Chapter 9 – A Blade Without a Hilt
The Outer Challenge — 7 Days Remaining
The wind no longer danced through the mountains.
It scraped.
The entire Outer Court was shifting — like prey caught in the quiet before a predator's leap.
Whispers now followed Lin Feng like ghosts.
> "He dared to sign up?" "Wei Zicheng's already broken three training puppets this week…" "That kid's going to die."
But Lin Feng said nothing.
His silence was the same as always.
Only his eyes had changed.
There was something behind them now — something cracked… and still cracking.
---
Training Grounds – Ruined Pavilion
Lin Feng trained in the old stone clearing where no one dared step.
His fists bled. His knees buckled.
Each punch shattered ancient wood.
Each breath broke the silence.
He didn't rest. He didn't meditate. He didn't even use Qi.
He was preparing for a battle where only flesh and will would matter.
> Seven days…
But his heart beat slower.
Colder.
Deeper.
Something unnatural had begun inside him.
---
Elders' Shadowed Council
Deep within the Moon Prayer Hall, seven elders sat before a long obsidian table.
> "His cultivation path isn't stable." "Body refinement can't explain his changes." "He should have died years ago."
The Seventh Elder, whose face was always hidden behind golden silk, spoke softly:
> "Let him ascend. If he burns, he was a mistake. If he survives... we may have to reconsider the Will of the Heavens."
The words hung like nooses in the air.
They wouldn't stop the challenge.
They would watch.
And wait for blood.
---
That night, Lin Feng stood before the old waterfall where he first found the broken sword.
He drove it into the stone, then knelt.
> "I know you're not just iron," he whispered.
> "I feel it… when I bleed."
The sword didn't answer.
But the waterfall pulsed once.
Suddenly — a flash — a vision:
> Ashes.
Corpses.
Lin Feng, older… standing atop a mountain of dead cultivators… his broken blade howling in his hand.
Then it vanished.
Lin Feng gasped, sweat pouring down his back.
And for the first time…
He feared himself.
---
1 Day Before the Challenge
Standing alone in the central arena, robe flowing like mist. Eyes closed.
No one dared approach her.
No one spoke her name aloud.
But the earth around her felt heavier — as if reacting to something only she could feel.
> "This place will taste fate tomorrow," she murmured.
She could feel a heartbeat deep beneath the arena.
Not the arena's.
Not the sect's.
> His.
That night, she lit no incense.
She cast no divinations.
She simply watched the moon.
---
Midnight.
Lin Feng knelt in his quarters, shirtless, sweat streaming down his spine. His body was shaking.
He had reached the Sixth Layer of Body Refinement.
But now…
Now he wanted more.
> Why does it feel like something's alive beneath my ribs?
His heart rate doubled.
Then tripled.
Then stopped.
Just one beat — missing.
He fell backward, gasping. Clawing.
And then… it beat again.
Harder.
> [Unknown Resonance Detected. Initiating Marrow–Vein Rebirth.]
With a soul stirring pain
He screamed — but no sound came out.
The windows shattered.
And the broken sword… hummed.