By the next morning, the arena was abuzz with one name:
Li Fan.
Whispers of his monstrous physique and barehanded victory over a saber-wielding disciple spread like wildfire. Though only at the Fourth Cauldron, he had done what even some fifth-level body refiners couldn't.
But Li Fan knew the cost of fame.
It made you a target.
---
Today's trial was different.
Elder Hua floated to the center of the arena, his long sleeves billowing with spiritual wind.
> "Third Trial—The Heaven Pillar Gauntlet. You will climb the nine sacred columns of Crimson River, each guarded by illusions, pressure arrays, and qi suppression. You may only advance with strength or insight."
He gestured behind him. Nine towering pillars emerged from the earth—each inscribed with ancient runes and pulsing with invisible force. They spiraled upward like spears piercing the clouds.
The first to step forward was Yue Xin.
With a single leap, she landed on the first pillar and began to ascend like a phantom, her form weaving through invisible currents. Behind her came Ren Tian, then Huo Lian, and others in waves.
Li Fan waited.
He could feel it—the slow, heavy pull of the Fifth Cauldron, coiling like a thundercloud inside his dantian. The pressure was increasing. Each trial was chipping away at the barrier, forcing his body closer to the edge of transformation.
He leapt.
The first pillar greeted him with a blast of suppressive force, as if the heavens themselves had turned to press him back to earth.
Li Fan grunted, blood pumping through his reinforced veins. He stepped forward.
Then again.
Each pillar grew heavier—not just physically but mentally. Illusions tried to cloud his mind: visions of failure, ridicule, his clan in chains, his mother begging for mercy, his own bones crushed under the feet of Ren Tian.
He snarled and moved faster.
By the seventh pillar, most participants had dropped off. Only ten remained.
Li Fan reached the eighth—only to find Ren Tian waiting for him there, seated cross-legged on the ancient stone platform as if he had all the time in the world.
Ren opened one eye. "So you finally made it."
Li Fan said nothing. His muscles were burning, veins bulging beneath his skin. The storm inside him was screaming now.
Ren Tian stood. "If you want the ninth pillar, you'll have to pass me."
Li Fan flexed his fingers.
"I planned to."
The two clashed in an instant—no words, no hesitation. Ren's sword swept like a silver dragon, while Li Fan's fists countered like iron meteors.
Boom!
Clang!
The sky shook.
Their duel wasn't just a contest of skill—it was a clash of paths. One was sword. The other was body.
And for the first time, Li Fan felt himself losing ground.
A sword slash tore across his chest, drawing blood. Ren Tian kicked forward, sending him skidding across the stone platform. The air crackled.
"Your body's strong," Ren Tian said. "But you're holding something back."
Li Fan didn't respond. He couldn't.
Because the storm in his core was no longer distant.
The Fifth Cauldron was rising.
> Not yet.
Not here.
I'm not ready…
He grit his teeth and roared, charging again—this time not to win, but to survive.
---
He didn't make it to the ninth pillar.
Only three did: Yue Xin, Ren Tian, and an enigmatic masked disciple from the Mountain Ghost Sect.
Li Fan collapsed at the eighth platform, face bloodied, muscles trembling, and the Fifth Cauldron screaming behind his ribs.
---
That night, lightning danced in the clouds above Crimson River.
But it did not yet fall.
He had held it back—for now.
---