When the final participants stepped out of the pocket world, the roar of the crowd returned like a crashing tide.
The cold wind swept across the colossal arena of the Storm Jade Country. Above, the sky remained thick with dark clouds, unmoving and oppressive as ever.
For a moment, the cheers were deafening.
Many voices shouted for Fengyue Sect, celebrating Zhou Xiaosi's victory.
But just as many voices shouted another name.
"Shen Yuan!"
"Twin Soul Sect!"
"Shen Yuan was the real monster!"
Mixed with those cheers were darker voices; mocking laughter, curses, and even spitting from some members of the audience.
Shen Yuan heard all of it.
His face remained completely deadpan.
No anger. No shame. No pride.
Just silence.
Then, for the briefest moment, Shen Yuan raised his head and looked at the audience.
His gaze was cold.
Utterly cold.
The crowd's noise died instantly in several sections of the colosseum. Even the loudest mockers felt a chill crawl up their spines and quickly looked away.
Standing beside him, Tang Jiyan noticed the reaction.
But he said nothing.
Instead, he quietly thought that such mortals needed to be reminded of their place from time to time.
At that moment, Steward Yan cleared his throat loudly.
His voice carried throughout the massive arena.
"With this," he announced, "the Sacred Sect Competition has come to an end."
The murmuring quieted.
"All disciples may now return to their respective abodes or do as they wish within the city. However," his tone hardened slightly, "no fighting or killing will be permitted."
A brief pause followed before he continued.
"The World Lord and his envoy will now tally the final points of all sects. Once the final results are ready, you will be summoned here again."
After speaking, Steward Yan folded his hands behind his back.
Most of the disciples present bowed respectfully, first to Steward Yan, then toward the high floating platform where the World Lord and his envoy sat.
One by one, groups of disciples vanished in flashes of light as they teleported away.
Soon, only two teams remained.
Zhou Xiaosi's team.
And Shen Yuan's team.
Zhou Xiaosi stepped forward with calm composure. His teammates stood beside him.
They bowed to Steward Yan.
Then they bowed toward World Lord Han Bolin and the envoy.
A moment later, their figures vanished in a flash of teleportation light.
Next came Shen Yuan's group.
Tang Jiyan, Xiang Xiaoli, Shi Meixiu, Guo Bohai, and Dong Chen bowed in the same manner.
But when the moment came for them to leave.
Only the five of them teleported.
Shen Yuan did not.
Instead, he turned quietly and began walking toward the colosseum gate.
His footsteps echoed softly against the stone floor.
The audience watched him descend the arena.
Some gazes held sadness.
Others were filled with contempt.
A few mocked him openly.
Shen Yuan didn't look back.
Up in the arena, Steward Yan watched his departing figure.
He sighed quietly and shook his head.
High above, on the floating energy platform where the sect leaders sat, silence also lingered.
They too watched Shen Yuan leave.
Beside World Lord Han Bolin, the envoy leaned slightly closer and whispered:
"This round has left a deep and confusing wound to Shen Yuan's ego and…"
Han Bolin raised a hand, cutting him off.
"If he recovers from it," the World Lord said calmly, "this defeat will become a valuable lesson."
The envoy fell silent.
Below, Shen Yuan walked alone through the gates of the colosseum.
Several minutes later.
A lone figure stood in front of the door of a quiet cultivation abode.
His brows were slightly furrowed.
Confusion lingered in his eyes.
It was Shen Yuan!
He stared at the door silently.
One thought kept circling his mind.
'Even when I was in danger… why did I stop this time?'
Three hundred years ago, when his life had been on the brink of annihilation, he had not stopped.
He had fought until nearly being erased from all of existence.
But today—
He had surrendered.
Another thought surfaced
'And why… did hearing Yanqing's name calm me?'
The answer refused to come.
After a moment, Shen Yuan pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The moment he entered the quiet room, relief washed over him like a wave.
He exhaled heavily.
Then suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
The crimson splattered across the floor.
Shen Yuan wiped his lips calmly.
"I should cultivate and heal," he muttered quietly. "Not dwell on a loss."
He sat down in the lotus position.
Closing his eyes, he began searching through the vast knowledge stored within his mind, fragmented pages of the Dark Qi Condensation Method.
Half an hour passed.
Finally, he found the technique he needed.
The Qi Transmutation Art.
It was a profound method that manipulated the akasha of qi, the fundamental description of its existence.
By rewriting that description, qi could be transformed into nearly any substance.
Bones. Blood. Flesh. Organs. And many more.
It was like rewriting the nature of something within the pages of a book.
Shen Yuan spread his divine sense through his body.
The condition he discovered was grim.
More than half of his meridians were damaged and leaking qi.
His dantian was fortunately intact.
Several blood vessels were torn and bleeding.
Multiple ribs around his chest were fractured.
There were also several deep holes in his flesh and skin.
He let out a quiet laugh.
Compared to being nearly erased from existence three centuries ago… this was almost mild.
Shen Yuan gathered the remaining Yin Qi into his dantian and emptied his meridians to stop the leaking energy.
His expression turned serious.
He focused completely on his qi.
First, he formed a thin layer of Yin Qi around his fractured ribs.
Then he began the process.
His fingers formed complex hand signs while he softly chanted a mantra.
