Ren would have been perfectly happy if those two months had gone on forever.
Cultivating. Testing the edges of his Dao. Burying more Heavenly Demon Lotus lines under Divine Phoenix Island's skin, sinking modified Heretical God Force loops into the Seven Profound Martial House's foundation… and then, when he was done pretending to be a serious person, dragging whichever woman he caught into his arms beneath the old flame tree.
Unfortunately, the world had other ideas.
More precisely—Murong Zi did.
One afternoon, as sea wind rolled over Divine Phoenix Island and Vermillion Bird flames danced lazily over distant practice fields, she kicked open the courtyard gate where Ren and Qin Xingxuan were quietly cultivating.
"Ren!" she called, hands on her hips, eyes sparkling with mischief and battle intent both. "I've decided something."
Ren lounged on a stone bench beneath the flame tree, one arm propped behind him. His other hand rested lightly on Qin Xingxuan's back, guiding a lotus circulation through her meridians. At Murong Zi's shout, he opened one eye.
"Yeah?" His voice was lazy, warm. "Hit me."
Murong Zi strode in like she owned the courtyard, spear across her shoulders, ponytail swaying.
"We've been cultivating like lunatics," she said. "If we keep hiding on the island, the world's going to think our names are just rumors."
Qin Xingxuan's lips trembled, the hint of a smile slipping out before she forced her expression flat again.
"Oh?" Ren drawled. "And what's your grand plan"
"The Five Element Region," Murong Zi declared.
Ren faintly smiled, disdain evident in his eyes. "Thundercrest Sect, Deep Earth Sect, Storm Valley, Sunfire Sect, Arctic Ice Palace, Verdant Wood Sect, Golden Bell Mountain—that bunch?"
Murong Zi nodded hard.
"Those seven have been arrogant for years," she said. "Their martial artists think their single-attribute Laws are invincible. They look down on Seven Profound Martial House, call Sky Fortune Kingdom a backwater. They've even poked at Divine Phoenix Island a few times."
Her eyes flashed.
"So." She jabbed her thumb at her own chest, then swung it toward the other girls nearby. Bai Jingyun sat with her sword across her lap, eyes closed in quiet focus. Na Yi and Na Shui stood a little apart, bare hands loose at their sides, meridians humming faintly with the modified Chaotic Virtues Combat Meridians. Qin Xingxuan knelt by Ren's side, spear resting against her shoulder, Azure True Dragon bloodline sleeping under her skin.
"I'll take the girls," Murong Zi announced. "In the name of Divine Phoenix Island and Seven Profound Martial House, we go to the Five Element Region. We challenge their so-called geniuses one by one. Shake up that place so hard they remember how our names sound in their nightmares."
Na Yi nodded, expression solemn, eyes clear. Na Shui's lips curved in a wolfish grin, hand flexing as if already gripping a blade. Bai Jingyun's gaze opened, steady and deep; the light in her eyes was the one that only ever appeared when she stood on a battlefield.
Qin Xingxuan hesitated.
Her fingers brushed the shaft of her spear. The lotuses Ren had carved into her meridians glowed faintly in her perception, the Heavenly Demon Lotus drinking in grandmist threads, teaching her body how to carry a future far beyond Houtian. The Azure True Dragon Infinity Seed in her blood pulsed once, calm and steady.
"…I'm going too," she said softly. She lifted her spear and stood, slim back straightening like drawn steel. "After you've given us this path, hiding would be shameful."
Ren watched them in silence for a moment.
Murong Zi with her wildfire smile and reckless courage. Bai, quiet like a drawn sword hidden in its sheath. Na Yi and Na Shui, the twin storms of fist and blade he'd thrown into the Chaos of his modified meridians. Qin Xingxuan, the girl who had once stood on a tiny arena in Sky Fortune Kingdom and now carried a seed that could face stars.
Amusement and pride mingled in his gaze.
"Big ambitions," he said at last, laughing under his breath. "I can work with that."
He stretched, joints cracking with an easy series of pops, then fixed Murong Zi with a look.
"Cause as much chaos as you want," he told them. "If a sect can't handle being shaken by a few Houtian girls, that's their problem. Step on whoever needs stepping on."
Murong Zi's grin split wide. "That's the answer I wanted."
"But," Ren went on, his tone cooling, smile thinning, "if anyone really gets troublesome—"
The courtyard's warmth shifted.
"If they hide behind 'status' or numbers," he said, voice light but cold under the surface. "If they dare reach for your lives instead of their pride…"
He smiled again.
