Beauty and Might: Heavenly Flames

The moment the formation broke apart, Li Yan stepped forward.

Boom.

The ground shattered beneath his foot. His figure blurred. Several beasts instinctively reacted.

Too late.

Darkness Qi surged into the blade.

Shadow Fang Severance.

First Form. Fang Slash.

A streak of black light flashed through the battlefield. The nearest serpent's head separated from its body before it even realized what had happened.

Li Yan's sword reversed direction.

Another Fang Slash.

Compressed Darkness Qi sliced through the neck of a charging rhino-like beast. The beast dissolved into particles of light.

Before those particles completely faded, Li Yan moved again.

Umbral Step Art.

Second Form. Darkflash Step.

Darkness Qi exploded beneath his feet. His figure abruptly vanished from its original position. A burst of acceleration carried him through a narrow opening between two charging beasts.

A Crimson Breath Lion lunged toward him. The sword arrived first. The blade pierced through its eye.

Then, they continued forward. Two nearby beasts were cut apart in the same motion.

The battlefield descended into chaos. The Magical Beasts repeatedly attempted to surround him. Each time, Li Yan escaped before the encirclement could fully form.

Darkflash Step.

Fang Slash.

Darkflash Step.

Fang Slash.

Every movement flowed naturally into the next. Months of hunting experience revealed their value. Li Yan was no longer simply fighting one hundred beasts.

He was controlling one hundred beasts, manipulating their movements, breaking their formations, forcing them to obstruct one another, and controlling the flow of battle. Yet despite his speed, the numbers remained overwhelming.

The surviving beasts continued pressing forward. More and more gathered together. Soon, dozens occupied the same section of the battlefield.

Li Yan's eyes sharpened.

The situation required something different.

Without hesitation, Fire Qi surged through his meridians.

His left palm ignited.

Crimson Ember Palm.

Second Move. Crimson Palms.

Multiple flaming palm prints erupted outward simultaneously. The technique spread across a wide area.

Its purpose was simple.

Suppression.

The moment the attacks landed—

Boom!

Fire exploded throughout the battlefield. Several beasts died instantly. Others were blasted backward.

Flames spread across fur, scales, and flesh. Roars of pain echoed throughout the plain. The tightly packed formation immediately descended into disorder.

Li Yan pressed forward.

Another wave of Crimson Palms slammed into a different section of the horde. Explosions erupted one after another.

The battlefield shook.

Flames illuminated the dark plain.

When the smoke finally began to disperse, the results became visible. The number of beasts had already been reduced by nearly half. Yet Li Yan's expression remained calm.

His gaze shifted toward the remaining horde. Then toward the timer. The battle was not over.

Not even close. But for the first time since entering the ninth level, reaching the hidden level no longer seemed impossible.

As the formation became disorganized again, Li Yan immediately seized the opportunity.

Darkness Qi gathered beneath his feet.

Umbral Step Art.

Second Form. Darkflash Step.

His figure blurred.

A burst of acceleration propelled him forward. The movement was not merely fast. It was explosive.

One moment, he stood in place. Next, he had already crossed more than ten meters.

His sword flashed.

A bear-like beast lost a foreleg. Before it could react, a second strike severed its throat.

However, at that very moment, another beast emerged from a blind spot. A massive claw slammed into Li Yan's back.

Boom.

The force pushed him forward. His balance shifted. For a brief instant, his footing became unstable.

Li Yan's expression remained calm.

Rather than resisting the force, he stepped forward and used the momentum to recover instantly.

The moment he regained control, his sword reversed direction. The beast that had attacked him lost its head.

Only then did Li Yan assess his condition.

Thanks to his strengthened body and months of body tempering, the attack failed to inflict serious damage. Nevertheless, the impact was not insignificant.

Without hesitation, he retrieved a Tier-5 Healing Pill and swallowed it. Warm medicinal energy immediately began circulating through his body.

Li Yan exhaled slowly.

His gaze swept across the battlefield.

The earlier explosions from Crimson Ember Palm had achieved exactly what he wanted. The beast tide was no longer organized.

