Chapter 7: A Sword That Refuses to Kneel
The sky trembled.
The air above the Scarlet Cloud Outpost shimmered with the force of the incoming cultivators. Crimson streaks tore through the clouds as inner sect elites descended on spirit swords, each leaving behind a blazing trail of qi.
Lin Tian stood calmly at the center of the outpost, his hands still loosely at his sides. His golden eyes reflected the descending figures as if they were nothing more than passing birds in an ordinary sky.
Inside the outpost, disciples crawled away from him, faces pale, breathing ragged. Some didn't even dare look up. The weaker ones had already collapsed, meridians shaking from just the pressure he unconsciously released.
He hadn't attacked them. He had simply walked through their camp.
The elites landed in a semi-circle around him, their robes fluttering with killing intent. Each one radiated the unmistakable aura of cultivators who had seen real battles. Their qi was steadier than the outer disciples, sharper, and carrying the faint smell of blood.
At their center hovered the woman who had spoken earlier.
She descended lightly, her boots touching the dirt without a sound. Her presence settled over the camp like frost — controlled, cold, disciplined. She had the bearing of a person used to giving orders, not receiving them.
Her long black hair flowed down her back like a glossy waterfall, rippling with hidden power. Her eyes were sharp and cool as moonlit steel, yet flickered with curiosity the moment her gaze settled on Lin Tian.
"You," she said. "State your name, realm, and sect affiliation."
Lin Tian tilted his head slightly, studying her. She had a powerful core, but her aura was intentionally suppressed — clearly trained to hide her true strength. She wasn't weak. In her sect, she was likely a rising star. Her breathing was steady, heart quiet, posture perfect. A warrior, not a sheltered genius.
But compared to him?
She was still an ant observing a dragon.
"I have no sect," Lin Tian said, his voice calm, leisurely even. "As for realm… I've lost count."
A few inner sect elites stiffened.
"Lost count?" A scar-faced cultivator stepped forward, anger twisting his expression. "You expect us to—"
He didn't finish.
Lin Tian's gaze flicked toward him.
Just one glance.
The man choked, qi scattering again, knees buckling as if invisible chains tightened around him. His spirit sword trembled violently under the pressure, cracks forming along its edge.
Lin Tian looked away before the sword snapped entirely.
A murmur spread among the elites.
"How can eyesight alone disperse qi circulation?"
"He didn't even raise his spirit pressure!"
"This guy… what monster is he?"
The woman raised a hand, silencing them instantly.
She stepped closer, her boots crushing splinters of wood beneath her. Lin Tian watched the way she moved — balanced, smooth, ready to counter any attack. Not reckless. Not timid. Sharp.
"What happened to my outpost?" she asked. "These disciples…"
"They attacked me," Lin Tian said blandly.
Gasps swept through the elites.
But she didn't react with shock. Her eyes narrowed slightly, studying the kneeling ranks of her own sect.
She could see it — their fear wasn't fake. Their injuries weren't from being physically assaulted. Their meridians had collapsed from pure pressure.
She turned back to him. "You walk with the aura of a powerful realm… yet I cannot sense your cultivation base clearly. Are you masking it?"
"No."
The honesty of the answer hung in the air.
He wasn't hiding anything. His realm was simply beyond their comprehension.
The woman's jaw tightened slightly — not out of fear, but calculation. "You've wandered far from the forest. Why come here? Our sect has nothing to do with you."
"I came to sign in."
She blinked. "What?"
Lin Tian said nothing further. She had no way to understand his words — not yet.
Her eyes slid to the Silent Sky Blade at his waist, shimmering with a cold and elegant glow. Recognition flashed across her face. "That weapon… that's Sect Treasury grade. You stole from our outpost?"
Lin Tian raised an eyebrow. "Stole?"
The air became heavier for a moment, wind swirling as spiritual pressure thickened.
"The heavens gave it to me. If your sect wants to contest that, you can try."
Some of the elites took a step back involuntarily. Only the woman held her ground.
Her gaze lowered slightly, tension pooling in her shoulders. She wasn't arrogant — she knew exactly how dangerous he was. She could feel it in her bones.
"What is your name?" she asked again, voice softer, though no less firm.
"Lin Tian."
She exhaled lightly, committing the name to memory. "I am Yan Qingxue, Inner Sect Captain of the Scarlet Cloud Sect's Seventh Division."
Lin Tian gave her a faint nod, acknowledging her introduction without bowing, kneeling, or showing respect. Not out of rudeness — but because the very concept did not apply to him.
He was not someone who bowed.
Yan Qingxue studied him closely. Her heartbeat remained steady, but a trace of unease flickered beneath her calm expression.
He should be at least a Foundation Realm cultivator, yet she felt something deeper — something older. A presence that made her instincts scream.
"You're dangerous," she said quietly.
Lin Tian didn't deny it. "Is that a problem?"
She held his gaze for a long moment. Her breathing quickened just slightly — her pupils dilated by a fraction. A reaction the elites couldn't see.