It was not the same smile his women knew when they stole naps under this tree.
This one was calm. Cruel. As if the idea of wiping out a sect was a small chore to slot between afternoon tea and evening cultivation.
"…I'll flatten their mountain," he finished, as if he were commenting on the weather. "From the foundation up. So don't hold back because you're worried about consequences."
Silence fell.
Qin Xingxuan's heart thumped against her ribs. Murong Zi's skin prickled—not with fear, but with the kind of thrill that made battle addicts grin.
Bai Jingyun exhaled a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
"In that case," she said quietly, "we'll make sure to bring back something worthy of you."
At the edge of the courtyard, Mu Qianyu and Mu Bingyun watched, flame-robed and snow-robed sisters standing side by side. Somewhere above them, Divine Phoenix Island's arrays pulsed along the Heavenly Demon Lotus lines Ren had carved.
Mu Qianyu's phoenix eyes softened.
"Let them go," she murmured. "If they don't swing their swords under real pressure, this new road will never truly sink into their bones."
Mu Bingyun nodded, her aura cool but gaze earnest. "I'll arrange several elders to follow," she said. "Not to interfere. Just to stop any sect from doing something truly foolish."
Ren shrugged, utterly unconcerned.
"As long as they don't get in the way," he said. "These girls don't need babysitters. They need targets."
Two days later, five streaks of phoenix flame shot out from Divine Phoenix Island, banners trailing behind them. Revolving Core elders in Vermillion Bird robes followed at a measured distance, their flames restrained but ready.
The Five Element Region had no idea what was about to land on its head.
...
The Five Element Region sat at the western edge of the South Sea, a land where heaven and earth origin energy did not mix kindly.
Here, the world had been peeled apart.
Thunder gathered into crackling plains where bolts crawled lazily along the ground. Molten rivers cut across scorched valleys, their heat twisting the air. Endless forests grew so thick with wood Law that even ordinary trees carried a faint spiritual glow; fields of metal sand glimmered with sharp, murderous intent. Ice peaks rose like spears, each breath drawn on those mountains tasting of water Law compressed to the brink.
Over countless generations, seven fourth-grade sects had risen atop those single-attribute fields: Thundercrest Sect, Deep Earth Sect, Storm Valley, Sunfire Sect, Arctic Ice Palace, Verdant Wood Sect, Golden Bell Mountain.
In the old world, Divine Phoenix Island had viewed itself as roughly equal to these seven—perhaps a little higher due to its ancient heritage and dual Phoenix bloodlines, but not overwhelmingly so.
In this world, with Heavenly Demon Lotus lines pulsing under its foundations and Ren Ming's Dao pressing quietly against the sky, that equation had changed.
Murong Zi and the others didn't bother with subtlety.
They flew openly to each sect's mountain gate, Divine Phoenix banners fluttering high. The elders escorting them remained in the clouds, flames tucked in their sleeves, their expressions calm, watchful.
Murong Zi would step forward.
Bai Jingyun. Qin Xingxuan. Na Yi. Na Shui.
Five Houtian auras walked to the center of each sect's grand plaza as if strolling through their own back yard.
They always used polite, properly phrased challenge letters.
Their actions were anything but polite.
...
Sunfire Mountain burned against the sky, forests of maple trees waving like tongues of scarlet flame. Rivers of molten rock flowed down the slopes, Fire Law so thick in the air that every breath tasted of ash and heat.
Sunfire sect's disciples lined the cliffs, true essence blazing. Their top core disciple, robes crimson, stepped forward with flames in his eyes.
"My Sunfire Sect specializes in controlling flame," he said coldly. "You dare come here with borrowed Fire to show off?"
Murong Zi rolled her shoulder, spear resting against her back. The lotus imprints on her meridians stirred, Heavenly Demon Lotus quietly tugging on Fire origin energy from every direction. Her Fire Seed pulsed, threads of red-gold Law winding around her bones.
"I heard your flames are impressive," she said, lips curling. "So I brought a candle. Let me see if your 'sea of fire' can put it out."
The duel was short.
The top core disciple's flames roared, drawing on the molten rivers, turning the entire arena into a furnace. Fire Law compressed, stacked, detonated in waves.
Murong Zi's spear thrust once.
Her Fire Martial Intent, that red-gold rune-wheel hovering faintly behind her, spun. Within its field, Sunfire Sect's flame didn't blaze outward—it shrank. Compressed. Purified.
