Chapter 82: The Cost of Power

The battlefield trembled beneath the celestial storm, the air thick with abyssal energy as Shen Longwei's vortex expanded, pulling everything toward its dark maw. Li Feng fought against the force, but his strength waned, his body feeling as though it were being unraveled thread by thread. The Coiled Dragon's power surged within him, resisting the pull of the abyss, but it was not enough. He could feel himself slipping.

A flash of silver. Mei Lian and Yan Shun appeared at his side, their expressions resolute despite the chaos. Mei Lian's eyes were fierce, her grip on her blade tightening.

"We're not losing you here," she said, voice sharp with defiance.

Yan Shun nodded, his own turmoil momentarily cast aside. "We finish this together."

With coordinated precision, they lunged forward, Mei Lian slashing through the abyssal tendrils that lashed at Li Feng, while Yan Shun drove his spear into the vortex's shifting core. The disruption was enough to loosen the pull, allowing them to reach Li Feng and pull him free—just as another surge of abyssal power struck outward.

A barrier formed before them. Zheng Wei, battered and barely able to stand, had stepped forward, summoning the last of his strength. His hands moved in a familiar pattern, an incantation forming on his lips. The air crackled with energy as a radiant barrier enclosed them, shielding them from the next wave of abyssal destruction.

"Go," Zheng Wei rasped. "I'll hold it back."

"No!" Mei Lian turned to him in horror. "You don't have the strength for this!"

Zheng Wei merely smiled, his exhaustion evident, yet his resolve unshaken. "None of us do. But someone has to try."

Shen Longwei sneered from within the vortex. "Sacrifice? How noble." His voice echoed with twisted amusement. "But you still don't understand, do you?"

Li Feng clenched his fists, forcing himself to his feet despite the searing pain coursing through his body. "Understand what?"

A deep chuckle rumbled from Shen Longwei's throat. "You are fighting against the inevitable. You cannot wield the Coiled Dragon's power because you do not even know its origin." His abyssal form pulsed, and in an instant, the battlefield shifted.

Li Feng's vision swam, the world distorting as he was dragged into a vision. He saw shadows of the past—warriors locked in battle, flames devouring the land, and at the center of it all, a figure wreathed in dragon's fire. It was not Shen Longwei. It was someone else. Someone with features strikingly similar to Li Feng's own.

His breath caught in his throat. The image flickered, and suddenly, the face became clearer—

"Your ancestor was not a guardian," Shen Longwei's voice echoed in the void. "He was a destroyer."

The revelation slammed into Li Feng harder than any physical blow. He stumbled back, struggling to reconcile what he had seen. His mind swirled with denial, but the weight of the vision pressed upon him, making him question everything he thought he knew.

"Think, Li Feng," Shen Longwei taunted, stepping closer, his form growing more monstrous with every passing second. "The Coiled Dragon's power was never meant to protect—it was meant to dominate. And you… you are its heir."

Li Feng's grip tightened around his sword, his knuckles white. Was it true? Had he been wielding a power meant for destruction all along? If he embraced it, would he become no different from Shen Longwei?

Mei Lian saw the hesitation in his eyes and grabbed his arm. "Li Feng, don't listen to him!" she shouted. "You make your own path! Not the past, not fate—you!"

Zheng Wei's barrier flickered, his strength fading fast. "We don't have time for doubt," he rasped, his voice growing weak. "Decide, Li Feng. Before it's too late."

Shen Longwei raised his hand, abyssal energy gathering into a spear of darkness. "Choose, heir of the Coiled Dragon," he mocked. "Will you accept your true nature? Or will you be erased by history, just like the rest?"

Li Feng gritted his teeth. The Coiled Dragon's power pulsed within him, waiting—no, demanding—a choice.

The battle was far from over.

Just as Li Feng prepares to channel the Coiled Dragon's essence completely, Shen Longwei reveals a devastating truth about Li Feng's lineage, shaking his resolve.