The marsh shook.
Thunder swirled around Lin Feng's arms like chains forged from stormlight as the Marsh Warden emerged fully from the fog — and Lin Feng understood instantly:
This thing was not a beast.
It was a spirit construct, a living guardian formed from swamp qi, ancient resentment, and lost souls woven together. Its moss-covered shell pulsed with faint spiritual runes carved into its body. Runes that glowed with blue-white light.
Lin Feng whispered, "What… is that thing?"
Xuanyu Ye answered without taking his eyes off the monster.
"A Marsh Warden. Born when a spiritual swamp absorbs the souls of drowned cultivators for centuries. It is part beast, part spirit, part grudge."
Lin Feng's skin crawled.
"So it's immortal?"
"No. But it remembers every death it has witnessed. And it hates lightning."
The Warden stepped forward.
THOOOM.
The ground trembled. Water rippled outward in circles.
Its massive eyes — each the size of a water barrel — fixed entirely on Lin Feng.
As if the monster already judged him guilty of something.
"Lin Feng," Xuanyu said calmly, "focus."
Lin Feng forced down the fear climbing his throat.
He formed the Spiral Thunder Control, lightning begin to twist around his wrist. The energy was unstable, sparking off wildly.
Xuanyu gave a small hum. "Barely a beginner stage. Good enough for not dying — if you're lucky."
Lin Feng groaned. "…You could encourage me a little."
"I will, if you survive."
The Marsh Warden lurched forward.
The mist parted as its monstrous arm swept down like a falling mountain.
BOOOOOM!
Lin Feng Thunderstepped instinctively.
A flash of blue light — the world blurred — and he appeared ten meters away, sliding on wet mud.
The ground where he had stood was crushed into a crater.
Lin Feng gasped.
"That was close—"
"Don't talk," Xuanyu cut in, raising his fan.
"Act."
The elder blurred, moving with air-light grace. Wind pressure exploded as he clashed directly with the Marsh Warden, fan glowing with hidden runes.
BANG!
The Warden staggered as Xuanyu's attack sliced a line across its moss shell.
Water sprayed. Fog swirled violently.
But it didn't fall.
Instead, it roared — a deep, watery vibration that shook the marsh.
Lin Feng instinctively covered his ears.
"What was THAT?!"
Xuanyu snapped, "Its Soul Drown roar. It disrupts your spiritual sea. Stay sharp!"
Lin Feng braced himself, forming lightning around his right arm.
"Spiral Thunder Control!"
The ring of lightning condensed, but only partially — its rotation shaky and uneven.
Xuanyu called out, "Control your breathing! Don't let the lightning scatter!"
"I'm trying!"
The Warden's eyes locked on him.
It's coming…
It lunged again — faster this time.
Lin Feng stomped down.
"Heaven-Piercing Thunderstep!"
Lightning exploded around him — and he shot sideways, barely avoiding a massive arm that smashed into the swamp.
Mud and water erupted sky-high.
Lin Feng landed clumsily, slipping but catching himself.
Xuanyu shouted from midair, "Better! But that is still only the first stage of Thunderstep — imperfect displacement. You wasted half the qi."
Lin Feng wiped sweat from his brow.
"So how many stages are there?!"
"Sixty-four."
Lin Feng almost fainted.
The Marsh Warden inhaled sharply — the mist around it spiraling inward.
Xuanyu's eyes went cold.
"It's preparing a Marsh Breath attack! Lin Feng, don't let it lock onto you!"
"How do I avoid THAT?!"
"Move unpredictably! Thunderstep repeatedly!"
Lin Feng gritted his teeth.
He braced.
Lightning roared.
He began flickering around the battlefield — imperfect, unsteady, each movement a bit off-center, but it worked. His body flashed like a broken thunderbolt, dodging the swirling suction force the Warden projected.
But each Thunderstep drained his qi severely.
"I—I can't keep this up—!"
Xuanyu finally struck.
He raised his fan, spiritual qi condensing in a spinning sphere.
"Lin Feng! Now! Strike its eyes!"
Lin Feng's heartbeat pounded in his ears.
He saw the Warden's right eye — glowing, exposed, turning toward Xuanyu.
Lin Feng inhaled deeply.
Lightning spiraled around his wrist.
Unstable.
Rough.
But powerful.
"GO!"
Lin Feng leapt.
His fist surged with blue-white lightning.
RAGED THUNDER STRIKES!
The marsh lit up like a sunrise.
His fist slammed into the Warden's right eye—
KRAAAAAAAAAK!
Lightning exploded through the creature's skull in jagged arcs.
The Warden shrieked — the sound piercing, ancient, and despairing.
It staggered backwards, crashing into the marsh with earth-shaking force.
Xuanyu descended beside him, tapping his fan closed.
"Well done," he said simply.
Lin Feng panted heavily, shoulders shaking.
"We… won?"
"Yes."
The Marsh Warden dissolved, breaking down into mist and spiritual light that drifted across the marsh like fireflies.
A haunting, quiet end.
Then Xuanyu spoke again.
"And now you understand."
Lin Feng blinked. "Understand what?"
Xuanyu looked down at him with a calm, almost pitying expression.
"What you used today — Spiral Thunder Control, Thunderstep, and Raged Thunder Strikes — you have only reached:"
He held up a finger.
"Beginner stage."
Lin Feng's jaw dropped.
"BEGINNER?! That felt like tearing my soul apart! How many stages are there?!"
Xuanyu replied calmly:
Each technique follows four mastery realms:
Beginner Stage – crude usage, unstable, highly inefficient
Proficient Stage – stable control, safe in combat
Advanced Stage – technique evolves, creativity usable
Perfected Stage – technique transcends its original form
"And these are only the four mortal stages," Xuanyu added.
Lin Feng froze.
"…There are immortal stages too?"
Xuanyu nodded.
Immortal Stages of Technique Mastery are the, Spirit Engraved Stage,Dao Resonance Stage and the Heaven Defying Stage
Lin Feng's soul left his body.
"I HAVE TO MASTER SEVEN STAGES?!"
Xuanyu replied calmly:
"It will take you years. Possibly decades."
Lin Feng nearly fainted again.
"That wasn't motivation."
"It wasn't meant to be," Xuanyu said.
"It was honesty."
Before Lin Feng could complain, the fog shifted.
A faint orb floated where the Marsh Warden died — glowing soft blue-white.
Lin Feng frowned.
"What's that?"
Xuanyu answered:
"A Marsh Origin Pearl. The condensed essence of a defeated Warden. Its memory, its soul, its swamp qi."
Lin Feng swallowed.
"…And what does it DO?"
Xuanyu smirked.
"It lets you see what the Warden saw."
Lin Feng stiffened.
"The eyes…"
"Yes," Xuanyu said.
"And the Warden was watching you for a reason."
Lin Feng's pulse quickened.
"What reason?"
Xuanyu looked toward the endless fog.
"The marsh knows something you don't. Something ancient. Something dangerous."
He looked at Lin Feng with an expression rarely seen:
Caution.
"Absorb the pearl, Lin Feng.
Only then will you understand why the swamp has eyes."