The remaining Magical Beasts had fragmented into multiple groups. Some were still charging. Others were recovering from the explosions. Many had become separated from the main force.

Li Yan consumed another Tier-5 Qi Replenishment Pill.

Then his Earth-Level Sword Intent erupted once more. The atmosphere changed instantly. Heavy pressure descended upon the battlefield.

The lingering flames flickered. Even the charging beasts seemed to hesitate for a fraction of a second.

Li Yan raised his sword. The true counterattack was about to begin. For the beasts, it was chaos. For Li Yan, it was an opportunity.

Without hesitation, he swung his sword. A five-meter crescent arc erupted from the blade. Sword Intent condensed within the attack.

The slash tore through the nearest cluster of beasts. Several Magical Beasts died instantly.

Before the first attack fully dissipated, Li Yan swung again. Another crescent arc crossed the battlefield from a different angle.

Then another.

And another.

Each attack harvested multiple targets. Each strike reduced the pressure surrounding him. Yet Li Yan remained rational.

He knew very well that the remaining time was limited. Every unnecessary movement increased the possibility of failure.

His Spiritual Sense continuously analyzed the battlefield.

The largest clusters. The greatest threats. The fastest kill routes. Everything flowed through his mind.

Then he moved.

Darkness Qi exploded beneath his feet.

Darkflash Step.

His figure vanished.

The next moment, he appeared directly within the center of a beast formation. Several lions and bear-type beasts reacted immediately.

Too late.

Fang Slash.

Darkness Qi condensed along the blade.

The sword flashed.

Two lions died instantly.

Before their bodies completely dissolved, Li Yan activated Shadow Pursuit. Afterimages blurred behind him. His next attack arrived from a completely different direction.

A serpent's head separated from its body. Before the corpse could hit the ground, Li Yan disappeared again. His figure flashed repeatedly across the battlefield.

Every appearance brought death and dismantled another section of the horde. Several rhino-type beasts attempted to intercept him.

Li Yan's expression remained unchanged.

The sword flashed.

Three corpses fell.

The battlefield gradually transformed. The beasts were no longer hunting him. They were struggling to survive. Roars echoed continuously throughout the plain. Flames spread across the battlefield.

Sword Intent slashes cut through everything in its path. The remaining beasts became increasingly desperate. Several charged simultaneously.

Li Yan welcomed it.

Darkflash Step.

A sonic boom echoed behind him. The distance disappeared instantly.

His sword descended.

Fang Slash.

Shadow Pursuit.

Fang Slash.

Earth-Level Sword Intent.

Fire Qi.

Darkness Qi.

Every one of them revealed its value throughout the battle. The number of remaining beasts rapidly decreased just as the timer did.

Thirty Beasts.

Five minutes.

Twenty Beasts.

Ten Beasts.

Two Minutes.

The survivors no longer resembled a horde. They resembled prey.

Li Yan's sword moved one final time. A crescent arc swept across the battlefield. Sword Intent swallowed the remaining beasts.

Then silence returned.

The black plain became still once more. Only scattered scorch marks and shattered terrain remained. Every beast had already dissolved into particles of light.

Li Yan stood quietly at the center of the battlefield. His breathing had become heavier. Even with his efficiency, the Qi consumption throughout the ninth level had been considerable.

For a moment, he stood there. Then Qi circulated through his body. The dust and dirt covering his robes were swept away instantly.

His appearance returned to normal.

Only the exhaustion hidden beneath his calm expression remained.

Li Yan exhaled slowly as he stepped forward and picked up the final flag. Unlike the previous ones, this flag was golden.

The moment his fingers touched it, the flag dissolved into countless particles of light.

Ding.

[+25 Points Added]

Li Yan lowered his gaze toward the bracelet.

[Level: 9

Points: 4,000

Time Remaining: 0:00:49]

A faint smile appeared on his face.

The gamble had succeeded. Reducing the burden of the Training Rings had changed everything. Without that decision, reaching the hidden level would have been impossible.

