The early morning sun broke over Azure Mist City, casting a radiant golden hue across the sweeping curved roofs, busy commercial avenues, and towering dark granite walls of the northern metropolis. A crisp, cool breeze swept through the valley, fluttering the colorful silk banners hanging from the high towers.
However, unlike any ordinary morning in the city, a palpable wave of intense anticipation and electric tension hung thick in the air.
Today was the day of the Wu Clan Grand Family Assessment.
By mid-morning, thousands of local citizens, traveling merchants, representatives from smaller martial sects, and influential members of the city council had gathered around the outskirts of the Central Martial Arena. The immense circular structure, constructed entirely from solid grey granite and polished marble, was vast enough to seat over ten thousand spectators.
High above the arena floor, a grand, elevated viewing platform had been erected. It was decked with rich crimson carpets, intricately carved oak chairs, and heavy black-and-gold banners bearing the ancient crest of the Wu Clan.
Sitting directly in the central throne of the honor platform was Chief Elder Wu-Bao, flanked by six high elders of the family council. Every single one of them was dressed in lavish, gold-trimmed silk robes, exuding an aura of supreme authority and cold pride.
Sitting at Elder Wu-Bao's right hand was his proudest son, Young Master Wu-Feng. Wearing the pristine white-and-silver martial robes of the famous Sovereign Sword Sect, Wu-Feng rested his palm lazily on the hilt of his gem-studded longsword. His posture was arrogant, his eyes sharp and contemptuous as he looked down at the crowded arena floor below like a king looking at ordinary ants.
"Look! That is Young Master Wu-Feng! He looks so majestic!"
"I heard he reached the Fifth-Stage of Ki refinement at just twenty years old!"
"Not only that, he was recruited as an official outer disciple by the Sovereign Sword Sect! With him leading the younger generation, the Wu Clan will surely dominate the entire northern commercial council!"
"Ah, the Wu Clan is truly rising to supreme power in Azure Mist City..."
Whispers of awe, flattery, and praise rippled continuously through the surrounding spectator stands. Listening to the endless stream of compliments, Elder Wu-Bao stroked his grey goatee beard, a wide, triumphant smile spreading across his face.
On the flat stone arena floor below, nearly thirty young disciples of the Wu Clan's main and branch lines were standing in neat formation. Among them stood Wu-Kang, a broad-shouldered, fierce-looking youth who had reached the peak of the Third-Stage of Ki refinement. He smirked arrogance, confident that he would secure the second highest rank under Wu-Feng today.
Elder Wu-Bao slowly stood up from his carved oak chair, walking to the edge of the viewing platform. He raised a heavy hand, signaling for quiet. The deafening noise in the arena instantly subsided, thousands of eyes locking onto the Chief Elder.
"People of Azure Mist City, distinguished guests, and members of our noble lineage!" Elder Wu-Bao's voice, propelled by his Fourth-Stage Ki, echoed loudly across every corner of the granite arena. "Today, our Wu Clan hosts the Triennial Family Assessment to evaluate the strength and growth of our younger generation! Strength is the absolute pillar upon which our family stands. Only the strong deserve resources, respect, and lineage! Those without talent are mere burdens!"
He gestured with a proud wave toward Wu-Feng. "My son, Wu-Feng, has brought grand honor to our lineage by entering the Sovereign Sword Sect! Today, after evaluating our younger martial artists, he shall officially be declared the future Young Patriarch of the Wu Clan!"
The crowd erupted into thunderous applause, cheers, and drums.
On the eastern spectator stand, seated inside an exclusive VIP pavilion, Miss Liu-Rong of the Silver-Crane Trading Society sat quietly behind a delicate bamboo screen. Her intelligent eyes ignored the arrogant display on the main platform, scanning the outer entrance gates of the arena continuously. Beside her, the old Captain Chen stood with a serious, watchful posture.
