Chapter 6: Duel at Dimming Light
The sun dipped low behind the jade peaks, bathing the Vermilion Cloud Sect in hues of molten gold and deepening crimson. Shadows stretched across the courtyard where disciples gathered, the murmurs of anticipation echoing off stone walls.
Two figures stood at the center.
Bai Tian, arrogant and proud, cracked his knuckles as flames danced faintly across his fists.
And across from him—Luo Qingshen, still in his plain robes, arms folded behind his back, eyes lowered as if bored.
"If you beg, I'll go easy," Bai Tian sneered."You're loud," Luo replied softly. "But weak."
A hush fell.
The match began.
Bai Tian launched forward, his fist cloaked in red flame. The ground cracked beneath his feet, the air rippling from the force. His martial path burned brightly—Spirit Condensation Realm, Peak Stage.
Luo stepped aside without effort. One breath. One movement.
The punch missed.
And before anyone could react—Bai Tian was on the ground, coughing up dust, his wrist twisted at an impossible angle.
No one had seen how.
"Did… he even move?" whispered a junior disciple.
Elder Mingyan had arrived silently, his ancient gaze unreadable. The silver-haired girl, standing among the onlookers, watched Luo Qingshen with parted lips. She had seen something others hadn't. Not speed. Not strength.
Stillness.
The kind of stillness only a being far beyond human understanding could possess.
But the duel had stirred more than just whispers.
High above, hidden in the trees, a dark-robed figure watched with glowing violet eyes.
"So, he's still alive…" the stranger murmured, a talisman flickering in his hand."Void-class aura... barely suppressed."
He vanished into mist.
Back in the courtyard, Bai Tian lay unconscious, twitching slightly. Luo walked past him without a glance.
A quiet wind stirred the cherry blossoms. And in that breeze, an ancient echo rippled through the Spirit Veins of the sect.
Something was changing.
And someone... had awakened.