Die for Me

"Where did these come from?" Lin Ye raised his eyes and looked at Chen Feng.

"You don't need to worry about that." Chen Feng said indifferently, "The Blood Origin Pill and True Essence Pill are for you to heal your injuries and make a breakthrough. The three manuals are the best I could get my hands on. The map is just a bonus."

"Given to you by the person behind you?" Lin Ye asked.

Chen Feng was silent for a moment, then nodded: "I exchanged 'merit' for all of these things, so you don't need to worry about being implicated."

"What kind of merit?"

"That you don't need to know." Chen Feng looked at him, "You only need to know that we are allies now. Only when you become stronger can we survive together and overturn the chessboard."

Lin Ye gave him a deep look and did not press further.

"Thanks." He put the items away.

"The Outer Sect Competition is in ten days." Chen Feng said, "Spend these ten days in seclusion here. I will handle everything outside."

Time passed in the blink of an eye.

On the evening of the tenth day, Chen Feng arrived.

A flash of surprise crossed his eyes when he saw Lin Ye.

"You broke through?"

"Mm." Lin Ye nodded.

"Good." Chen Feng didn't ask more, handing over a set of clothes, "Wear this for the competition tomorrow."

It was a brand-new set of outer sect disciple robes, with silver thread embroidered on the cuffs, making it more refined than the standard uniform.

"This is..."

"The reserve disciple uniform from the Inner Sect Deacon Hall." Chen Feng said, "Zhao Mingxuan had someone send it over."

Lin Ye took the clothes, "Did he say anything else?"

"He told you to perform well and not to lose face for him." Chen Feng said calmly, "Over at Elder Wang's side, it has been confirmed that Zhao Liang is missing, and he suspects you are involved. But there is no evidence, so he won't move against you for now. However, during the competition, the people he has arranged will definitely go for the kill."

"Do you know who they are?"

"Three of them." Chen Feng said, "Li Kui, at the ninth level of Body Tempering, practices the Iron Wall Technique and has extremely strong defense. Zhang Li, at the peak of the eighth level of Body Tempering, has a vicious and ruthless Poison Sand Palm. And then—Liu Mang."

"Liu Mang?" Lin Ye's eyes narrowed.

"Yes, the number one in the outer sect, at the peak of the ninth level of Body Tempering. His Iron Wall Technique has reached the realm of Copper Skin and Iron Bones, and it is said he has already touched the threshold of the True Qi Realm." Chen Feng said in a low voice, "Elder Wang paid a heavy price to have him cripple you during the competition."

"Liu Mang..." Lin Ye noted the name.

"However, you don't need to worry too much." Chen Feng said, "The competition is a public occasion; he won't dare to kill you openly."

"Understood." Lin Ye nodded.

"Also, take this." Chen Feng handed over a jade pendant, "If you encounter a life-threatening danger, crush it, and I will find a way to save you."

The jade pendant was warm and smooth, engraved with complex patterns that faintly pulsed with spiritual power.

"Thanks." Lin Ye put the jade pendant away.

Chen Feng nodded and turned to leave.

Lin Ye watched his retreating back and gripped the jade pendant in his hand tightly.

Tomorrow, the competition.

It was a crisis, but also an opportunity.

Live, and enter the inner sect.

Die, and everything ends.

Purple mist drifted from the east as the morning light tore through the sky, plating the Cloud Sea Plaza—the largest in the Qingyun Sect's outer sect—with a golden edge.

The gazes of thousands of outer sect disciples in the plaza were fixed firmly on the ancient Black Iron Arena in the center, which spanned a hundred feet.

On the arena, figures were numerous and their auras chaotic, numbering at least a thousand. Oppressive killing intent, tension, anticipation, and fear intertwined in the air, almost solidifying.

On the high platform, several figures with depths like the sea sat upright.

In the center, a white-haired man in green robes with lightning flickering in his eyes as they opened and closed was none other than the inner sect's punishment elder, Yun Leizi, who held authority over the sect's laws. To his left, the beautiful woman in red robes was Elder Huoyun of the Pill Hall, whose alchemy skills were unrivaled in the Eastern Region. To his right, the cold, stern middle-aged man in black was Elder Tiejian of the Law Enforcement Hall, whose swordsmanship was said to have reached perfection.

However, at this moment, everyone's attention was not on the three elders.

On the far left of the high platform sat a young man wearing a moon-white Flowing Cloud robe. He was barely over twenty, with a face as handsome as jade and an ethereal temperament, appearing completely out of place with the surrounding murderous atmosphere. Embroidered on his chest were three pale blue, lifelike flowing cloud patterns.

