Chapter 184 | The Crushing strength

Chapter 184: 184 | The Crushing strength

The arena had fallen into a heavy silence.

Wei Chang stared at the spiritual sword trapped in Lin Tian’s bare hand. A clear fracture line ran across the blade. Small fragments had already begun to flake away under the pressure.

His Peak Foundation Qi poured into the weapon without effect. The sword stayed frozen, unable to advance even a hair.

His mouth hung open. His hands shook. The muscles in his neck worked without sound. His chest rose and fell heavily as he tried to process what was happening in front of thousands of watching eyes.

"You... you bastard...!"

His voice cracked under the weight of public shame. The fifth-ranked Core Disciple of the Inner Sect was being held in place by a single bare hand of someone the entire crowd still believed was only Early Stage Foundation.

With a roar that tore from his throat, Wei Chang made a desperate choice.

He burned his blood essence.

A sickening crimson light erupted from his body. His skin flushed an unnatural red as the forbidden art took hold. Veins bulged along his neck and arms. His aura turned violent and bloodthirsty, rising sharply beyond his normal Peak Foundation limit.

The temperature around him climbed. The air thickened with the metallic scent of blood and burning life force.

Instructor Qing’s hand rose to halt the match. But the blood art activated too fast. By the time her fingers formed the seal, Wei Chang had already committed. Reversing a blood burn mid-activation would kill him instantly.

Her hand lowered slowly. Her lips pressed together.

Disciples in the stands scrambled backward in fear.

"That’s a Forbidden Blood Art! He’s burning his own foundation!"

"Even if he wins, his cultivation will suffer permanent damage!"

Several Outer Sect disciples turned pale and pushed further back into the crowd. Even the Core Disciples watching from the higher seats frowned deeply. Some shook their heads in disapproval. Others leaned forward, unwilling to miss the outcome.

Yet Wei Chang no longer cared about the future. His face twisted with anger, and his clenched fists trembled at his sides.

All he could see were the calm golden eyes of the junior who had humiliated him in front of the entire Inner Sect. The memory burned in his mind, drowning out every thought of reason.

Lin Tian watched the transformation with a flat expression. His breathing stayed even. His shoulders stayed loose. He showed no sign of fear or urgency.

He slowly released the cracked spiritual sword. It fell to the stone floor with a sharp metallic ring that echoed across the quiet platform. The broken weapon lay forgotten between them, its damaged blade catching the light.

Then he reached back and gripped the hilt of the heavy weapon strapped across his back. His fingers tightened around the familiar handle as he prepared to end the exchange.

The Profound Void-Yang Blade.

This time he drew it fully in one clean motion.

The dark-gold blade left its wrapping with a low, heavy hum. A dense spiritual pressure spread across the platform. Heavy enough to make the air feel thicker and the weaker disciples tense. Several people in the front rows visibly straightened their backs under the weight.

Wei Chang’s bloodshot eyes locked onto the weapon. The pressure made his freshly boosted blood essence tremble, yet the madness in his heart only grew stronger.

With a mad howl, he poured every last drop of his burning blood essence into one final charge. His body became a streak of crimson light as he shot forward. Fist and remaining sword Qi combined into a desperate, life-risking strike meant to destroy everything in its path.

The platform shook under the force of his advance.

Lin Tian stepped forward to meet him.

He kept his swing simple. No spiritual light flared. He simply brought the heavy broadsword around in a powerful, controlled arc, using the flat of the blade and the full strength of his Primordial Yang-Tyrant Body.

The two forces collided in the center of the arena.

A deep, bone-shaking impact exploded outward. The sound was like two mountains striking each other. A visible shockwave rippled across the platform, kicking up dust and small fragments of stone. Several disciples in the front row flinched. A crack split the arena floor beneath the impact point.

Wei Chang’s blood art shuddered violently under the weight of the blow. The crimson light around his body flickered, twisted, and then shattered completely. The clear, sickening sound of breaking bones rang out as the force traveled through his arms and into his chest and shoulders.

