Lan Xin stared at Shi Yao, her icy blue eyes wide with genuine disbelief. The shock on her face was palpable, a stark contrast to the confident smirk she had worn just moments before. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but for a moment, no words came out. A subtle tightening of her jaw hinted at the annoyance simmering beneath the surface.
Finally, she took a deep breath, a hint of her earlier composure returning, though her surprise and a flicker of anger still lingered in her gaze. "...You... you actually survived that," she said, her voice softer than before, almost a whisper, with a slight edge to it.
A beat of silence hung in the air between them.
Then, Lan Xin let out a small sigh, a flicker of something that might have been grudging respect mixed with frustration in her eyes. She met Shi Yao's gaze, her expression now carefully neutral, though the set of her shoulders was a touch stiff.
"You have my acknowledgment," she said, her voice clear and carrying across the quieted arena. "A bet is a bet. I surrender."
There was a barely perceptible emphasis on the last word, perhaps betraying her displeasure.
With a decisive nod to the Overseer, who watched with keen interest, Lan Xin turned with a swift, almost sharp movement and gracefully stepped off the stage. Her posture remained elegant, but there was a certain rigidity in her spine as she walked away, a subtle indication that she wasn't entirely pleased with the outcome.
The crowd, who had been silent with anticipation, erupted into a mix of surprised murmurs and excited chatter.
They had not expected such a swift and somewhat anticlimactic end.
The crowd's initial surprise began to give way to excited chatter and varying levels of disbelief.
"Did she just lose to that guy?" one spectator blurted out, his voice filled with astonishment.
"I can't believe my eyes," another exclaimed, shaking his head. "Lan Xin actually lost! I never would have predicted that."
A more distraught voice rose above the general murmur, laced with utter despair. "No... no way! But I wagered everything on her victory! All my coins, my land... even my house!"
Nearby, his friends erupted in laughter, one clapping him on the shoulder with a wide grin. "Haha! Well, I guess now you're homeless, my friend!"
The arena was buzzing with the unexpected turn of events, all eyes now fixed on Shi Yao, who still stood on the stage, slightly disheveled but victorious.
Even as Lan Xin and Shi Yao's intense battle unfolded, other parts of the arena hosted their own dramatic clashes. On one stage, a burly young man wielding a massive earth-elemental hammer traded heavy blows with a nimble female fighter who moved like the wind, her attacks leaving trails of shimmering light. The ground around them was cracked and scarred from the force of their impacts.
Nearby, another match saw a slender youth locked in a tense standoff with an older, more experienced warrior. The air around them crackled with the energy of their spiritual power, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Sweat beaded on their foreheads as they tested each other's resolve.
In yet another section, a fierce battle was already over, with one participant kneeling in defeat while their opponent, bruised but victorious, stood panting, accepting the cheers of the crowd. The variety of fighting styles and elemental powers on display highlighted the diverse talents gathered for this competition.
It was amidst this vibrant atmosphere of ongoing battles that the Overseer, having observed the surprising conclusion of the fight between Lan Xin and Shi Yao, raised his hand to quiet the still-buzzing crowd. His voice, amplified by some unseen method, boomed across the arena.
"Silence!"
The chatter gradually died down, all eyes turning to the Overseer.
"The victor of the previous match is… Shi Yao!" he announced, his voice carrying a note of surprise despite his professional demeanor.
A fresh wave of murmurs rippled through the audience, some in agreement, others still processing the unexpected outcome. Shi Yao himself might have felt a mix of relief and exhaustion.
The Overseer continued, "The first round of matches has now concluded for today. The competition will resume tomorrow morning at the same time. All remaining participants are to prepare themselves for the next stage."
Later on at night, Shi Yao sat cross-legged atop the mountain, the faint glow of twilight haloing his silhouette. His arms rested on his knees, his posture serene as mist coiled around him like worshipping incense.
He slowly exhaled, breath weaving into the air, as though he were releasing more than just breath,memories, doubts, fears.
"So that's what a Foundation-stage cultivator is capable of…" he murmured inwardly. "If it weren't for the Heaven Devouring Pulse Art quietly nullifying Lan Xin's Glacial Shard Barrage, I'd be nothing but a frozen corpse."
The surrounding Qi responded to his thoughts like an obedient tide, flooding into him. It coursed through his veins with reverence, moving toward the broken remnants of his once-crippled meridians.
He was still, unnaturally so, as if the world itself dared not disturb his cultivation. The Qi within him no longer flowed,it churned, coiled, and whispered secrets beyond mortal comprehension.
Then, it struck.
A subtle crack echoed,not through stone or bone, but through the stillness of his very soul. The invisible barrier he had been pressing against for weeks gave way. His vision dimmed at the edges, not from fatigue, but from expansion,like a lantern too small for the flame it now contained.
