Night Fire

After Li Ming left, the air on the training grounds seemed to freeze, heavy and stifling. The disciples watching the spectacle whispered amongst themselves, their gazes fixed on Li Yuan's retreating back. They held admiration, worry, and mostly, a detached curiosity. Li Yuan ignored them, focusing instead on the wooden dummies, throwing punch after punch until dusk settled and his muscles ached. Only then did he trudge back to Class A Courtyard Number One.

The courtyard was dark, unlit. He didn't go inside, instead sitting on the cold bluestone steps, his back against the doorframe, gazing up at the sky. There were no stars, only an oppressive, thick darkness that made it hard to breathe.

Li Ming's arrogant, sinister face, and his words, "We'll see," replayed endlessly in his mind. He knew this wasn't the end, but the beginning. The Li Family was like a spiderweb; once caught, you couldn't escape without shedding skin.

He spread his hands, looking at his palms. The qi and blood flowed calmly beneath his skin, carrying the solidity of refinement and a hint of the coldness of curse power. This strength was something he had fought for, inch by inch, with his life, after crawling back from the altar. Yet, facing a behemoth like the Li Family, entrenched for a hundred years, it was not enough. Far from it.

"Hoo--"

He exhaled a long breath, white mist dispersing before his eyes, quickly swallowed by the cold wind.

He needed to get stronger, to get stronger faster. The resources in the Class A Room, the hunts in the Black Mountain Forest, even... the meager curse power on the Netherworld Cultists, were all too slow. He needed more, something more potent, to feed the increasingly greedy "furnace" within him.

Night deepened, and the wind grew fiercer, whipping up dust and dead leaves from the ground, scattering them against the window paper with a rustling sound.

Li Yuan lay on the hard wooden bed, eyes closed, but not asleep. The Crimson Sun Qi and Blood circulated within him on its own, warming his limbs and bones, and making his senses acutely sharp to the outside world.

After an unknown amount of time, perhaps midnight, perhaps later.

A faint, subtle sound, different from the wind, pierced his ears.

It sounded like someone treading on the frozen earth outside the courtyard wall with the lightest of steps.

Li Yuan's eyes snapped open, his pupils contracting in the darkness. He didn't move, even slowing his breathing, but his muscles tensed silently, like a leopard poised to strike.

They're here.

The courtyard wall wasn't high, and the people outside didn't seem to be trying to hide their movements. A faint "tap" sounded, like a pebble hitting the ground. Immediately after, a subtle scent of pine oil drifted in through the door crack.

Not to kill, but to set fire!

Li Yuan's eyes turned cold. The Li Family's methods truly were underhanded. Were they trying to force him out? Or did they simply intend to burn this Class A Courtyard Number One, along with him, to ashes?

He silently rolled off the bed, his bare feet landing on the cold ground without a sound. He walked to the window, using the faint moonlight filtering through the paper to see several blurred figures nimbly piling bundles of oil-soaked firewood at the courtyard gate and beneath the windows.

Their movements were practiced, their coordination seamless, clearly accustomed to such acts.

A cold smile touched Li Yuan's lips.

He retreated into the quiet room, not reaching for the Iron Rod. He slowly stretched his neck and wrists, his joints emitting faint cracking sounds. The Crimson Sun Qi and Blood, infused with the characteristics of various hard qigong techniques and having absorbed curse power, began to circulate faster, a burning sensation filling his body.

A dim, dark red luster faintly appeared beneath his skin, his muscles bulging slightly, outlining the thin sleeping robe. He hadn't fully activated his battle form, but the fierce aura of the "Black Mountain Fiend Star" was no longer concealed.

"Ssss--"

A soft sound, and then firelight flared outside. The pine oil ignited instantly, orange flames leaping up, greedily licking the dry firewood and wooden doors and windows, thick smoke billowing into the sky.

"Fire!" someone outside deliberately lowered their voice and shouted. Several dark figures quickly retreated, preparing to melt into the darkness.

