Clash

Around thirty-five years old, Life Energy Level 49, his aura as sharp as a sword drawn from its sheath.

Zhou Chen stood there with his back straight and his gaze focused. He did not deliberately display his presence, yet his natural fighting spirit had already become almost tangible.

Zhou Chen looked over at the same time.

Their gazes met above the plain, five hundred meters apart.

There were no words, no movements, only a calm exchange of looks.

Yet in that instant, everyone around them sensed something.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

Lin Jianyi stepped out from the ranks.

He walked slowly, his steps steady, the hem of his deep blue-green cloth robe brushing over the dark red grass.

No aura leaked from him.

Yet with every step he took, the Martial Saint-level experts on Great Liang's side felt the pressure grow heavier by another degree.

It was not deliberately released, merely naturally revealed.

Like the deep sea: its surface appeared calm and unruffled, yet anyone who drew close could feel the abyssal weight and unfathomable depth beneath.

Li Xuangang opened his eyes.

He tightened his grip on his cane.

"Great Liang's Imperial Preceptor, Li Xuangang." His voice remained even, though the final note carried a trace of barely perceptible tension.

"Lin Jianyi."

A completely plain introduction, without any title or embellishment.

Yet it was precisely that plainness which set warning bells blaring in Li Xuangang's heart.

He had seen many powerful people. Some had blades bared for all to see, some hid their depths, some possessed soaring momentum, and some had returned to simplicity.

But the man before him belonged to none of those categories.

He was simply "there."

There, standing there, speaking to him.

He needed to prove nothing, display nothing.

His mere existence