Chapter 5: The Tournament Begins
The morning of the tournament arrived with snow.
It shouldn't have been possible—late spring in Voderland's capital was known for warmth and blooming flowers, not winter storms. Yet frost coated the Ling manor's grounds, and delicate snowflakes drifted from a cloudless sky, melting before they touched the earth.
Chen Feng stood at his window, watching the impossible snow with a mixture of satisfaction and concern. His Celestial Physique was affecting the local weather, his very presence dropping temperatures and manifesting winter where it had no business being.
"You're doing that," Yue Lian said from behind him. She'd stayed the night—nothing improper, just sleeping in his arms, both finding comfort in the closeness. "The snow."
"I know." Chen Feng held out his hand, letting snowflakes collect on his palm. They didn't melt against his frozen skin. "My control is better, but I can't completely suppress the aura. Especially not when I'm... emotional."
She moved to stand beside him, her warmth a pleasant contrast to his cold. "Nervous about the tournament?"
"About what comes after." He turned to face her. "Once I reveal my strength, everything changes. The family will have questions I can't answer. Enemies will take me seriously. And Tian Wu..."
"Will know you're a real threat," Yue Lian finished. "Good. Let him know. Let them all know that the 'family shame' is dead, and something far more dangerous has taken his place."
Chen Feng smiled despite his concerns. "When did you become so bloodthirsty?"
"When someone threatened what's mine." Her hand found his, fingers intertwining. "And you are mine, Young Master. Let anyone try to take you from me."
The possessiveness in her voice sent heat through his frozen veins. Later, he promised himself. After the tournament, after the immediate dangers were handled, they'd explore this new dynamic properly.
[Tournament Day - Schedule]
[Morning: Opening Ceremony]
[Afternoon: Preliminary Rounds]
[Evening: Quarter-Finals]
[Tomorrow: Semi-Finals and Finals]
A knock at the door interrupted the moment. A servant's voice, nervous: "Young Master Chen Feng? Lord Patriarch requests your presence at the tournament grounds. All family members are required to attend."
"Tell him I'll be there shortly," Chen Feng called back.
He dressed carefully—robes of deep blue and silver, colors that complemented his transformed appearance rather than fought against it. His hair, now permanently silver-white, was tied back with a jade clasp. There was no hiding what he'd become, so he might as well embrace it.
Yue Lian wore her formal shadow guard attire—black and gray, functional but elegant, her twin daggers visible at her waist. Together, they made their way to the tournament grounds.
The whispers started immediately.
"Is that really the Seventh Son?"
"What happened to him?"
"Those eyes... and his hair..."
"I heard he was sick, but this—"
Chen Feng ignored them all, maintaining perfect composure as he crossed the grounds. The tournament arena was a massive circular platform of reinforced stone, surrounded by tiered seating where family members, servants, and invited guests would watch the matches.
Already, dozens of people had gathered. Chen Feng recognized his siblings—First Brother Chen Zhao standing with their father, radiating Eighth Circle authority. Second Sister Chen Mei, beautiful and calculating, surrounded by her faction of supporters. Fourth through Sixth siblings clustered together, whispering and pointing.
And there, standing alone near the competitors' entrance, was Tian Wu.
The protagonist's eyes found Chen Feng immediately, widening slightly at his appearance in full daylight. Chen Feng gave him a slight nod—acknowledgment between rivals—which Tian Wu returned after a moment's hesitation.
"Chen Feng."
The voice froze everyone in place. Bai Zhuren—the patriarch, their father—descended the steps from the main viewing platform. His presence was overwhelming, Eighth Circle power barely contained, making the air itself shimmer with heat.
Chen Feng bowed formally. "Father."
"You look... different." The patriarch's eyes swept over him, analyzing, measuring. "The servants report strange occurrences in your wing. Frost in summer. Temperature drops. And now you appear like this." He gestured at Chen Feng's transformed appearance. "Explain."