His body was sent flying backward across the full length of the platform. He slammed into the far arena wall with a heavy, wet crash. Dust and small pieces of broken stone rained down around him.

He hung there for a moment against the wall, then slid down to the ground in a heap of blood and broken limbs. His arms hung at unnatural angles. Blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. His aura flickered weakly, like a candle about to go out.

He was still breathing, but he could no longer stand.

Silence.

Complete silence blanketed the Life-and-Death Martial Arena.

Thousands of disciples stared at the platform in stunned disbelief. Every breath stayed shallow. No one moved.

A Peak Foundation Core Disciple, even after burning his blood essence and using a forbidden art, had been defeated in a direct clash. The "Early Stage" junior they had mocked and looked down upon now stood calmly in the center of the platform, the heavy Profound Void-Yang Blade resting against his shoulder as if the entire exchange had been nothing more than a mild exercise.

Lin Tian gave the blade a light shake to clear the residual blood essence from the flat. Then he slid it back into its wrapping with a clean, practiced motion. The dense pressure that had filled the platform faded, leaving only ordinary air behind.

In the stands, the third-ranked Core Disciple, Gao Chen, sat rigidly in his seat. His fingers had dug deep into the armrest, leaving clear marks. His breathing stayed shallow long after the impact faded. His gaze tracked Lin Tian’s every movement with the cold, focused attention of a man recalculating everything he thought he knew.

Other Core Disciples exchanged uneasy glances. Some forced their faces to remain calm. Others could not fully hide the shock in their eyes. A few leaned toward one another and began speaking in low, urgent voices.

"He blocked a blood art with the flat of the blade."

"That sword... what material is it made of?"

No one had a clear answer.

A streak of crimson light descended from above.

Instructor Qing landed lightly on the platform, her expression carefully controlled. As Head Referee, she was required to announce the result and maintain order. She walked toward Lin Tian with steady, measured steps, maintaining the cold and authoritative image expected of her position.

The moment she came within a few paces of him, the pure Yang presence that naturally radiated from his body washed over her.

Third time now. The same warmth. The same impossible relief. She could no longer call it coincidence. The Fire-Poison that had burned in her meridians for five years shrank back, completely suppressed. The chronic pain that had been her constant companion vanished as if it had never existed.

A low heat stirred in her lower abdomen. Her thighs pressed together involuntarily. She shoved the feeling down with practiced force, but her fingers curled at her side until her knuckles whitened. Five years of discipline held. Barely.

She forced herself to meet his gaze.

Lin Tian’s eyes were calm and clear. A faint, knowing curve touched the corner of his lips.

Instructor Qing’s heart skipped a beat.

Crimson runes flickered briefly across his pupils.

```

[Ding!]

[Target Profile Updated: Instructor Qing]

Hidden Illness: Lethal Fire-Poison (Suppressed by Host’s Yang aura)

Obsession Level: 18% → 20%

```

She tore her eyes away and raised her voice, keeping it as steady as she could manage despite the chaos inside her body.

"The winner of this arena challenge is Lin Tian!"

Her announcement echoed across the quiet arena.

Still, no loud cheers rose. The shock remained too deep. Disciples looked at one another, then back at the calm young man standing on the platform, as if trying to confirm that what they had just witnessed was real.

Lin Tian gave her a slight nod. Then he turned and walked toward the exit of the arena at the same slow, steady pace he had entered with.

His gaze stayed forward. He walked past them all.

He simply left the platform and headed toward Cloud-Sea Pavilion, the heavy Profound Void-Yang Blade resting quietly across his back.

Behind him, the Inner Sect remained frozen in the aftermath of what they had witnessed. Low whispers finally began to spread through the stands—soft, disbelieving, and filled with a new kind of caution.

A new name had been carved into their minds with absolute, crushing strength.