Chapter 11 – The Rise of a Monster
Chapter 11 – The Rise of a Monster
The arena remained frozen in the aftermath of the duel, an unnatural silence stretching across the vast gathering of Azure Dragon Academy disciples.
The dust had settled. The echoes of battle had long since faded.
And yet, not a single person moved.
Not a single voice rose to shatter the stunned quiet.
They had come expecting a battle—a grueling, hard-fought exchange where Wei Tong, one of the strongest Outer Court disciples, would undoubtedly emerge victorious after putting down an overconfident cripple who had suddenly regained his cultivation.
Instead, they had witnessed a massacre.
Wei Tong had not just been defeated. He had been humiliated.
Overpowered. Outclassed. Rendered helpless within moments.
And the man responsible?
Xiao Lin stood at the center of the dueling stage, untouched, unshaken, utterly composed, as if what had just occurred was of no significance to him.
His golden eyes swept across the sea of faces watching from the stands—disciples who once mocked him, spat on his name, treated him as if he were beneath them.
Now, their expressions were different.
No more amusement.@@novelbin@@
No more condescension.
Only shock.
And deep, growing fear.
Because they now understood something terrifying.
Xiao Lin had not been lucky.
He had not won through deceit or tricks.
He had crushed Wei Tong with absolute, undeniable strength.
And if he could do that to one of the strongest Outer Court disciples…
Then who could possibly stop him?
Wei Tong coughed violently, his chest burning with agony as he tried—and failed—to push himself off the ground.
His hands trembled. His vision was blurred. The pain in his ribs was unbearable, every breath a struggle against the crushing weight of defeat.
But none of it compared to the shame.
He could hear the murmurs.
The whispers of the very disciples who once looked at him with respect.
Now, their eyes were filled with pity.
Pity.
For him.
His jaw clenched, his nails digging into the dirt as rage twisted inside him like a venomous snake.
This wasn’t over.
It couldn’t be over.
Yet, as he finally forced himself onto his knees, his gaze met Xiao Lin’s.
Those golden eyes.
Cold. Unreadable.
As if Wei Tong no longer mattered.
As if he had already been erased.
Something inside him cracked.
He had never known what it was like to feel powerless.
Until now.
Seated in the private viewing pavilion overlooking the dueling stage, Zhan Kanzi exhaled slowly, his fingers tapping idly against the polished wood of his chair.
Xiao Lin’s performance had been… unexpected.
Not just in terms of strength.
His movements had been perfectly controlled, his Qi refined beyond the limits of what a mere Qi Gathering Realm disciple should be capable of. He hadn’t just been strong—he had been unreasonably strong.
More importantly… he had not hesitated.
Zhan Kanzi knew the look of someone accustomed to battle.
Xiao Lin had fought like someone who had killed before.
That realization alone made the corners of his lips twitch into a small, cold smile.
He had underestimated him.
A mistake he would not make again.
"Senior Zhan," a voice hesitated beside him. One of his subordinates, a nervous Outer Court disciple who had been watching anxiously from the stands. "What… what should we do about this?"
Zhan Kanzi didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he leaned forward slightly, watching as Xiao Lin turned away from the fallen Wei Tong, walking toward the edge of the dueling stage.
Then, finally, he chuckled.
"Nothing."
The disciple blinked. "N-Nothing?"
"Let him rise," Zhan Kanzi murmured, his smirk widening. "Let him climb as high as he can."
His dark eyes gleamed with something unreadable.
"Because when he finally reaches the top… that’s when I’ll break him again."
Elsewhere in the academy, standing alone at the edge of a quiet courtyard, Su Luo clenched her hands into fists.
She had watched the duel.
Watched Xiao Lin crush Wei Tong without so much as a scratch.
Watched as the Outer Court disciples—disciples who once ridiculed him—now feared him.
And for the first time since his return…
She felt a strange, gnawing uncertainty deep within her chest.
Xiao Lin had always been strong.
Even before his injury, even when the entire world had turned against him—he had never given up.
But this was different.
This strength… this was something else.
She should have been happy for him.
Proud. Relieved.
And yet—why did something inside her whisper that he was no longer the same man she once knew?
Her heart was filled with questions.
And she had a feeling that she would not like the answers.
Xiao Lin did not stop as he left the dueling stage, ignoring the countless eyes that followed him, the murmurs that grew louder with every step he took.
He did not need to hear them.
Their words no longer mattered.
Because today was only the beginning.
Wei Tong was just the first.
And soon, the rest would follow.
The Xiao Family.
The Azure Dragon Academy.
The entire Heaven Origin Continent.
One by one, they would all learn the truth.
Xiao Lin had returned.
And this time—he was here to take everything.
What do you think?
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