Here it was. The moment of truth.
Chen Feng straightened, meeting his father's gaze without flinching. "I had a breakthrough. Several, actually. I'm no longer Second Circle."
The silence that followed was absolute.
"Impossible," Chen Wei said from somewhere in the crowd. "You were tested a month ago. Second Circle, barely functional. No one advances that fast—"
"Show me." The patriarch's command cut through all protests. "Your cultivation. Now."
Chen Feng didn't hesitate. He released the suppression he'd been maintaining, letting his full aura manifest.
Ice exploded outward.
The temperature dropped twenty degrees in an instant. Frost crystallized across the ground, spreading from Chen Feng in a perfect circle. The air filled with visible cold, breath misting, and from his body radiated power—Fifth Circle power, pure and undeniable.
Gasps erupted from the crowd. Chen Wei stumbled backward. Even Chen Zhao's eyes widened with shock.
Only the patriarch remained unmoved, though Chen Feng caught the flash of... something in his father's expression. Surprise? Recognition? Fear?
"Fifth Circle," Bai Zhuren said slowly. "How?"
"I found my true element." Chen Feng let ice form around his hand, crystallizing into a perfect blade. "Fire never suited me. But ice... ice is mine."
"Your mother." The patriarch's voice went cold. "You awakened her bloodline."
So he knew. Of course he knew—he'd married her, after all. But the way he said it, with such bitter emphasis...
"I awakened what was always there," Chen Feng corrected. "The potential you dismissed as weakness was actually a gift waiting to be claimed."
Father and son stared at each other, years of contempt and disappointment hanging between them like a blade. Then the patriarch smiled—a thin, dangerous expression.
"Good. Perhaps you're not as useless as I thought." He turned away, ascending back to his platform. "Compete in the tournament. Show me this 'gift' is worth the family's time."
It wasn't praise. It was a command, a test, and a threat all at once.
But Chen Feng would take it.
The opening ceremony was brief—welcome speeches, explanation of rules, drawing of lots for match assignments. Chen Feng found himself in the lower bracket, which meant easier opponents initially but a harder path to the finals.
Fine by him. He needed the practice.
His first match was against a cousin—Fifth Son of a branch family, Third Circle, fire affinity. The kind of opponent the old Chen Feng would have lost to in seconds.
The match began.
The cousin opened with a standard flame whip, aggressive but predictable. Chen Feng didn't bother dodging. He simply raised his hand, and the flames died, frozen in mid-air, crystallizing into harmless ice that shattered on the arena floor.
"What—" the cousin managed before Chen Feng was on him.
Not with overwhelming force. Not with flashy techniques. Just efficient, brutal close combat that Yue Lian had drilled into him over the past week. A frozen fist to the solar plexus. Ice forming on the cousin's legs, slowing him. A leg sweep that sent him crashing down.
The match lasted fifteen seconds.
The arena was silent as Chen Feng extended his hand, helping his defeated opponent up. "Good effort," he said politely, as if he hadn't just demolished someone who should have been his superior.
His second match went even faster. A Fourth Circle user who tried to overwhelm him with a fire storm. Chen Feng walked through it like it didn't exist, his Extreme Temperature Immunity rendering the flames harmless. One ice spike to the shoulder—carefully controlled to wound but not maim—and it was over.
By his third match, the crowd was buzzing with speculation and shock.
"The Seventh Son is Fifth Circle!"
"Did you see how he negated fire techniques?"
"That ice... I've never seen anything like it..."
Chen Feng tuned them out, focused on his next opponent—a Fourth Brother, also Fifth Circle, known for his aggressive fighting style.
This match would be different.
They faced each other across the arena, and Chen Feng saw the rage in his brother's eyes. Rage at being upstaged, at having the family failure suddenly become relevant, at everything Chen Feng represented.
