Saint Son

Chu Ning gave Feng Li no room to breathe. His figure blurred in the air, lightning exploding like a dragon, coiling and uncoiling.

The Frost Cold Power followed, condensing into sharp, menacing ice blades that intertwined with the lightning, forming an impenetrable killing formation. It felt as if the entire world was crushing down on Feng Li!

Feng Li desperately tried to defend himself, but the Frost Lightning eroded his flames, causing the circulation of Essence Power within him to become sluggish.

"It's over," Chu Ning whispered, a lightning blade gathering power in his hand.

Feng Li's eyes suddenly turned red. He roared, pouring his last bit of True Qi into it, "Burn for me!"

His blood ignited instantly, and the flames around him surged threefold. He forcefully broke through the suppression of the Frost Lightning and charged fiercely at Chu Ning.

But Chu Ning merely smiled faintly, shifting his body slightly. The lightning blade cut through the air like a fleeting glimpse.

Feng Li stumbled backward, the sigh of his childhood master echoing in his ears: "The Path of Li Fire is most afraid of impatience..." But realizing this now was too late.

In an instant, the Frost Lightning surged like a tide, engulfing everything.

Feng Li let out a scream as lightning pierced his chest. His body convulsed violently in mid-air, as if being torn apart by invisible hands. The blazing flames were instantly extinguished, and even the surrounding temperature dropped several degrees.

He fell to the ground, trembling, emitting suppressed gasps from his throat.

Impossible... How could I possibly lose?

His fingertips trembled slightly. He wanted to push himself up, but he couldn't muster even a sliver of strength. The gazes cast upon him from all sides felt like cold blades, gouging at his arrogant dignity.

Chu Ning walked over slowly, looking down at him from above. "You lost."

Feng Li gritted his teeth, his face a mix of pale and green. Finally, he closed his eyes powerlessly.

Xie Mingli stood not far away, watching Chu Ning with complex emotions, as if she had never truly seen through him.

Chu Ning withdrew the Frost Lightning and let out a long sigh, saying softly, "I didn't hold back in this fight."

A gust of wind swept through, carrying the lingering aftermath of the battle.

Feng Li's body heaved, his face as pale as paper, a trace of blood lingering at the corner of his mouth.

He stared intently at Chu Ning, his eyes churning with unwillingness, shock, and anger.

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

From childhood, everyone had told him that his talent was extraordinary and that he would surely become the most brilliant genius of the Li Fire Palace.

He had always been a superior being, his goal to become the future Saint Son, a supreme powerhouse at the peak of the Great Gan Dynasty!

But now, he had lost so utterly?

Under everyone's gaze, his glory was collapsing. Some people's eyes no longer held reverence, but doubt, and even... a faint hint of disdain.

His fists clenched with a cracking sound, his nails digging deeply into his palms, blood dripping from between his fingers. He refused to believe this reality!

The reactions of the surrounding crowd undoubtedly became the deepest thorns in his heart.

"The direct disciple of the Li Fire Palace... actually lost?"

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

"Yeah, how could he have lost so completely?"

The discussions rose and fell like waves, each word like molten iron poured into Feng Li's ears, burning his insides.

Some people's gazes toward him were no longer filled with reverence, but with doubt, and even a subtle disdain.

"Feng Li, are... are you alright?"

Xie Mingli walked forward, her brow furrowed slightly, her voice gentle and tinged with hesitation.

Feng Li suddenly looked up, staring intently at her, his eyes as dark and sinister as poisoned blades.

"Heh... Are you satisfied now?" A bitter smile played on Feng Li's lips, his voice suppressed, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

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

Xie Mingli frowned slightly, about to explain, when Feng Li's voice suddenly turned cold.

"Or are you just trying to tell me—even if I burn my bloodline and give my all, you won't feel even a shred of gratitude?"

Feng Li's lips slowly curved upward, his eyes as dark as an abyss, his voice low and hoarse, "Lier, you know I've always liked you. You never accepted my pursuit, but you never explicitly rejected me either, did you?"

He took a step forward, his gaze locked onto Xie Mingli, his voice trembling slightly. "When I heard you were attacked on your way back, I was frantic, afraid you might get hurt. But do you know what I heard?"

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

He paused at this point, the curve of his lips trembling slightly, as if he were suppressing something with great effort. A moment later, he let out a low laugh, a mix of self-mockery and sorrow. "Lier, do you know how angry I am, how unwilling?"

Xie Mingli's fingertips brushed against the Cold Marrow Pendant at her waist. The cool sensation brought her back slightly.

"Feng Li, you're overthinking it," she said softly, her voice like a silk-wrapped dagger.

Feng Li's pupils contracted sharply. His gaze fell on her sleeve, where a trace of Frost Lightning scorch mark was visible, clearly from Chu Ning's Thunderous Force.

"Overthinking it?" he chuckled, his knuckles turning white. "Then why don't you dare to look me in the eye?"

His gaze gradually turned blood-red, filled with suppressed rage and unwillingness, his voice turning cold. "Ever since this little brat came to the Marquis Wu's Estate, I could clearly feel you deliberately distancing yourself from me..."

He slowly advanced, his fists clenched. "This... is also me overthinking it?"

He had forcibly broken through his realm, giving his all, just to settle the score in one battle, to let Xie Mingli see his strength, to gain everyone's recognition. But what was the result?

He lost! He lost completely and utterly!

His pride, his ambition, his obsession – all of it had been trampled under Chu Ning's feet.

What he found most unbearable was Xie Mingli's reaction.

She wasn't angry, wasn't sad, and didn't show the slightest bit of unwillingness. She was even… comforting him?!

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

Feng Li clenched his fists tightly, his fingernails 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 or losing, and in doing so, you've forgotten to ask about Mingli's true feelings."

He shook his head, sighing with apparent helplessness. "Mingli is kind-hearted. She can't stand seeing others down on their luck, which is why she's willing to offer you a few words of comfort. It's a shame… some people just don't know what's good for them."

As he spoke, he tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling on Xie Mingli. He gently brushed a stray strand of hair from her temple with his fingertips, saying in a gentle tone, "Mingli, you're too kind to everyone. It's no wonder people misunderstand."

His tone was casual, as if he were advising Xie Mingli to curb her benevolence, but to Feng Li, it was the most damning sarcasm.

—"She's not trying to spare you embarrassment; it's just that she never had any feelings for you in the first place."

—"You've been deluding yourself."

Feng Li's face contorted completely in that instant!

He watched with his own eyes as Chu Ning casually brushed the tips of Xie Mingli's hair, saw that Xie Mingli didn't refuse, and even… didn't show any disgust!

His fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white, his heart felt as if an invisible hand had fiercely gripped it, causing it to ache violently.

In that moment, he finally realized that the most terrifying thing wasn't that he had lost to Chu Ning, but that Xie Mingli had never truly taken him to heart!

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