"Young Mistress," Captain Chen whispered softly, leaning down slightly. "Do you truly believe that young senior will show up here today? The Wu Clan is heavily guarded, and Wu-Feng has already reached the Fifth-Stage of Ki refinement."
Miss Liu-Rong tapped her silver folding fan lightly against her palm, her gaze fixed on the quiet entrance. "He said he was returning to settle an account. And today is the final day of the Wu Clan's three-week deadline. A dragon does not make empty statements, Captain Chen."
Back on the high platform, the elderly record-keeping steward opened a massive leather-bound ledger, unrolling a long parchment scroll containing the official participant roster.
"The assessment shall now begin!" The steward shouted in a loud, clear voice that resonated across the arena floor. "First match: Wu-Kang versus Wu-Ming! Disciples, step into the ring!"
As the two young men stepped forward to prepare their duel, the steward turned the page of the ledger. His eyes briefly fell upon a crossed-out name written at the very bottom of the roster. He paused, leaning over to whisper cautiously in Elder Wu-Bao's ear.
"Chief Elder... regarding the three-week exile period for the former branch young master, Li-Wen... it officially expires at noon today. He has not appeared to sign the forfeiture document. Shall I formally strike his lineage from the main ancestral tree now?"
Wu-Feng scoffed quietly, taking a slow sip of warm mountain tea without even looking up. "I told you last night, steward. That trash's bones are already rotting in some forest ditch miles away. Three weeks ago, I personally broke his ribs and threw him out into the freezing rain. Strike his name and burn the parchment."
Elder Wu-Bao nodded coldly, his face devoid of any emotion. "Proceed. A dead cripple has no right to hold space on our family ledger."
The steward raised a red ink brush, dipping it into a dish of dark dye, preparing to draw a thick, permanent red line across the name Li-Wen.
CLANG—!
Suddenly, a sound lighter than a dropping feather, yet strangely heavy enough to ring sharply inside the eardrums of every single person in the ten-thousand-seat arena, echoed through the air!
The heavy, iron-reinforced main gates at the southern entrance of the arena did not burst open violently. Instead, they swung backward slowly and silently on their massive iron hinges, as if pushed open by an invisible, gentle mountain breeze.
A sudden, strange chill swept through the warm morning air, causing the silk banners on the high platform to freeze mid-flutter.
From the wide shadow of the open gateway, a single, tall, slender figure stepped calmly onto the pristine white marble path leading toward the central arena floor.
He was dressed in a plain, simple blue scholar gown that showed subtle signs of travel, yet not a single speck of dust or mud touched its hem. His posture was straight as an unyielding sword, his hands resting casually behind his back. His dark hair fluttered gently in the cold breeze, and his serene, handsome face carried a tranquil, completely unbothered expression.
Every eye in the arena gradually shifted away from the fighting ring, turning toward the lone youth walking down the center aisle.
"Who is that?"
"A scholar? Why is a scholar entering the martial arena floor?"
"Wait... look at his face... isn't that...?"
The elderly steward holding the red ink brush froze completely. His hand trembled so violently that the brush slipped from his fingers, clattering loudly against the wooden desk.
"Li... Li-Wen?!" The steward gasped, his voice trembling so hard that the acoustic amplification of the arena picked it up for everyone to hear.
The entire viewing platform fell into an eerie, sudden silence.
Elder Wu-Bao's arrogant smile instantly froze on his face. Sitting beside him, Wu-Feng's tea cup paused mid-air, his sharp pupils shrinking to the size of needle points as he stared down at the youth walking calmly below.
Down on the arena floor, Li-Wen did not look at the thousands of staring spectators, nor did he look at the armed guards who instinctively reached for their sword hilts. He walked with measured, rhythmic steps until he stood directly in the center of the marble ring, looking up at the high platform with a pair of dark, calm eyes that seemed as vast and unfathomable as the cosmic abyss.