His sea of fire collapsed into a thin, needle-like stream wrapped around her spearhead, stolen and reforged. Heaven-Piercing comprehension folded space along the shortest line between her will and his chest.
The spear passed through.
His Fire Laws shattered first.
Then his protective true essence.
He flew backward, spitting blood, his fire dimming to embers. The Sunfire elders' faces twisted; the Revolving Core elder behind Murong Zi didn't move, hands still clasped behind his back.
...
At Arctic Ice Palace, snow fell from a clear sky. Ice peaks rose, translucent and perfect, every flake of frost carrying refined Water and Ice Laws. The palace disciples had always believed their control over cold to be unmatched, superior even to Divine Phoenix Island's ice branch.
Their chief disciple drew out glacial chains that had never known defeat in the Five Element Region. She stepped onto the ice arena, aura spreading, the ground freezing in concentric rings.
Bai Jingyun answered with a single sword.
No fancy flourish. Just a quiet draw.
Her blade fell.
Her sword moved like clear water running over stone, yet every droplet dragged Fire, Wind, and Thunder Laws along its edge, compressed and hidden. Her Sword Concept hummed; Heavenly Demon Lotus imprints made the environment's Ice Laws feel sluggish, as if wading through grandmist.
The "unbreakable" ice chains shattered like glass. The chief disciple's proud defense split down the center, the crack carrying all the way back through her dantian, shaking her Dao Heart.
Bai Jingyun sheathed her sword in the same breath.
She didn't say a word.
...
Deep Earth Sect's territory was an endless field of layered soil and stone, Earth Law thick as mud. Here, the ground itself could shift like a living beast under a thought from the sect master.
Na Yi walked barefoot onto their arena.
She clenched her fists, took a slow breath.
Heaven-Piercing Elemental Canon footwork slid under her steps; each stride folded the space between her and Earth essence. Her modified Heretical God Force circulations spun, Fire, Wind, Thunder, and newly budding Earth seeds humming in harmony.
Earth fields rose against her. Hills swelled, stone pillars shot up like spears, the entire arena turning into a crushing, grinding maw.
Na Yi's fists fell.
Heaven-Piercing Martial Intent in her blows compressed the element she struck—the heavy earth essence she faced was squeezed, its structure simplified, then punched apart. Space folded under her footwork so that every step landed on the precise weakest node of Deep Earth's formations.
From the stands, it looked absurd.
Earth waves surging like mountains—
—and a Houtian girl tearing through them as if punching holes in paper walls.
...
Verdant Wood Sect's forests were deep and ancient. Wood Laws were so dense that trees whispered to each other in their own language. Roots drank from veins of origin energy; leaves carried subtle spiritual awareness.
Na Shui stepped into that green ocean.
Her blade left its sheath with a quiet hiss.
Verdant Wood's geniuses sneered. Wood Law meant regeneration, resilience, tenacity. Their vines could bind even Xiantian elders; their forests could swallow invading sects whole.
Na Shui's Heavenly Demon Lotus stirred on her back, petals half-open, tugging the world.
Wood origin energy flowed toward her—and vanished.
The lotus drank it like a predator eating its fill, peeling away its attributes. Within several feet of her body, complex Wood Laws unraveled into quiet grandmist threads, then were fed back into her modified Heretical God Force as fuel.
She moved.
Her blade fell through layers of vine, bark, root, as if cutting through illusion.
Every strike birthed a brief zone of nothingness where single-attribute origin energy simply ceased to respond to Verdant Wood's call. Their proud forest formations collapsed, unable to gather enough Wood essence to function.
"Their Laws… won't move," Verdant Wood elders whispered, faces paling.
Na Shui exhaled, shoulders relaxing.
"That's all?"
...
By the time they reached Golden Bell Mountain, their names were already racing ahead of them.
"Houtian girls from Divine Phoenix Island and Seven Profound Martial House…"
"They're suppressing Xiantian elders…"
"I saw it with my own eyes! At Golden Bell, that spear girl—Qin something—she pierced Elder Jin's Golden Bell defense in one move!"
"You expect us to believe that? Elder Jin's golden bell body is—"
"Do you think I'd dare lie about something that big?"
Under Ren's modified arts and Heavenly Demon Lotus imprints, the girls fought as if their cultivation had already stepped into Revolving Core and beyond. Hearing that cultivation base was one thing. Seeing them suppress Xiantian elders was another.
