Chapter 19: The Shadow in the Mirror**
**Three Days Later – Imperial Library Restricted Section**
The **Imperial Token of Merit** gleamed in Chen Feng's hand as he walked past the heavily guarded gates of the Imperial Library. The guards, who usually scrutinized every visitor, bowed deeply as he approached. The news of his victory over the Vermilion Bird Clan and his discovery of the poisoning plot had spread like wildfire through the capital.
He was no longer just a participant; he was a celebrity. A hero. A danger.
"Senior Brother Chen," a young librarian greeted him nervously, bowing so low his nose nearly touched the floor. "The Emperor's personal collection is open to you. Please, follow me."
Chen Feng nodded silently, following the librarian through winding corridors lined with ancient scrolls that emitted faint glows of various colors. The air here was thick with the scent of old paper and preserved spiritual herbs.
"Where are we going?" Chen Feng asked, his voice echoing softly.
"The section on **Ancient Sects and Lost Histories**, sir," the librarian replied, stopping before a massive door carved with runes of silence. "Only those with the Imperial Token may enter. Be careful... some records here contain knowledge that can drive a weak-minded cultivator insane."
"I'll take my chances," Chen Feng said, pushing the door open.
Inside, the room was vast and dimly lit by floating spirit lamps. Shelves stretched endlessly upward, disappearing into the shadows above. Chen Feng walked to the center, where a large table held several open maps and genealogical charts of the Six Sovereign Clans.
He wasn't here for leisure. He was hunting for information about the **Shadow Forest** and the mysterious woman he had seen in the stands during the opening ceremony. Her energy signature felt familiar—cold, ancient, and dangerously close to the **Assassin Sovereign**, one of the six who had betrayed him.
"Let's see what secrets you're hiding," Chen Feng murmured, running his finger along the spine of a dusty book titled *'The Chronicles of the Western Wastes'*.
As he pulled the book out, a sudden chill ran down his spine. It wasn't the cold of ice, but the cold of being watched.
"**Void Sense: Activate.**"
He closed his eyes, expanding his awareness throughout the library. Normally, the restricted section should be empty except for him and the librarian outside. But deep in the shadows of the highest shelves, he detected a faint, fluctuating presence. Someone was hiding using a high-level concealment technique.
*An assassin?* Chen Feng thought, a smirk touching his lips. *Already? They work fast.*
Instead of confronting the intruder immediately, he pretended to continue reading. He opened the book and began to scan the pages, looking for mentions of the Assassin Sovereign's lineage.
*"The Assassin Sovereign, known as 'The Silent Death', ruled the Western Wastes with an iron fist. His descendants formed the Shadow Moon Sect, masters of stealth and poison..."*
Chen Feng's eyes narrowed. *Shadow Moon Sect. That must be them.*
Suddenly, the shadow in the corner moved. A figure dropped silently from the ceiling, landing without making a sound. It was a woman dressed in tight black leather armor, her face covered by a veil, holding two daggers that glowed with a sickly green light.
"You read too much for a dead man," she whispered, her voice sounding like wind blowing through dry leaves.
Chen Feng didn't look up from the book. "And you talk too much for an assassin. Usually, your kind strike first and ask questions never."
The assassin froze, surprised by his calmness. "You know who I am?"
"Shadow Moon Sect," Chen Feng said casually, turning a page. "Disciple rank, judging by your unstable breathing and the slight tremor in your left hand. You're nervous. First big mission?"
The assassin's eyes flashed with anger beneath her veil. "Insolent fool! Die!"
She lunged forward, moving faster than the eye could follow. Her daggers aimed for Chen Feng's throat and heart simultaneously—a lethal strike perfected over years of training.
But to Chen Feng, she was moving in slow motion.
**Void Step: Sidestep.**
He simply leaned to the right. The daggers sliced through the air where his neck had been a millisecond ago.
"Too slow," Chen Feng critiqued. "Your footwork is sloppy. You put too much weight on your front leg."
The assassin spun around, launching a flurry of attacks. Green poison mist trailed behind her blades, filling the air with a sweet, deadly scent.
"**Poison Mist: Thousand Cuts!**"
Chen Feng sighed. He raised a single hand.
"**Void Domain: Stasis.**"
The air around them solidified. The assassin froze mid-strike, her daggers inches from Chen Feng's chest. The poison mist stopped drifting, suspended in time like green gems in the air.
"What... what is this magic?" she gasped, struggling against the invisible force binding her.
"Not magic," Chen Feng said, standing up and closing the book. "This is the gap between us. You rely on speed and poison. I control space itself."