"Three weeks have passed," Li-Wen's smooth, velvet voice echoed across the massive arena, light yet possessing a terrifying clarity that pierced straight into everyone's soul.
"I have returned to accept the assessment... and settle the old debts."
The absolute silence inside the Central Martial Arena lasted for several heavy seconds before collapsing into a storm of confused murmurs and shocked gasps.
"Li-Wen?! Isn't he the discarded branch youth who had his cultivation base ruined three weeks ago?!"
"I heard he was crippled by Young Master Wu-Feng and thrown out of the city like trash! How is he still alive?!"
"Look at him... he doesn't look injured at all! In fact, his aura seems... strangely tranquil!"
Up on the honor platform, Elder Wu-Bao's face turned from pale white to a deep, furious shade of red. He slammed his heavy palm onto the armrest of his oak chair, shattering the carved wood into splinters!
"Insolent trash!" Elder Wu-Bao roared, his Third-Stage Ki flaring up like an angry flame around his body. "You dare return to Azure Mist City after being exiled by the family council?! Interrupting the Grand Assessment is a crime punishable by immediate execution!"
Down in the ring, Li-Wen did not even blink at the Chief Elder's thunderous rage. He simply stood with his hands behind his back, his blue robes swaying gently in the mountain wind.
"Exiled?" Li-Wen spoke in a quiet, smooth tone that somehow effortlessly carried over Elder Wu-Bao's roaring voice. "The family charter explicitly states that an exiled disciple is granted three weeks to return and challenge the council's decision through open trial by combat. Today marks the final hour of that third week. I stand within the rules of the lineage."
The elderly steward hurriedly checked the parchment scroll, his forehead dripping with cold sweat. He leaned toward Elder Wu-Bao and whispered in a trembling voice, "Chief Elder... he... he is correct. By ancient ancestral law, if he stands in the arena before noon on the twenty-first day, he has the legal right to request a lineage challenge..."
"Lineage challenge?!" Wu-Feng stood up slowly from his seat, his white-and-silver robes fluttering as he stepped to the front of the platform. He looked down at Li-Wen with a sneer filled with supreme arrogance and cold disgust.
"A crippled ant who couldn't even cultivate First-Stage Ki wants to claim a lineage challenge?" Wu-Feng spat out, his fingers resting casually on the hilt of his sword. "Li-Wen, three weeks ago, I broke your ribs and left you bleeding in the mud because you were a disgrace to our bloodline. You should have stayed in the wild and lived out your pathetic life as a beggar. Coming back here today is the stupidest mistake of your miserable existence."
Li-Wen slowly raised his eyes, looking directly into Wu-Feng's arrogant gaze. Deep within Li-Wen's dark pupils, a faint, microscopic glint of golden-purple cosmic energy flickered silently, invisible to the mortal eye.
"Three weeks ago, you relied on corrupt elders to ambush a weakened youth," Li-Wen replied smoothly, his tone as calm as a mirror-like lake. "You claimed strength gives you the right to decide who lives and who dies. Today, I am standing here to see if your strength matches your loud mouth."
"Presumptuous bastard!"
Before Wu-Feng could even respond, Wu-Kang, the broad-shouldered youth standing on the arena floor, stepped forward with a loud, aggressive roar.
Wu-Kang drew a heavy iron broadsword from his waist, his Third-Stage Ki erupting around his muscular arms like a brown earthen shroud. He glared at Li-Wen with bloodthirsty eyes, eager to perform in front of Chief Elder Wu-Bao and Wu-Feng.
"Young Master Wu-Feng, do not dirty your hands with this trash!" Wu-Kang bellowed, swinging his heavy broadsword through the air, creating a sharp whistling wind. "I, Wu-Kang, shall break his remaining limbs and drag his bloody corpse out of this arena!"
Wu-Feng sneered, waving his hand carelessly. "Do it, Wu-Kang. Make sure you don't kill him too fast. I want him to crawl out of here like a dog."