"You think you're special now?" Fourth Brother snarled. "You're still the same pathetic—"
Chen Feng created an ice wall between them, cutting off the insults. Then he shattered it, sending razor-sharp fragments flying forward.
Fourth Brother responded with a flame barrier, melting the ice. Good technique, proper form. But Chen Feng had already moved, using the ice mist as cover to circle around.
He emerged from the fog, ice blade in hand, slashing at his brother's defenses. Fourth Brother blocked, conjuring a fire sword to match. They exchanged blows—ice against flame, cold against heat.
And Chen Feng was better.
Not just stronger. Better. His technique was cleaner, his movements more efficient, his power more controlled. Every clash saw Fourth Brother losing ground, his flames dimming against Chen Feng's relentless cold.
"Impossible," Fourth Brother gasped, sweat freezing on his skin. "You were nothing—"
"I was what you expected me to be," Chen Feng said, pressing the attack. "Your mistake was believing it."
He ended the match with a move Yue Lian had taught him—a feint high, strike low, ice forming around his brother's feet and climbing up his legs, immobilizing him completely.
Fourth Brother struggled against the ice prison, but it was useless. He was beaten.
"Yield," Chen Feng said quietly. "Or I'll freeze you solid."
"I... I yield."
The arena erupted in cheers and shocked murmurs. Chen Feng released his brother, letting him stumble away in humiliation and defeat.
[Tournament Progress: Quarter-Finals Reached]
[Victories: 3/3]
[Reputation Gain: SIGNIFICANT]
[Family Status: Upgraded from 'Shame' to 'Threat']
Chen Feng looked to the main platform where his father watched with an unreadable expression. Then his gaze shifted to where Tian Wu sat among the other competitors.
The protagonist was staring at him with intense focus, clearly reassessing everything he thought he knew.
Their eyes met. Chen Feng smiled—cold and challenging.
Come on, hero. Show me what you've got.
Tian Wu's first match was poetry in motion.
The protagonist fought a Third Circle user and dominated with such casual ease that it was almost insulting. His Flame Mimicry ability allowed him to copy and enhance every technique thrown at him, turning his opponent's strength against them.
The second match was more interesting—against a Fifth Circle user who should have outclassed him. But Tian Wu revealed a technique Chen Feng recognized from the game: Flame Spiral, a devastating close-range attack that pierced through defenses.
The Fifth Circle user went down hard.
By the time Tian Wu reached the quarter-finals, having won all three matches without taking a single hit, the crowd was split between amazement at the commoner genius and concern at how easily he was dismantling their family members.
The quarter-final matches were drawn by lot.
Chen Feng vs. Chen Mei (Second Sister, Sixth Circle)
Tian Wu vs. Chen Zhao (First Brother, Eighth Circle—handicapped to Sixth Circle for fairness)
Two other matches between branch family members
Chen Feng studied the bracket with satisfaction. If he and Tian Wu both won, they'd face each other in the semi-finals.
Perfect.
Chen Mei was everything Fourth Brother wasn't—controlled, tactical, and genuinely skilled. She was also Sixth Circle to his Fifth, giving her a real advantage.
"Little brother," she said as they faced each other, her voice carrying false warmth. "Congratulations on your breakthrough. Truly impressive."
"Thank you, sister."
"It's a shame you'll have to stop here." Her smile turned sharp. "I won't go easy on you just because you've finally found your courage."
The match began.
Chen Mei opened with a technique Chen Feng hadn't seen before—Phoenix Dance, where multiple fire constructs attacked from different angles simultaneously. It was Sixth Circle level, complex and dangerous.
Chen Feng responded with something Yue Lian had helped him develop: Ice Mirror.
He created a dome of reflective ice around himself, each surface angled perfectly to catch and redirect the incoming flames. The Phoenix constructs hit the mirrors and bounced back, their own momentum turned against them.
Chen Mei's eyes widened. She dispelled the constructs before they could hit her, but the moment of surprise cost her the initiative.
