Silence reigned over the vast plaza, all except for the almost imperceptible hum of raw power radiating from Torvin. The assembled disciples and Elders stared, their minds struggling to reconcile the previous "aptitude test" failure with the overwhelming physical presence now dominating the square.
"Give me an explanation..!" someone whispered hoarsely. "How does... that... originate from someone without spiritual roots?"
"Who said he was trash? Did you feel that shockwave? I barely kept my footing!"
"Someone... check if this person beside me is still breathing..."
Torvin ignored them. His heightened senses, amplified by the Overdrive Protocol, were locked onto the Grand Elder. The old man, despite his ancient aura and presumed cultivation base, now appeared... vulnerable. 'Target acquired. Threat assessment: High.'
The Grand Elder felt an instinctive, primal fear coil in his gut, but immediately overridden by centuries of ingrained pride and fury. 'To be challenged, threatened, by this rootless anomaly! Unacceptable!' His Qi flared, white robes snapping around him as his Dao Integration aura surged. "Insolent brat! Courting death!"
Torvin didn't waste any energy on words. He moved. The Overdrive Protocol pushing his Viltrumite physiology past any previously known limit. He crossed the intervening distance not like a cultivator manipulating Qi for speed, but like a physical projectile, the ground cracking under the force of his launch. His fist aimed straight for the Grand Elder's face, a simple, brutally direct attack carrying terrifying kinetic force.
"Hmph! Thousand Mountain Shield!" The Grand Elder snorted contemptuously, despite the unease he felt. He didn't try to match the physical speed but reacted instantly, hands blurring through seals. Thick, earthen yellow Qi coalesced before him, forming a dense, multi-layered barrier imbued with the weight and resilience of a mountain range.
CRACK-BOOM!
Torvin's fist met the Thousand Mountain Shield. The impact was deafening, like tectonic plates colliding. The outer layers of the shield instantly pulverized, exploding outwards in a shower of earthen Qi fragments. The shockwave alone sent nearby disciples stumbling back. Torvin felt the jarring feedback up his arm, but his momentum carried him through the dissipating remnants.
The Grand Elder's eyes widened fractionally. 'Such physical force! It bypassed the dampening arrays!' But before he could fully counter, Torvin was inside his guard, another fist blurring towards his chest.
"Void-Piercing Finger!" The Grand Elder reacted with speed honed over ages. He abandoned the shattered shield, channeling potent Qi into his index and middle fingers, which glowed with an ominous, sharp light. He thrust forward, not aiming to block, but to counter-attack, targeting Torvin's incoming arm.
SHLICK!
Torvin's punch connected with the Grand Elder's shoulder, eliciting a grunt of pain and the sickening sound of stressed bone, driving the old man back a step. Simultaneously, the Void-Piercing Finger grazed Torvin's forearm. It wasn't a deep wound, but the cultivator's Qi, sharp and invasive, tore through flesh and muscle easily, leaving a bleeding gash.
[Bio-Interface Alert: Minor Tissue Damage Detected (Left Forearm). Qi Contamination Present. Cellular Regeneration Initiating... Hindered by foreign energy signature.]
Pain registered, but Torvin ignored it, pressing his advantage. He flowed into a relentless barrage. Punches, elbows, knees – each strike carrying enough force to shatter steel, aimed with brutal efficiency at the Grand Elder's torso, joints, and head. He fought with pure, overwhelming aggression, seeking to incapacitate the enemy through sheer trauma.
The Grand Elder was forced onto the defensive, his centuries of combat experience barely allowing him to keep up. He dodged, parried with Qi-reinforced limbs, occasionally weaving in sharp, defensive techniques. "Seven Star Deflection!" A constellation pattern shimmered around him, deflecting a blow aimed at his head, but the force still rattled his skull. "Cloud-Stepping Evasion!" He blurred backwards, avoiding a devastating knee strike that cracked the flagstones where he'd stood.
'His speed! It's not Qi-based movement, it's pure physical velocity! Unnatural!' The Grand Elder realized, struggling to adapt his timing. He couldn't rely on predicting Qi flow.
