NOVEL NEXT Chapter 97: Flames in the arena
The explosion shook the entire mountain range.
Qi storms rippled outward, tearing banners and shattering stone. Disciples screamed as protective barriers flared to life around the sect's area.
Li Ming hit the ground hard, coughing smoke. His vision swam — the air was filled with red fire and spiraling spiritual energy.
"Xue Yan!" he shouted.
No response.
Lan Yue landed beside him, face pale from the backlash. "The intruder's Qi signature— it's… above Core Formation!"
Li Ming's heart froze.
"What?! That shouldn't even be possible here! The barrier—"
"Was broken from the inside," Lan Yue said, voice sharp. "Someone tampered with the arena formation."
Before they could react, the intruder reappeared above them, flames coiling around his arm like a living serpent. His red robes fluttered in the scorching wind.
"You shouldn't have meddled in Crimson Sect matters," he said coldly.
Li Ming's aura flared, lightning dancing across his blade. "You again. You're from the Crimson Sect, aren't you?"
The man smiled darkly. "The one who killed my junior brother. Li Ming, wasn't it?"
Li Ming's eyes narrowed. "I didn't kill him — he was the one who attacked me during the match!"
"Excuses," the man spat. "Crimson blood must be repaid in kind."
He thrust his palm forward. Fire Qi erupted like a storm.
Li Ming barely had time to summon his Lightning Guard — the flames smashed into it, scattering sparks across the arena. The ground melted where the energy hit.
Lan Yue leapt forward, sword flashing in an arc of silver light. "Azure Sky Formation — Second Seal: Moonlight Cut!"
The attack cleaved through the flame wave, giving Li Ming space to breathe.
He looked around frantically. "Where's Xue Yan?!"
Lan Yue's eyes darted across the ruined ground. "She was hit by the blast… her aura's faint — west side!"
Li Ming's pulse surged. "I'll get her!"
"Wait! He's—"
Too late. Li Ming was already gone, lightning cracking beneath his feet.
---
He found her lying amid shattered stone, her spear embedded in the dirt beside her.
Her breathing was weak, Qi flickering erratically.
Li Ming knelt beside her. "Hey— stay with me!"
Her eyes fluttered open. "You… always run into trouble, huh?"
He let out a shaky laugh. "You're one to talk."
Before he could help her stand, a crimson shadow appeared behind him.
The intruder's killing intent flooded the air — heavy, suffocating. "Pathetic. Even protecting a woman is beyond you."
Li Ming didn't turn. His Qi surged, blue lightning splitting the smoke. "You'll regret that sentence."
He stood slowly, carrying Xue Yan's unconscious body to the side and setting her down gently.
Then he turned, his expression darkening, his dantian roaring with power.
The intruder smirked. "Show me what Azure Sky's 'genius' can do."
Li Ming gripped his sword. "You wanted to see lightning?"
He stepped forward — and the world turned blue.
Thunder screamed across the arena, tearing through the night sky.
The ground cracked beneath his feet as his cultivation surged.
Foundation Realm, Peak Stage… pushing beyond its limit.
"Thunderflow Sword — Seventh Form!"
Lightning shaped itself into a dragon and lunged at the intruder, its roar shaking the heavens.
The man laughed, his flames forming a crimson serpent to meet it.
"Good! Let's see which beast devours the other!"
They clashed — lightning and fire exploding midair, creating a storm that lit up the entire tournament ground.
Spectators from other sects gasped as barriers shattered.
Elders rushed to reinforce the formations.
Lan Yue looked up, wind whipping her hair. "Li Ming… he's forcing his core to evolve mid-battle…"
Bai Guo cursed from the sidelines. "That idiot's going to burn his meridians at this rate!"
But Li Ming didn't stop.
Every strike pushed his Qi further — wild, unstable, but unyielding.
The lightning dragon shattered the flame serpent.
The intruder raised his staff, barely blocking the follow-up strike.
For the first time, his face twisted. "Impossible— your cultivation—!"
Li Ming's eyes blazed with blue fire. "Cultivation isn't just numbers."
He raised his sword high, voice echoing through the ruins.
"It's will."
The blade came down —
and lightning devoured the night.
---
Lightning and flame tore through the sky.
Li Ming's sword met the Crimson leader's burning staff again, sparks splitting the air. Each collision shook the clouds, thunder rolling through the valley like drums of war.
Below, Azure Sky disciples fought tooth and nail, Qi waves bursting in all directions. The protective formation flickered under the pressure of the invasion.
"Hold the barrier!" someone shouted.
Lan Yue's sword flashed, cutting through a fireball that nearly hit the formation core.
Wu Jian punched a Crimson elder across the field, snorting. "Pathetic. And they call themselves a sect?"
Bai Guo swooped past, feathers glowing. "Focus, flame-head! They're pushing the west flank!"
The battlefield was chaos — but all eyes kept flicking toward the sky.
Because that was where Li Ming was fighting like a mad god.
---
The Crimson leader's eyes blazed red. "You killed my brother during the first round of the Grand Tournament. You think I'd let that go?!"
Li Ming's brows furrowed. "Your brother tried to murder me mid-match."
"Justice!" the man roared.
"Suicidal, more like."
The air screamed as Li Ming raised his sword, lightning roaring around him.
"Thunderflow Sword Art — Tempest Fang!"
A massive arc of blue light burst from his blade, ripping through the enemy's flames. The crimson fire tried to swallow it—failed.
The leader was flung back, crashing into a cliff and smashing it apart.
He emerged again, bleeding, laughing. "You think you've won, boy? You'll burn with me!"
He slammed his palms together, summoning a blazing crimson phoenix. It screeched, spreading wings that set the sky on fire.
Li Ming grit his teeth, pushing his Qi to the limit.
Thunder gathered behind him, forming a silver dragon that coiled through the storm.
The phoenix dived.
The dragon roared.
The two collided — lightning and flame twisting into a storm that swallowed the heavens.
The explosion blinded the battlefield. The shockwave flattened trees and sent disciples tumbling backward.
When the dust cleared—
Only Li Ming was still standing midair. His robes were scorched, hair wild, but his eyes burned brighter than ever.
The Crimson leader lay motionless below, his phoenix scattered into ashes.
---
The field went silent.
Lan Yue looked up, breathing heavily. "He did it…"
Bai Guo whistled low. "If this guy ever learns restraint, the heavens themselves will beg for mercy."
Xue Yan staggered closer, coughing smoke. "Hey, lightning boy— you done wrecking the sky yet?"
Li Ming looked down, grinning weakly. "I was aiming for subtlety."
"Then you failed spectacularly," she said, half laughing.
---
The Sect Master appeared beside him in midair, cloak billowing.
"Li Ming," he said quietly, scanning the burning horizon. "You handled yourself well. But this was no random attack."
Li Ming frowned. "You mean—?"
The Sect Master's eyes hardened. "The Crimson Sect didn't act alone. Someone pushed them."
Thunder rumbled softly in the distance.
Li Ming's grip tightened on his sword.
"Then I'll find out who."
---
Li Ming looked down at the broken valley, the smoldering flames, the faint cheers of surviving disciples.
He exhaled, lightning fading from his body.
He was exhausted, but alive.
And for the first time, the world finally saw —
Azure Sky Sect was no longer weak.
To be continued...