The assassin moved like smoke.
Silent.
Precise.
Lethal.
His blade shimmered with a faint green hue — high-grade paralytic poison.
Foundation Establishment Realm.
Not Yan Kuang's reckless power spike.
Not a fragment of an ancient guardian.
This was a trained killer.
And he was aiming to end Lin Feng cleanly.
The Domain Collides
The assassin appeared behind Lin Feng.
Blade descending toward his spine.
Lin Feng activated Impact Domain instantly.
Golden ripples exploded outward.
Three meters.
Dense.
Heavy.
The assassin's step faltered.
His pupils shrank.
"What is this field—?!"
Lin Feng rotated his torso calmly.
No panic.
No rush.
He had trained inside this pressure.
The assassin had not.
Inside the domain—
Movement required strength.
Strength Lin Feng possessed in excess.
He drove a straight punch toward the assassin's chest.
The assassin reacted fast — blade deflecting downward to intercept.
Steel met fist.
The blade shattered.
Fragments scattered across the courtyard like metallic rain.
The assassin's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Impossible—"
Lin Feng stepped forward.
"Wrong answer."
The First Kill
The assassin tried to retreat.
Too late.
Inside the domain, his body felt like it was sinking into mud.
Lin Feng's fist struck his chest.
Not explosively.
Not dramatically.
Just—
Compressed.
Dense.
Like a mountain had condensed into a knuckle.
CRACK.
The assassin's ribcage imploded inward.
Air burst from his lungs.
He was launched backward — but not far.
The domain contained most of the force.
He hit the courtyard stones and did not rise.
Silence.
Moonlight returned.
The golden ripple faded.
Lin Feng stood still for a moment.
Breathing steady.
Looking at the body.
He expected something dramatic.
A wave of guilt.
A sense of horror.
Instead—
He felt clarity.
Cold.
Focused clarity.
"This era doesn't negotiate."
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
Enemy Eliminated: Crimson Demonic Valley Agent
XP +420
Fist Points +380
Reputation: Hostile Faction Awareness Increased
First Kill Achievement Unlocked
Title Gained: Blood Initiate
Lin Feng exhaled slowly.
"So this is how it begins."
The Witness
On a distant rooftop—
Jian Luo of Heavenly Sword Pavilion lowered his gaze slightly.
He had seen everything.
The domain.
The shattered blade.
The controlled impact.
His expression remained calm.
But his thoughts sharpened.
"That was not ordinary body cultivation."
He turned quietly.
"The Pavilion must know."
He disappeared into the night without a sound.
Aftermath — The Elders Arrive
The disturbance had not gone unnoticed.
Within moments, Elder Zhao descended into the courtyard.
His eyes landed on the corpse.
Then on Lin Feng.
"You are unharmed?"
Lin Feng nodded.
"He attacked first."
Elder Zhao examined the shattered blade fragments.
His brows furrowed.
"Crimson Demonic Valley."
A heavy silence settled.
"You understand what this means?"
Lin Feng shrugged lightly.
"They want me?"
Elder Zhao's gaze sharpened.
"They want something inside you."
The Titan Core pulsed faintly in Lin Feng's chest.
He said nothing.
System Analysis
When he returned to his quarters—
Lin Feng sat cross-legged.
"Status."
FIST GOD SYSTEM — HOST STATUS
Name: Lin Feng
Title: Cataclysm Breaker | Blood Initiate
Realm: Body Tempering Stage 9 (Peak)
Titan Legacy: 21%
Impact Domain: 37% Stabilized
Fist Points: 2,640
Core Resonance Readiness: 81%
Warning: External Hostility Escalating
Estimated Time Before Multi-Faction Conflict: 30–60 Days
Lin Feng stared at the final line.
"Thirty days?"
Approximate.
He cracked his neck.
"Then I break through before that."
Recommended.
Pressure Training
Instead of resting—
Lin Feng activated Impact Domain again.
Expanded it.
Compressed it.
He increased internal pressure deliberately.
Stone beneath him cracked slowly.
His bones creaked.
Veins bulged.
Sweat dripped down his back.
"Push it."
Core Resonance approaching threshold.
Warning: Unstable breakthrough may cause meridian rupture.
Lin Feng grinned.
"When has safe ever been interesting?"
He compressed the domain inward.
From three meters…
To two.
Then one.
The pressure skyrocketed.
The air vibrated violently.
His Titan Core began spinning faster.
Faster.
FASTER.
Golden cracks of light spread across his skin.
His heartbeat echoed like a drum inside his skull.
BOOM.
The courtyard floor shattered beneath him.
The Breakthrough Begins
Pain lanced through his meridians.
Spiritual Qi that he had never properly relied on now rushed violently toward the Titan Core.
Unlike other cultivators—
He wasn't forming a Qi core.
He was forging a Resonance Core.
A fusion of body.
Force.
And ancient Titan inheritance.
He screamed.
Not from fear.
From effort.
The Impact Domain pulsed uncontrollably.
Shockwaves rippled outward, cracking walls and sending dust flying into the night sky.
Inside his chest—
The Titan Core expanded.
Then compressed violently inward.
Like a collapsing star.
Then—
It stabilized.
Silence.
System Notification
BREAKTHROUGH SUCCESSFUL
New Realm: Core Resonance — Initial Stage
Titan Legacy: 25%
Impact Domain: 50% Stabilized
Force Multiplier (Within Domain): 220%
Hidden Ability Unlocked: Shock Pulse
Lin Feng collapsed backward onto cracked stone.
Breathing hard.
Laughing.
"I did it."
He could feel it clearly now.
The world felt different.
Denser.
Heavier.
Like everything was waiting to be struck.
Far Away — The Reaction
Within Crimson Demonic Valley—
Lady Xue Mei opened her eyes slowly.
Her smile faded slightly.
"He advanced?"
Interesting.
Within Heavenly Sword Pavilion—
An elder dropped his teacup.
"That fast?"
Within the Hidden Mountain Temple—
The old monk closed his eyes.
"The Titan Core has fully awakened."
Storm clouds gathered over the Southern Realm.
And at the center of it—
A newly advanced Core Resonance cultivator stretched his arms casually and muttered:
"Okay."
"Now we're getting started."