Mei stood poised, her chest rising and falling gently as the other disciple lay on the ground, winded and bewildered. The small crowd of onlookers, initially disinterested, now offered a smattering of muted applause and impressed murmurs. Mei herself was in disbelief.

  "U-Uh… Sister… is filled with gratitude!" she stammered, her cheeks flushing a deep rose. She had barely managed to grasp the Blooming Lilac Palm’s basic principles, yet her movements had been instinctual, graceful, and utterly effective.

  A wave of profound pride swelled within her, and for a fleeting moment, she wished Bi Kan had been there to witness her first victory.

  Her triumph, however, had also caught the eye of a more sinister presence. A young man, barely older than Bi Kan, detached himself from the edge of the training grounds. He carried himself with an air of effortless superiority, his silk robes a finer cut than any Outer Disciple could afford, shimmering with the insignia of the Li family.

  His aura, subtly but unmistakably, pulsed with the formidable strength of a 7th Stage Qi Sensing cultivator. This was Li Ren, a Direct Disciple, privileged from birth, already far advanced thanks to the endless resources poured into him. He needed to break through to the Meridian Opening Realm to truly secure his place among the elite, but for now, he was content to assert his dominance.

  A predatory grin spread across Li Ren’s handsome, yet arrogant, face as he sauntered towards Mei. "Junior Sister," he purred, his voice smooth as polished jade, "I am Li Ren. I have caught sight of your beautiful battle, and I must say, such talent should not go unappreciated. I believe you belong with me."

  Mei recoiled, her nascent pride instantly replaced by a chilling unease. His words, though superficially flattering, were laced with an possessive undertone that made her skin crawl. "W-what! I-I apologize, Senior Brother… but—"

  Li Ren’s pleasant demeanor vanished, replaced by a sneer. His eyebrow arched, the unspoken insult clear. "Don't tell me you already belong to another, Junior Sister, and at such a tender age? Tsk, tsk." He shook his head, a gesture of profound disapproval that managed to feel both condescending and threatening.

  "I didn't know girls this young were so… loose." The word, delivered with casual cruelty, struck Mei like a physical blow.

  "Slut." The syllable hung in the air, a venomous whisper that ripped through her burgeoning confidence. Her face drained of color, her knees trembling so violently she thought she might collapse. No one had ever spoken to her like that.

  The shame, the humiliation, was suffocating. Tears welled in her eyes, and a desperate, half-choked plea escaped her lips. "B-brother… Bi… Kan… please… help…"

  Just as Li Ren let out a cold, mocking laugh, a new presence, sharp and volatile, tore through the air. A hand, strong and calloused, clamped down on Li Ren’s wrist with a bone-jarring force. The Direct Disciple grunted in surprise and pain.

  Standing over him, his body radiating a palpable instability, was Shi Lam. His robes were slightly rumpled from his hasty exit from seclusion, and his eyes, usually kind, now blazed with an inferno of righteous fury. His Qi, raw and untamed from a recent, forceful breakthrough, pulsed around him at an unstable 6th Stage of the Qi Sensing Realm – a terrifying leap from his previous stage, bought at the cost of control.

  He had been about to fully stabilize his realm, but a burning desire to thank Bi Kan for the pills had drawn him out. Instead, he had seen Mei, the young girl Bi Kan clearly cared for, being tormented.

  "You dare ridicule a young girl?!" Shi Lam roared, his voice trembling with barely contained power. He didn't waste words, his gaze locking onto Li Ren with an intensity that promised violence.

  "Challenge me! You coward! If you wish to slander, do it with your fists, not with your poisoned tongue!"

  Li Ren, his face contorted in a mixture of pain and outrage, tried to wrench his wrist free, but Shi Lam's grip was like iron. A Direct Disciple, and a powerful one at that, was being manhandled by a mere Outer Disciple, albeit one whose Qi unexpectedly rivaled his own.

  "You insolent dog! Do you know who I am?!" Li Ren snarled, his own Qi flaring in a desperate attempt to intimidate.

  Shi Lam merely scoffed, releasing Li Ren's wrist with a shove that sent the Direct Disciple stumbling back a step.

  "I know enough. You speak ill of a friend's junior sister, and that is all I need to know." The tension in the air crackled, as dangerous and unpredictable as Shi Lam's untamed Qi. The crowd of onlookers, which had dispersed earlier, now reformed, drawn by the raw spectacle.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  A confrontation between a Direct Disciple and an Outer Disciple, especially one of Shi Lam's unstable power, was a rare and perilous event.

  "What?!" Shi Lam roared, his Qi pulsing erratically around him, a raw and volatile storm. "Are the dogs of this sect so gutless?! I challenge you already! If you dare refuse, I will chase you to the ends of the world!"

  The instability of his newly acquired Stage 6 Qi was getting to his head, fueling a reckless, unbridled rage he desperately sought to temper through violent exchange.

  Li Ren, despite his initial shock, quickly composed himself. His mind raced, calculating the odds. True, this Outer Disciple’s aura rivaled his own 7th Stage Qi Sensing, but it was so unstable.

