Gen held up a hand, a look of genuine disinterest on his face. "I didn't come here to fight."
The young cultivator sneered, stepping fully into the lantern light. He was around Gen's age, maybe a year older, with sharp, impatient features. "I am Lio Kai. And I want to see for myself what the 'Immortal's Son' is really made of."
Murmurs of interest rippled through the crowd. From the sidelines, Lia Kai left Liang's side and hurried forward. "Lio, stop this. Causing trouble is not what Father meant for us."
Lio shook his head, his jaw tight. His fists clenched at his sides, as if gripping words only he could hear. "Everyone believes you are a prodigy of **Jingdao**," he said, his eyes fixed on Gen, ignoring his sister. "I don't. I want to test the foundation myself."
The other Tower survivors watched with keen interest now. Juxian, about to say something, simply smiled and took another bite of pastry, settling in to watch. He had lost to Gen and felt no shame admitting it; this boy's arrogance was its own entertainment.
Liang moved forward, his voice calm. "Lio, there's no need for this. Whatever you feel, we can talk it—"
"The lackey of the Jiang Mountain has nothing to tell me." Lio cut him off with a dismissive smirk. "Scram." With a contemptuous wave of his hand, he sent a sharp, dense wave of raw qi directly at Liang.
It wasn't a killing blow, but it was an insult meant to knock him aside.
Liang didn't flinch. He didn't dodge. He took a single, firm step forward and brought his hands up, crossing his forearms. A shimmering hue of energy spread across Liang skin. **Jingdao** reinforcement, solidified before him. The wave of qi crashed against his body and dissipated with a sharp *crack*. His Jingdao was nothing like what it had been in the past , trained hard by Black green wood it was fully open, ready to scream to the world.
It was just a single step. But it wasn't about protecting Lia behind him. It was a statement of defiance to the entire watching hall. *I am not the Immortal's weakest disciple anymore. I am Liang Wei.*
Lio's eyes flickered with surprise. He didn't press the attack.
That's when Gen sighed, a sound of deep exasperation. He walked out into the open space by the pool. At fifteen, soon to be sixteen, his frame was still lean, but there was a new, quiet solidity to his bearing that made him seem older. Compared to Lio's softer, more petulant features, there was a stark difference in presence.
"I don't like how you treat my friend," Gen said, his voice flat. "And since you seem to want a lesson in manners, I don't mind giving you one."
Lio nodded, a fierce light in his eyes. "Let's start. No need for preliminaries. My foundational wheel is **Jingdao**. I will use only that. Let's see whose understanding is deeper."
He spread his arms wide, and a visible aura of dense, yellow-gold energy erupted from him. It was a spectacular, almost theatrical display. The force of it whipped at Gen's robes and sent ripples across the nearby pavilions. Gen stood unmoved, a mountain in the wind. Compared to the world-ending pressure of Duo Yi's Doom Dragon or the consuming pride of Baili's Juggernaut, this felt like a child's tantrum given power.
Then Lio's body *shifted*. The aura didn't just glow; it *structured* itself. A lattice of brilliant, golden light, like a miniature, intricate web, formed across his skin, pulsing with immense, contained strength.
Gasps of recognition came from the onlookers.
"Is that…?" Juxian muttered, his food forgotten.
Duo Yi nodded, her gaze fixed on the golden web. "The Kai siblings. They must be kin to the Pillar. That is the **Unbreakable varja**."
Ning's quiet voice added from the shadows, "I have heard of this form. Some have compared its defensive potential to the Immortal Jiang's own body in his youth."
Gen watched, his expression unchanged. In his thoughts, he assessed. *The energy is dense. His control is deep. But it's just… **Jingdao**. A very good, very practiced **Jingdao**. Nothing special.* The **Eternal Body** was a different concept altogether.
Gen took a single, soft step forward. He didn't flare. He *opened*.
The **First Door of the Eternal Body** bloomed from within. There was no dazzling web, no roaring aura. It was a quiet, profound intensification. His skin took on a faint, sun-gold sheen, so deep it seemed to absorb the light rather than reflect it. The stone pavers beneath his feet didn't crack outward; they *depressed* slightly, as if bearing a sudden, immense weight.
"The Eternal Body has three levels of reinforcement," Gen said, his voice carrying clearly in the hush. "For now, I've only mastered the first. But this should be more than enough for someone like you."
Lio snarled, the insult burning. His golden-webbed body vanished in a burst of speed. He reappeared before Gen, his fist a comet of condensed, reinforced force aimed straight for Gen's center.
Gen didn't block. He redirected. His palm came up, the back of his hand meeting the golden fist. He didn't stop the punch; he guided it, sliding his hand along Lio's forearm with a subtle, grinding twist, and sent the tremendous force *sideways*.
A dazzling arc of deflected golden energy shot toward the banquet tables.
Duo Yi was already moving. A flick of her wrist, a swift application of **Shidow**, and a barrier of distorted air shimmered into place, absorbing the stray energy with a sound like tearing silk. "This is a spar of understanding, not a demolition," she reminded them coolly, though her eyes were locked on Gen's technique.
Gen shrugged, a cocky grin finally touching his lips. "It's not my fault if my opponent has no understanding of *controlled* **Jingdao**."
Enraged, Lio flared brighter. He spun, a golden blur, and flashed behind Gen for another crushing swing.
Gen simply took a leisurely step to the side, as if strolling through a garden. The wind of the missed blow ruffled his hair. He shifted his weight, caught Lio's next wild swing by the wrist, and crushed it in his golden palm.
***CRACK.***
The sound was crisp, final. Not of breaking bone, but of shattered energy structure. The brilliant web on Lio's forearm flickered and died. He cried out, his legs buckling, and he was forced to one knee, his trapped arm trembling in Gen's unyielding grip.
*The first layer reinforces the skin,* Gen noted in his mind, calm and clinical. *Makes it a boundary nothing common can breach.*
With a contemptuous flick, Gen tossed him aside. Lio skidded across the stone, his golden aura guttering out completely.
"This is too weak," Gen said, his voice losing its playful edge, becoming matter-of-fact. "If this is the 'Unbreakable Varja's' skill… don't compare such nonsense to my father's body." He looked at the stunned, silent crowd. "No one could harm him. No one but the Damocles. Do you understand that, you fool?"
He said it plainly, without malice, as if stating an obvious truth. But the words landed like stones in a pond.
Around him, the expressions of the other elites shifted. Duo Yi's playful smile was gone, replaced by a slight frown of concern. In her thoughts, she calculated: *He shouldn't say such things aloud. It's not just boasting. It's challenging a living legend's legacy. He's making enemies of shadows.*
But Gen was already turning away, the brief, intense focus leaving his eyes. He looked at Liang. "Are you coming?"
Liang stood caught between the stunned Lia and her humiliated brother. A flash of hesitation crossed his face—he didn't want to leave her like this. But his loyalty, forged in fire and friendship, won out. He sighed, gave Lia a last, apologetic look, and followed Gen.
The two of them walked away, their backs to the silent, watchful crowd. No cheers, no applause. Just a heavy, new understanding settling over the banquet.
Gen had made his point. It was now clear in every mind present: The Immortal's Son was not just another talented disciple. He carried a legacy, a technique, and a terrifying, unshakable certainty that marked him as something else entirely—a hand that might one day dare to catch the falling damocles.