Night blanketed Crimson River City, but the skies refused to sleep.
Above the Sky Vine Court, clouds churned like restless beasts. Threads of lightning pulsed through them—silent, waiting. The heavens hadn't struck yet, but they were watching.
And Li Fan felt it.
---
Inside a quiet chamber lined with spirit runes, Mu Qiu crouched beside Li Fan, wrapping a spirit-drenched cloth around his wounded ribs.
"You need rest," Mu Qiu muttered. "Your organs are bruised. You burned your marrow resisting the tribulation's call."
Li Fan lay still, his skin pale and steaming with residual heat. "If I had broken through just now... I wouldn't have survived the duel."
"You would've died," Mu Qiu said bluntly. "Heaven doesn't wait. It devours. Especially for a body like yours."
Li Fan didn't respond.
Because he knew.
He could feel the Fifth Cauldron spinning—sluggish, hungry, ready to ignite. But it wasn't time.
Not yet.
---
Across the city, in a lantern-lit garden surrounded by floating petals, Yue Xin stood alone beside a spirit pond.
She stared into the water, seeing the reflection of Li Fan's last blow against Ren Tian. It had been wild, desperate—but also something else.
Purposeful.
She touched her jade pendant, her voice a whisper.
"You're still holding back. What are you hiding, Li Fan?"
Behind her, her attendant stepped forward. "Should we interfere?"
"No." She smiled faintly. "Let the dragon grow in its own fire. The moment he breaks through... it will change the tournament. It may change the entire southern prefecture."
---
Meanwhile, Ren Tian sat atop the highest guest pagoda, sword resting across his knees.
He had cleaned his blade three times already.
"Four Cauldrons," he murmured. "And yet…"
He clenched his fist. "That pressure... it was like standing before a collapsing mountain."
His junior brother, Bai Yuan, stood nearby. "Should we cripple him early? Remove the threat before the next trial?"
"No," Ren Tian said. "Let him live. If I can't crush him at his peak, then I'm not worthy of the Heavenly Sword Path."
---
The next morning, the Court lit up once again.
Elder Hua rose to the center stage, arms wide.
> "The fourth trial begins today: The Dragon Pulse Maze. You will be sent into an underground network of spirit veins. The deeper you go, the greater the pressure—and the rewards."
> "Only those who reach the heart chamber will advance."
With a gesture, the stone tiles beneath the arena split, revealing a swirling pool of golden mist and spiritual energy.
Mu Qiu leaned toward Li Fan as they waited their turn.
"You okay?"
Li Fan stood tall, but his muscles ached. "I'll be fine. As long as I don't break through... I'll be fine."
---
They dove into the Dragon Pulse.
The moment they entered, Li Fan felt the difference.
The air was alive—hot, turbulent, and deeply spiritual. Veins of pulsing energy twisted through stone corridors like the roots of a great beast.
As he ran, illusions flashed—giant spectral beasts, ancient cultivators, whispering shadows trying to seduce or terrify him. He crushed them all with fists and will.
But the deeper he went, the more the cauldron stirred.
By the time he reached the third core chamber, his bones had begun to glow faintly from within.
---
At the heart of the maze, only four figures made it:
Yue Xin, cold and ethereal.
Ren Tian, bleeding but triumphant.
The masked Mountain Ghost disciple, silent as the grave.
And Li Fan—barely holding back the tide inside him.
---
The stage was set.
The final trial before the semifinals was coming—and Li Fan was running out of time.
---