"Hahaha! As you wish!" Wu-Kang laughed maniacally, stepping onto the central marble ring.
The crowd of thousands held their breath. Many closed their eyes, expecting the plain, blue-robed scholar to be sliced into pieces instantly by Wu-Kang's heavy Third-Stage strike.
In the VIP pavilion, Captain Chen reached for his longsword, his face filled with anxiety. "Young Mistress! That Wu-Kang is at the peak of the Third-Stage! His physical strike force exceeds two thousand pounds! Should we intervene?!"
Miss Liu-Rong merely opened her silver fan, a subtle, knowing smile gracing her lips. "Watch carefully, Captain Chen. You are about to see a tragedy... but not for Li-Wen."
Down on the ring, Wu-Kang stomped his foot against the granite, cracking the stone floor beneath his boots!
"Die, trash! Earth-Crashing Cleave!"
SWISH—!
Wu-Kang's body surged forward like a enraged bull, his heavy broadsword wrapped in brown Third-Stage Ki, cleaving down toward Li-Wen's collarbone with murderous force! The blade moved so fast that it left a blurry arc in the air!
Facing this terrifying, heavy strike, Li-Wen did not move a single inch. He did not draw a weapon, nor did he raise his arms to block. He simply stood there, his posture relaxed, his hands still casually folded behind his back.
"Is he frozen in fear?!"
"He's not even dodging!" Spectators screamed in terror.
Just as the razor-sharp edge of the broadsword descended within three inches of Li-Wen's shoulder—
Li-Wen simply leaned his head back by half an inch.
SWHHH!
The heavy iron blade sliced through thin air, missing his robe by a hair's breadth! The immense wind pressure from the strike blew Li-Wen's dark hair back, revealing his cold, tranquil eyes.
"What?!" Wu-Kang gasped in disbelief, his full-force strike striking nothing but empty air, causing his balance to tip forward violently.
Before Wu-Kang could recover his stance, Li-Wen raised his right hand, extending a single, clean forefinger.
There was no glowing Ki aura. There was no explosive shockwave.
Li-Wen simply tapped the tip of his index finger lightly against the flat side of Wu-Kang's heavy iron broadsword.
TAP.
The moment his fingertip touched the iron blade, a microscopic, concentrated pulse of the Abyssal Bone Rune's dark gravitational resonance surged out from Li-Wen's skeletal structure!
CRACK... BANG—!
The heavy iron broadsword, forged from refined mountain steel, suddenly trembled violently before exploding into thousands of tiny, microscopic metal splinters!
"My sword?!" Wu-Kang shrieked in absolute horror!
Before his mind could process how a single finger could shatter refined steel, the dark kinetic shockwave carried through the shattered blade and struck Wu-Kang's chest!
BOOM!
"Aaargh!"
Wu-Kang spewed a huge fountain of fresh blood from his mouth as his heavy iron chest armor shattered like fragile glass! His entire body was blasted backward through the air like a cannonball, flying over fifty paces across the arena floor before crashing violently into the heavy stone wall beneath the honor platform!
CRACKLE!
The solid granite wall cracked into a spiderweb pattern as Wu-Kang collapsed into a bloody heap, unconscious, his meridians completely shattered!
Silence.
Absolute, suffocating, spirit-crushing silence descended upon the entire ten-thousand-seat arena!
The wind stopped blowing. The drums ceased. Thousands of spectators sat paralyzed in their seats, their eyes bulging out of their sockets, their mouths wide open in utter disbelief!
A Third-Stage martial artist, armed with a heavy steel broadsword... defeated in a single second by a finger tap from an unarmed scholar who kept his other hand behind his back?!
"What... what just happened?!"
"Did he use a concealed explosive talisman?!"
"No! There was no talisman energy! He... he shattered refined steel with a single finger!"