Now, when the date of Ren Ming's "martial meeting" was mentioned, sect masters felt a pressure sitting on their chests.
When they had first heard that a guest of Divine Phoenix Island, an unknown young man, wanted to hold a grand martial meeting in four months, most fourth-grade sects had snorted. Arrogant kids came and went.
Now, after watching Houtian juniors crush their proud disciples, every time they thought of that date, their breathing stuttered.
If they didn't attend, the world would whisper that they were afraid.
If they did attend, they would have to stand not just before Divine Phoenix Island's Phoenixes… but before the monsters that guest had raised.
In the end, they had no choice.
Invitations were answered. Messengers flew. Secret meetings were held in dim side halls.
Above the Five Element Region, the sky's thunder grew restless.
And then, on a day when clouds piled low over jagged peaks, Murong Zi and the others stepped into Thundercrest Sect.
...
Thundercrest's mountain range rose like a jagged crown above the Five Element Region.
Dark stone peaks split the sky, each wrapped in veils of violet lightning. Thunder snakes crawled along sheer cliffs, slipping into massive copper pillars that dotted the sect's territory, then vanishing into the storm clouds above. Every rumble in the heavens resonated through the mountains; this was a place where thunder wasn't just weather, but faith and weapon both.
Today, that mountain crown felt… uneasy.
Clouds piled low over the main peak, thunder gathering without falling. Disciples in purple-trimmed armor and robes stood in lines along the stone steps leading to the main square, faces tense.
Over the wide plaza, a grand thunder formation flickered in and out of sight. Violet arcs traced the sect's crest—a mountain split by a thunderbolt. Formation lines hummed underfoot.
Opposite that crest, five streaks of phoenix flame descended.
Murong Zi, Bai Jingyun, Qin Xingxuan, Na Yi, and Na Shui stepped from the air and dropped toward the plaza, phoenix-embroidered robes fluttering. Behind them, several Divine Phoenix Revolving Core elders followed at a respectful distance, Vermillion Bird flames coiled tightly around their bodies.
The moment Murong Zi's boots touched Thundercrest stone, something unseen rippled through the plaza.
Lotus patterns stirred under her skin.
Heavenly Demon Lotus coiled in her meridians like a dozing beast, petals half-open on her back. Even without blooming fully, it tugged narrowly focused thunder origin energy away from Thundercrest's formations, bending those flows around her.
Murong Zi didn't bother to suppress it.
Her spear rested on her shoulder, black shaft wrapped in faint red-gold patterns, spearhead covered with a plain strip of cloth. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, swaying with each step; her eyes were bright, sharp, carrying a battle light that made the air itself seem to crackle.
"Thundercrest Sect," she called, looking up at the main peak. Her voice carried across the square with effortless clarity.
The words were courteous.
The tone was not.
On the high platform beneath the sect's crest, Lei Jingtian sat in the main seat, hair tied back, face austere. Lightning essence flickered faintly in his pupils, a caged storm. Beside him sat Lei Mubai in dark red and black robes, halberd resting at his side like a slumbering beast. Further down, elders and core disciples lined the platform.
Among those disciples, one youth stood out.
Zhou Lie.
Thunder aura coiled tightly around him like a compressed storm front. A long sword hung at his waist; strands of violet lightning danced lazily around his body, ready to sharpen at a thought.
Low murmurs rustled through Thundercrest ranks.
"So they really came…"
"Those are the Houtian girls?"
"Houtian? Impossible. That pressure—"
Beside Lei Jingtian, an elder leaned forward, voice low. "Sect Master, Divine Phoenix Island comes with banners and elders. Their attitude is far from humble this time."
Lei Jingtian snorted, the sound like a thundercloud grumbling.
"Far from humble?" he said coldly. "Sending several young girls to our gate and flaunting their name is already a slap across Thundercrest's face."
His gaze swept over Murong Zi and the others, lingering on the lotus aura he could half-sense behind their backs. His eyes narrowed.
Houtian realms.
But each one felt like a blade half-drawn, the sheath already splitting.
Behind Murong Zi, Na Yi and Na Shui walked side by side, bare fists loose, their bodies humming subtly with the resonance of modified Chaotic Virtues Combat Meridians and Heretical God Seeds. Bai Jingyun's steps were light but rooted, her flame aura compressed to a quiet, terrifying point. Qin Xingxuan moved with a spear at her side, Azure True Dragon Infinity Seed in her blood harmonizing with the mountain's thunder.
They halted at the center of the plaza.
