The Inner Sect Arena made the Outer Sect mud pit look like a pigsty.
It was a raised dais of white marble, suspended over a pool of koi fish. Protective arrays shimmered around the perimeter to prevent stray sword beams from decapitating the audience.
The crowd was different here. Elders, wealthy merchants, and Core Disciples watched from silk-draped balconies.
Jin Ryeong and Liu Bao stood in the servant's gallery, pressed against the railing. Liu Bao was eating a roasted sweet potato nervously.
"Doctor... the energy down there... it makes my skin itch."
"That's Sword Intent," Jin Ryeong said, his eyes fixed on the arena.
"Don't worry. Your fat absorbs intent too."
"Match 3!" the referee announced. "Squad Azure vs. Squad Thunder!"
Mei walked onto the marble.
She looked regal in her azure armor, holding a slender jian (straight sword).
But Jin Ryeong saw the tension in her neck. Her team consisted of her, the newly recovered Liang (Vanguard), and a nervous-looking archer.
Opposite them stood Feng.
The Prodigy.
He wore white robes embroidered with silver lightning bolts. He didn't wear armor. He didn't even draw his sword. He stood with his arms crossed, flanked by two lackeys who looked more like cheerleaders than fighters.
"Surrender, Mei," Feng called out, his voice amplified by Qi.
"My Thunder-Flash Sword is unstable today. I don't want to burn your pretty face."
Mei drew her sword. "Talk is cheap, Feng. Squad Azure! Formation!"
Liang roared and charged, his granite skin hardening. He was the tank. Mei flitted behind him, preparing a strike. The archer fired a volley of spirit arrows.
Feng yawned.
"Boring."
He didn't move until the arrows were inches from his face. Zzzzt.
A crackle of blue electricity erupted from his body. The arrows disintegrated into ash.
Feng took a step.
[Movement Art: Flash Step]
He vanished. He reappeared instantly behind Liang.
"Too slow, big guy."
Feng tapped Liang's neck with his sheathed scabbard. BOOM. A pulse of thunder sent Liang flying into the koi pond.
[Squad Azure Vanguard: Eliminated.]
The crowd roared.
"One hit! He didn't even draw!"
Jin Ryeong's eyes narrowed.
[System Diagnosis: Feng]
Qi Reserves: 85%.
Status: Overclocked.
Anomaly: Nervous system tremors detected in left hand.
"He's fast," Jin Ryeong whispered.
"But he's vibrating."
Mei screamed and lunged at Feng. Her sword coated in water-attribute Qi. Feng dodged effortlessly, weaving through her strikes like smoke.
"Water conducts electricity, Mei. Are you stupid?"
Feng snapped his fingers. A bolt of lightning arc-ed from his finger to Mei's sword.
"Ah!" Mei dropped her weapon, her hand spasming.
She fell back, clutching her wrist. Feng stood over her, grinning.
"Pathetic. You should stick to poisoning your teammates.
I heard Liang was sick yesterday. Did you mess up a recipe?"
Mei froze. Her face went pale.
Feng knew? Or was he guessing?
Feng reached into his sash and pulled out a small blue pill. He popped it into his mouth.
[Item: Thunder-Suppressing Pill] Effect: Calms the nerve damage caused by excessive lightning cultivation.
Jin Ryeong saw the pill. He saw the slight shake in Feng's hand vanish. He's medicating mid-fight.
Feng placed his hand on his sword hilt. The scabbard sparked.
"Finish this," Feng muttered.
"Thunder-Flash Art: First Form."
The air pressure dropped. The hair on Liu Bao's arms stood up.
Feng was charging a strike that would likely hospitalize Mei for months.
Jin Ryeong gripped the railing.
If Mei loses, I don't get the Spirit Refining Pill.
If I don't get the Pill, I can't break through to Level 10 quickly.
He couldn't throw a needle. The protective array would block it. He couldn't use Qi Projection. Too far (10cm range).
He looked at Scalpel hiding in his sleeve. The beetle could fly through the array? Maybe. But if it was seen, he would be exposed.
No. He needed a biological trigger.
Jin Ryeong looked at Feng's status again.
[Target: Feng] [Affiliation: Thunder Cultivator.]
[Weakness: Purple Cloud Fever (Sensory Overload).]
People with nerve damage from electricity were hypersensitive to specific frequencies. High-pitched sounds caused them vertigo.
Jin Ryeong looked at Liu Bao.
"Liu. Do you still have that whistle?"
The one Jin Ryeong had given him to summon the wild dogs in the ravine.
Liu Bao nodded, pulling out the rusted iron whistle.
"Yes, Doctor. Why?"
"Blow it," Jin Ryeong ordered.
"As hard as you can."
"But... it summons dogs. There are no dogs here."
"Just blow it!"