Torvin roared with guttural fury, tackling the Grand Elder around the waist— driving him backwards as they crashed through layers of decorative stone bordering the plaza, tumbling onto the cracked earth beyond in a tangle of limbs.
"Insolence!" the Grand Elder bellowed, enraged by the indignity. Trapped momentarily beneath Torvin, he slammed his palms onto the ground, willing. "Earth Dragon's Fury!" The ground beneath Torvin erupted upwards in jagged spikes of compacted earth and stone, driven by explosive Qi.
TCHK! TCHK! TCHK!
Several spikes pierced Torvin's legs and torso. The pain was immense, but the Viltrumite pride and resilience kept him conscious and fighting. He roared again, ignoring the pain, and brought his fist down like a meteor onto the Grand Elder's face.
CRUNCH!
The sound of shattering bone was unmistakable. The Grand Elder's nose flattened, blood spraying. Yet, even as the blow landed, the old man twisted, one hand, glowing with corrosive black Qi, slamming into Torvin's side. "Corrosive Soul Palm!"
Torvin felt searing agony as the Qi invaded, feeling less like impact and more like acid burning through his insides. He coughed violently, tasting blood.
[Bio-Interface Critical Alert: Significant Internal Damage Detected (Left Side Abdomen). Qi Contamination Severe. Cellular Regeneration Critically Impeded. Overdrive Protocol Stability Compromised! Estimated Remaining Duration: < 30 Seconds!]
'Running out of time! I need to end this!'
Ignoring the burning pain of the Elder's attack, Torvin grabbed the Grand Elder's already injured arm and twisted with savage force. Another sickening snap echoed as the bone gave way completely. The Grand Elder screamed, a raw sound of agony torn from his ancient throat.
But the fight wasn't over. Even with a broken arm and shattered face, the Grand Elder lashed out with his remaining hand, channeling the last of his accessible Qi into a desperate "Heart-Shattering Strike" aimed at Torivn's chest.
Torvin tried to pull back, but the movement was sluggish. The palm connected, not with full force, but enough. It felt like being hit by a sledgehammer wrapped in ice. Stars exploded behind his eyes, and the air rushed from his lungs. He staggered back, clutching his chest with blood trickling from his lips.
Both combatants were now grievously injured. The Grand Elder lay broken on the ground, gasping, one arm useless, face a mask of blood. Torvin stood swaying, impaled by earth spikes, bleeding from multiple wounds, his chest radiating agony, the timer ticking fast. The plaza around them was a wreck.
It was at this moment, seeing the mutual destruction and sensing the imminent collapse of Torvin's power surge, that Wu Qingcheng intervened. Her figure appeared instantly between them, a wave of calming, yet absolute, authority washing over the battlefield.
"The contest is concluded," she declared, her voice cutting through the heavy silence.
Torvin slumped to his knees, the last dregs of the Overdrive vanishing, leaving only exhaustion and searing pain. The Grand Elder glared up with hatred, but lacked the strength to even rise. The surrounding crowd stared, utterly speechless, at the brutal outcome and the terrifying display of power from the supposed 'trash'.
Wu Qingcheng's gaze then settled on the Grand Elder, her voice dangerously calm. "Grand Elder, your assessment. Do you still perceive him as... 'talentless'?"
The Grand Elder met her intense gaze, humiliation warring with the residual shock of the brutal physical power he had just faced. 'Talentless? Heh. He's an anomaly operating entirely outside known cultivation principles.' He wanted to protest, to rationalize, but the memory of shattering bone and overwhelming force silenced him. He lowered his head, forcing the words through gritted teeth, rough with pain. "This Elder... misjudged. The Palace Master's insight... is profound." Pragmatic submission was the only logical course.
"And your objections to the marriage?" Wu Qingcheng pressed, her voice leaving no room for evasion.
"The Palace Master's decision is without question," the Grand Elder conceded, a formal acknowledgment of defeat.
Wu Qingcheng's gaze then swept across the assembled Elders and disciples. The cold pressure radiating from her, coupled with the vivid display of the Grand Elder's defeat, was enough. No one dared meet her eyes. The previous whispers and speculations died instantly. Survival instinct dictated immediate compliance.