Divine Phoenix elders stopped behind them, expressions serene, eyes sharp.
Murong Zi tilted her head, gaze sweeping the Thundercrest elites.
Her attention stopped on Zhou Lie.
Thundercrest's Chosen stood in front of the main platform, posture proud, thunder wrapped around him in fine strands. His eyes were cold and sharp, honed by years of cultivation on storm peaks.
Murong Zi's lips curved.
"So that's the 'Thunderclap Zhou Lie' everyone's been buzzing about?" she asked, voice lazy and clear.
The plaza stirred.
Zhou Lie's jaw tightened, almost too slightly to notice. He cupped his fists with practiced calm.
"Murong Zi of Divine Phoenix Island," he said. "Welcome to Thundercrest Sect."
His tone was polite.
His eyes were not.
"We have heard much of Divine Phoenix Island's recent… actions," he continued. "Thundercrest has always respected Divine Phoenix Island as a fellow fourth-grade power. If this visit is for friendship—"
Murong Zi laughed.
Bright and clear, the sound cut across his words like a spear thrust.
"Friendship?" she echoed. "You want to talk about friendship after Thundercrest disciples came to show off in front of Divine Phoenix Island?"
Her spear slid off her shoulder and tapped the stone lightly. The sound carried a faint Fire Martial Intent; every Thundercrest disciple within a hundred feet felt their blood heat for an instant.
"Let's not pretend," she said, smile sharpening. "You thunder people have always looked down on anyone not from a fourth-grade sect."
Her spear tip flicked toward Zhou Lie, the gesture casual and insulting at once.
"And you," she went on. "'Thunderclap Zhou Lie'… right? They say you're Thundercrest's Chosen. That under your thunder soul, even Heaven trembles."
She snorted.
"I'm curious," she said. "Will that thunder soul of yours let you withstand a weak move from me?"
The words fell like rocks into a still pond.
A weak move.
Thundercrest's disciples exploded.
"Impudent!"
"Arrogant!"
"She dares talk like that in front of the Sect Master?!"
Faces flushed. Thunder true essence flared skyward in angry waves. Among the core disciples, Zhou Xiaoling clenched her fists, eyes wide, staring at Murong Zi with burning indignation and something like unwilling admiration.
On the platform, Lei Mubai's fingers tapped once against the armrest.
"This girl's tongue is poisonous," he murmured. "Divine Phoenix Island's style seems to have changed."
Lei Jingtian's gaze turned glacial.
"Zhou Lie," he said lightly. "Our guests have come so far to taste our thunder. You will not refuse."
Zhou Lie stepped forward without a word.
He leapt down from the platform, landing in the center of the grand formation. Thunder crackled under his boots, lines of power lighting up as he stepped on the nodes.
He cupped his fists again, facing Murong Zi.
"Murong Zi," he said, voice serious. "Your words are heavy. As Thundercrest's Chosen, I cannot ignore such provocation. I request your guidance."
Guidance—the polite phrasing of a challenge between peers.
Murong Zi didn't bother to return the salute.
She spun her spear in a lazy circle, then planted its butt into the stone and leaned on it like a walking stick.
"The titles you people give yourselves are impressive," she said. "Chosen this, Thunderclap that."
Her eyes glinted.
"Fine," she said. "Come, 'Thunderclap'. Let me hear how loud you really are."
Zhou Lie's gaze chilled.
"I will not hold back," he warned.
"Good," Murong Zi said simply. "Anything less would be boring."
A faint thread of killing intent twisted through Thundercrest's thunder.
Zhou Lie inhaled slowly.
Thunder essence surged. Formation lines under his feet blazed in intricate patterns. True essence roared through his meridians, pouring into a long jade slip at his waist.
Lightning exploded out.
A phantom took shape behind him—at first formless, then sharpening into a mass of storm clouds woven with violet lightning threads. The clouds twisted, roaring, forming the head and body of a thunder beast.
"Thunder Soul!" a disciple cried. "Senior-apprentice Brother Zhou is using his Thunder Soul from the start!"
"The high-grade human-step Thunder Soul our sect paid so much for…!"
Lei Jingtian's eyes narrowed very slightly, but he said nothing.
Zhou Lie had chosen to open fully.
That was proper.
Thunder boomed.
The thunder soul's roar shook the square. Lightning essence condensed, pouring into Zhou Lie's meridians, amplifying his true essence until it raced like a raging river. Blue-violet arcs skated over his skin, raced along his sword as he drew it in one smooth motion.
