Deep in the Treasure Zone, the purple trees grew so thick they blocked out the crimson sky. The air was heavy with the scent of blood and rotting leaves.
Jiang Chen was not with them. He had stayed behind at the bridge to "finalize the accounts" (count the money), sending his three disciples ahead to scout the core region.
Without their Master, the dynamic of the Divine Dragon Trio shifted. Su Ling took point, her drones weaving through the branches like silent insects. Ye Kai walked at the back, a silent fortress guarding their retreat. Wei Wu walked in the center, his hand resting loosely on his sword hilt.
"Contact," Su Ling whispered, tapping her glasses. "500 meters ahead. High-energy conflict. It's the Heavenly Sword Sect."
"Are they fighting a Beast King?" Ye Kai asked quietly.
"No," Su Ling frowned, looking at the energy readings on her holographic lens. "They are fighting... zeros. The enemies have no Qi signature, yet they are winning."
Wei Wu tilted his head. "Let us observe."
They activated their stealth talismans and merged into the shadows of the ridge overlooking a clearing.
The Failure of the Sword Son
In the clearing below, a humiliating battle was taking place.
Jian Wushuang, the Sword Son of the Heavenly Sword Sect (Nascent Soul Level 5), was screaming. He was a genius. A prodigy who had awakened Sword Intent at age ten. But right now, he looked like a panicked child.
"Die! Why won't you die?!"
[Sword Art: Heaven Splitting Slash!]
Jian Wushuang swung his glowing blue sword. A forty-foot beam of pure Sword Qi erupted, slashing toward his opponent—a seven-foot-tall savage covered in grey markings and wearing dull black armor.
POOF.
When the magnificent Sword Qi hit the black armor, it didn't explode. It didn't cut. It vanished. Absorbed instantly.
The Savage Leader didn't even flinch. He just grinned, revealing filed teeth. "Weak light," the Savage grunted in an ancient dialect.
He charged. He didn't use Qi. He used pure, unadulterated violence. He swung a massive black axe.
Jian Wushuang panicked and activated his Spirit Shield. CRACK. The black axe smashed through the Spirit Shield as if it were glass. The mysterious metal ignored the Qi barrier completely.
"ARGH!" Jian Wushuang barely dodged, but the axe slammed into his shoulder. Bone cracked. He flew backward, crashing into a tree.
"Brother Jian!" The other Heavenly Sword disciples screamed, terrified. "Our swords don't work! These monsters are immune to Qi!"
"Star Iron," Su Ling whispered from the ridge. "A rare metal that nullifies spiritual energy. To a cultivator, it is the ultimate counter."
The Blind Boy Steps In
Below, the Savage Leader raised his axe to finish off the Sword Son. Jian Wushuang closed his eyes, waiting for death.
Step.
A soft footstep echoed in the clearing. Wei Wu walked out of the jungle.
The Savage Leader paused. He looked at the blind boy. He sniffed the air. "No magic smell," the Savage grunted. "Another weakling?"
Wei Wu didn't answer. He walked past the trembling Heavenly Sword disciples. He stopped in front of the massive Savage.
"You are strong," Wei Wu whispered. "Your armor eats energy."
The Savage Leader roared and swung his axe. "Die!"
"Wei Wu!" Ye Kai shouted from the ridge, ready to jump in. "Wait," Su Ling stopped him. "Watch the data."
Wei Wu didn't draw his sword yet. He sensed the axe coming down. In his mind, he didn't see the axe. He didn't see the armor. He saw the Space that the armor occupied.
"Master said," Wei Wu murmured. "If the armor is hard, do not cut the armor. Cut the space the armor exists in."
[Dao Concept: The Void Line.]
Wei Wu's thumb pushed his sword hilt. Click.
He drew. There was no beam of light. There was no wind. There was just a distortion. A thin, black line appeared in reality, passing through the Savage's axe, through the Star Iron armor, and through the Savage's chest.
Star Iron could absorb Qi. But it could not stop a rift in the dimension.
Snick. Wei Wu sheathed his sword.
CLANG. The massive black axe fell to the ground, sliced cleanly in half. The Star Iron armor on the Savage's chest split open with a smooth hiss. A thin red line appeared on the Savage's skin.
The Savage Leader froze. He looked at his broken weapon. He looked at the cut on his chest—shallow, but impossible. Terror filled his eyes. "You..." The Savage stepped back. "You cut... the Iron?"
Wei Wu turned around. He didn't finish the kill. "Let's go," he said to the ridge.
The Savage Leader didn't dare attack. He signaled his tribe to retreat into the trees, his eyes fixed on the blind boy with fear.
Jian Wushuang sat in the mud, clutching his broken shoulder. He stared at Wei Wu's back. "You... you saved me?" Then, his pride returned. "Wait! I didn't ask for your help! I could have handled it!"
Wei Wu didn't even turn his head. He just kept walking. "I didn't do it for you," Wei Wu said softly. "You were just in the way."
The Nightmare on the Screen
Outside the Small World. The Sky Mirror Broadcast was showing everything.
The disciples in the stands cheered. "Did you see that?! The blind boy cut the Anti-Magic armor!" "The Mystic Cloud Sect is insane this year!"
But in the VIP seats, the atmosphere was freezing cold. The Sect Leaders were not looking at Wei Wu. They were looking at the corner of the screen.
Just as the camera panned away from the clearing, a figure had appeared in the background. He stood on a tree branch, watching the fight. He wore blood-red robes. He didn't have a participant badge.
"Who is that?" The Beast Mountain Elder frowned. "That robe... I don't recognize that sect."
Suddenly, the figure on the screen looked directly at the camera drone. He smiled. His eyes were pitch black.
And then, he released his aura. He didn't release it in the Small World. He projected his Intent through the broadcast array.
BOOM.
The massive holographic screen in the Heavenly Sword Hall flickered violently. Static noise screamed, shattering the wine glasses on the tables. For a split second, the image on the screen changed. It wasn't the jungle anymore. It was a sea of blood.
And floating above the blood was a man with Void Treading Pressure.
Sect Leader Jian (Heavenly Sword) shot up from his throne, his face pale. "That pressure... Void Treading?! Inside the Small World?!"
"Impossible!" The Violet Mist Elder screamed. "The Small World restricts anyone above Spirit Severing! Who is that?!"
"That is Xie Molin," Grand Elder Feng (Mystic Cloud) whispered, his voice trembling with genuine terror. "One of the Twelve Commanders of the Blood Soul Sect."
"THE DEMON SECT?!"
Panic exploded in the hall. "Why is a Demon Commander inside the trial?!" "He will slaughter them! He will kill all our geniuses!"
"Cut the feed!" Sect Leader Jian roared. "Open the portal! Get them out NOW!"
The Heavenly Sword Elders rushed to the control array. "Sect Leader! We... we can't!" "The portal is jammed! Someone has locked the coordinates from the inside using a Void-Tier artifact!"
The Despair
On the static-filled screen, the image of Xie Molin appeared again. He wasn't fighting. He was holding a communication jade, speaking to someone unseen.
His lips moved. The array managed to catch his voice. "Lock the door. The hunting season has begun."
Zzzzt. The screen went black.
The connection was cut. The Sect Leaders stood in the silent hall, staring at the black screen. Their disciples—the hope of their future—were trapped in a locked box with a Void Treading Monster.
And there was nothing they could do but watch the participant names on the status board turn grey, one by one.