When Lian stepped onto the stage, he immediately felt dozens of eyes lock onto him. The crowd's whispers spread like wildfire.
"It's him… It's really him!"
Fingers pointed. Murmurs echoed.
Across him, Lin Feng's expression twisted with fury.
Unlike most cultivators, who trained for power, enlightenment, or mastery of the martial path.
Lin Feng cultivated for a different reason entirely.
He wanted worship.
He wanted admiration.
He wanted attention; in fact, he thrived on it. You could say that fame was his Dao.
His handsome features already made him quite popular, but adding martial prowess to that, his reputation was elevated even further. And nothing enraged him more than someone else stealing his spotlight.
Lin Feng drew his blade with a cold shrring, dropping into his battle stance.
The weapon was uniquely forged in the eastern style, long, slightly curved, with a row of circular holes along its spine. Small metal rings hung from each opening, spinning freely and chiming in the wind.
The moment Lin Feng settled into position, the atmosphere shifted.
A heavy, suffocating aura flooded the stage.
"Huuu… his presence is no joke at all," he exhaled softly.
"Though I wanted to continue fighting without my blade, I will be in trouble if I don't give it my all…" he muttered.
He reached into his storage pouch and drew the Astral blade.
The moment it touched air, it shook violently in his grasp.
"What's wrong with you?" Lian whispered, tightening his grip as the sword's aura grew thicker, denser, almost agitated.
"Wang! Wang! Look!" Bo shouted from the stands, practically bouncing with excitement.
"Their blades are crying out!"
Lin Feng's blade, too, quivered madly, rings spinning uncontrollably.
The two weapons resonated with each other, their auras clashing before either wielder even moved.
The crowd fell silent.
Everyone could feel it; this wasn't going to be an ordinary match.
"Ladies and gents, what a match we have for you today! The unlikely dark horse Lian Xing versus the rising star of Gangsu Lin Feng! "
The announcer paused for effect,
...
Then he roared,
"Let the match… begin!"
Both boys exploded forward from opposite ends of the ring.
"Celestial Slash!"
"Void Star!"
They shouted in unison.
Lian's blade was coated in a thin veil of blue Qi, while Lin Feng's whirling sword was wrapped in a deep, swirling black aura.
"He can even handle the blade…?" Patriarch Xing muttered under his breath, eyes narrowing.
"How much has this boy been hiding?
I heard he broke through recently, but this… this is far beyond that. Truly, what a shocking talent."
His fingers tapped lightly on the armrest.
'I must bring him to my side. I'm sure I can coax him. He'll become a great hunting dog… just like his father. If I cannot have the father, then at least… I'll take the son.'
A cold smile formed on the patriarch's lips.
Clang!
Sparks flew everywhere as the two blades collided mid-air.
Qi burst outward in a violent shockwave, ripping dust from the ground.
Lian felt his weapon tremble in his grip so violently that the hilt threatened to cut into his palm.
"My blade's name is Black Abyss," Lin Feng declared, eyes glowing with pride.
"What is the name of yours?"
"It's the Astr—!"
Before Lian could finish, the collision of Qi detonated between them.
The blast sent him flying backwards like a rag doll.
Even though he had blocked the physical strike, a line of blood spilt from his lips.
"Ohoh—koff—!"
Lian coughed violently, jamming his sword into the ground to keep from sliding off the stage.
"Did you see that? He's bleeding!"
"But he blocked the strike! How did he still get cut?"
"What's going on?!"
"Yeah… It's weird, right!!?," the spectators whispering continued.
"I thought I blocked him. What kind of attack was that?" Lian tightened his grip on his blade, repositioning himself. "There really are a lot of interesting techniques out there."
He shifted his stance, keeping his distance.
"Oh? You managed to survive that, huh?" Lin Feng swung his blade through the air, its rings spinning wildly. "Let's see how you handle these."
"Hmmmm—?"
Lian leapt aside instinctively.
"Why… why did I dodge? He just swung his sword, he is so afar, why did I—?"
His thoughts froze.
The stone pillars behind him had all been cleanly sliced through.
"How did he—?"
But Lin Feng wasn't giving him a single moment to think.
One attack after another shot toward him.
Lian dodged most of them, but even so, deep cuts began appearing on his arms and sides.
"Give up. You can't run from the path of my blade," Lin Feng said coldly, shifting into another stance.
"I think Lian's done for. Look, he's bleeding everywhere," someone from the crowd said.
"He hasn't even landed a single hit on Lin Feng."
"No matter how hard you try, a genius is still a genius. Ordinary people can't keep up."
Their whispers reached Lian.
"Mmmm, yeah, his skill is something else; there are no Qi fluctuations."
Spark!
Lian's eyes saw a quick glimpse of light shot by Lin.
"Ha?"
He dodged, and the ground in front of him exploded.
"What was that just now?"
"Wait, his movements just now. It's like he saw my attack coming, that can't be." Lin Feng's movements temporarily staggered.
"What's this, the seal is flaring up again…."
A familiar warmth pulsed through Lian's dantian.
The same feeling he sensed when the elder attacked him last time.
Lin Feng narrowed his eyes.
"So… you're not giving up, huh?" he said, stepping into yet another stance.
"Multi-Directional Void Slash!" he roared.
In an instant, attacks erupted from every direction, slashes appearing out of thin air, tearing toward Lian from angles no eye could follow.
"I think that Xing boy has lost…" Elder Zhou sighed, already preparing to close the stage. "Those attacks from the Feng boy must be a family secret technique. They slice through space. If you can't sense their path, they'll always find you."
But Lian's eyes sharpened.
"It's just like last time… I can see the slashes now,"
"Astral Steps…" Lian whispered.
His body flowed like water.
He slipped between every invisible slash, weaving through the barrage with impossible grace.
"What?! How can you see my—"
But Lin Feng couldn't finish his sentence; Lian was already upon him.
With a burst of speed so sudden that even the elders blinked.
Clang!
Lian's blade struck.
Lin Feng barely managed to block, but the force still blasted him backwards, sending him skidding across the stage.
"Lian… Lian attacked! His attack connected!'' a young boy in the crowd shouted in disbelief.
"Go, Lian! Beat him! Beat him!" the boy cheered with all his strength.
"It was true that people admire geniuses, but people love an underdog story. Every cultivator who has ever felt overlooked, belittled, or underestimated finds themselves in cheering without even knowing why." Elder Zhou muttered to himself.
The crowd roared and chanted as the fight continued.
Lin Feng's expression twisted as he listened to the crowd.
"When I was winning against Lian, no one cheered… and now that he landed a measly single hit, they cheer for him? How fickle…"
Lin Feng's thoughts churned with rage.
And then he finally snapped.
A secret he should never have revealed burst forth.