Within his dantian, threads of Qi twisted into a spiral, folding inwards.
A whirlpool, seed-like and furious, formed at the center. It wasn't the Inner Sea, not yet,but its silhouette shimmered in the depths. The promise of it throbbed with every breath he took. For the first time, the Qi within him stirred toward the world beyond his flesh.
The boundary between self and sky thinned.
A faint pressure exuded from him, uninvited but undeniable. The insects of the forest fell silent. The wind no longer brushed past,it circled him, reverent, wary.
His aura,wild, embryonic,had awakened.
Shi Yao's eyes opened.
They shimmered with a dangerous clarity, like tempered steel beneath moonlight.
He clenched his fist and opened it slowly. "So this is Pseudo-Foundation…" he whispered. "A faint illusion of Spiritual Qi is formed in the dantian. One must slowly refine it to a true sea to reach Foundation Establishment. I'm getting closer..."
He stood before a towering boulder and exhaled. One step forward. One clenched fist. One sudden blow.
Boom.
The stone erupted into fragments, dust clouding the air. The debris fell like rain.
"If this is the strength of Pseudo-Foundation," he thought, "then how overwhelming must true Foundation be?"
The next morning, the Celestial Wind Sect's outer competition reached its climax.
The arena groaned under the weight of spectators. Murmurs buzzed like insects, suppressed anticipation ready to burst into cheer or terror. The four sect elders sat in high-backed jade chairs, observing with unreadable gazes.
"The next match: Shi Yao versus Zi Hao," the announcer's voice rang out.
A hush fell.
Shi Yao landed lightly, the soles of his boots kissing the stone tiles with reverence. His black and gold robe swayed like a storm held in place. His dark hair flowed freely, catching motes of light.
Zi Hao descended with less grace, a crooked grin on his lips. "What a coincidence," he sneered. "The heavens must truly want you dead."
"You talk too big for someone who's going to lose," Shi Yao replied, his smirk razor-sharp.
The battle began.
Zi Hao launched fire bursts, flaming projectiles that hissed through the air. Shi Yao kept his hands behind his back, stepping aside like a shadow weaving between blades of light.
"What's wrong?" he asked mockingly. "Did you skip breakfast? Your attacks seem... slow and weak."
Zi Hao lost all composure, unleashing a furious barrage of flames. Shi Yao danced forward through the chaos, his body like flowing silk,untouchable, confident.
Zi Hao panicked.
"Impossible! Am I going to lose to this trash I once stepped on like a worm?!"
"No! There's no way,!"
A punch interrupted his denial.
It landed cleanly on his face, sending him flying across the arena. His body slammed into the wall, a crater forming behind him.
"Winner: Shi Yao!" the announcer declared.
Gasps filled the stands. Silence followed. Then a murmur, then a roar.
One by one, the remaining matches unfolded. As the sun reached its zenith, only one remained.
Shi Yao versus Hao Tian.
Moments before the final battle, the two met beneath the looming shadow of the arena's stone arch.
"Hey, man," Hao Tian said, arms crossed over his broad chest. "I saw your matches. Not bad. Hope you won't fall too easily."
"Lose?" Shi Yao smiled. "Who said I'm here to lose? I plan to win."
Hao Tian's brow furrowed. "Don't get your hopes high kid since you'll still lose later on."
"We'll see then," Shi Yao replied.
The clock struck noon. The sky hung still, the midday sun casting sharp shadows across the arena floor.
Shi Yao landed first, his descent as light as a falling leaf.
Moments later, Hao Tian followed, his landing more forceful, the impact sending a small tremor through the stone.
"Time to see what a Body Refinement cultivator's made of," Shi Yao muttered, a flicker of anticipation in his eyes as he cracked his knuckles.
The two approached each other, their gazes locking. An invisible line of tension stretched between them, thick with unspoken challenge.
Then, it happened.
A vibrant green aura erupted from Shi Yao, raw and untamed, pulsing with a feral energy. From Hao Tian, a dense, golden-yellow radiance flared, earthy and grounded, exuding an almost physical pressure.
The two forces slammed into each other in the air, not with a gentle touch, but with the force of colliding titans, unleashing shockwaves that sent sand and dust spiraling upwards, and smaller debris dancing in the turbulent air.
The very ground beneath their feet cracked under the immense pressure.
A sect elder in the VIP section reacted instantly, his hand flashing with a swift motion. A translucent barrier of shimmering energy expanded rapidly, enveloping the entire arena. He murmured a quiet incantation, "This kids aura's are dangerous without containment…" his gaze fixed intently on the unfolding battle.
In the crowd, Li Rong's eyes widened in disbelief, her hand flying to her mouth. "Brother…? But he couldn't even cultivate before… When,how…?" Confusion and astonishment warred on her face.