The Yin Qi layer trembled violently.
Then.
It collapsed.
The failure worsened the fractures.
Shen Yuan coughed blood but did not open his eyes.
He tried again.
Failure.
Again.
Failure.
By the tenth attempt, the qi layer collapsed once more.
By the fiftieth attempt, the failure caused his nose to start bleeding.
Still he continued.
The two-hundredth attempt came.
The qi layer shattered once again.
But this time—
Something was different.
With his divine sense, Shen Yuan noticed a tiny area along one rib.
It had healed.
There was no fracture there anymore.
His eyes opened slightly.
"Good."
The two hundred and first attempt began.
This time he made the qi layer much thinner.
His control over the akasha became far more precise.
The qi layer trembled—
Then changed.
It merged into the bone.
The fractured ribs healed almost instantly.
Shen Yuan examined them carefully with his divine sense.
No fractures remained.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
He repeated the process.
One injury after another.
Qi layers formed and transformed.
His torn meridians slowly regained structure. What once looked like shredded paper now resembled proper energy channels again.
Even better, qi flowed through them more smoothly than before.
His blood vessels sealed.
Bleeding stopped.
The holes in his flesh closed as new skin formed over them.
Even the blood from his nose dried.
Soon Shen Yuan's body radiated a fresh, stable Yin aura.
No one looking at him now would believe he had been on the verge of collapse earlier.
At that moment, five figures approached the door of his abode.
Tang Jiyan. Xiang Xiaoli. Shi Meixiu. Guo Bohai. Dong Chen.
They had come to check on him.
Just as they reached the door—
A powerful surge of Yin Qi erupted from the room's windows and doorway.
The five stopped abruptly.
Tang Jiyan's eyes widened slightly.
They slowly opened the door.
Inside, Shen Yuan sat calmly in the lotus position.
What shocked them most was his condition.
He was perfectly fine.
No injuries.
No blood.
Not even a scratch.
Shen Yuan opened his eyes.
They landed calmly on the five visitors.
"Why are you guys here?" he asked normally.
Tang Jiyan crossed his arms.
"We came to take you to the market," Xiang Xiaoli said with a smile. "To lighten your mood."
Shen Yuan smirked faintly.
"Is that so?"
He stood up.
"Very well. I'll go with you."
The five immediately relaxed.
Smiles appeared across their faces.
Soon they left the abode together and headed toward the city market.
The market was bustling.
Even under the dark stormy sky, lanterns illuminated rows of shops and stalls.
Mortal vendors sold food, storybooks, toys, and ornaments.
Cultivator merchants displayed pills, herbs, weapons, talismans, and spiritual materials.
Xiang Xiaoli and Shi Meixiu quickly wandered into a cosmetics stall run by mortals.
Tang Jiyan, Dong Chen, and Guo Bohai stopped at a weapon shop to examine blades and spears.
Shen Yuan walked quietly until he reached a pill stall.
He purchased three bottles of Sky Regeneration Pills for ten gold coins.
The Sky Regeneration pills were grade 5 pills that could even heal organ injuries almost instantly.
Two hours passed before the group reunited.
Shen Yuan looked at the two women and asked flatly,
"Why did you buy useless things like cosmetics instead of useful items?"
Tang Jiyan sighed.
Dong Chen sighed.
Guo Bohai rubbed his forehead.
Finally Guo Bohai looked at Shen Yuan.
"Brother Shen, it isn't proper to ask women questions like that."
Shen Yuan tilted his head, genuinely confused.
Shi Meixiu crossed her arms.
"You wouldn't understand. It's a woman thing."
Xiang Xiaoli nodded quickly.
"Exactly. You don't need to know."
She clapped her hands suddenly.
"Let's all go drink something instead."
No one objected.
They soon stopped at a small cart-like wine stall.
The elderly owner immediately bowed deeply, as he saw their sect robes.
"Immortals, what would you like?"
Tang Jiyan placed three gold coins on the counter.
"Your best wine."
The owner bowed again and handed them simple clay cups.
He uncorked a glass bottle and poured the wine.
Everyone began drinking.
Shen Yuan simply stared at his cup.
The owner grew nervous.
"Immortal… is something wrong?"
Shen Yuan shook his head.
"Nothing."
He lifted the cup and took a sip.
The taste was sweet—like honey mixed with butter.
Not unpleasant. Like how his grandfather would describe.
He drank the rest.
Then held the cup out again.
Another.
And another.
The others looked surprised and quickly drank more as well.
Cultivators had little fear of mortal alcohol. After all they were immune to the effects of the poisons of the mortal world.
Shen Yuan drank quietly while watching the cart owner.
The old man smiled warmly every time he refilled a cup.
'How strange,' Shen Yuan thought.
How could mortals be this happy simply by serving wine?
Many cultivators he had met had long forgotten how to smile.
Forgotten how to enjoy life.
For cultivators, existence was often nothing more than survival of the fittest. It was like the jungle.
Mortals were weaker. Short-lived.
Yet they still remembered how to enjoy living.
Shen Yuan smirked faintly at the irony.
At that moment—
Sparks suddenly shot upward into the dark sky.
They formed glowing letters.
"All disciples return to the colosseum. The World Lord has completed the point calculations."
The six cultivators vanished instantly.
The wine cart owner blinked in shock.