"May the heavens curse you, Elder Mo, because I will surely drag you down to hell with me," Lin Feng gasped as the freezing wind ripped the remaining breath from his lungs.He fell backward through the thick fog, the sharp mountain wall rushing past his face as a dark, jagged blur. The world became a dizzying swirl of gray mist, cold air, and whistling wind. The rocky bottom of the abyss was rushing up to meet him at an incredible speed, promising a brutal, bone-crushing end to his miserable existence as a sect punching bag. He closed his eyes, bracing for the final impact that would erase his pain forever. Suddenly, a massive, jagged boulder jutted out from the cliff face directly in his path.With a sickening, heavy crunch, his chest slammed violently into the solid stone structure. The impact was absolute, completely shattering the ancient green jade pendant hanging around his neck. The sharp, broken fragments pierced through his outer clothing and skin, driving deep into his flesh

"You should have stayed dead in the dirt where we threw you, trash," a harsh voice muttered as the heavy wooden door creaked open on its rusted hinges.The outer sect shacks were completely silent under the cover of a pitch black, moonless night. Inside Lin Feng's tiny, damp room, a single torch flickered on the stone wall, casting long, dancing shadows across the broken furniture. A tall, muscular disciple named Zhao Kang stepped inside, his heavy leather boots kicking a shattered wooden stool across the floor. He began tossing Lin Feng's few remaining blankets and small medicine jars into a leather sack, looking for anything left of value that he could sell to the lower disciples."Looking for something specific, Zhao Kang?" a cold voice asked from the dark corner behind the door.Zhao Kang jumped, nearly dropping his sack as he spun around. His eyes widened in absolute surprise as Lin Feng stepped slowly out of the deep shadows. The golden light in Lin Feng's eyes was faint, but it

"You have sealed your fate today, you little demon," Elder Mo roared, his voice shaking the heavy wooden foundations of the viewing box.The entire arena stayed dead silent. Thousands of disciples sat completely frozen on their stone benches, their eyes moving back and forth between the unconscious body of Wang Chen and the solitary figure of Lin Feng standing in the center of the platform. The cold mountain wind swept across the open courtyard, carrying the faint smell of spilled blood through the rows of spectators. Nobody dared to utter a single word."Look at him, he cannot even stand up straight," a disciple in the third row finally whispered to his neighbor, though his voice quickly died down under Elder Mo's furious glare."Silence!" Elder Mo bellowed, stepping directly over the shattered wooden railing of his private box. He floated down onto the stone arena floor, his long gray robes billowing behind him like dark storm clouds. His face was twisted into a mask of pure, unbrid

"You are already a corpse, Lin Feng, you just do not have the brains to fall over yet," the masked intruder hissed, his voice cutting through the damp air like a razor blade.The cold steel of the blade flashed through the darkness of the small wooden shack, aimed straight for Lin Feng's unprotected windpipe. The distance was too short, and the speed was far too great for any ordinary outer disciple to react. The green poison coating the weapon left a faint, glowing trail in the dark room, missing his throat by a mere thread of cloth as Lin Feng operated his golden cosmic pathways."You move like a clumsy turtle," Lin Feng shouted, his body shifting sideways with a sudden fluid grace that defied gravity.He slipped past the deadly edge at the very last millisecond, the wind of the blade brushing against his neck. The wooden wall behind him groaned as the assassin slammed his elbow into the timber, splintering the old boards into kindling."How did you dodge that strike?" the assassin

"Your flames are nothing but a minor annoyance to my skin, Elder Mo," Lin Feng shouted, his voice cutting clean through the thick wall of dark gray smoke.The stadium went completely silent as the dense clouds began to part. Thousands of spectators leaned forward, their eyes bulging as they saw Lin Feng standing in the absolute center of the scorched stone platform. His gray outer disciple robes were slightly charred at the edges, but his skin remained perfectly smooth, untarnished, and completely unbothered by the blazing heat."How on earth are you still standing after a direct strike from my premium weapon?" Elder Mo stammered, his face turning an ash gray color as he gripped the hilt of his burning sword. "That wave of fire was designed to reduce an ordinary mortal to a pile of dust in a single second!""You relied too much on stolen resources and fancy items, old man," Lin Feng said, taking a slow step forward on the cracked stone. "You forgot how to build real, honest strength.