Chapter 8: The First Rivalry
Moonlight bathed the floating island as Li Wei stepped outside, his Spirit Sense tracking Fang Luo and his cronies. The trio stood at the edge of his hut's garden, their silhouettes sharp against the glowing flora. Fang Luo, his robe embroidered with silver clouds, smirked. "Thought you'd hide forever, peasant? Hand over your pills, or we'll teach you your place."
Li Wei's blood boiled, but the Nine Worlds Ascension Art calmed his mind: Anger is a blade without a hilt. He assessed his foes: Fang at the seventh stage, his two lackeys at the sixth. Outnumbered and outclassed, but not outmatched. "Leave," Li Wei said, voice steady. "Or you'll regret it."
Fang laughed, drawing a short sword that hummed with qi. "Bold words for a rat." He lunged, his blade slashing with a gust of wind qi. The lackeys flanked, their fists glowing with crude qi strikes.
Li Wei activated Wind Step, weaving through the attacks. He countered with Qi Pulse Strike, aiming at Fang's dantian. The invisible pulse hit, causing Fang to stumble, his qi flow disrupted. The lackeys charged, but Li Wei's Qi Spiral sent them sprawling, their robes torn. Fang recovered, rage twisting his face. "You'll die for that!" He unleashed a Wind Blade Barrage, a flurry of sharp qi crescents.
Li Wei formed a Qi Barrier, the technique barely holding against the onslaught. Pain seared his arms as the barrier cracked, but he used the moment to close the distance, striking Fang's chest with another Qi Pulse Strike. Fang gasped, his sword dropping, but his qi flared violently, knocking Li Wei back.
"You think you've won?" Fang snarled, pulling a crimson pill from his sleeve—a Blood Fury Pill, known to boost strength at the cost of sanity. He swallowed it, his aura surging to peak Qi Condensation. His strikes became erratic, each blow shaking the ground.
Li Wei's Spirit Sense detected a weakness: Fang's qi was unstable, his meridians strained. Drawing on the crags' qi from his Mortal Realm battles, Li Wei channeled Qi Flame Control, igniting a small but intense flame in his palm. He merged it with Qi Spiral, creating a blazing vortex. "Burn," he whispered, unleashing it.
The vortex engulfed Fang, his screams echoing as his robe caught fire. The lackeys fled, and Fang collapsed, singed but alive. Li Wei stood over him, panting. "Stay down."
Before he could finish, a cold voice cut through the night. "Enough." Elder Mei appeared, her qi suppressing both combatants. She glanced at Fang, then Li Wei. "You've proven your strength, but this is not the Mortal Realm. Control your actions, or the sect will."
Fang was dragged away, his fate unclear. Elder Mei turned to Li Wei. "Your talent draws eyes—friends and enemies. Prepare for the outer disciple tournament in one month. It will test you further."
As she left, Li Wei felt the scroll hum, its characters shifting to reveal a new technique: Spirit Blade Formation, a method to weave qi into a defensive array. The Spirit Realm was no place for weakness. He returned to his hut, ready to cultivate through the night.