Morning Battle with Yu Tianheng · The Tower Realm Devours Lightning

Early the next morning, Yu Tianheng came.

Nan Feng was practicing Tower Suppression in the open space outside his guest quarters. Gravel covered the ground, and several old Chinese scholar trees stood nearby.

He kept Tower Suppression's halo within three steps of himself, its suppressive force twenty percent heavier than it had been in Gengxin City. With his Soul Power at rank thirty-four and the gates to the first and second floors fully open, the output of the Power of Mountain Suppression was no longer what it had been in Nuoding.

Nan Feng sensed the blue figure as it approached from the other end of the passage.

Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light caught the fluctuations of Yu Tianheng's Soul Power. Rank thirty-seven, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, with Soul Power that was deep and violent.

Yu Tianheng stopped at the edge of the open space without speaking. He watched Nan Feng for a few breaths, his gaze settling on the circle of cyan light beneath Nan Feng's feet.

"I checked," Yu Tianheng said, his voice deeper than it had been yesterday.

Nan Feng withdrew Tower Suppression. The halo dispersed, and the gravel surface became level again. He stood and looked at Yu Tianheng without speaking.

"The top shelf of the wall rack in the third row, the seventh through twelfth volumes from the left." Yu Tianheng's voice was even. "The manuscripts are all there, but there's a six-year gap in the records between the seventh and twelfth volumes."

"The blank pages in between show no signs of anything being torn out, but content is clearly missing. I compared them with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul data tables in the Grandmaster's Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul."

"That data matches the records missing from those six years exactly. The years, the types of Soul Beasts, the curves of Soul Power fluctuations during Soul Ring absorption-every set matches."

He paused for a breath, his fingers curling at his side.

"He really did steal them."

Nan Feng looked at him. Yu Tianheng's face was taut, his jawline sharper than usual. Anger churned in those blue eyes, but it wasn't directed at Nan Feng.

"I'll have the clan's council of elders deal with this formally," Yu Tianheng said. "Before that, I want to fight you."

"Why?"

"Because of your Soul Ring Configuration." Yu Tianheng stepped forward into the center of the open space.

"The three Soul Rings you showed yesterday: the first was over nine hundred years old, the second was two thousand one hundred years old, and the third was twelve thousand years old."

"If the Grandmaster's theory was stolen, I need to reassess whether that data is reliable. I want to verify for myself whether he was right that Soul Ring age limits can't be surpassed."

Nan Feng looked at him.

Xiao Wu fought him for practice, and Dugu Yan fought him to test him. Yu Tianheng was different. He wanted to verify something: a stolen theory, and whether the foundation he had spent so many years cultivating was built on lies.

Nan Feng drew the short staff from behind his waist, spun it once, and planted it in the ground.

"You're not using a weapon?"

"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul is a weapon in itself." Yu Tianheng took off his outer robe and draped it over a stone bench, revealing the close-fitting blue outfit underneath.

He flexed his wrists, his knuckles popping several times. Blue Soul Power rose around him, and a scorching smell spread through the air.

"Tell me when you're ready."

Nan Feng nodded. He hadn't called Xiao Wu, Ye Lingling, or Dugu Yan. This fight was between the two of them.

Yu Tianheng moved.

The instant he kicked off, his feet stamped two deep pits in the gravel. His blue figure became an afterimage as he charged straight at Nan Feng.

He was nearly twice as fast as he had been at the Nuoding exchange tournament. Rank thirty-seven Soul Power combined with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's explosive power made him almost indistinguishable from Teleportation over a short distance.

His right fist smashed toward Nan Feng's chest, its surface covered in crackling blue lightning.

Nan Feng activated Tower Suppression. A cyan halo spread from beneath his feet, covering a radius of five steps.

Yu Tianheng charged into the halo. His body was suppressed, slowing for a beat, and his punch went from extremely fast to fast.

Nan Feng turned sideways to evade the direct blow. Five dark purple claw shadows sprang from between the fingers of his right hand, formed by his External Soul Bone. Tiger Claw · Star Shattering slashed toward Yu Tianheng's side.

Yu Tianheng raised his left arm to block, and blue lightning condensed into a shield on his arm.

The claw shadows cut into it, opening a crack, but the shield didn't shatter.

Yu Tianheng used the force of the block to twist sideways, sweeping his right foot through the air toward Nan Feng's head. Blue-white lightning wrapped around his foot.

Nan Feng didn't retreat. He stepped half a pace forward with his left foot, and his second Soul Skill, Tower Suppression: Spirit Binding, shot from his palm.

A cyan spiderweb spread through the air, its strands coated in a dark purple poisonous glow.

Yu Tianheng's sweeping kick struck the web. The strands didn't break; instead, they wrapped around his ankle. The poison corroded his Soul Power shield faster than Nan Feng had expected.

Yu Tianheng frowned slightly and unleashed his Soul Power. Lightning erupted from his ankle, blasting most of the web apart.

That moment's delay was enough for Nan Feng to complete his next move.

Tower Realm · Creation unfolded.

