I activated Blink Step, feeling the familiar rush as the rune on my thigh flared to life. Space folded around me, and in an instant I was behind Liu Chang, the Titan's Crest rune on my left hand already channeling its strength enhancement into my attack.

My Phantom Strike lashed out, enhanced by the Physical Essence boost from the Titan's Crest. The technique that could cave in a normal cultivator's chest struck Liu Chang square between the shoulder blades with enough force to shatter stone.

He didn't even flinch.

Liu Chang's body absorbed the impact like it was nothing more than a gentle tap. The stone-like quality of his skin didn't even show a mark where my enhanced strike had landed. He turned around slowly, his expression completely calm.

"Not bad timing," he said conversationally, as if I hadn't just hit him with enough force to demolish a small building. "But you're still telegraphing your attacks, even with the teleportation."

Before I could process that comment, his hand shot out toward my wrist in the same grabbing motion he'd used during our martial arts exchange. But this time, I was ready for it.

Verduring Step activated instantly, my body dissolving into particles of green light that flowed along the spiritual connection I'd automatically established with a small fern growing near the edge of the training ground. I rematerialized twenty feet away, well out of his reach.

"There we go," Liu Chang nodded approvingly. "This is what I meant earlier. Your techniques do an excellent job of hiding your fundamental martial arts weaknesses."

He wasn't wrong, but I wasn't about to apologize for playing to my strengths. If my abilities could compensate for my lack of traditional training for the time being, then that was just smart tactics.

I decided to test his defense from range this time. Channeling my Primordial Woods Arts, I called forth thick vines from the earth around Liu Chang's position. They erupted from the soil with tremendous force, each one as thick as my torso and moving with the kind of speed that could snatch birds out of the air.

Liu Chang's response was simple.

His fist lashed out in a casual punch that should have been far too slow to intercept the vines. But when his stone-hardened knuckles connected with the plant matter, the impact sent shockwaves through the entire structure. All six vines exploded into splinters and sap, completely destroyed by a single strike.

"Your plant manipulation is impressive," Liu Chang commented, brushing bits of vegetation off his robes. "But you're still thinking in terms of overwhelming force rather than tactical application."

Fair enough. Let's see how he handled something a bit more complex.

I activated the Leaf Storm rune, feeling the familiar energy drain as the technique came to life.

Dozens of razor-sharp leaves materialized in the air around me, each one spinning with enough force to slice through steel. They moved like a coordinated swarm, approaching Liu Chang from multiple angles simultaneously.

The leaves struck his position in a whirlwind of cutting edges, each impact creating small sparks as they made contact with his enhanced skin. The sound was like a dozen swords striking an anvil all at once, echoing throughout the training ground.

When the leaf storm finally dissipated, Liu Chang stood completely unharmed.

Not a single cut. Not even a mark on his robes.

"Damn," I breathed, genuinely impressed despite my frustration. "Your defense really is something else."

"Liu Chang has the strongest defense among all Qi Condensation cultivators in the entire sect," Su Yue called out proudly from her observation spot. "I've seen Elemental Realm inner disciples struggle to break through his techniques."

Liu Chang nodded matter-of-factly. "The Immutable Titan Scripture is specifically designed for absolute defense. At my current level, only a genuine Elemental Realm attack would be able to break through my protection."

That was both impressive and slightly terrifying. If Liu Chang could casually tank Elemental Realm attacks, then most cultivators in our generation wouldn't even be able to scratch him.

But if brute force wasn't going to work, then it was time to get creative.

Knowing that Liu Chang had only seen some highlights of my battles in the Fallen Realm and not the entirety, I had a trick I could potentially use to create an opening.

I called forth my vines again, but this time instead of attacking directly, I had them spread out across the training ground in a specific pattern.

To a casual observer, it would look like I was just trying to entangle Liu Chang's legs. But I was actually weaving the plant matter into the precise geometric shapes required for a formation.

"Vines again?" Liu Chang asked, sounding almost disappointed, but this only confirmed my suspicions. "I thought you'd learned from the first attempt."

The vines wrapped around his legs, arms, and torso in what looked like a simple binding technique. Liu Chang didn't even bother trying to dodge, confident that he could break free with minimal effort.

"Vines can't hold me down," he said, flexing his arms and preparing to shred the plant matter with raw strength.