Chen Feng pressed forward, creating ice constructs of his own—not golems this time, but wolves. Three of them, moving with pack mentality, surrounding his sister.
She conjured flame barriers, holding them back, but Chen Feng wasn't relying on the wolves to win. They were a distraction.
He appeared from beneath, ice forming under Chen Mei's feet, making her slip. She caught herself with a burst of fire, levitating, but he'd already anticipated that.
Ice spikes erupted from the ground, forcing her to dodge, to move, to react rather than act. He controlled the pace, the flow, the entire battle.
But Chen Mei was Sixth Circle for a reason. She stabilized, gathered her power, and unleashed her ultimate technique: Crimson Phoenix Descent.
A massive bird of flame materialized above the arena, its wingspan thirty feet across, burning with heat intense enough to melt stone. It dove toward Chen Feng with devastating force.
The crowd gasped. Several people stood, certain they were about to witness his death.
Chen Feng looked up at the descending phoenix and smiled.
Then he showed them why ice was superior to fire.
He raised both hands and manifested his own creation—something he'd been developing in secret, inspired by his Celestial Physique and the visions it had given him.
Absolute Zero Sphere.
A ball of pure, perfect cold appeared between his palms. Not ice—ice was warm compared to this. This was the absence of heat, the negation of thermal energy, the closest a Fifth Circle mage could come to true absolute zero.
The temperature within the sphere was negative two hundred degrees Celsius.
He released it.
The sphere met the descending phoenix halfway.
And the fire simply... stopped. Frozen in place, crystallized, transformed into a sculpture of ice that hung in the air for one beautiful moment before shattering into a million fragments.
Chen Mei's most powerful technique, negated completely.
She stared in shock, power depleted, defenses down.
Chen Feng appeared beside her, ice blade at her throat. "Yield."
For a moment, he thought she might refuse. Pride warred with self-preservation in her expression. Then she closed her eyes.
"I yield."
The arena exploded with noise—cheers, shouts, shocked exclamations. Chen Feng had just defeated a Sixth Circle opponent while being Fifth Circle himself.
He helped his sister to her feet, showing proper respect despite the victory. She looked at him with an expression he'd never seen from her before: genuine respect.
"Well fought, little brother," she said quietly. "Mother would have been proud."
The words hit harder than any attack could have. Chen Feng nodded, not trusting his voice.
As they left the arena, he caught Yue Lian's eye in the crowd. She was smiling—fierce and proud and full of warmth.
[Major Victory Achieved]
[Reputation: 'The Frozen Prodigy']
[Family Status: Cannot be ignored]
[Next Match: Semi-Finals]
[Potential Opponent: Tian Wu (if he defeats Chen Zhao)]
Chen Feng settled in to watch the next match.
The protagonist versus the heir.
This would be interesting.
Chen Zhao was everything a patriarch's heir should be—powerful, disciplined, and utterly confident. Even handicapped to Sixth Circle, he radiated authority.
Tian Wu faced him without fear.
They began cautiously, each testing the other's defenses. Chen Zhao's fire was refined, controlled, the product of decades of perfect training. Tian Wu's was raw but adaptable, constantly shifting to counter whatever his opponent threw at him.
The match escalated quickly.
Chen Zhao revealed technique after technique—Dragon's Breath, Inferno Cage, Blazing Sword Formation. Each one was textbook perfect, executed with masterful precision.
But Tian Wu copied them all.
His Flame Mimicry was even more terrifying in action than Chen Feng had anticipated. Every technique Chen Zhao used, Tian Wu absorbed, adapted, and returned with his own variation. The protagonist was literally getting stronger mid-battle, his Fourth Circle cultivation temporarily boosted by the sheer amount of fire energy he was manipulating.
The crowd watched in stunned silence as the commoner matched the heir blow for blow.
Then Tian Wu revealed something new—a technique Chen Feng didn't recognize from the game.
Flame Emperor's Descent.
