The world fell silent.
Not metaphorically—literally.
As Mu Yanting raised his wooden sword and stepped into Silent Flow – Fourth Form, all sound on the plateau vanished.
Wind halted.Leaves froze mid-fall.The air itself seemed to hold its breath.
Even the hearts of those watching skipped a beat.
Zhou Shan's voice cracked:
"Bro… BRO… WHAT IS THIS TECHNIQUE—!? WHY IS THE AIR NOT MOVING—?!"
Xu Jian's expression tightened.
"He's compressing the flow of spiritual air into a point.Once he releases it…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
Everyone felt it.
Mu Yanting's next strike—would not be something a normal outer sect disciple could withstand.
Not even with luck.
Not even with talent.
Lethal or not—it would decide everything.
Mu Yanting Takes His Stance
His breathing slowed.His eyes sharpened.
He held the wooden sword loosely at his side, as if it weighed nothing.
Then—
he whispered a single word.
"Flow."
BOOM—
The ground beneath him fractured.A ring of dust burst outward in perfect silence.His silhouette blurred—not from speed,but from distortion of the air.
Then he moved.
No warning.No sound.No wind.
One step.
And he was directly in front of Lian Hong.
The moment froze.
The wooden sword rose like a falling star.
It wasn't fast—it was inevitable.
A strike that couldn't be dodged.A strike that couldn't be blocked.A strike that split prediction itself.
The disciples watching felt despair wash over them.
"This is Rank 1…""This is why no one beats him…""That strike—it's like fate itself…"
Wei Feng tensed, ready to intervene—
because this blow was too perfect.
Too lethal.
Too absolute.
Lian Hong's Bloodline Breaks Past a Wall
The instant before the sword fell—
Lian Hong's heart pumped once.
A violent pulse.
Not of fear.Not of desperation.
Of awakening.
[Bloodline Instinct Resonance: 19% → 23%][Partial Awakening: Increased][Predictive Combat: Enhanced beyond normal limits][Reflex Acceleration: Active]
His world slowed.
Not like before.This time—
every molecule of airevery grain of dustevery tremor in Mu Yanting's musclesbecame clear.
He saw the strike.
He saw its path.
He saw the gap.
The impossible could be broken.
Lian Hong's foot moved half an inch.
His shoulder shifted three degrees.
His weight angled backward by a breath.
To everyone else—he barely moved.
But to Mu Yanting—Lian Hong had pierced the inevitability of his strike.
Mu Yanting's eyes widened.
"…You saw it?"
Lian Hong spoke softly:
"I broke it."
The Counterstrike
As the sword fell, Lian Hong twisted his entire body.
He slipped past the blade—barely—so close that the wooden sword sliced a few strands of his hair.
In the same instant—
he struck.
A palmbacked by bloodline instinctmuscle memorypredictive perfectionand raw, rising power—
slammed into Mu Yanting's ribs.
BOOOOOOM—!!
The shockwave ripped across the platform.
Stone tiles shattered.The ring cracked from end to end.Disciples were thrown backward.
Dust engulfed everything.
A thunderous silence followed.
When it settled—
Mu Yanting was sliding backward across the arena.
His boots dug two long trenches in the stone floor before he stopped.
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
The crowd gasped.
"He… hit Rank 1.""With a counter… to the True Strike!?""That's impossible—!!"
Zhou Shan fainted again.
Mu Yanting Laughs
Mu Yanting looked down at the blood on his hand.
Then he laughed.
It was not mocking.Not enraged.
It was genuine.
"Good."
He lifted his gaze.
"Very good."
His aura surged even higher—like a storm tearing open the sky.
"Lian Hong… you are worthy of this."
He placed both hands on the wooden sword.
Next moment—
the temperature dropped twenty degrees.
Frost formed on the arena floor.
Clouds spun overhead.
Wind swirled violently.
Disciples scrambled back in fear.
Wei Feng's face darkened.
"He's using it…the Fifth Form…"
Silent Flow – Fifth Form
Mu Yanting raised the sword—
straight upward—
as if inviting lightning to strike.
His voice cut the air:
"Silent Flow—Fifth Form.Sky-Severing Line."
A vertical line of compressed force tore the air.
It wasn't a wave.It wasn't a blade.
It was pressure manifested into reality.
And it came crashing down toward Lian Hong—
a blow that could cleave stone peaks.
Several disciples screamed.
"STOP THE FIGHT—!!""He'll kill him—!!""Instructor Wei—!!"
But Wei Feng didn't move.
His eyes narrowed.
"…Show me, Lian Hong.Show me if you are truly extraordinary."
Bloodline Awakening Surges Again
As the Sky-Severing Line descended—
Lian Hong's bloodline erupted.
Not fully.
Not completely.
But violently.
[Bloodline Activation – Stage 1.5][Resonance: 23% → 31%]
Red lightning crackled beneath his skin.
Veins glowed.
The world sharpened into absolute clarity.
He didn't think.
He didn't hesitate.
He stepped forward.
Not back.
Forward.
Straight into the storm.
Zhou Shan screamed into unconsciousness.
Collision
Mu Yanting's Sky-Severing Line fell.
Lian Hong raised his palm—
not to block—
to pierce.
Silent Flow met Bloodline Instinct.
The world exploded.
KAAAAA-THOOOOM—!!!!
A shockwave blasted outward.
Disciples were thrown off their feet.Stone pillars cracked.A ring of dust shot skyward like a volcanic eruption.
When the dust cleared—
Two figures stood in the center.
Lian Hong.
And Mu Yanting.
Both breathing hard.
Both bleeding.
Both smiling.
Mu Yanting wiped blood from his lip.
"You took my Fifth Form."
Lian Hong steadied his stance.
"You took my bloodline counter."
The crowd stared in disbelief.
Xu Jian whispered under his breath:
"…These two monsters…"
Mu Yanting Lowers His Sword
Then—
Mu Yanting exhaled.
His aura receded.
The wind calmed.
The frost thawed.
He sheathed the wooden sword.
And spoke clearly so everyone could hear:
"Enough."
A hush fell across the plateau.
Mu Yanting stepped closer to Lian Hong.
Their gazes locked.
"You have passed."
He placed a hand on Lian Hong's shoulder.
"You have the qualifications to stand at the top."
Silence.
Then—
explosive murmurs:
"Mu Yanting acknowledged him!!""He admitted it!!""Lian Hong is now a peak genius of the outer sect!!""This changes everything!"
Zhou Shan wasn't conscious to celebrate.
Mu Yanting's Verdict
Mu Yanting's voice dropped for Lian Hong alone.
"You will surpass me one day."
He turned away.
"But before that…"
He looked at the mountains in the distance.
"…survive the masked one."
Then he walked off the platform.
The duel—
was over.
Lian Hong stood tall.
Breathing hard.
Chest aching.
But still standing.
Still victorious.
The system chimed softly:
[Challenge Complete – Mu Yanting][Reward: Movement Breakthrough – Shadowstep Mirage (Advanced)][Bloodline Instinct Resonance: +8%][Current Resonance: 39%]
The crowd erupted into chaos.
But Lian Hong closed his eyes.
He had survived Rank 1.
Now—
four days remained until the masked killer arrived.
And thatwould be a battle unlike anything else.