The one hundred Tier-3 Magical Beasts on the eighth level and the two hundred and fifty on the ninth level would have consumed far too much time.

Now, however, he had done it.

As he stood there, ancient runes suddenly appeared throughout the sky. Golden symbols illuminated one after another, covering the heavens above the black plain.

Then a pillar of golden light descended from above. The world around him began to distort.

The battlefield slowly dissolved. The black plain faded. The sky disappeared.

Even the ground beneath his feet turned into streams of light.

*****

Meanwhile, outside the pagoda.

The atmosphere within the arena had gradually become more animated as the trial approached its conclusion. Numerous participants had already exited the pagodas.

Some appeared satisfied. Others looked disappointed.

The competition among the leading disciples, however, continued to attract attention.

Especially within the Azure Rank.

The Azure Rank leaderboard hovered high above the arena, displaying the names of the strongest participants still competing.

At its upper positions, several familiar names remained locked in fierce competition.

[Rank 2 — Sun Lei — Level 8 — 2,115 Points]

[Rank 3 — Cao Jian — Level 8 — 2,095 Points]

[Rank 4 — Luo Ming — Level 8 — 2,080 Points]

The rankings shifted constantly.

Points continued increasing. Names occasionally exchanged positions.

Only one position remained completely unchanged.

First place.

Far above everyone else.

[Rank 1 — Li Yan Tian — Level 9 — 3,975 Points]

Many disciples nodded when they saw it. Although impressive, it was not entirely unexpected. After all, Li Yan's reputation within the sect had already become firmly established.

His performance in the Hunting Grounds. His victory during last year's annual competition. His rapid cultivation progress. None of it was a secret.

Yet before anyone could continue discussing it, the leaderboard suddenly changed.

A disciple abruptly pointed upward.

"Look!"

The shout immediately attracted attention.

Countless gazes turned toward the Azure Rank leaderboard. The runes covering its surface began flickering violently.

A brilliant flash erupted from the leaderboard.

Golden light surged outward.

The names displayed across the rankings disappeared one after another. Even the rankings themselves vanished. After a brief moment, only a single name remained.

Enlarged.

Dominating the entire leaderboard.

[Azure Rank Pagoda — Li Yan Tian

Current Level: Hidden Level

Points: 5,000

Time Remaining: 0:00:49 (Paused)]

Silence descended.

Absolute silence.

Nobody spoke.

Nobody moved.

Many disciples stared upward as though questioning whether they had seen correctly.

Several rubbed their eyes.

Others simply froze.

Then the silence shattered.

"What?!"

"He reached the Hidden Level again?!"

"Impossible!"

"In the last minute?"

"Forty-nine seconds!"

"How did he do that?"

Shock erupted throughout the arena. The reaction spread like wildfire.

Even many elders rose from their seats. Their expressions contained undisguised surprise. The White Rank Pagoda and Azure Rank Pagoda were completely different.

The gap in difficulty between them was enormous.

Yet Li Yan had accomplished the impossible again.

Not far from the Azure Pagoda, several Azure Rank disciples exchanged stunned looks.

One of them slowly shook his head. "He did it again."

Another laughed bitterly. "Last year was the White Rank Pagoda."

"This is the Azure Rank Pagoda."

Nobody disagreed.

The difference between the two was simply too great. Yet Li Yan had somehow repeated the feat for the second year in a row.

Among the elders, several continued staring at the glowing words above the leaderboard.

One elder spoke quietly. "Qi Channeling Realm (Stage-3)."

Another nodded. "And first place."

Their expressions became increasingly complicated. The more Li Yan accomplished, the harder it became to judge him using common standards.

His cultivation.

His combat ability.

His achievements.

None of them seemed to align with ordinary logic.

From the leader's seat, Ji Hong silently observed the leaderboard. Golden light reflected within his eyes. A faint smile gradually appeared on his face.

Others might be shocked. He was not.

After all, among everyone present, he had perhaps witnessed more of Li Yan's growth than anyone else.

His gaze remained fixed upon the glowing words. "Another achievement."

His voice was soft.

Yet the satisfaction within it was unmistakable.