A pillar of bronze-colored light erupted from the ancient metal fragment, carrying a desolate and destructive aura. This was no mere spiritual energy; it was a more primal, more tyrannical power, one that seemed capable of crushing all things beneath it. The very air in the great hall was torn asunder, producing ear-piercing shrieks. The solid granite floor beneath the beam's path cracked, spiderweb-like fissures spreading in its wake.
Everyone held their breath, their hearts seemingly skipping a beat. The Qi Condensation cultivators felt their very souls tremble before that terrifying might. Even the elders at the Foundation Establishment stage underwent a change in expression. This strike, though not unleashed with Lu Nhat Thiet's full strength, was more than enough to easily slay a peak Qi Condensation cultivator. How could a mere introductory array possibly withstand it?
Upon the high dais, Lu Nhat Thiet wore a cruel, malicious smile. He could already envision the scene of the snow-white cranes being ground into nothingness, the brat coughing up blood from the backlash, and that senile old fool kneeling in abject humiliation.
However, Tran Kien—the one standing at the very eye of the storm—showed not even a shred of panic. At the exact moment the pillar of light shot forth, not only did he not retreat, but he also performed an action that left everyone in utter disbelief.
He took a step forward.
His tightly shut eyes suddenly snapped open. Within his pitch-black pupils, there was no fear, only a profound connection and understanding. He felt the "call" from that fragment. It was not a weapon of death; it was a piece of ancestral heritage wailing in the hands of a thief, seeking to return to its roots.
"The soul of the Lac Viet—how could it allow an outsider to humiliate it?"
Tran Kien murmured, his voice not loud, yet it resonated like a clap of thunder within everyone's souls. He did not manipulate the array for defense. He did not command the flock of cranes to charge and self-detonate. He did the exact opposite.
"DISPERSE!"
His hands, which had been locked in an incantation gesture, suddenly relaxed. At his command, the fifty spiritual energy cranes that had been soaring gracefully instantly dissolved, transforming into countless specks of milky-white Primal Chaos Qi, hovering within the boundaries of the array diagram.
"OPEN!"
He shouted once more. The Ten Thousand Li Soaring Crane Array, which had been emitting a gentle radiance, suddenly split open in the center. He was not defending; he was opening his arms wide, welcoming that destructive strike.
"Is that brat insane?!" "He... he's committing suicide!"
The crowd cried out in horror. Even Elder Wei's brows furrowed slightly before relaxing, a glint of admiration appearing in his eyes. Audacious! Truly an audacious move!
The pillar of bronze light, carrying its destructive power, surged into the center of the array without the slightest hindrance. However, the scene that Lu Nhat Thiet and the onlookers expected did not occur. There was no heaven-shaking explosion. There was no shattering of the array.
The moment that destructive pillar entered the array diagram, it was like a fierce, raging river suddenly flowing into a vast, boundless sea. Those countless specks of Primal Chaos Qi—the cranes that had just dissolved—behaved like fingerling fish encountering water, joyfully swarming around the pillar of light. They did not resist. They integrated.
The tyrannical, destructive energy of the pillar, upon contact with the pure Primal Chaos Qi of the same origin, lost all its violence. It was like a lost child finally finding its mother. It did not destroy; it began to fuse. The entirety of the bronze-colored energy was enveloped by the milky-white specks, swirling and slowly being assimilated.
"WHAT?! IMPOSSIBLE!!!"
The smile on Lu Nhat Thiet's face froze, replaced by an expression of extreme terror and disbelief. He frantically poured more spiritual power into the metal fragment, desperately trying to command the beam of light to destroy everything. But it was futile. For the first time, the metal fragment in his hand refused to obey him. It was vibrating intensely, seeming as though it wanted to break free from his grasp and fly toward that array.
Within the formation, Tran Kien stood as still as a king within his own domain. He raised his hand.
"CONDENSE!"
At his command, the swirling mixture of white and bronze energy abruptly contracted. Once again, it took the form of soaring cranes. But this time, there were not fifty—there were one hundred!
One hundred spiritual energy cranes now filled the air. Their bodies were no longer pure white; instead, they were interlaced with ancient bronze-colored patterns, making them appear even more lifelike and mystical. The aura radiating from them was at least thrice as powerful as before!
They no longer soared aimlessly. The hundred cranes turned their heads in unison, their spiritual eyes as sharp as swords, locking their gazes onto Lu Nhat Thiet upon the high dais. Tran Kien had not merely neutralized the attack; he had plundered the opponent's energy and transformed it into his own strength!
"Pui!"
Lu Nhat Thiet, having lost his connection to the treasure and being suppressed by the locked-on aura of a hundred cranes, suffered a shock to his mind. He coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood and staggered back several steps. His arrogant face was now as pale as paper, his eyes filled with fear and bewilderment.
He had lost. He had lost miserably. He had lost in a way that defied all logic. The guardian treasure of the Divine Weapon Pavilion, a legendary artifact capable of breaking arrays, could not even break the introductory formation of a Qi Condensation brat. If this news were to spread, the century-old prestige of the Divine Weapon Pavilion would utterly collapse.
The entire hall became as silent as a tomb. Everyone, including the youth from the Azure Cloud Sect, stood up, staring at the scene before them as if they were looking at a ghost.
At that moment, Elder Wei's calm voice rang out once more, shattering the deathly silence. "Pavilion Lord Lu, do you understand now?"
The old man stood up slowly and stepped forward, his eyes fixed on Lu Nhat Thiet, filled with pity. "The heritage of our ancestors is not some dead weapon. It has its own soul. A thief, even if they hold it in their hand, can never truly understand that soul. To use it to break our arrays is like asking a child to kill its own mother. Ridiculous! Truly too ridiculous!"
"This gamble... you have lost."
Elder Wei turned to look at Tran Kien, who still stood firm within the array, surrounded by a hundred cranes, his presence extraordinary.
"Little Kien," the Elder said. "It is time to take back what belongs to us."