The mission alert stayed glowing on Lin Xuan's wall screen, the text pulsing like a heartbeat.
[Arena Challenge: Accepted Match]Opponent: Song Renshu — Rank 19, Core Division.Time: 24 Hours. Mandatory Attendance.Penalty for Forfeit: Arena privileges revoked, disciplinary review triggered.
Lin Xuan leaned back in his chair.
Song Renshu.
He remembered the name now. A prodigy born into one of the Eight Pillar Sects. In this new era, he was the kind of cultivator who was raised on legacy techniques, media training, and rare elixirs from birth.
But what caught Lin Xuan's attention wasn't the name.
It was the intent behind the challenge.
This wasn't random.
This was a message.
Elsewhere in the Core Division's upper dorms, Song Renshu was surrounded by followers—each wearing the uniform of the Golden Jade Pavilion, an elite sub-sect operating within Blackthorn Academy.
He was tall, clean-cut, with a posture too perfect to be natural. His hair was tied into a precise knot, and his spiritual robes shimmered faintly with embedded nanoweave threads—a fusion of ancient craft and cutting-edge technology.
"This Shen Yi is rising too fast," one of his followers said.
Renshu didn't look up from the screen replaying Lin Xuan's previous match.
"I'm not worried about his rise," Renshu said. "I'm worried about how he's doing it."
Another added, "The techniques aren't from any of the public curriculum. They're too refined. It's like watching a manual written for the old world."
"Exactly," Renshu replied. "He's hiding something. And whatever it is, it's not meant for these halls."
"So you'll humiliate him publicly?"
Renshu finally looked up.
"No," he said. "I'll test him."
He smiled.
"If he breaks, we discard him. If he survives... we watch who reaches for him."
That morning, the academy's social network lit up again.
[Breaking] Song Renshu issues open challenge to Shen Yi. Match scheduled at Dawnlight Arena.Combat Department administrators confirmed. Live-stream enabled. Core Division access only.
Comments exploded within minutes.
@cultivation_goddess: omg it's happening already???@iceflowfreak: if Shen Yi beats Renshu I'll literally eat a Qi stone.@blackthornbot: bet your spirit roots he won't even last 3 minutes lmao.
Inside the training halls, dozens of students prepared to spectate.
And at the heart of it all—Lin Xuan sat alone, tying his robe with steady fingers.
He looked in the mirror.
Not at the student named Shen Yi.
But at the ghost who once stood at the peak of the cultivation world.
"I'm not who you remember," he muttered. "But I'm no longer who I used to be, either."
He stepped into the light.
Dawnlight Arena was different from the smaller dueling rings. It stood open-roofed in the middle of a floating stone platform above the lake, with tiered viewing stands and holographic projectors surrounding every angle. Spiritual inscriptions floated in the air, both as aesthetic decor and surveillance.
Hundreds gathered. Core students. Professors. Even external scouts from private factions, invited by the academy to watch high-stakes matches.
Song Renshu stood in the center already, arms behind his back, eyes closed in meditation.
The moment Lin Xuan stepped onto the platform, a hush fell across the stands.
One moment of silence.
Then the officiator stepped forward.
"Per academy combat regulation, this is a high-authority formal match between ranked Core cultivators. Both parties have signed their consent. Winner receives three ranking tiers and official recognition. Begin on signal."
A golden flame ignited between them.
Lin Xuan met Renshu's gaze.
"Testing me?" he asked.
Renshu smirked. "Trying to figure out if you're worth recruiting or removing."
The flame blinked out.
And the fight began.
Renshu moved first. He didn't waste time posturing.
His foot slammed down—and the entire platform trembled.
[Thundering Step – Golden Earth Style]
A wave of compressed force tore forward, the tiles rippling like liquid from sheer pressure.
Lin Xuan blurred sideways, the strike missing him by a hair. He twisted midair, rebounding from the edge of the ring with a single toe tap and slammed his palm into the ground.
The counterforce launched him back into melee range before Renshu even finished his second technique.
Their fists met in a thunderous clap.
Shockwaves rippled outward.
To the spectators, it looked like a clash between two beasts in perfect sync.
But Lin Xuan felt it.
Renshu was trained. Polished. Perfect.
But… predictable.
The power behind his strikes was cultivated, not lived. His breath control, his footwork, even the micro-adjustments in his muscle tension—all were refined by a teacher's instruction, not the desperate hunger of survival.
Lin Xuan shifted his weight, redirecting a heavy blow by two inches.
Just enough to slide under Renshu's arm.
His palm found Renshu's ribs.
A direct hit.
But Renshu twisted—and armor beneath his robe absorbed the brunt of it.
Modern spiritual armor.
Cheap.
But effective.
Renshu skidded back, smirking. "That would've killed a Foundation student."
"It would've killed you too," Lin Xuan said, "if you weren't protected by tech toys."
Renshu laughed. "Welcome to the real world."
He drew two fingers across his arm—and a spiritual circuit lit up along the sleeve.
[Array Unseal: Eight-Fold Crescent Style]
Eight golden crescents of energy spiraled out from his back, forming into a whirling shield around him.
The crowd gasped.
"That's a Platinum-tier defensive formation!"
"No way! Isn't that from the Heavenbound Archives?"
Lin Xuan watched it calmly.
"That's how you want to play?"
His body lowered.
His palm touched the ground.
For a moment, everything went quiet.
Then the arena groaned—as if ancient metal gears turned beneath it.
Lines of energy spiraled out beneath Lin Xuan's feet.
Not projected.
Not summoned.
But drawn from within him.
"Forbidden Palm Style: Meridian Cutter – Third Variation."
He moved.
And vanished.
One instant, Renshu's barrier spun confidently. The next—three of the eight crescents shattered.
The fourth cracked.
The fifth blinked out.
Renshu stumbled, shocked, eyes wide. "What—?!"
Lin Xuan appeared behind him, palm extended.
He hadn't even struck the body.
He'd hit the formation nodes.
Precisely.
Surgically.
Like a cultivator who designed such techniques, not merely learned them.
Renshu gritted his teeth, spun, and struck with all his force.
Lin Xuan let the punch land.
It slammed into his shoulder—but he didn't move.
He stared straight into Renshu's eyes.
"That all?"
The crowd fell into stunned silence.
Then—
"STOP!"
The officiator raised both hands.
"Match complete. Winner: Shen Yi."
Gasps echoed.
People stood up.
Others simply stared.
Song Renshu was panting. Sweat rolled down his brow.
Lin Xuan?
He simply lowered his hand.
And walked away.
In the stands, several observers remained seated.
One, a robed elder with a spiritual jade around his wrist, activated a concealed communicator.
"Get me the chairman," he whispered. "We may have a prodigy beyond the standard ranking system."
Another, a woman with gold tattoos down her arms, smiled faintly.
"Looks like we found something very interesting."
Back in his room, Lin Xuan sat once more in the silence.
He had passed another test.
They were coming faster now.
More eyes.
More attention.
But none of them knew the truth.
This wasn't his peak.
This wasn't even close.
He looked at the glowing seal on his arm.
Three more meridian gates to open.
One forgotten manual to restore.
And a world that still didn't know he had returned.
He closed his eyes.
And began the next phase of his cultivation.