Saint Son

Chu Ning gave Feng Li no room to catch his breath. His figure suddenly blurred in the air, and lightning exploded, flickering unpredictably like a swimming dragon.

Frost Cold Power followed close behind, condensing into blade after blade of chilling, razor-sharp ice. They interwove with the thunder into an airtight Killing Formation, as if heaven and earth themselves were grinding down upon Feng Li!

Feng Li scrambled to defend himself, but the frost and thunder corroded his flames, making the Essence Power within his body move sluggishly.

"It's over." Chu Ning spoke in a low voice, the Lightning Blade in his hand poised to strike.

Feng Li's eyes suddenly reddened. Summoning the last of his true qi, he roared, "Burn!"

His blood ignited in an instant, and the flames around him surged to three times their former size. He forcibly broke through the suppression of the frost and thunder and charged furiously at Chu Ning.

But Chu Ning merely smiled calmly. He shifted his body slightly to the side, and the Lightning Blade carved out a streak of Jinghong.

Feng Li staggered backward. The sigh of his childhood master echoed beside his ear: "On the Path of Li Fire, the greatest taboo is a restless and impetuous heart..." But by the time he realized it, it was already too late.

In the blink of an eye, the frost and thunder surged like a tide, swallowing everything.

Feng Li let out a scream as the thunder pierced through his chest. His body convulsed violently in midair, as if invisible hands were tearing him apart. The blazing flames were extinguished in an instant, and even the surrounding temperature dropped several degrees.

He crashed to the ground, his whole body trembling as suppressed wheezing escaped his throat.

Impossible... How could I possibly lose?

His fingertips trembled as he tried to push himself up, but he could not gather even the slightest bit of strength. The gazes cast at him from all around gouged at his proud dignity like cold blades.

Chu Ning walked over at an unhurried pace and looked down at him. "You lost."

Feng Li clenched his teeth, his face alternating between green and white. In the end, he closed his eyes helplessly.

Xie Mingli stood not far away, gazing at Chu Ning with a complicated expression, as if she had never truly seen through him.

Chu Ning reined in the frost and thunder and let out a long breath. "In this battle, I didn't hold back."

A wild wind swept past, carrying the lingering echoes of the battle.

Feng Li's body rose and fell violently. His face was as pale as paper, with a trace of blood still at the corner of his mouth.

He glared fixedly at Chu Ning, unwillingness, shock, and fury roiling in his eyes.

"Impossible... How could I have lost to a Tenth-rank Martial Artist?"

From childhood to adulthood, everyone had told him that his talent was peerless and that he would surely become the most dazzling genius of the Li Fire Palace in the future.

He had always stood high above the rest. His goal was to become the future Saint Son, a powerhouse standing at the peak of the Great Gan Dynasty!

Yet now, he had actually lost so miserably?!

Under everyone's gazes, his glory was collapsing. Some people no longer looked at him with awe, but with doubt, and even... faint contempt.

His fists clenched with a crackle, his nails sinking deep into his palms as blood dripped through his fingers. He refused to believe this reality!

The reactions of those around him had unquestionably become the deepest thorn in his heart.

"The Li Fire Palace's direct disciple... actually lost?"

"He just used a secret technique to raise his cultivation to Upper Ninth Rank! And Chu Ning... is only a Tenth-rank Martial Artist."

"Exactly. How could he have lost so completely?"

The discussions rose and fell one after another. Every word was like molten iron poured into Feng Li's ears, scalding his internal organs until they churned.

Some people no longer looked at him with awe, but with doubt, and even with a subtle trace of contempt.

"Feng Li, are you... all right?"

Xie Mingli stepped forward, her brows slightly furrowed. Her voice was gentle, tinged with hesitation.

Feng Li suddenly raised his head and stared at her. His gaze was gloomy, like a poisoned blade.

"Heh... Are you satisfied now?" A bitter smile touched Feng Li's lips, and his voice was as repressed as a volcano on the verge of erupting.

