Two weeks remained before the grand Outer Sect Competition.
Each year, it was the turning point for countless disciples. A chance to rise, to prove themselves, to grasp an opportunity to enter the Inner Sect—the heart of the Verdant Mist Sect. But this year, all eyes were on one name.
Long Tianyan.
Ever since his return, his name echoed throughout the mountains. The boy who survived the cliff. The boy who stood against Liu Yan. The boy who now trained like a storm preparing to break.
Within a secluded training peak deep in the outer sect, Long Tianyan was immersed in his cultivation. Elder Yan stood nearby, watching with a calm, yet sharp gaze. His spiritual energy surged around him, controlled and dense, as if the very world held its breath.
Tianyan sat beneath a waterfall that roared down onto his shoulders like a mountain collapsing, yet his breathing was calm. Dragon-shaped spiritual energy slowly curled around his limbs—faint, golden, and powerful.
Crack!
The spiritual pressure burst like a shell.
His aura rose violently, then slowly calmed.
He opened his eyes, which glowed faintly gold. The spiritual sea within him had deepened, widened—he had broken through to the 6th Layer of the Spiritual Sea Realm.
Elder Yan smiled faintly. "Your foundation is solid. You did not rush. Good."
Tianyan nodded. "It wasn't easy."
"And it shouldn't be," Elder Yan said. "Now… again."
They resumed training. Elder Yan's strikes were fierce but controlled. Each move forced Tianyan to defend, think, and adapt. Every strike he blocked, every wound he endured, every moment he countered—he grew stronger.
During breaks, another figure joined them.
Chen Yixuan.
She was calm and reliable, her icy-blue robes fluttering in the wind as she sparred with Tianyan using her twin blades. Though her cultivation was slightly lower, she was far from weak—she had recently reached the 5th Layer of the Spiritual Sea Realm, making her one of the stronger outer sect disciples in her own right.
"Still too slow," she teased one afternoon, brushing her hair back. "Or are you holding back because I'm a girl?"
Tianyan chuckled. "No. You're just annoyingly fast."
The three trained endlessly—morning till night, under waterfalls, among cliffs, in deep forests filled with dangerous beasts. Elder Yan would speak rarely, but his teachings were engraved into Tianyan's body with every bruise and every drop of sweat.
Meanwhile, the sect's atmosphere was heating up.
News had spread: Liu Yan had reached the 9th Layer of the Spiritual Sea Realm.
A genius without equal among outer sect disciples—until now. He had secluded himself in the Liu Clan's territory, preparing for the competition. His followers boasted loudly, proclaiming no one would stand a chance.
But something felt different this time.
The outer sect disciples whispered: "What if Tianyan fights him again?"
In the main courtyard, disciples trained day and night, fighting each other, forming rivalries. Many aimed for the top ten—to gain recognition from the Inner Sect. But beneath all the excitement was a quiet fear.
The last time Liu Yan and Tianyan clashed, the sky seemed to tremble.
Now, both were even stronger.
But none of them knew—none could imagine—how deep the abyss between them had become.
Back at the training peak, Elder Yan watched Tianyan complete his final set of moves. Sweat rolled down the boy's back, but his breath was even. His golden eyes were clearer than ever.
"You're ready," Elder Yan said simply.
Tianyan stood up. His fists clenched. His heart was calm, but sharp.
In two weeks, everything would be decided.
Not just whether he could enter the Inner Sect… but whether he could stand once more before the one who had once thrown him into the abyss.
And this time—
He would not fall.