"If you think you can bridge the gap between a mortal and a supreme master with just raw anger, Lin Feng, you are even more foolish than your dead father," the Sect Leader mocked, his silver light boring deeper into the swirling vortex of black smoke.The pressure inside the arena courtyard was growing so thick that the solid stone blocks beneath Lin Feng’s boots were beginning to pulverize into fine white powder. Every breath he took felt like inhaling liquid lead, his lungs burning as the Sect Leader’s silver core energy pushed closer, threatening to dissolve his newly awakened golden pathways. Lin Feng looked down at his trembling fingers, then glanced sideways at the broken, bleeding body of Elder Mo lying helpless inside the crater. He quickly realized that continuing this direct physical clash would only end in his absolute execution within a matter of minutes."You like to talk about my father to mask your own fear," Lin Feng shouted back, his teeth

If you take another step forward along this narrow canyon wall, Senior Brother Lu, we are going to lose his trail entirely in the heavy brush," the younger tracker whispered, his hand clamping firmly onto his companion's silk shoulder guard.The canyon walls rose hundreds of feet into the gray morning sky, narrowing so tightly that the dense upper canopy of pine trees completely blocked the direct sunlight. A thin, cold trickle of mountain water ran along the base of the gorge, washing over smooth black stones and filling the tight space with a constant, rhythmic splashing sound. The two elite inner sect trackers moved with absolute caution, their silver-stitched robes rustling softly against the wet ferns as they scanned the steep rocky slopes above them. They carried heavy, curved steel blades that glinted dangerously in the dim green light of the ravine."The tracking hounds might be dead, but the residual heat from his golden pathways is still warming the leaves,"

You chose an incredibly terrible place to take a breather, Lin Feng, because something massive and hungry is breathing right back at you from the shadows," the ancient voice inside his mind space warned, its tone sharp and urgent.The air inside the deep, jagged stone cavern changed instantly, transforming from a damp, earthy chill to a suffocating, supernatural heat wave within a matter of seconds. Lin Feng froze in his tracks, his boots skidding slightly on the slick, black volcanic rocks that lined the floor of the underground chamber. He had slipped inside this hidden crack in the mountain ridge to evade the secondary vanguard platoon, but he quickly realized he had traded a squad of human trackers for an absolute nightmare of the wild. The dark cave walls began to glow with an eerie, flickering violet light as a thick, sulfurous smell filled his nose, making his eyes water through the heavy dark."I can feel its presence in the deep stones," Lin Feng whispered, hi

"If you do not find a way to flush that muddy silver energy out of your chest right now, Lin Feng, your golden pathways are going to split wide open from the inside," the ancient voice inside his mind space warned, its tone sharp and desperate.Lin Feng collapsed against the massive, smoking trunk of a charred cedar tree, his throat catching as he coughed up a thick splatter of dark, tainted blood. In front of him, the withered husk of Elder Zhao was already scattering into the sharp mountain wind, but the stolen middle stage core energy was currently tearing through Lin Feng's meridians like a wild, untamed river of molten iron. The raw cultivation base of a Core Formation master was simply too massive, too full of toxic personal intent and spiritual impurities for his newly awakened body to digest all at once. Every single breath he took felt like swallowing broken glass, and his skin was turning a dangerous, bruised shade of purple as the energetic backlash took hold.

"The grand mountain you call your home is nothing but a slave camp, Lin Feng, and your precious Sect Leader is just a manager who begs for scraps from his overseas masters," the dying platoon leader gasped out, his bloodshot eyes bulging as the dark smoke tore through his memories.The heavy, wet scent of moss and ozone hung low over the rocky clearing where the elite shadow guard platoon had just been wiped out. The giant Purple Flame Tiger stood guard near the edge of the steep cliff, its massive purple paws treading softly on the shattered silver shields of the fallen swordsmen. Strands of harmless violet fire flickered across its muscular shoulders, casting dancing shadows against the ancient stone walls of the gorge. Lin Feng stood right in the center of the destruction, his left hand clamping down onto the platoon leader's silver helmet while his golden pathways hummed with a terrifying, refined cosmic power. The black devouring smoke twisted smoothly between his finger