The halo doubled in size, and a layer of warm light appeared within it.

Standing inside the Tower Realm, Yu Tianheng found the circulation of his Soul Power hindered. Every stream of Soul Power took thirty percent longer than usual to travel from his dantian to his limbs.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's lightning power was devoured and transformed by the warm light in the air, and dissipated nearly fifty percent faster.

Yu Tianheng's pupils contracted slightly.

The warm light in the Tower Realm was absorbing the free-floating lightning-attribute Spiritual Power he released. The devoured Spiritual Power flowed along invisible channels to Nan Feng, replenishing the Soul Power reserves in his dantian.

The fiercer his lightning, the more was devoured, and the more abundant Nan Feng's Soul Power became.

"Your Tower Realm..." Yu Tianheng said, without stopping.

He activated all the Soul Power in his body. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul condensed into a thick pillar of lightning above his head, and lightning struck down from the air toward the top of Nan Feng's head.

Third Soul Skill, Thunderous Might.

Nan Feng pushed Tower Suppression and the Tower Realm to their limits at the same time. The Power of Mountain Suppression poured down from the base of the tower, and a cyan curtain of light condensed into a phantom tower. It rose above his head to meet the lightning pillar.

A muffled boom rang out.

The lightning pillar crashed into the phantom tower, scattering sparks in every direction. The surrounding gravel bounced into the air from the impact, then fell back down.

The phantom tower trembled violently under the impact. Dense cracks spread across its surface, but it didn't shatter.

Nan Feng's feet sank ankle-deep into the gravel.

The lightning pillar dispersed. Yu Tianheng stood five steps away, breathing hard. The Tower Realm had been continuously devouring his power for twenty breaths, draining thirty percent of his Soul Power reserves.

Nan Feng stood behind the phantom tower, his right hand still held in the position used to activate Tower Suppression. The deep-black glow of a Soul Ring shone in his palm through the dust.

"Twenty moves," Nan Feng said.

Yu Tianheng looked at him, his chest rising and falling. He was silent for a few breaths, then withdrew his Soul Power.

The lightning around him faded, and the scorching smell in the air receded.

He straightened and looked at the Tower Realm's halo, which still circled Nan Feng's feet.

"Your Tower Realm can devour my lightning-attribute Spiritual Power," Yu Tianheng said. "I expend Soul Power faster than you do. I'd lose a prolonged fight."

Nan Feng withdrew the Tower Realm and Tower Suppression. The halo faded, leaving the gravel scattered across the open space.

He lowered his right hand to his side, and the dark purple markings on its back disappeared.

"Your Thunderous Might was fierce. My phantom tower almost shattered."

Yu Tianheng was silent for a while. He walked to the stone bench and picked up his outer robe, draping it over his shoulders without putting it on.

He stood with his back to Nan Feng for a few breaths, then turned his head to glance at him. In that glance were anger, confusion, and something deeper.

Nan Feng understood it: the determination to find his anchor again.

"There really are problems with the Grandmaster's theory. His conclusion that Soul Ring age limits can't be surpassed is wrong, at least in your case." Yu Tianheng's voice was even. "As for his theft of the clan's manuscripts, I'll have the council of elders deal with it."

"Until it's settled, I won't tell anyone about your Soul Ring Configuration. That's my exchange with you."

Nan Feng nodded.

Yu Tianheng put on his outer robe and walked away along the passage. His blue figure grew smaller in the morning light, then vanished around a corner in the direction of the training grounds.

Nan Feng stood where he was for a while, then looked down at his right palm.

During those twenty moves, Tower Realm · Creation had faced the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's lightning attribute head-on for the first time, and its devouring efficiency had been higher than he'd expected. The gap in the third-floor gate had widened somewhat during the fight.

He shook out his aching wrist, pulled the short staff from the ground, and tucked it back behind his waist.

Morning sunlight streamed over the eastern ridge, filling the entire open space.

On his way back, he passed Ye Lingling's herb garden.

Ye Lingling was crouched in the herb plot, pulling weeds. When she saw him return, she looked up. Her gaze swept over him, and once she had confirmed he wasn't injured, she lowered her head and went back to weeding.

Nan Feng returned to his room, closed the door, and sat cross-legged on the bed, sinking into the space inside the tower.

Old Huai poked his head out of a crack, cyan light flashing in his cloudy eyes.

"That was a good fight. Tower Realm · Creation's devouring effect was stronger than you expected."

"After lightning-attribute Spiritual Power is transformed by the Power of Creation, it replenishes the meridians twenty percent more efficiently than ordinary Spiritual Power. The gap in the third-floor gate has opened another sliver."

Nan Feng nodded.

His Soul Power was at rank thirty-four. Tower Realm · Creation's effectiveness in actual combat had been verified, and Yu Tianheng had promised to deal with the manuscript incident.

He closed his eyes and circulated the Primordial World Qi Refining Art. The Soul Power in his dantian moved through his meridians, circling again and again, warm and steady.

The morning in Heaven Dou City had only just begun.