But before he could break free, I activated the formation.

The vines flared with spiritual energy as the Qi Disruption Array came to life, sending waves of interference through Liu Chang's cultivation base. His spiritual energy flow stuttered, the stone-like quality of his skin flickering as his defensive techniques wavered.

His eyes widened in surprise. "That's not a normal binding techn—"

I was already moving.

Blink Step carried me behind him again, and this time when my Titan's Crest enhanced Phantom Strike landed on his back, the results were dramatically different. Without his full defensive enhancement active, the attack actually staggered him forward.

But Liu Chang's combat instincts were absolutely terrifying.

Even with his qi disrupted and his defense compromised, he pivoted at the waist and launched a palm strike of his own. I barely had time to register the attack before his hand connected with my chest, sending me flying backward across the training ground.

I hit the far wall hard enough to see stars, my ribs aching from the impact. Liu Chang had dug his heel into the ground to absorb the momentum from his own strike, but I could see furrows in the stone where his feet had been pushed backward by the force of the exchange.

My eyes narrowed as I picked myself up off the ground. Even with his qi disrupted and his defense compromised, he'd still managed to tank my enhanced attack and counter with enough force to send me across the room.

Just how absurdly durable was this guy?

I watched as Liu Chang flexed his arms, easily snapping the vines that had lost their structural integrity when the formation array collapsed. He rolled his shoulders, working out the kinks from my successful strike.

"Clever use of formations," he said approvingly. "I didn't realize you'd learned to incorporate formations in combat. That technique could be genuinely dangerous against opponents who aren't expecting it."

"Thanks," I replied, still catching my breath. "Though I notice it didn't exactly put you down."

"You got through my defense, that's more than most people manage. Now," Liu Chang's expression shifted, becoming more serious. "Prepare yourself. It's my turn."

He shot forward with explosive speed, his fist trailing visible spiritual energy as he launched what looked like a straightforward qi-enhanced punch. But I could feel the power behind it, enough force to crater stone and probably cave in my ribcage if it connected.

Time to test my new defensive technique.

I reached inward, connecting with the Realm Stabilizing Tree in my inner world. The familiar sensation of silver-veined spiritual essence flowed through my meridians as I channeled the energy into my hands.

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A translucent branch materialized between me and Liu Chang's incoming attack, silver spiritual veining clearly visible through the ghostly wood. The manifestation was about the size of my forearm, curved like a natural shield.

Liu Chang's qi-enhanced punch struck the branch dead-on.

The impact was tremendous, sending shockwaves through the training ground and causing the formation arrays to flare as they absorbed the excess energy.

But when the dust settled, Liu Chang had been forced backward several steps by the backlash, while my branch remained completely intact.

"What the hell?" Liu Chang muttered, shaking his hand and looking at it with confusion. "That felt like punching the side of a mountain."

His eyes widened as recognition dawned. "That's the Realm Stabilizing Tree, isn't it? The one you absorbed during the tournament."

"Something like that," I confirmed, maintaining the manifestation despite the steady drain on my spiritual essence.

Liu Chang's expression shifted from confusion to genuine fascination. "Mind if I test a few more techniques against it? I'd like to understand exactly what we're dealing with here."

I nodded, curious myself about the limits of the defensive technique. "Go ahead. This is exactly the kind of testing I was hoping for."

What followed was less like a sparring match and more like me serving as Liu Chang's personal training dummy. But honestly, that was exactly what I wanted. I needed to understand the capabilities and limitations of the tree manifestation before relying on it in actual combat.

Liu Chang started with his Earthquake Fist, the seismic shockwave technique that had destroyed my vines so easily earlier. When the ground-shaking punch connected with the branch, the result was the same as before: Liu Chang was forced backward by the recoil, while the branch absorbed the impact without showing any damage.

Next came his Titan's Skin technique, where he hardened his fist to stone-like density before striking. Again, no effect on the branch beyond forcing him to step backward from the backlash.

"Incredible," Liu Chang muttered, examining his knuckles for damage. "It's like the wood itself is rejecting the spiritual energy component of my attacks."

He tried several more techniques: a qi-enhanced kick that should have shattered steel, a palm strike that compressed air into a concussive blast, even a technique where he channeled earth energy through his fist to increase its mass and impact force.