"As the Palace Master decrees!" The chorus was swift, unified by a mixture of fear and self-preservation.
Wu Qingcheng gave a slight, almost imperceptible nod. "Peak Master Bai," she commanded, her attention shifting. "Escort Li Qiye to Embracing Moon Palace. See to his immediate medical needs. He will reside there henceforth."
"Yes, Palace Master!" Bai Ji bowed, relief that the immediate crisis was over, warring with a deep sense of foreboding about what this all entailed. He moved towards the still kneeling, heavily breathing Torvin.
— — —
'Pain.' That was the first sensation upon regaining consciousness. A deep, aching throb throughout his entire body, punctuated by sharper points of agony from the impalement wounds and the lingering burn from the Corrosive Soul Palm. Torvin forced his eyes open, vision swimming slightly.
'Status assessment.' His mind automatically initiated. 'Location: Unknown. Condition: Severely injured, Overdrive backlash manifesting. Cellular regeneration active but heavily impeded by Qi contamination.'
[Bio-Interface Alert: Critical Physiological Strain Detected. Multiple traumatic injuries. Significant Qi-based internal contamination hindering regeneration. Recommend sustained rest and targeted energy replenishment. Mobility restricted.]
He pushed himself into a sitting position with a groan, ignoring the screaming protests from his muscles and torn tissues. He needed water, needed to assess his surroundings. This wasn't the crude wooden hut.
Gilded pillars reflecting soft light. Intricately carved furniture of unfamiliar, fragrant wood. Silken bedding beneath him, impossibly soft, carrying a faint floral scent. The air itself felt different, richer, with a higher ambient energy density than the lower peaks.
'Analysis: High-status accommodation. Location inconsistent with previous billet. Possible scenarios: Post-capture relocation? Reward for... surviving? Or... another transition? Unlikely. Recall indicates post-fight collapse.'
"You are awake."
The voice was cool, familiar. Wu Qingcheng stood near the ornate doorway, observing him with that same unreadable, analytical gaze.
'Instagramable beauty for real...' Torvin's mind inwardly whistled yet acted with detached objectivity, cataloging her appearance even as he assessed her threat potential. 'Threat Level: Still extreme. Intentions: Unknown.'
"Location?" Torvin asked, his voice raspy.
"Embracing Moon Palace. My personal residence," Wu Qingcheng stated calmly.
'Her residence?' He processed the implication. Confinement tactic? A gilded cage? "This proximity... seems irregular for my status," he countered carefully, testing her response. "A guest wing, perhaps—"
"This is the designated guest wing within my residence," Wu Qingcheng interrupted smoothly, stepping further into the room and seating herself gracefully at an ornate table. "Connected, yet distinct. Sufficient for the Palace Master's intended consort."
'Semantics. Still confined within her immediate sphere of control.' Torvin swung his legs gingerly off the bed, testing his stability. Immediate pain lanced through him, but his Viltrumite baseline held. He needed to establish the parameters of this confinement. "The previous task is complete. My need for external reconnaissance remains. I must depart." He began to walk, slowly but deliberately, towards the door, projecting intent.
"The Palace Protection Array encompasses Embracing Moon Peak," Wu Qingcheng said mildly, tracing the rim of a delicate teacup on the table. "Its permissions are keyed to specific identities recognized by the formation core. Alternatively, passage requires my explicit authorization." She finally looked up, meeting his gaze directly. "You possess neither recognized status within the core array nor my current authorization to leave this peak."
Torvin stopped. The meaning was clear. "This restriction applies to all residents on this peak?" he asked, seeking clarification on whether this was standard protocol or targeted.
"No," Wu Qingcheng replied, a faint, almost imperceptible smile touching her lips – a smile that held no warmth, only absolute control. "It applies only to you."
[Bio-Interface Status Update: Confined. Mobility Restricted by External Energy Field (Palace Protection Array - Specialized Parameter Targeting Host). Access Level: Zero.]
'Trapped. Observed. And now a designated consort to one of the most powerful beings in this world.' Torvin stood motionless, calculating his next move in this gilded cage.