  A cultivator with volatile Qi was a glass cannon—powerful, perhaps, but brittle and prone to self-destruction. Li Ren, confident in his own mastery and the superior techniques of the Li family, believed himself far more superior.

  "Fine! I accept your challenge!" he snarled, a sneer twisting his handsome features into something ugly.

  "You may think I am a dog, but you are a mere rat! I will bite you into pieces and feed your corpse to the ants!"

  A Junior Elder, perched discreetly on a nearby rooftop, observed the unfolding drama with a critical eye. This particular Elder was known for his meticulous reports.

  If Li Ren, a Direct Disciple of the esteemed Li family, were to lose to a mere Outer Disciple, especially one whose Qi was so wildly out of control, it would bring immense shame upon Elder Li and likely result in severe punishment for the arrogant youth.

  "Come at me, you insolent rat!" Li Ren shouted, but his final word was cut short by a reckless, unrefined punch from Shi Lam. The blow, though lacking technique, carried the raw force of a desperate man, sending Li Ren stumbling back several inches. Li Ren grinned, a cruel spark in his eyes.

  "Hah! Your fists carry no weight, rat!"

  He moved with the practiced grace of a true martial artist, his movements fluid as he brought his understanding of the Fragrant Poignant Fist to bear. He wove through Shi Lam's clumsy barrage, each of his own blows precise and heavy.

  "Fight back! Is that all you have, dog?!" Multiple strikes landed on Shi Lam’s chest and head, each one jarring, making the Outer Disciple stumble and grunt.

  "Don't you dare surrender!" Li Ren commanded, his voice laced with sadistic pleasure.

  Shi Lam's Qi remained wildly unstable, but with each punishing blow, something began to shift deep within him. His eyes, though bruised, took on an eerie, crazed glint. A wide, unsettling smile stretched across his battered face. "GAAAAAH!!!" he roared, a guttural sound of pain and exhilaration.

  He felt the wild storm within him begin to churn, not just chaotically, but finding a new, terrifying order. "MORE!"

  It quickly devolved into a one-sided slaughter. Shi Lam, unable to properly defend or counter with his chaotic Qi, was getting thoroughly destroyed. He coughed blood, his vision blurring, but the strange smile never left his face. Then, through a haze of pain, a faint, almost imperceptible whisper escaped his lips. "...I… surrender…"

  Li Ren paused, his fist already cocked for another blow. A flicker of triumph crossed his face. But then, a more insidious thought took hold. Surrender? After insulting me? After challenging a Direct Disciple? He let out a harsh laugh.

  "Only when I'm dead!" he roared, drawing back his arm for a final, bone-shattering strike. "Then die!" His powerful straight blow, imbued with the full force of his 7th Stage Qi Sensing, slammed into Shi Lam’s face, sending the Outer Disciple sprawling to the dirt, unconscious.

  "HAHAHAH!" Li Ren’s triumphant laughter echoed across the training grounds.

  Swoosh!

  Before Li Ren’s mirth could fully register, a blur of motion appeared. Shi Lam, who moments before lay defeated, was now standing. His eyes, no longer crazed, burned with a cold, controlled fury.

  His Qi, once a chaotic tempest, now flowed with the smooth, terrifying power of a stabilized Stage 6 Qi Sensing Realm. The violent beatings had forced his breakthrough, hammering his volatile Qi into submission. He didn't speak. He simply moved.

  He crashed into Li Ren like a human battering ram, slamming the Direct Disciple into the ground. Before Li Ren could even groan in surprise, Shi Lam was on him, a relentless barrage of precise, devastating blows raining down. PwooK! ShwuK! Each strike was imbued with the refined power he had just gained, targeting vital points. Blood spattered onto the dusty ground, painting the scene in grim crimson.

  Li Ren’s face became a pulpy, unrecognizable mess, his cries choked off by the brutal impacts. In the Jade Pathways Sect, a disciple could only end a match by being heard when they surrendered... or by dying. And Shi Lam seemed intent on the latter.

  "DIE!" Shi Lam bellowed, his fist raised for a final, crushing blow.

  Wham! His arm was suddenly seized, held immobile by an invisible force. The Junior Elder, who had watched from the rooftops, had appeared in a flash, kicking Shi Lam back with a gentle but firm motion.

  "I heard him whisper 'I surrender',"

  the Elder stated, his voice calm but authoritative, his gaze unwavering on Shi Lam. "Martial Nephew should get his ears checked."

  The Elder then grabbed the unconscious, disfigured form of Li Ren. "You'll be thoroughly punished," he murmured, his voice now low, a hint of disdain in his tone.

  "As if you haven't suffered enough."

  With a silent ripple of Qi, the Junior Elder vanished, taking the broken Direct Disciple with him, leaving behind only the stunned silence of the crowd and the lingering stench of blood. Shi Lam stood alone, chest heaving, his Qi now a stable, powerful river, but his mind a whirlwind of rage, exhaustion, and the chilling realization of what he had almost done.

  Ming Mei, her small body trembling, rushed to his side, her face a mask of horror and awe at the raw power Shi Lam had just displayed. The training grounds, once a place of simple practice, now carried the heavy weight of true conflict and the unspoken promise of future reckonings.