The Celestial Combat Arena was utterly silent.
Jiang Chen stood at the center of the platform, his robe fluttering slightly as the residual energy of his attack faded. Across the arena, Wu Jian lay embedded in the stone wall, his face pale, his breathing ragged.
He had been defeated in an instant.
No one could process what had just happened.
A Core Formation Fourth Stage disciple, someone hailed as an elite among inner sect members, had been rendered helpless with a single tap.
"That wasn't a technique…"
"That wasn't Qi…"
"What the hell did he just do?"
Jiang Chen turned, stepping off the platform. His movement was calm, unhurried—as if what had just happened was inevitable.
No one blocked his path.
Disciples who had been whispering scornfully just moments ago moved aside instinctively, their expressions shifting from arrogance to unease.
Wu Jian's supporters, those who had been jeering at Jiang Chen before the match, now looked at him with something close to fear.
Even the elders overseeing the arena had uncertain expressions.
Only a handful of individuals understood the true weight of what had just occurred.
One of them was Feng Lian, a cold-eyed woman standing at the edge of the arena. Her robes bore the insignia of the Moonshadow Pavilion, the same faction Wu Jian belonged to. Her cultivation had already reached Core Formation Ninth Stage, a step away from the Nascent Soul Realm.
Unlike the others, she wasn't confused.
She was watching. Calculating.
"He didn't use Qi at all… He erased the attack before it could even reach him. Was it a domain? A unique physique?"
She narrowed her eyes.
"No… It's something more dangerous than that."
Jiang Chen disappeared beyond the arena's archway, leaving behind a crowd that would not forget what they had witnessed.
---
Back at Cloudrise Courtyard
The moment Jiang Chen returned to his residence, he activated the protective formations and sat in meditation.
Though he appeared calm, his mind was moving quickly.
"That battle… It confirmed a few things."
His power did not function like traditional cultivation.
Qi Refining, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—these realms followed a structured progression, strengthening the body, mind, and soul through accumulation and refinement of Qi.
But the void within him did not accumulate.
It devoured.
When Wu Jian had attacked, Jiang Chen had felt no need to dodge. The void instinctively consumed the force before it could strike him.
And when he retaliated, his touch had warped reality around it, rendering Wu Jian defenseless.
"I am not a Qi cultivator… I am something else entirely."
Jiang Chen exhaled slowly.
For ten years, he had lived as a mortal, scorned and ignored. Now, in the span of a single day, he had overturned the inner sect's balance.
But power alone was not enough.
He needed control. He needed understanding.
And most of all—he needed to grow stronger.
Jiang Chen stretched out his hand, focusing inward. The space around his palm twisted, bending unnaturally before snapping back into place.
"My power bends reality itself. But what happens when I push it further?"
For the next few hours, Jiang Chen experimented, trying to feel the limits of his abilities.
He concentrated, willing the void to devour a small object—a stone placed before him. The air around the stone rippled before it simply vanished.
There was no trace, no distortion. The stone did not break or turn to dust—it was as if it had never existed.
"If I can do this to an object… what happens when I do it to a person?"
He clenched his fist.
The answer was clear—complete erasure.
---
At the Grand Elders' Hall
Meanwhile, far above the sect's main grounds, in the sacred chambers of the Grand Elders, a meeting was taking place.
Grand Elder Liu Tian sat at the head of the council, his expression unreadable. Elder Xuan, Elder Fang, and the other elders who had observed Jiang Chen earlier were present, their gazes heavy with concern.
"The battle at the Celestial Combat Arena…" Elder Xuan began. "You all felt it, did you not?"
The room was silent.
Finally, Elder Fang spoke. "He did not use Qi."
Elder Xuan nodded. "More than that… he erased Wu Jian's attack entirely. Even our techniques, refined over centuries, operate within the laws of reality. But Jiang Chen's power bypassed those laws."
Grand Elder Liu Tian steepled his fingers. "You are afraid."
Elder Fang did not deny it. "I am cautious."
"Then what do you suggest?"
"Observe him. But do not suppress him… yet."
The elders exchanged glances.
Jiang Chen's existence was an anomaly.
One that could either become the sect's greatest weapon… or its greatest threat.
---
A Challenge Approaches
Three days passed.
In those three days, the whispers surrounding Jiang Chen only grew.
Some disciples were wary, unwilling to provoke him. Others, particularly those who had backed Wu Jian, were furious.
But one thing was certain—Jiang Chen's name was now known throughout the inner sect.
The Moonshadow Pavilion, humiliated by Wu Jian's defeat, would not let this matter rest.
And then—the challenge arrived.
A messenger appeared at Jiang Chen's residence, his expression tense.
"Jiang Chen," he said. "You have been summoned to a duel. By Feng Lian."
Silence.
Feng Lian.
The Core Formation Ninth Stage genius of the Moonshadow Pavilion. A true elite, known for her ruthlessness in combat.
Jiang Chen accepted the challenge without hesitation.
But even he could sense it.
This battle… would be different.
---