The rain fell in sheets over the jagged cliffs of the Vermilion Mountains, washing away the scent of cedar but leaving the metallic tang of fresh blood behind. At the grand marble gates of the Vermilion Sect, Lu Chen knelt on the razor-sharp flagstones. His fingers dug deeply into the cracks between the stones, his nails bleeding, but he felt no pain. His entire universe had narrowed down to the single, pulsating object nestled in his cupped palms: the Qi-Core of a Midnight Panther. It glowed with a faint, malevolent purple light, still warm with the residual life force of the beast that had slaughtered his family three years ago. For three agonizing years, Lu Chen had lived like a ghost. He had tracked the beast through the toxic, suffocating miasma of the Ashen Peaks, surviving on bitter roots, venomous insects, and a boundless, suffocating hatred. He was nineteen years old, an age where the pampered scions of great clans were already condensing spiritual rivers in their bodies. Ye

‎The outer disciple quarters of the Vermilion Sect were a sprawling maze of grey stone huts carved directly into the lower cliffs. Compared to the squalid servant shacks, it was a step up, but it was still far below the luxurious, Qi-rich courtyards of the inner peaks. Lu Chen sat cross-legged on a simple straw mat inside his new dwelling, his eyes closed as he observed his internal state.‎The razor-sharp vortex in his dantian spun with a steady, low hum, its glass-like shards shimmering with a faint crimson hue. The fight with the Blood Wolf had barely depleted his energy; if anything, the violent expenditure had caused the vortex to settle more firmly into his reconstructed pathways.‎Suddenly, the wooden door of his hut didn't just open—it shattered inward, bursting into a shower of splinters.‎"Get out here, beggar!" a harsh voice boomed through the dust.‎Lu Chen opened his eyes. He didn't flinch or startle. Slowly, he stood up, brushing a few wood splinters off his tattered sle

The Demonic Ape’s twin fists crashed into the earth where Lu Chen had been standing a split second before. The impact exploded the mud and bedrock, blasting out a crater five feet deep and sending a hail of razor-sharp stone shrapnel whistling through the purple fog.Lu Chen rolled hard to the left, his tattered rags tearing further against the jagged rocks. He scrambled to his feet instantly. Before he could fully steady his stance, the massive beast whipped its long, heavy arm across the clearing like a falling tree trunk.There was no time to dodge. Lu Chen crossed his forearms in front of his face, channeling his glass-shard Qi to reinforce his bones.BOOM!The impact sounded like two boulders colliding. The sheer physical weight of the Tier-2 beast sent Lu Chen flying backward through the air. He crashed hard into a moss-covered stone wall, the impact cracking the granite behind him and knocking the wind completely out of his lungs. A thick stream of crimson blood spilled past hi

The collective breath of five thousand cultivators caught in their throats. On the central arena ring, the dust raised by Zhou Lifeng’s collapsed form swirled around Lu Chen’s bare, scarred ankles. He did not look like an Outer Disciple who had just won a promotion; he looked like an executioner waiting for the next neck.Up on the gold-leafed dais, the invisible, hydrophobic shroud protecting Elder Zhao violently snapped. For three years, the elder had maintained the illusion of an untouchable deity, but the sheer audacity of Lu Chen’s declaration had shattered his composure."Impudent mongrel!" Elder Zhao’s voice was no longer a calm, rolling mountain—it was a thunderclap of pure, unadulterated fury. "You have practiced a forbidden demonic art, crippled a premier disciple of the inner peaks, and insulted the eldership. Today, the Vermilion Sect purges its rot!"Zhao did not descend the marble stairs. To do so would acknowledge Lu Chen as a peer. Instead, he stepped directly off the

The obsidian doors slammed shut behind Lu Chen with a sound like a clapping thunderbolt, plunging him into absolute, terrifying darkness. The vibrant cheering of the coliseum and the warm high-altitude sun vanished, replaced instantly by a heavy, suffocating silence and a freezing, damp draft that smelled of ancient decay and wet iron.Lu Chen did not move. He stood perfectly still, his back against the cold stone doors, listening.Deep within his belly, the temporary sealing knot that Sect Master Jiang had provided was already beginning to fray. The stolen, golden Core Formation energy of Elder Zhao was like a caged sun, bucking and roaring against the razor-sharp fragments of Lu Chen's crimson vortex. Every breath he took felt like inhaling molten lead. Droplets of dark, highly concentrated spiritual blood leaked from his nostrils, sizzling as they hit the freezing floor."If I don't find a place to anchor this energy now," Lu Chen muttered, his jaw locking against a wave of blindin