"Murong Zi!" he shouted, sword aimed at her heart. "Be careful!"
Murong Zi yawned, covering her mouth for a heartbeat.
"You talk too much," she said. "Just move."
The spear tip lifted from the stone with a small click.
Zhou Lie's pupils tightened.
He vanished.
Thunderclap.
His body blurred into a streak of violet, afterimages peeling off behind him like shards of broken lightning. Sword light erupted—dozens of arcs whipping through the air, each one carrying condensed thunder Law. He stepped across the formation nodes like walking on a net of light, every step multiplying his speed and power.
To Thundercrest disciples, it looked like a storm had fallen from the sky, sword arcs forming a net of thunder converging on Murong Zi's chest.
Thundercrest elders tensed, true essence rising subconsciously—
—and then froze.
Because Murong Zi still hadn't moved.
Heavenly Demon Lotus stirred along her back.
She let her true essence rise just enough for the lotus to open invisible "eyes" across her skin. The lotus didn't need to fully bloom. Its presence alone reshaped every thread of true essence in her body, letting grandmist principles settle quietly at the base of her cultivation.
Her Fire Seed pulsed once. Fire Law stirred.
Wind and Thunder seeds vibrated faintly, but she didn't even call them fully. The modified Heretical God Force remained on idle, its inner governor watching calmly.
She simply breathed.
True essence flowed.
Her aura thickened.
The thunder under her feet slowed, as if forced to wade through something denser than air.
Zhou Lie's thunder soul howled, pushing his power through that invisible mire. Lightning crashed down, sword light screaming toward Murong Zi's heart.
Murong Zi lifted her spear.
One thrust.
There was no blazing firestorm. No showy explosion.
Her spear moved from low to high, straight and clean, a line the world itself seemed to accept as inevitable.
Where it passed, reality bent.
True essence compressed around the spearhead. Fire Law didn't roar outward—it folded inward, turning itself into a needle-thin stream wrapped like a sleeve around her spear. Heavenly Demon Lotus lines whispered along her meridians, reshaping her Houtian true essence into something denser, sharper, qualitatively different.
This was not just a spear of true essence.
It was a spear of refined, grandmist-tinged Fire true essence, guided by Heaven-Piercing comprehension and the weight of a lotus that promised to someday hang inside a Grandmist Heavenly Demon Heaven.
Thunder roared into that thrust.
The first wave of sword light met her spear tip.
For a heartbeat, the arena filled with shrieking sparks and screaming thunder.
Then Zhou Lie's arcs shattered, fragments scattering in all directions like broken glass.
The spear did not slow.
It pierced into the very heart of the thunder storm.
The thunder soul roared.
Its cloud body convulsed, lightning threads twisting madly. For an instant, the thunder beast phantom tried to swallow the spear, compressing lightning around it.
The compressed Fire and Thunder Laws on Murong Zi's spear didn't care.
Heaven-Piercing Martial Intent had already sunk its teeth into their structure.
A crack sounded—a thin, clear sound buried in the roar.
Dozens of crimson-gold threads ripped through the thunder soul's cloud body, severing the Law lines that held it together.
Violet light flared.
The thunder phantom splintered.
It didn't completely collapse. Murong Zi didn't care to do it, but cracks webbed across it, each one leaking wild, uncontrolled lightning essence.
Zhou Lie's eyes went wide.
He tried to twist, to divert the spear's force away from his body, make it glance off his sword.
Too late.
The spear never touched his flesh.
The shockwave riding its tip smashed into his sword, ground through the sword light, and slammed into his protective true essence and bones.
It felt like being hit by a mountain.
Bone after bone cracked—ribs, sternum, forearms. Thunder essence rampaged in his meridians, boiling as that strange, heavy fire invaded, shredding his control.
For a moment, the entire plaza felt that weight.
Thundercrest's grand formation groaned. Lightning pillars flickered, arcs shuddering.
Zhou Lie's body shot backward like a rag doll hurled by a giant.
He slammed into the arena's barrier.
The barrier flared blindingly, then bowed under the impact, rippling like a struck drum. The stone wall behind it cracked, spiderweb lines racing away from the point of impact.
Thundercrest disciples flinched as if they themselves had been hit.
Zhou Lie slid down the barrier and crashed onto the stone floor, a spray of blood leaving his lips in a bright arc.
The plaza fell utterly silent.
Even the thunder in the clouds above seemed to have forgotten how to rumble.