Battery.]
[Initiating: Breakthrough to Qi Condensation Level 3.]
The Breakthrough
Inside Li Feng, the Rotting Bone Breath went into overdrive. The energy was so violent that his own skin began to crack and smoke. This was the 'Price'—the breakthrough backlash that usually killed 40% of demonic disciples.
Li Feng felt a momentary surge of white-hot agony. Then, he sent it all across the link.
Iron Bear didn't just die. He began to smoke. His skin turned grey, then black, as if he were being cremated from the inside out. He stood there, frozen, his eyes wide with a terror that transcended physical pain.
[Level 3 Reached.]
[Marrow Refinement: 100%.]
[Target Status: Iron Bear has been 'Drained'. Vitality remaining: 5%. He is now your personal health insurance policy.]
Li Feng stood back, breathing perfectly. His aura had tripled in strength. Around him, the other disciples had stopped fighting, staring at the charred, breathing husk that used to be the strongest man in the Outer Circle.
Li Feng wiped a speck of soot from his robe.
"System," he thought. "Any more jokes?"
[System: Why did the Iron Bear cross the road? He didn't. He became a rechargeable battery. Ha. Ha. Ha.]
Li Feng looked at the Sect Elder on the bone-cloud. The Elder was leaning forward, his yellow eyes narrowing with newfound interest.
"The first survivor has appeared," the Elder croaked. "Li Feng... I will remember that name."
Li Feng bowed deeply, the perfect image of a humble, lucky disciple. Remember it well, old man, he thought. Eventually, your Golden Core will be the only thing keeping my Nascent Soul alive.