"It's Senior Brother Ye! Ye Wuchen!"

"Isn't he in seclusion trying to break through to the Hua Yuan Realm? Why is he here?"

"I heard the top ten in this competition have a chance to enter the Xuanhuang Secret Realm. Could Senior Brother Ye be here for that?"

"You idiot, Senior Brother Ye entered the secret realm three years ago! He must be here under the Sect Master's orders to select potential junior brothers for the Qingyun Peak lineage!"

Whispers surged like a tide, and awe-filled gazes were cast repeatedly toward the white-clad figure.

On the arena, Lin Ye stood at the edge of the southeast corner, his green robe looking out of place amidst the surroundings. His eyelids were lowered, his expression calm, as if the mountain-shaking roar of the crowd had nothing to do with him.

Not far from his side, Chen Feng held his long sword, his black clothes as dark as ink, his eyes as sharp as a blade waiting to be unsheathed.

In the center of the Black Iron Arena stood a giant of a man, towering nearly nine feet tall like an iron pagoda. His bare upper body was covered in knotted muscles that looked like cast steel, his skin glowing with a faint bronze luster and crisscrossed with hideous scars. With every breath, his chest heaved like a bellows, radiating a heavy sense of oppression.

Liu Mang. The undisputed number one of the Outer Sect, at the peak of the ninth stage of Body Tempering. He had cultivated the Iron Wall Technique to the realm of "Copper Skin and Iron Bones," once taking a palm strike from a newly advanced True Qi Realm inner sect senior and retreating only three steps. He was, moreover, a blade secretly honed by Elder Wang of the inner sect.

At this moment, Liu Mang's bell-like eyes were locked firmly onto Lin Ye, his undisguised killing intent almost manifesting into physical form.

On the high platform, Ye Wuchen's gaze also drifted over the crowd, landing on Lin Ye, and his handsome brows arched almost imperceptibly.

Ninth stage of Body Tempering, his blood and qi condensed like mercury, his true qi heavy and unyielding; his foundation is terrifyingly solid, he thought with a hint of surprise.

"The time has come!"

Yun Leizi's voice, aged yet resonant as a bell, echoed across the entire venue, drowning out all the clamor.

"The Outer Sect Competition, first round, melee! A thousand-person brawl; the last one hundred remaining on the stage will advance to the second round!"

"The rules remain unchanged: those who fall off the arena lose! Those who surrender lose! Those who lose the ability to fight lose!"

"Only victory or defeat matters, not life or death! However, if one party has surrendered, the other must not continue to kill. Violators will have their cultivation crippled and be expelled from the sect!"

"Begin!"

"BOOM--!!"

The moment the word "begin" fell, the entire arena erupted! Roars, screams, the clash of weapons, and the explosions of true qi instantly wove together into a violent symphony of death!

Liu Mang moved. Without hesitation, he charged like a frenzied primeval elephant, shattering the Black Iron Arena beneath his feet as he hurtled toward Lin Ye with overwhelming momentum!

"Lin Ye! Die!"

His roar was like thunder. Liu Mang clenched his right fist, the bronze hue beneath his skin deepening instantly. As he threw the punch, the air was compressed to the limit, emitting a piercing sonic boom. Where his fist passed, it actually formed a visible white shockwave!

The ultimate move of the Iron Wall Technique—Mountain Breaking Hammer!

This punch was devoid of any flair; it was a pure combination of extreme strength and defense, domineering and peerless, enough to shatter a small hill!

"Senior Brother Liu Mang is using his ultimate move right from the start!"

"He's trying to kill him in one blow!"

"Lin Ye is finished!"

Cries of alarm erupted from below the stage. Everyone could see that Liu Mang's furious strike held nothing back; he intended to use absolute power to blast Lin Ye into pulp in front of everyone!

Facing this overwhelming punch, one capable of turning an ordinary ninth-stage Body Tempering cultivator into meat paste, Lin Ye moved.

He did not retreat.

Amidst countless gazes—some horrified, some pitying, some gloating—he also took a step forward, pulling his right fist to his waist and meeting the attack with a simple, straightforward punch.

There was no terrifying momentum like Liu Mang's, no sonic boom, no shockwave; his fist speed didn't even look particularly fast.

But the moment that plain, unadorned punch was thrown, Ye Wuchen's previously relaxed gaze suddenly sharpened!

Master Huoyun and Master Tiejian sat up straight almost simultaneously!

A flash of shock also crossed the eyes of Yun Leizi!

Follow for more, with explosive updates to come!