A massive pillar of fire erupted from Tian Wu's body, spiraling upward before crashing down on Chen Zhao with apocalyptic force. The power was easily Seventh Circle level—impossible for a Fourth Circle mage.
Unless that mage had been storing and amplifying every fire technique thrown at him for the past ten minutes.
Chen Zhao's eyes widened. He threw up every defense he had, pouring Sixth Circle power into barriers and wards.
It wasn't enough.
The flame pillar smashed through his defenses like they were paper. Chen Zhao went flying, slamming into the arena barrier hard enough to crack it. He slid down, smoke rising from his robes, conscious but clearly unable to continue.
Silence.
Then the crowd erupted—half in outrage that a commoner had defeated the heir, half in awe at the sheer display of power.
Tian Wu stood in the center of the arena, flames still flickering around him, breathing hard but victorious.
His eyes found Chen Feng in the crowd.
The message was clear: I'm coming for you next.
Chen Feng smiled.
Good. I was hoping you would.
That evening, Chen Feng returned to his quarters to find Yue Lian waiting.
"Tomorrow's semi-finals," she said. "You versus Tian Wu. The protagonist versus the one who knows his story."
"Nervous?"
"Should I be?"
"He's strong. Stronger than he should be at this point." Chen Feng moved to the window, watching the last light fade from the sky. "That final technique... I don't think it was in the original timeline. He's adapting, evolving faster because I changed things."
"Can you beat him?"
"At full power? Yes. I'm still Fifth Circle to his Fourth, and ice counters fire perfectly." Chen Feng's hand clenched. "But if I use my full power, everyone will know. The family, the kingdom, everyone will realize I'm not just talented—I'm dangerous. That brings attention I might not be ready for."
Yue Lian crossed to him, wrapping her arms around him from behind. "Then don't hold back. Show them all what you've become. Let them fear you if they must—better feared than underestimated."
Chen Feng turned in her embrace, cupping her face. "And if fear makes them move against me?"
"Then I kill anyone who tries." Her voice was utterly serious. "You're not alone in this anymore, remember? You have me. And after tomorrow, after you defeat the protagonist... others will come. Allies. People who recognize strength and want to be part of what you're building."
"What I'm building?"
"You think you're just surviving." Yue Lian smiled. "But I see it, Young Master. You're not just rewriting your own story—you're rewriting the entire game. And when you're done, this world will be yours."
Her faith in him was absolute, unwavering, and terrifying in its intensity.
Chen Feng kissed her, pouring all his uncertainty and determination into it. She responded with equal passion, her warmth against his cold, fire and ice in perfect balance.
When they finally parted, both knew what the other wanted.
"After the tournament," Chen Feng promised. "After I prove I can survive this. Then we'll have time for... everything else."
"I'll hold you to that." Yue Lian's eyes sparkled with promise and mischief.
They spent the night together again—still chaste, still just holding each other, but the anticipation building between them was palpable.
Tomorrow, Chen Feng would face the protagonist.
Tomorrow, the story would truly begin.
[Tournament Semi-Finals - Tomorrow]
[Match: Chen Feng (Fifth Circle) vs Tian Wu (Fourth Circle)]
[Stakes: Reputation, Family Recognition, Protagonist's Pride]
[Hidden Stakes: The Future of the Timeline]
Forty days remained until his scripted death.
But Chen Feng had no intention of following that script.
[End of Chapter 5]
[Next Chapter: "Ice Versus Fire"]
[Tournament Results So Far:]
✓ Chen Feng: 4 Wins (Including vs Sixth Circle opponent)
✓ Tian Wu: 4 Wins (Including vs Eighth Circle heir)
✓ Tomorrow: Direct confrontation
[Relationship Progress:]
- Yue Lian: Intimacy deepening, promise of more after tournament
- Family: Forced to acknowledge Chen Feng's power
- Tian Wu: Recognition as worthy rival