In the VIP pavilion, Captain Chen's longsword fell out of his grip, clattering onto the wooden floor. His face was completely pale, his eyes staring at Li-Wen in sheer terror. "Bare-handed kinetic shockwave... effortless force dispersion... He... he didn't even use First-Stage Ki! That was pure physical body density!"
Miss Liu-Rong snapped her fan shut, her heart beating rapidly with intense excitement. "I told you, Captain Chen. The Wu Clan has no idea what kind of monster they have provoked."
Up on the honor platform, Elder Wu-Bao stood frozen, his eyes wide with horror as he looked down at the unconscious, bloody body of Wu-Kang embedded in the stone wall.
"Wu-Kang!" Several branch elders gasped, scrambling down the steps to check on the wounded youth.
Wu-Feng's lazy, arrogant expression completely vanished. His hand gripped the hilt of his longsword so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His sharp eyes glared down at Li-Wen, filled with a mixture of shock, rage, and a deep, underlying sense of threat that he had never felt before in his entire life.
"You... you restored your cultivation?!" Wu-Feng spat out through gritted teeth, his Fifth-Stage Ki erupting around his white robes like a sharp, silver sword aura! "No! Even if your meridians healed, it is impossible to gain such physical strength in just three weeks! What evil demonic technique did you cultivate?!"
Li-Wen stood calmly in the center of the ring, gently dusting a speck of iron powder from his sleeve. His face remained as smooth and unruffled as a calm ocean.
"Demonic technique?" Li-Wen looked up at Wu-Feng, a faint, cold smile curving his lips. "When an ant sees a mountain, it calls the mountain a demon because its narrow mind cannot comprehend the height of the sky."
"You arrogant bastard!" Wu-Feng's face twisted into a demonic rage.
He stepped over the stone railing of the high platform, vaulting down thirty feet into the arena ring like a descending white hawk!
SWISH—!
Wu-Feng landed gracefully on the marble floor, his silver sword drawing half an inch from its gem-studded sheath, emitting a sharp, metallic hum that vibrated through the air!
The intense, terrifying pressure of a Fifth-Stage Ki cultivator swept across the arena floor, causing the surrounding flags to snap violently!
"Fifth-Stage Ki Refinement!"
"Young Master Wu-Feng is taking the field himself!"
"That scholar might be strong, but facing a disciple of the Sovereign Sword Sect is suicidal!"
Elder Wu-Bao shouted from the high platform, his voice laced with venom. "Feng's! Do not show mercy! Kill this traitor on the spot! Break his spine and erase his dirty blood from our family tree!"
Wu-Feng raised his longsword, pointing the gleaming silver tip directly at Li-Wen's throat. His eyes burned with murderous intent.
"Li-Wen," Wu-Feng spoke in a cold, deadly voice. "I don't care what encounter you had in the wilderness, or what forbidden medicine you swallowed to heal your body. In front of the absolute sword techniques of the Sovereign Sword Sect, your little tricks are nothing more than dust!"
He circulated his Fifth-Stage Ki ocean, causing his silver sword blade to glow with a sharp, blinding light!
"I will cut off your limbs one by one, tear out your tongue, and make you kneel before my father until you beg for death!"
Li-Wen"...I will cut off your limbs one by one, tear out your tongue, and make you kneel before my father until you beg for death!"
Li-Wen stood in the absolute center of the ring, his expression remaining completely tranquil, like a clear mirror reflecting a passing storm. He did not draw a weapon, nor did he alter his posture. His hands remained casually rested behind his blue scholar gown.
"You speak of absolute sword techniques," Li-Wen's smooth, velvet voice echoed softly across the hushed arena, effortlessly piercing through the suffocating pressure of Wu-Feng's Fifth-Stage sword aura. "Yet your wrist wobbles, your weight leans too heavily on your front foot, and your Ki distribution is wildly uneven. In my eyes, your so-called Sovereign Sword technique is nothing more than a child swinging a stick."