"No," she said at last. "Not yet."
Her voice dropped. "But I cannot ignore that you injured my disciples."
"They threatened me," Lin Tian said lightly. "I simply existed."
The elites swapped nervous looks.
Yan Qingxue's lips pressed together. A rare dilemma. She had to defend her sect's dignity… but attacking him was suicide.
Before she could speak again, the outpost shook.
A distant roar split the sky. Tremors rolled through the earth, knocking weaker disciples to the ground. Birds burst from the trees, shrieking as they fled.
Yan Qingxue turned sharply toward the forest line. "A beast tide?! At this time?!"
The elites shouted in alarm.
"That roar… it's at least a Late Core Beast!"
"But the beast tide shouldn't happen for another three months!"
"Captain! What should we—"
Lin Tian looked toward the forest. His expression barely shifted.
A massive shadow moved between the trees. Footsteps like falling mountains shook the soil.
Beasts poured from the woods in waves — wolves with crimson fur, horned boars with bodies like iron, serpents with glowing scales. All charging in a frenzied stampede.
At their center, a towering creature emerged — a four-armed ape with obsidian fur and molten-orange eyes. Its roar shattered nearby rocks.
Yan Qingxue stepped forward, sword in hand. Her long hair lifted with the wind, her aura flaring like a rising storm. "Scarlet Cloud! Prepare for defense!"
The elites rallied, forming a defensive line.
She glanced at Lin Tian. "Move behind the barrier if you value your life. Even a Foundation Realm cultivator can die here."
Lin Tian didn't move.
Her expression darkened. "This is not the time for pride. That is a Core Beast King—"
Lin Tian stepped past her, toward the incoming tide.
The wind pressed against him, but his steps were light, almost casual. Each stride carried the confidence of a man who had never once considered retreat as an option.
Yan Qingxue reached out instinctively, fingers brushing his sleeve — not fully grabbing him, but stopping short. Her touch trembled with urgency.
"You'll die."
Lin Tian turned his head slightly.
For the first time, their eyes met up close.
Her breath caught. His gaze was deep — impossibly deep. Like staring into a sky with no horizon. Her heart skipped, pupils tightening as her instincts screamed again.
This man was not normal. Not even close.
"You misunderstand," Lin Tian said softly. "I'm not the one in danger."
Before she could reply, he stepped forward.
The beast tide surged toward him like a collapsing mountain range. The ground split as the Beast King leaped, landing with a force that sent shockwaves through the valley.
Yan Qingxue's elites shouted, gripping their weapons tighter.
"That monster will crush him!"
"It's too fast—"
"No one can—"
Lin Tian raised one hand.
Just one.
The four-armed ape lunged, its giant fist descending like a meteor. Trees ripped from the ground. Dust filled the air.
Lin Tian's fingers closed calmly around the monster's wrist.
The impact never reached him. His feet remained planted, not even sliding an inch. The beast's full strength — enough to shatter a mountain wall — stopped as if it had struck a god made of stone.
Silence swallowed the battlefield.
Yan Qingxue's lips parted, eyes widening in disbelief.
Lin Tian squeezed.
Bones cracked. The beast roared in agony. The tide of lesser beasts halted, trembling as their king was lifted off the ground by a single human hand.
Lin Tian's aura flared. Golden light erupted around him like a miniature sun. The forest bent, the sky dimmed, and spiritual energy spiraled violently around his form.
His voice was quiet, but it echoed like thunder.
"Kneel."
He pushed downward.
The Beast King crashed into the earth so hard the valley shook. Craters formed beneath its knees. The earth itself split as it was forced down, pinned like an insect under his gaze.
The lesser beasts screamed and fled.
The elites gaped, speechless.
Yan Qingxue stared at him, her breath shallow, face flushed ever so slightly — not from fear, but something far more complex. Awe. Curiosity. A spark of dangerous admiration.
Lin Tian dusted off his hands as the Beast King writhed weakly beneath him, unable to stand.
"It's over."
Yan Qingxue swallowed. "You… what are you?"
Lin Tian stepped away from the beast, his silhouette framed by the shattered valley and the collapsing tide.
"Someone this world is not prepared for."
He walked back toward her — unhurried, uninjured, untouched.
Every step drew her heart tighter in her chest.
The elites parted instinctively, not daring to stand in his path. Even the wind slowed around him, as if afraid to brush too close.
Lin Tian stopped in front of Yan Qingxue.
Her voice shook for the first time. "Why… why are you here?"
"To see what this world has to offer," he said. "And perhaps… to see who can keep up."
Her breath hitched.
Something inside her shifted — interest, fear, and a flicker of warmth she didn't dare acknowledge.
Lin Tian stepped past her, leaving her standing rigid, hand trembling against the hilt of her sword.
Behind him, the Beast King weakly tried to rise.
Lin Tian didn't look back.
He simply raised one hand and snapped his fingers.
Golden light cut through the air like a silent blade.
The Beast King's head fell.
Yan Qingxue shivered.
He didn't even turn around.
*To be continued…*