The torches lining the bloodstone cliff guttered as the wind rose—unnatural, hungry, howling like the dead.
Lin Feng stood facing the masked army. He didn't draw his blade yet. He didn't need to.
Ruoxi stepped up beside him, lips tight. "They brought a welcoming committee."
"I would've preferred fruit and wine," Lin Feng said, brushing dirt off his sleeve. "Or, I don't know… a polite envoy instead of a hundred masked psychos."
Ruoxi gave him a sideways glance. "You crack jokes when we're about to die?"
Lin Feng winked. "Humor sharpens the sword."
Ahead, the man who called himself the Inheritor of the Sixth Gate stepped forward.
He was tall—too tall—and thin in a way that made his joints seem too long, too bent, too wrong. His voice slithered between syllables like oil.
"Void Monarch. The Fifth Gate recognized you. I… don't."
Lin Feng tilted his head. "Is that jealousy I hear? Want me to write you a recommendation?"
A few of the masked warriors shifted, murmurs rippling through their ranks. Apparently, even gate fanatics hadn't expected their new enemy to insult their boss so casually.
The Inheritor's lips twisted.
"You mock what you don't understand."
"No," Lin Feng replied, still smiling. "I mock what wears skulls as fashion and calls it destiny."
With a flick of his hand, the void blade appeared. It was larger now—denser, pulsing with the energy of two claimed Keys. Runes crawled along its edge like a living script.
One masked figure charged without warning.
Bad idea.
Lin Feng vanished.
There was a sound like space folding. The attacker froze mid-lunge… then simply crumpled into a pile of neatly folded robes and mask fragments.
"I call that move 'origami death,'" Lin Feng said cheerfully. "Ten points for elegance."
Ruoxi sighed. "You're enjoying this too much."
"Not nearly enough."
The Inheritor roared.
"ATTACK!"
---
They came like a wave.
A hundred cultivators of the Sixth Gate, bearing demonic qi and sacrificial brands, surged forward.
Lin Feng's eyes gleamed.
"Let's see what level I can reach today."
He moved.
One blink, ten kills.
The void blade carved through spells like silk, drinking in energy.
He vanished again, appearing inside the formation. His fist shattered a hammer-wielder's chestplate. A follow-up kick sent another flying through a boulder.
Ruoxi danced beside him. Her twin sabers glittered, slicing through tendons and spell runes alike.
Then came the big one.
A twelve-foot brute charged with a black tower shield and molten axe.
"RAAAAAAARGH!"
Lin Feng blinked. "I name you 'Discount Boss Monster.'"
He pointed at Ruoxi. "This one's yours."
She snorted and leapt.
---
As they fought, the Inheritor stood unmoving.
Watching.
Waiting.
Then, slowly, he raised his blade.
It howled with screaming souls.
"I have mastered the Gate of Discord," he whispered. "And you will break before it."
Lin Feng stopped mid-duel, boots skidding on dust and ash.
"Oh no. Not a speech."
"I am the Wound of Balance. The Bane of Order—"
"Blah blah blah, just fight already."
The Inheritor's aura exploded.
And Lin Feng charged.
---
Their blades met with a sound like shattering stars.
Winds howled outward.
Cliffs cracked.
The world dimmed.
"You fight like a child," the Inheritor sneered.
"And you monologue like a drama teacher," Lin Feng shot back.
Their swords clashed again.
The Inheritor vanished into shadows—only to be caught mid-technique by a ripple of void.
Lin Feng appeared behind him.
"Space doesn't obey you. It listens to me."
He slashed.
Blood.
But the Inheritor laughed, turning to smoke.
"Good," he said. "Now you're worth killing."
---
For twenty minutes, their battle raged.
Each strike bent the world. Time wavered. Cultivators on both sides fled or died in the shockwaves.
Then, a silence.
They stood again, ten paces apart.
The Inheritor trembled.
"You… you're too early. The Monarch shouldn't awaken this fast."
Lin Feng smirked.
"Early bird gets the key."
He raised his hand.
Void runes burst into the sky.
"Void Law: Terminal Collapse."
A single point of space shattered—pulling all light, qi, and resistance into itself.
The Inheritor screamed as his sword melted. His body twisted. His mask cracked.
And then, nothing.
Just a patch of scorched stone.
---
The rest of the masked army scattered.
Lin Feng didn't pursue.
He fell to one knee.
"Still too costly," he murmured. "Still too shallow."
Ruoxi came to his side.
"You're bleeding."
"Cool. Adds character."
"You nearly died!"
He grinned weakly. "Only once. Today."
She punched his shoulder.
"Idiot."
"Still your idiot."
She flushed. "What?"
"Nothing," Lin Feng said quickly. "Void trauma. Ignore me."
---
That night, they camped at the edge of the ruins.
The stars above were clear.
Lin Feng sat staring into the fire.
"Five keys reclaimed," he whispered. "Two remain."
"And how many enemies?" Ruoxi asked.
He glanced at her.
"Too many."
She offered him a roasted spirit-fish. "Then eat. You'll need your strength."
He took it, nodding.
Then paused.
"…This is terrible."
"Shut up and eat."
They laughed.
Somewhere, a gate stirred.
But for a moment, there was peace.
---
To be continue...