Shi Yao and Hao Tian moved simultaneously, their initial clash a prelude to the storm that was about to break.
Their fists met in a brutal, bone-jarring collision.
Boom!
A deafening shockwave tore through the arena, ripping through the air like an invisible blade. Stones cracked and tiles burst outwards from the point of impact as the ground beneath them fractured into a spiderweb of fissures. For a fleeting moment, the sky above seemed to warp and bend under the sheer force of their power.
The two combatants were blasted backward by the force of their exchange, sliding along the ravaged arena floor, gouging deep furrows into the stone.
Shi Yao clenched his fist, a raw, emerald energy crackling around it like caged lightning straining against its bonds. "So the rumors are true. Body Refiners coat themselves in an aura that makes them nearly invulnerable. Breaking through that golden shield will be troublesome," he thought, his eyes narrowed in focus.
Hao Tian, too, was reeling from the impact, his golden aura flickering momentarily. "That punch… too strong. This kid's nowhere near ordinary. How did someone like this escape my attention during the preliminaries?" His brow furrowed in frustrated surprise.
They launched themselves at each other again,and again, a furious whirlwind of motion. Fists collided with sickening thuds, each impact sending shockwaves rippling through the barrier. Their movements became blurs of green and gold, too fast for the naked eye to fully track. They weaved and darted across the arena, their battle painting chaotic lines of light as they moved in concentric circles, each trying to gain the upper hand.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With each earth-shattering impact, debris shot skyward like miniature volcanic eruptions. The crowd was on its feet, roaring its excitement and disbelief.
When the smoke from another massive clash cleared momentarily, everyone saw the extent of their destructive power: the arena's stone floor was now carved with glowing green and yellow trails,like battle lines burned deep into the earth by raw power.
They circled each other warily in expanding rings, weaving an intricate and terrifying pattern that none among the spectators could decipher.
The crowd erupted in a cacophony of shouts.
"Who are these two?!"
"I thought Lan Xin was the monster—what are they?!"
"They said Shi Yao was a cripple! What is going on?!"
Within the swirling dust storm kicked up by their relentless assault, Shi Yao suddenly leapt upward, using the chaotic environment to his advantage.
Hao Tian reacted instantly, his senses honed by years of rigorous training, and launched a powerful, golden-infused punch that aimed to intercept Shi Yao midair. The blow connected, sending Shi Yao rocketing skyward with a grunt of pain. But Shi Yao, demonstrating an unexpected level of agility and control, twisted his body in midair, using the momentum of the blow to propel himself towards the edge of the energy barrier.
He landed lightly, momentarily clinging to the shimmering surface before launching himself downwards like a verdant meteor. His fist, now crackling with focused green energy, crashed into Hao Tian's chest with devastating force, planting the larger youth into the ground with a resounding THUD. Debris flew skyward in a violent geyser of dust and shattered stone.
Shi Yao landed gracefully atop the prone form of Hao Tian, his fists a blur of motion, pounding down relentlessly, each strike precise and calculated.
"Sturdy barrier…" he thought, his knuckles white as they slammed against Hao Tian's golden aura. "But even the strongest stone wears down under a constant assault."
For what felt like an eternity, though it was likely only two frantic minutes, Shi Yao's fists fell like thunder, each blow echoing through the stunned silence of the arena. Cracks began to appear in Hao Tian's protective aura, spiderwebbing outwards from the point of impact.
Crack!
Finally, with a final, desperate surge of power, Shi Yao's punch broke through the weakening golden barrier.
Hao Tian's head rocked violently back, a spray of blood erupting from his mouth as his eyes rolled upwards.
"I surrender!" he gasped, his voice choked with pain and defeat. "It's my loss!"
As soon as the words left his lips, the sect elder dropped the energy barrier. The crowd, who had been holding their breath in stunned silence, erupted into an absolute frenzy of cheers, gasps, and excited shouts.
Medics rushed into the arena, their faces grim as they assessed Hao Tian's condition.
"Every bone in his upper arms shattered!" a senior medic barked, his voice urgent. "We need full restorative procedures,now!"
Hao Tian was quickly but carefully carried off the stage on a stretcher, his body limp and broken. The four sect elders in the VIP section whispered among themselves, their expressions a mixture of shock and intrigue.
Shi Yao stood alone in the center of the ravaged arena. His black and gold robes were torn in several places, his dark hair tousled and plastered to his sweat-soaked forehead, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he drew in deep breaths.
But his eyes, cold and clear, gazed beyond the cheering crowd, a distant look in their depths.
Somewhere far beyond the confines of this competition, something profound had stirred within him, a new level of understanding and power reached.
He had won.
But in that moment, as the echoes of the crowd's roar washed over him, the victory felt like only a footnote, a single step on a much longer and more challenging path.