The barrier expanded wider for the final duel.
Core Formation pressure rolled outward like a heavy tide.
The Crimson Blade Elder did not suppress it.
He wanted everyone to feel the difference.
Foundation and Core were not comparable.
That was the message.
Lian Zhou stepped into the arena calmly.
Foundation Early aura.
Stable.
Clean.
Nothing flashy.
The difference between them was obvious.
The crowd murmured.
"He shouldn't survive ten exchanges."
"He's reckless."
"Or suicidal."
The elder spoke first.
"You built structure," he said calmly.
"Yes."
"But structure collapses under force."
"Only weak structure."
The elder's eyes narrowed.
He attacked.
Core Formation movement speed was different.
The elder closed distance instantly.
Palm strike reinforced with compressed Core energy.
Lian Zhou did not block directly.
He shifted angle.
Redirected.
The impact grazed his shoulder.
Stone beneath him shattered.
The gap was clear.
The elder pressed.
Second strike.
Third.
Each one carried weight beyond Foundation limits.
Lian Zhou retreated in measured steps.
Not panicked.
Not desperate.
He studied rhythm.
Core Formation was stronger—
But also more linear.
Confident cultivators committed fully.
Ten exchanges passed.
Lian Zhou had not landed a single hit.
But he had not collapsed either.
The crowd grew quiet.
This wasn't one-sided domination.
This was controlled survival.
Yan Shu whispered behind the barrier.
"He's mapping output pattern."
Chen Wei didn't respond.
He understood.
Their sect master was not fighting strength.
He was fighting structure.
The elder increased pressure.
Full Core aura surged.
He stepped in with decisive strike.
This one aimed to end it.
Lian Zhou did not dodge.
He received it partially—
But this time—
He allowed the force to pass through a specific angle.
Not randomly.
Directed.
The impact cracked the ground.
But Lian Zhou remained standing.
His breathing shifted.
Something inside him aligned.
Inside his system panel:
[Foundation Realm Stabilization: 99%]
[Threshold Event Detected.]
The sect's three victories.
The pressure.
The structural resonance.
Everything aligned.
He did not force breakthrough.
It happened.
A pulse spread outward.
Not explosive.
Compressed.
Foundation Early → Foundation Mid.
The shift was clean.
Immediate.
The elder noticed instantly.
"You break through now?"
"Yes."
Calm.
No arrogance.
Just fact.
The crowd reacted sharply.
"He advanced mid-fight."
"That's rare."
"No pills?"
"No aura surge?"
No.
Just alignment.
The elder's expression hardened.
"Even so," he said, "Foundation Mid is not Core."
"I know."
This time—
Lian Zhou stepped forward first.
He no longer retreated.
He engaged.
His structure had sharpened.
Authority Rank 2 resonance supported him.
The sect's formation behind him stabilized his Qi subtly.
Not cheating.
Synergy.
The elder struck again.
Lian Zhou redirected.
But this time—
He countered.
Palm strike landed on elder's forearm.
Not damaging.
But disruptive.
Core energy flickered briefly.
The elder's eyes sharpened.
"You refined structure," he muttered.
"Yes."
The exchanges intensified.
Now it was no longer chase.
It was calculation versus force.
Lian Zhou's movements minimized waste completely.
He did not attempt to overpower Core.
He attacked joints.
Timing.
Breathing gaps.
Energy transitions.
Small weaknesses.
At exchange thirty—
The elder realized something.
His Core output was higher.
But his consumption was rising.
Lian Zhou's consumption remained stable.
Foundation Mid should not sustain this long.
But this wasn't ordinary Foundation Mid.
This was sect-enhanced.
Authority-enhanced.
Structure-optimized.
The elder launched one final full-power strike.
Core energy surged violently.
Lian Zhou stepped inside.
Not away.
Inside.
Palm to sternum.
Direct contact.
No explosion.
No dramatic effect.
But—
The elder staggered back one step.
Only one.
But enough.
Green River's elder watched closely.
The Crimson Blade elder had been forced back.
Publicly.
Silence.
The Crimson Blade elder did not fall.
He did not collapse.
But his aura flickered.
He understood.
He could win with prolonged escalation.
But—
He could not crush this Foundation Mid instantly.
And the rules forbade killing.
He stepped back.
Green River's elder raised his hand.
"Match concluded."
Technically—
No clear defeat.
But not dominance either.
In sect duels—
If higher realm fails to overwhelm decisively—
It counts as structural loss.
And Crimson Blade had already lost all three disciple matches.
Green River's elder spoke clearly:
"By duel results, Heavenly Ember retains autonomy."
Crimson Blade's elder said nothing.
He turned and left.
But his eyes were cold.
This was not over.
Not politically.
Not long term.
Heavenly Ember stood together.
Four disciples behind Lian Zhou.
Now Foundation Mid.
Now proven.
Not lucky.
Not fragile.
Structured.
Inside the system panel:
[Major Sect Victory Achieved.]
[Authority Rank 3 Unlocked.]
Lian Zhou's breathing slowed slightly.
The real growth had just begun.