The Aftermath
The smoke cleared slowly, curling upward from the cracked stone. The braziers sputtered, their green flames bending as if recoiling from what they had just seen.
On the platform, Bao Zhi lay sprawled, his massive frame twitching faintly, the venom scales across his chest shattered like broken glass. His eyes were rolled white, his breath ragged.
And standing above him was Shen Lian.
His robe was torn, his face smeared with blood, his veins faintly black beneath pale skin. His chest heaved with each breath, but his eyes—gray, slit-pupiled—were steady, cold.
The lotus inside him pulsed faintly, its shadow lingering behind him for a moment before fading.
The courtyard erupted into chaos.
⸻
The Crowd's Whispers
"He… he broke Bao Zhi's Thousand Venom Scales!"
"No one has ever done that!"
"Impossible… what kind of art does he use?"
Others whispered more darkly, voices shaking:
"I saw it. I swear I saw petals behind him."
"It wasn't cultivation—it was devouring!"
"He's not a disciple… he's a demon in human skin."
Fear and awe rippled through the crowd in equal measure. For the first time, no one laughed at the name "cripple." Now, they spoke "Shen Lian" with dread.
⸻
Su Rou's Terror
On the terrace, Su Rou's nails dug into her palms until they bled. Her lips trembled. She could not breathe.
He had won. He stood, alive. But what had she seen in the smoke? The faint bloom of a lotus, black and hungry, petals stretching toward Bao Zhi's flesh.
Her chest ached with two truths that could not coexist: she wanted him to live, and she feared what he was becoming.
Tears blurred her vision as she whispered, "Shen Lian… please don't vanish from yourself."
⸻
The Elders' Division
In the Hall of Green Flames above, the elders hissed like serpents.
"He did it again! The bloom—I saw it this time!"
"Kill him now before he becomes uncontrollable!"
"No… Bao Zhi was late Coiling Serpent Stage, and Shen Lian defeated him. No ordinary art can do this. He is proof our Hall can rise again."
Their voices clashed, venom against venom, fear against greed.
Sect Master Hei Zong's face was carved from stone. His gaze was sharp, heavy, unreadable.
⸻
Mo Xuan's Smile
Elder Mo Xuan alone smiled faintly, his eyes never leaving Shen Lian.
You bloom faster than I hoped, he thought. Each fight waters your roots. Each rival feeds your petals. Good… very good.
⸻
The Silence of Victory
The elder announcing matches stepped forward, voice trembling.
"Winner—Shen Lian."
The crowd erupted again, this time not with cheers, but with a chaotic storm of fear, awe, and disbelief.
Shen Lian did not bow, did not smile. He only turned from Bao Zhi's broken form and walked slowly from the platform, each step steady, deliberate.
The whispers followed him like a tide.
"Demon."
"Monster."
"Devourer."
And yet none dared block his path.
⸻
Cliffhanger
As Shen Lian disappeared into the shadows of the terrace, Su Rou pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle a sob.
She did not know if she had just seen Shen Lian win… or if she had seen the last of Shen Lian, swallowed by the lotus that laughed inside him.
Above, Hei Zong's gaze narrowed. Mo Xuan's smile widened.
And in the serpent pits below, the chained Abyssal Serpent stirred, its blind eyes glowing faintly, as if answering the bloom of another serpent rising.