Feng began to draw his sword. The blade was blindingly bright. Mei shielded her eyes, terrified.
"NOW!" Jin Ryeong commanded.
Liu Bao inhaled. His massive chest expanded. He blew.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEE!
The sound was awful. It wasn't just loud; because of Liu Bao's immense lung capacity, it was a sonic drill. Most of the crowd covered their ears, annoyed. "Shut that fat kid up!"
But inside the arena... Feng froze.
To a normal person, it was just a noise. To someone with Purple Cloud Fever, whose auditory nerves were fried by thunder Qi, it was like a needle being jammed into the eardrum.
Feng's equilibrium shattered.
The world spun. The Qi he was channeling into his sword faltered. The flow disrupted.
[System: Qi Deviation Triggered.]
[Cause: Sensory Overload.]
"ARGH!" Feng screamed, clutching his head with his left hand. The lightning on his sword exploded—not forward, but backward.
KRAKOOM.
The backlash hit Feng in the chest. He was thrown backward, smoke rising from his expensive white robes. He crashed onto the marble, twitching.
Mei opened her eyes. She saw the opening.
She didn't hesitate. She picked up her sword and lunged.
"Water Style: Tsunami Thrust!"
She slammed the pommel of her sword into Feng's temple.
THUD.
Feng, already disoriented and shocked by his own Qi, went limp.
The arena went silent. The referee blinked.
"Winner... Squad Azure!"
Mei stood over the fallen prodigy, panting. She looked up at the servant's gallery.
She saw Jin Ryeong putting a hand on Liu Bao's shoulder, calming him down.
She realized what had happened.
'He saved me. Again.'
The crowd erupted in confusion.
"What happened?" "Did he misfire?"
"The Thunder Sword backfired! He pushed too hard!"
Feng's lackeys rushed the stage.
"Senior Brother! Senior Brother!"
Jin Ryeong watched them carry Feng away.
"Let's go, Liu," Jin Ryeong said, turning away. "The show is over."
Liu Bao wiped spit from the whistle. "Did I do good, Doctor?"
"You were loud," Jin Ryeong smiled. "Very loud."
The Aftermath - Sunset
Jin Ryeong was back in the woodshed, feeding Scalpel a piece of Meteorite Iron he had saved. The door creaked open.
Mei slipped inside. She was still wearing her armor, but she looked exhausted. She didn't say a word. She placed a jade box on the table.
"We advanced," she said quietly.
"The Quarter-Finals are in three days."
"Good," Jin Ryeong said, not looking up. "And the pill?"
"The pill is the prize for the Finals," Mei said.
"But... I brought a down payment."
She opened the box. Inside were three Lightning-Attraction Stones.
"I looted them from Feng's body while the referee wasn't looking," Mei admitted, a dark smile touching her lips. "I thought you might have a use for them."
Jin Ryeong picked up one of the stones. It tingled in his hand.
[Item: Thunder Stone]
Material: Condensed Lightning Qi.
Use: Crafting / Trap Making.
"You're learning," Jin Ryeong nodded approvingly.
"Thievery suits you better than honor, Senior Sister."
Mei hesitated.
"Feng... he woke up. He's furious. He claims someone sabotaged him with a 'Sonic Art'. He's demanding an investigation."
"Let him investigate," Jin Ryeong shrugged.
"All they will find is a fat boy with a dog whistle. There is no rule against cheering loudly."
Mei laughed, a short, sharp sound. The tension broke.
"You're a monster, Jin."
"I'm a doctor," Jin Ryeong corrected. "And Feng was sick. I just helped him realize it."
Mei turned to leave.
"The next match is against Squad Iron-Blood. They use heavy armor. My water sword can't cut them."
"I know," Jin Ryeong said.
"Bring me their roster tonight. I'll write you a prescription."
Mei left.
Jin Ryeong looked at the Thunder Stones. He looked at Scalpel.
Then he looked at Liu Bao, who was sleeping in the corner of the shed (he had moved in for 'intensive care').
"System," Jin Ryeong whispered.
"Can the Iron-Vein Scarab digest Thunder Stones?"
[Analysis: Possible.]
[Risk: High.]
[Potential Evolution: Galvanized Shell (Shock Damage).]
Jin Ryeong smiled.
"Scalpel. Dessert."
He tossed the stone to the beetle. Crunch.
Jin Ryeong leaned back. The tournament was going well.
But the Sect Leader's Inspection of the Chimeras had doubled the budget. That meant Baek would be expanding the lab. More victims. More bodies.
Jin Ryeong needed to accelerate his plans.
He needed to unlock the Inner Sect Archives fully. And for that, he needed Mei to win the whole thing.
"Iron-Blood Squad," he mused. "Heavy armor..."
He pulled out the Thousand Venom Hand manual.
"Armor protects against steel. It doesn't protect against... rust."