Nothing worked.

Every attack was absorbed by the branch, the silver veining flaring briefly as it neutralized the spiritual components while distributing the physical force harmlessly through its structure. Liu Chang was taking more damage from the backlash than my defense was suffering from his attacks.

"This is remarkable," I said, genuinely amazed by the technique's effectiveness. "It's defending against pseudo-elemental level attacks like they're nothing. I'm starting to think only genuine Elemental Realm techniques could damage it."

"Let's test that theory," Liu Chang said, stepping back and assuming a stance I hadn't seen before. "I've been working on a new technique, something that operates at the Elemental Realm level. I think your defense can handle it, but it's your choice whether you want to risk it."

I hesitated. Getting injured right before the tournament would be incredibly stupid. But at the same time, Wu Kangming had already demonstrated that he could access Elemental Realm level power when he'd decapitated that Elemental Realm golem in the Fallen Realm. If I was going to face opponents capable of that level of attack, I needed to know whether my defense could handle it.

But I wasn't dumb enough to tank an Elemental Realm attack with just a single manifested branch.

"Alright," I said, making my decision. "But give me a moment to prepare properly."

I reached into my storage ring and withdrew several thick vines I'd been keeping in reserve. These weren't the thin, whip-like tendrils I normally used for attacks; they were massive, armored constructs designed specifically for defense. I wrapped them around my torso and arms like organic armor, creating multiple layers of protection.

Next, I poured additional spiritual energy into the manifested branch, reinforcing its structure and density until it practically hummed with contained power. The silver veins running through the translucent wood grew brighter as I fed more essence into the technique.

"Ready," I said, though my heart was beating considerably faster than normal.

Liu Chang nodded and opened his mouth.

The roar that emerged was unlike anything I'd ever heard. It wasn't just sound; it was concentrated spiritual energy shaped into an attack that struck with the force of a physical blow.

The sonic technique shot through the air like a visible wave of distortion, aimed directly at my position.

Through my spiritual sense, I could feel the enormous power behind the attack. This wasn't just loud noise; this was weaponized sound enhanced by Elemental Realm cultivation, capable of liquefying internal organs and shattering bone.

The sonic blast struck my manifested branch with devastating force.

Dust and debris exploded outward from the point of impact, formation arrays throughout the training ground flaring to contain the energy release. The sound was deafening, even with my vine armor providing some protection for my ears.

When the dust finally settled, I was completely unharmed.

The vine armor hadn't even been singed. But the branch that had protected me showed a network of hair-thin cracks running through its structure before it finally dissipated, returning its essence to my inner world.

The technique had protected me successfully, but the spiritual energy cost had been enormous. I could feel half of my cultivation base had depleted from maintaining the manifestation against such a powerful attack.

"Incredible," Liu Chang breathed, staring at where the branch had been. "It actually held against an Elemental Realm technique. Cracked, but it held."

Su Yue was on her feet, her eyes wide with amazement. "I've never seen a Qi Condensation cultivator successfully defend against one of Liu Chang's sonic attacks. That defense of yours is absolutely extraordinary."

I nodded, but internally I was processing something else entirely. The power behind that attack had been staggering. My robes were soaked with sweat, not from the physical exertion but from the sheer terror of experiencing that level of concentrated force directed at me.

It was only now that I truly understood the gap between outer disciples and inner disciples. Liu Chang had made significant progress since our battle with Ke Jun. This was what a genuine inner disciple was capable of when they stopped playing around.

"Master," Azure said quietly, "that attack would have killed you instantly without the tree manifestation. The power differential is substantial."

I unwrapped myself from the vine armor, trying to look more composed than I felt. The casual way Liu Chang had unleashed that level of force was deeply unsettling. How many other inner disciples possessed similar capabilities?

Su Yue must have recognized the look in my eyes, because she quickly spoke up. "Don't be too surprised by what you just experienced. Liu Chang isn't just any inner disciple; he's ranked number one among all Qi Condensation cultivators in the entire sect."

"Wait, what?" I asked, my fatigue momentarily forgotten. "There are rankings?"

Liu Chang nodded, settling into a more relaxed posture now that our sparring session had clearly ended. "Azure Peak Sect maintains cultivation realm rankings rather than separating by disciple status like some other sects. All Qi Condensation cultivators are ranked together, regardless of whether they're outer disciples, inner disciples, or core disciples."