"Do you think I'm ridiculous? Pathetic?"

Xie Mingli frowned lightly and had just begun to explain when Feng Li's voice turned cold.

"Or are you merely trying to tell me that even if I burned my bloodline and gave everything I had, you still wouldn't feel the slightest gratitude toward me?"

The corners of Feng Li's lips slowly lifted. His eyes were as dark as an abyss, and his voice was low and hoarse. "Mingli, you know that I've always liked you. You've never accepted my pursuit, but you've never clearly rejected me either, have you?"

He took a step forward, his gaze locking tightly onto Xie Mingli. His voice trembled faintly. "When I heard that you'd been attacked on your way back, I was frantic with worry, terrified that you might be injured. But do you know what I heard?"

His fingertips curled slightly, pain and fury surging in his eyes. "Someone told me that some little mongrel spent an entire night with you in the wilderness..."

At that point, he abruptly stopped. The curve of his lips trembled slightly, as if he were desperately suppressing something. A moment later, he let out a low laugh, seeming both self-mocking and sorrowful. "Mingli, do you know how furious and unwilling I was?"

Xie Mingli's fingertips brushed across the Cold Marrow Pendant at her waist. The icy touch brought her back to herself slightly.

"Feng Li, you're overthinking it." Her voice was soft, yet it was like a dagger wrapped in silk.

Feng Li's pupils suddenly contracted. His gaze fell upon her sleeve, where a trace of scorching frost-and-thunder residue remained—plainly the mark of Chu Ning's Thunderous Force.

"Overthinking it?" He gave a low laugh, his knuckles turning white as he clenched them. "Then why don't you dare look into my eyes?"

His gaze gradually reddened, filled with fury and unwillingness suppressed to the extreme. His voice turned cold. "Ever since this little mongrel came to Marquis Wu's Estate, I've clearly felt you deliberately distancing yourself from me..."

He slowly pressed closer, fists clenched. "This... is also me overthinking it?"

He had forcibly broken through his realm and exhausted every ounce of his strength, seeking only to decide the victor in one battle—to make Xie Mingli see his strength and make everyone acknowledge him. But what was the result?

He had lost! Lost utterly and completely!

His pride, his ambition, and his obsession had all been trampled beneath Chu Ning's feet.

What he could least accept was Xie Mingli's reaction.

She had shown no anger, no sorrow, and not the slightest trace of unwillingness. She had even... comforted him?!

"Xie Mingli, have you ever truly cared about me?! What am I to you?"

Feng Li's fists clenched tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms, yet he felt nothing.

Just then, a light, airy voice rang out.

"Feng Li, you care too much about winning and losing. You've forgotten to ask about Mingli's feelings."

He shook his head and sighed, seemingly a little helpless. "Mingli is kindhearted and can't bear to see others down on their luck, so she was willing to offer you a few words of comfort. What a pity... some people simply don't know how to appreciate kindness."

As he spoke, he tilted his head slightly toward Xie Mingli and gently brushed the loose hair at her temple with his fingertip. In a warm voice, he said, "Mingli, you're too good to everyone. No wonder you give people the wrong idea."

His tone was casual, as if he were advising Xie Mingli to rein in her kindness. Yet to Feng Li's ears, it was the deadliest ridicule.

--"It isn't that she can't bear to see you embarrassed. She simply has no feelings for you."

--"You're just making a fool of yourself."

Feng Li's face twisted completely in that instant!

He watched helplessly as Chu Ning casually brushed Xie Mingli's hair. He saw Xie Mingli not reject him—in fact... she did not even show any disgust!

His fists clenched tightly, his knuckles turning white. His heart felt as if an invisible hand had seized it in a savage grip, causing sharp, violent pain.

At that moment, he finally realized that the most terrifying thing was not losing to Chu Ning, but that Xie Mingli had never truly held him in her heart!