"COURTING DEATH!" Wu-Feng roared in absolute humiliation!
SWISH—!
Wu-Feng's body transformed into a blurred silver phantom as he lunged forward! His sword technique, the Sovereign Silver-Flash Sword, exploded into seven blinding silver sword rays that aimed simultaneously at Li-Wen's throat, eyes, heart, and major meridian points!
The speed was so terrifyingly fast that the spectators in the stands could only see a flash of silver light cutting through the air!
"Die!" Wu-Feng screamed, his eyes bloodshot with murderous intent!
Yet, facing this lethal barrage, Li-Wen did not even blink.
TAP.
Li-Wen took a single, half-step to the left, his body moving with an impossible, ghostly fluidity that bypassed the laws of momentum!
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
All seven silver sword rays pierced through thin air, missing his blue gown by a fraction of a millimeter! The immense sharp wind pressure sliced through the marble floor behind Li-Wen, leaving seven deep, smoking grooves in the stone.
"Impossible!" Wu-Feng's heart leaped into his throat. He immediately redirected his momentum, sweeping his blade sideways in a horizontal arc aimed to sever Li-Wen's waist! "Silver Dragon Sweeps the Marsh!"
Li-Wen simply leaned back slightly, his cloth shoes glued to the floor as his upper body dipped backward like a sway-willow in the wind.
WHOOSH!
The sharp, glowing silver blade brushed past his nose, cutting only a few loose strands of air!
"Is this all the Sovereign Sword Sect has taught you?" Li-Wen's calm voice sounded directly in Wu-Feng's ears.
Before Wu-Feng could recover his balance, Li-Wen's right hand whipped out from behind his back like a lightning bolt!
SLAP—!
A crisp, thunderous sound echoed across the entire ten-thousand-seat arena!
Li-Wen didn't even use a fist or a weapon—he simply slapped Wu-Feng squarely across the face with his open palm!
BOOM!
The sheer kinetic force of the slap, powered by Li-Wen's dense skeletal structure and the latent resonance of the Abyssal Bone Rune, smashed through Wu-Feng's Fifth-Stage Ki defense instantly!
"GAHHH!"
Wu-Feng spewed a huge cloud of blood mixed with a dozen shattered teeth! His body spun mid-air like a broken top, his precious gem-studded longsword flying out of his hand and clattering uselessly onto the stone floor!
THUD!
Wu-Feng crashed heavily onto the marble ring floor, sliding fifteen paces before rolling to a stop right at Li-Wen's feet. Half of his handsome face was instantly swollen, purple, and covered in blood, his white-and-silver sect robes torn and coated in dirty gray dust.
The entire Central Martial Arena fell into a dead, terrifying quiet.
Thousands of spectators sat frozen, their minds completely shattered by the sight. The peerless genius of the Wu Clan, an outer disciple of the mighty Sovereign Sword Sect, a Fifth-Stage Ki refinement expert... slapped out of the air like a filthy mosquito by an unarmed youth in a scholar gown!
In the VIP pavilion, Miss Liu-Rong let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, her silver fan snapping shut with a soft, decisive click.
"The dragon has officially unsheathed his claws," she whispered softly.
Down on the ring, Li-Wen stood over the bleeding, groaning Wu-Feng. He looked down at the writhing youth with dark, indifferent eyes that held no anger, no hatred—only the absolute, terrifying coldness of a sovereign looking down at an insect.
"Three weeks ago," Li-Wen spoke in a quiet, smooth voice that echoed through the silent arena, "you stood on this ground and declared that the weak have no right to choose their fate. Today, you are kneeling at my feet. By your own logic... what right do you have to live?"
Wu-Feng trembled violently in his own blood, his remaining eye burning with a mixture of extreme rage, intense humiliation, and bone-deep, suffocating horror.
The battle was far from over, but the myth of the Wu Clan's untouchable genius had been shattered forever.
See you in next chapter...