"How does the ranking system work?" I asked, genuinely curious. This was the first I'd heard of any official power rankings within the sect, but that was likely because I'd been hyperfocused on cultivating to worry about such things.

"The primary factor is cultivation level," Liu Chang explained. "A ninth stage cultivator will generally rank higher than an eighth stage cultivator. But the most effective way to change your ranking is through combat challenges. After all, there are plenty of cultivators who can fight above their apparent level."

I nodded, thinking of my own ability to punch well above my cultivation stage. "What's the point of these rankings? Just bragging rights?"

"Mostly reputation and pride," Liu Chang replied with a slight smile. "Though the top three do receive additional spirit stone allocations each month."

He paused, a slightly rueful expression crossing his face. "Though I have to say, being number one gets tiring after a while. Everyone wants to challenge you to try and take your spot. I probably get at least three formal challenge requests every month."

That actually sounded exhausting. The constant pressure of having to defend your position, never being able to relax or take time for focused cultivation without worrying about someone trying to knock you down a peg.

"So where do I rank?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

Su Yue grinned and pulled out a crystal from her storage pouch. She channeled some qi into it, and suddenly an image appeared in the air above the crystal, showing what looked like an official sect document.

"You, Wei Lin, and Wu Kangming have all shot up the rankings because of your tournament performance," she said, manipulating the display to show the current top ten.

My eyes widened as I read the list.

Azure Peak Sect - Qi Condensation Realm Rankings

(1) Liu Chang - Pseudo Elemental Realm

(2) Xiao Yan – Pseudo Elemental Realm

(3) Li Xuanfeng - Pseudo Elemental Realm

(4) Wu Kangming - Pseudo Elemental Realm

(5) Ke Yin - Pseudo Elemental Realm

(6) Wei Lin - 10th Stage Qi Condensation

(7) Chen Wuwei - 9th Stage Qi Condensation

(8) Su Yue - 9th Stage Qi Condensation

(9) Luo Yichen - 9th Stage Qi Condensation

(10) Yuan Zhen - 9th Stage Qi Condensation

I stared at the rankings, processing what I was seeing. I'd known how powerful Wu Kangming and I were, and I'd assumed that there weren't really any Qi Condensation cultivators in the sect who could match us.

Apparently, I'd been wrong. Very wrong.

Today's sparring session had given me a better understanding of just how powerful Liu Chang was, but numbers two and three on that list were complete unknowns to me. Xiao Yan and Li Xuanfeng; I'd never even heard those names before.

"Just how strong are the second and third ranked cultivators?" I asked.

Liu Chang's expression became more serious. "Powerful enough that I consider them genuine threats. Both of them have hunted multiple Elemental Realm beasts by themselves."

Su Yue nodded in agreement. "Xiao Yan, she's a core disciple who specializes in ice-based techniques that can apparently freeze spiritual energy itself."

"As for Li Xuanfeng," Liu Chang continued. "He's an inner disciple with some kind of lightning cultivation method that lets him move faster than most people can track. The rumor is that he's never been hit by an attack in formal combat."

If there were cultivators out there who could challenge Liu Chang, someone who'd just casually unleashed an Elemental Realm attack, then what kind of monsters was I potentially going to face when I entered the inner sect?

While the prospect was a little daunting, it was also exciting.

Looking at that ranking again, I felt a surge of satisfaction. Number five in the entire sect among all Qi Condensation cultivators. That was actually pretty impressive, especially considering I'd only been an outer disciple for less than a year.

"Master," Azure said with what sounded like pride, "being ranked fifth despite your recent arrival suggests your growth has been truly exceptional. The sect's leadership clearly recognizes your potential."

That was true. A few months ago, I'd been nobody special; just another village kid trying to survive cultivation training. Now I was ranked among the top cultivators in my realm within one of the major sects. That felt like genuine acknowledgment of everything I'd worked for.

Sure, there were stronger cultivators ahead of me, but that was expected.

No matter how powerful I became, there would always be another mountain to climb, another challenge to overcome. The moment you grew comfortable with your power was the moment you stopped growing entirely.

Such was the way of the cultivation world.

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