And at that very moment.

"Boom--!"

The tightly shut courtyard gate, along with the piled firewood behind it, was violently blasted open from the inside by an overwhelming force! Wood chips flew, and the burning firewood scattered with the immense impact!

A figure, like a beast tearing through the night, stepped out from the flames and smoke!

Li Yuan stood at the courtyard entrance, his sleeping robe scorched with several holes from sparks, revealing his chest beneath, which glowed with a dark red luster, its muscle lines ferocious. His hair was dishevelled, his face smudged with soot, but his eyes, illuminated by the firelight, shone terrifyingly, filled with undisguised killing intent.

The figures who had just retreated a few steps froze abruptly, turning back in horror. They stared at Li Yuan emerging from the sea of flames as if they had seen a ghost.

Their orders were to set the fire, create chaos, and ideally, force out or burn the target. They had never expected their opponent to charge out in such a violent manner!

Li Yuan's gaze, like a cold blade, swept over the faces covered by black cloth, revealing only panicked eyes.

"The Li Family sent only you rats?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a metallic friction, cutting through the crackling flames and striking the attackers hard.

The leader reacted fastest, shouting, "Attack! Kill him!"

Several poisoned short blades glinted with a faint blue light under the fire, stabbing towards Li Yuan from different angles! Their movements were vicious, their coordination seamless, clearly the work of well-trained assassins.

Li Yuan moved.

He didn't dodge. Facing the short blade aimed at his chest first, his left hand shot out like lightning, reaching him first, accurately clamping down on the attacker's wrist!

"Crack!"

A grating sound of bone breaking echoed. The assassin screamed, dropping the short blade. Without even looking, Li Yuan grabbed the broken wrist and swung the human-shaped weapon like a club, smashing it into the two attackers coming from the side!

"Bang!" "Bang!"

Two dull thuds. The two attackers were sent flying backward, spitting blood, struck by their companion's body.

At the same time, a fierce wind attacked from behind, aiming straight for his back!

As if Li Yuan had eyes in the back of his head, he twisted his waist and turned, his right arm muscles bulging instantly, carrying a wave of scorching heat as he swung horizontally!

"Clang!"

His arm collided with the poisoned short blade, producing a sound like metal striking metal! The blade was deflected by immense force, the assassin's tiger's mouth cracked, and his entire arm went numb. He stared at Li Yuan's arm, which hadn't even broken the skin, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Li Yuan gave him no chance. His arm, having deflected the blade, continued its momentum, his elbow like a heavy hammer, smashing directly into his Adam's apple!

"Ugh..."

The assassin's eyes bulged, and he collapsed, gasping for air, clutching his throat.

In the blink of an eye, four assassins were dead, three killed and one critically wounded.

The remaining assassin, whose wrist had been severed, looked at Li Yuan, who stood like a demon god before the flames. He was so terrified that his soul scattered and his spirit fled, and he turned to escape.

Li Yuan flicked his toes, and the poisoned dagger on the ground fell into his hand. Without even looking, he flicked it backward!

"Whoosh--Thud!"

The dagger accurately embedded itself in the fleeing assassin's back. He fell forward, twitched twice, and then fell silent.

Li Yuan stood amidst the mess and corpses, surrounded by raging flames that cast flickering shadows on his face. He slowly raised his hand and looked at the spot on his arm where the dagger had grazed him. There was only a shallow white mark, which was rapidly disappearing.

He took a deep breath of air, a mixture of scorched and bloody scents. The Crimson Sun Qi and Blood within him was even more active and scorching from the recent battle.

He raised his eyes and looked in the direction of the Li Family's estate, his gaze piercing through the night and the flames, as cold as iron.

This night's fire would not burn him; it would only make his blade sharper and faster.

The sounds of footsteps and shouts from the Martial Arts School's night patrol grew closer. He lingered no longer, turned, and walked step by step back into the courtyard, which had not yet been completely engulfed. His figure re-entered the dancing shadows and light.

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