The survival of the Blood Pit had earned Li Feng two things: a reputation as a "lucky" freak and a living battery in the form of the shriveled Iron Bear. But in the Withered Bone Sect, being noticed was as dangerous as being weak. The yellow-eyed Elder was watching. The Inner Circle would be curious.
Li Feng needed a weapon that didn't involve physical contact. He needed the "Soul-Burning Eye"—a high-level demonic ocular technique that could ignite a target's spiritual sea with a single glance.
The manual for this technique was hidden behind a forbidden seal in the library. To any other disciple, practicing it was a death sentence; the "Price" was permanent blindness and the gradual rotting of the optic nerve.
The Sanctuary Grind
Li Feng locked his cave door and sank into the silver mist.
"System, activate the Void Sanctuary. Use the spirit stones recovered from Iron Bear's storage bag. Give me seventy-two hours of internal time."
[Ding! Sanctuary Active. Time Dilation: 1 hour (Outside) = 24 hours (Inside).]
[Warning: Soul-Burning Eye refinement requires high mental strain. Target 'Iron Bear' is at low vitality. If displacement exceeds his limit, he will expire.]
"Then use the 'Slow-Drip' method on the Sect Gate Guards," Li Feng commanded, his eyes cold as ice. "They're healthy. They can handle a little... blurry vision."
Inside the sanctuary, Li Feng sat before the obsidian desk. He began the cultivation. He had to draw the most toxic, jagged shards of Yin Qi into his pupils. The sensation was like having hot needles pushed into his tear ducts.
[Warning: Optic nerve melting. Cornea liquefaction detected.]
[Displacing 90% of 'Ocular Decay'... Target: North Gate Guard A and B.]
Outside, at the North Gate, two guards suddenly dropped their spears.
"Is it... getting dark?" one asked, rubbing his eyes.
"I can't see the moon," the other whispered, his eyes turning a milky, cataract-white in seconds.
Inside the sanctuary, Li Feng's eyes didn't rot. Instead, they began to glow with a faint, predatory violet hue. He spent the first day mastering the focus. The second day, he practiced the ignition. By the third day, he was staring at a stone pillar in the sanctuary.
"Ignite."
Fwoosh.
The stone didn't catch fire. The air around it vibrated, and the pillar suddenly turned to grey ash from the inside out. It was a conceptual burn—a fire that consumed the "essence" of the target.
The Cold Awakening
Li Feng stepped out of the Sanctuary. Only three hours had passed in the sect. He felt a slight ache in his head, but his vision was sharper than ever. He could see the flow of Qi through the walls of the cave.
[System: Soul-Burning Eye (Initial Stage) Mastered.]
[Current Kill Count: 0 (Direct), 14 (Indirect/Resource Drained).]
[System Joke: You've got a real 'look' about you today, Host. Too bad most people won't live long enough to appreciate it.]
There was a sudden, violent pounding on his cave door.
"Li Feng! Open up!" a voice snarled. It was Senior Brother Chen, a 5th Level Qi Condensation expert and the leader of the "Disciplinary Squad."
Li Feng opened the door, his face instantly shifting back into that of a timid, terrified outer disciple. "Brother Chen! What... what is the matter?"
Chen stepped inside, sniffing the air. "Two guards went blind tonight. Gu Yan is a vegetable. Iron Bear is a husk. And you... the 'trash' of the village, walked out of the Blood Pit without a scratch."
Chen grabbed Li Feng by the collar, hoisting him up. "I don't believe in luck. I believe in secrets. Give me your cultivation technique, or I'll peel the skin off your face and use it as a map."
The First Glance
Li Feng looked down at Chen's hand on his collar, then slowly raised his gaze. He didn't use the full power of the Eye—that would be too loud. He just "leaked" a fraction of the displaced pain he had stored.
"Brother Chen," Li Feng whispered, his voice dangerously smooth. "You really shouldn't look so closely."
Li Feng's eyes flared violet for a micro-second.
[Initiating: Soul-Burning Sting.]
[Transferring 'Residual Agony' from training... Target: Chen.]
Chen let out a choked gasp. He let go of Li Feng as if he had touched a white-hot iron. He clutched his head, his face contorting. To everyone else, nothing had happened. But inside Chen's skull, it felt like a thousand hornets were stinging his brain simultaneously.
"My... my head... what did you..."
"You must be tired, Brother," Li Feng said, patting Chen's shoulder with a mocking kindness. "The Blood Pit was traumatic for everyone. Maybe you should go to the infirmary. I hear they have a lot of 'vacant' beds lately."
Chen backed away, his eyes filled with a primal, instinctive fear. He was a 5th Level expert, but he felt like he was standing in front of a Great Demon from the Nascent Soul realm. He scrambled out of the cave without a word.
Li Feng closed the door and sat back down.
"System," he thought, his smile widening. "How much vitality does Chen have?"
[System: Plenty. He's a 5th Level 'High-Capacity' battery. Would you like to start the 'Foundation Establishment' drain on him?]
"Yes," Li Feng said, his eyes glowing in the dark. "Let's start the 'Slow-Drip' on Chen. I want to reach the Foundation Establishment stage by the end of the month. I have a Sect Leader to replace, eventually."