He walked around her frozen form, inspecting her weapons.
"These daggers... infused with Soul-Eater Venom. Nasty stuff. Designed to prevent reincarnation." He shook his head. "Crude. Inefficient."
He stopped in front of her face.
"Who sent you? The silver-haired woman from the tournament?"
The assassin tried to shake her head, but she couldn't move. Tears of frustration welled in her eyes.
"I can release you," Chen Feng offered softly. "Or I can let the stasis wear off in an hour, by which time the librarians will find you and arrest you for attempting to murder an Imperial Hero. Your choice."
Her eyes widened. Arrest meant torture, interrogation, and execution. Being released by him... meant uncertainty. But it was the only chance she had.
She blinked twice rapidly. *Yes.*
Chen Feng snapped his fingers.
"**Release.**"
The assassin fell to her knees, gasping for air. She looked up at him, confusion warring with fear in her eyes.
"Why... why didn't you kill me?"
"Because dead men tell no tales," Chen Feng said, sitting back down at the table. "But living ones can deliver messages. Go back to your mistress. Tell her: 'The Void remembers the West.' And tell her if she sends another amateur, I will come to the Shadow Forest myself and burn it to the ground."
The assassin hesitated, then bowed deeply. "I... I will deliver your message."
She scrambled to her feet and vanished into the shadows, moving even faster than before.
Chen Feng watched her go, then returned to his book.
"Amateurs," he muttered. "At least the last life had better assassins."
But as he resumed reading, his mind was racing. The attack confirmed his suspicions. The Six Sovereign clans knew who he was—or at least, they suspected. They weren't waiting for the tournament to make their move. They were trying to eliminate him quietly before he became too strong.
*Good,* he thought, a dark excitement bubbling in his chest. *Fear makes people reckless. And recklessness leads to mistakes.*
He turned the page and found what he was looking for: a map of the **Shadow Forest**, marking the location of the Assassin Sovereign's ancient tomb.
"And mistakes," he whispered, tracing the map with his finger, "are how empires fall."
Suddenly, the library doors burst open. Lin Yue rushed in, looking panicked.
"Chen Feng! There you are! The tournament organizers just announced a change in the rules!"
Chen Feng looked up calmly. "Oh? What kind of change?"
"They're adding a **Team Survival Round**," Lin Yue panted, handing him a scroll. "Starting tomorrow! All teams will be dropped into the **Beast Mountain Range** for three days. The goal isn't just to survive... it's to hunt down specific beast cores. And there's a twist."
"A twist?" Chen Feng raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," Lin Yue swallowed hard. "Participants are allowed to kill each other. No rules. No restrictions. Last team standing gets double points."
Chen Feng's eyes lit up with a predatory gleam.
"No rules? Free killing?" He laughed softly, a sound that made the spirit lamps flicker. "Finally. A tournament worthy of my time."
He stood up, tucking the map into his robe.
"Gather the team, Lin Yue. And wake up our new 'servant' Yan Lie. Tell him to bring his best fire techniques."
"Where are we going?" she asked.
Chen Feng walked toward the exit, his silhouette casting a long, imposing shadow against the wall.
"To prepare for war. Because in that mountain range... I'm not just hunting beasts."
He glanced back at the shadow where the assassin had hidden.
"I'm hunting traitors."
---
**Outside the Library – Rooftop Opposite**
The silver-haired woman watched Chen Feng exit the library through a spyglass made of crystal. Beside her stood the obsidian-skinned man.
"He spared the assassin," the woman noted, her voice devoid of emotion. "Arrogant. Or perhaps... calculating."
"He is dangerous," the man grunted. "We should send an elder next time. Someone from the Nascent Soul realm."
"No," the woman commanded, lowering the spyglass. "If we send an elder, the Emperor will intervene. We must play by their rules for now. The Survival Round is our chance. The Beast Mountain Range is vast, chaotic, and full of death. Perfect for an 'accident'."
She turned to her companion, her ice-blue eyes glowing.
"Prepare the **Shadow Walkers**. Tell them their target is priority one. Kill Chen Feng. Bring me his head. And if possible... capture the girl with the starlight necklace. Her bloodline is needed for the ritual."
"And if they fail?" the man asked.
The woman smiled, a expression that held no warmth.
"Then I will go myself."
She looked back at the library, where Chen Feng's figure was disappearing into the crowd.
"Run while you can, Void Sovereign. Because once you enter those mountains... there will be no escape."
---
**To be continued...**