It was Guo Xinyi, and she looked absolutely terrible.

Her face was pale with dark circles under her eyes that spoke of severe spiritual exhaustion. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, and her usual confident posture had been replaced by the careful movements of someone trying not to aggravate internal injuries.

She stopped a few paces away and performed a formal bow, holding it longer than strictly necessary.

"Congratulations on your victory, Senior Brother Ke," she said, her voice carrying none of the arrogance I'd witnessed in the inner world. "Your techniques were truly impressive. I learned a great deal from observing your approach to the challenges."

I studied her face as she continued speaking, listening to what was obviously a carefully prepared speech about respecting my abilities and hoping to benefit from my wisdom in future encounters.

She was laying it on thick, practically groveling in her attempt to reframe our relationship from enemies to potential allies.

The whole performance was textbook sociopathy.

Out here in the cultivation world, she was all smiles and friendly cooperation, speaking with the kind of humble respect that suggested genuine admiration for a superior cultivator.

But I'd seen what she became when advancement was at stake. The moment she thought she could gain an advantage by sacrificing Liu Wenqing's life, her mask had slipped completely, revealing something ugly and calculating underneath.

"I warned you not to try using the locals as collateral damage," I said quietly, cutting through her practiced flattery. "You decided to ignore that warning and attempt a suicidal technique that would have killed an innocent girl for a marginal chance at victory."

Her prepared speech faltered, and for a moment I saw genuine fear flicker across her features.

"Since Liu Wenqing already got her revenge by devouring your spiritual manifestation," I continued, "I won't take any additional action against you. But if you try anything like that with me again, I won't hold back."

To emphasize my point, I allowed a controlled burst of my Pseudo-Elemental Realm spiritual pressure to wash over her.

Immediately, Guo Xinyi's face went white, and she actually took several involuntary steps backward as the weight of my cultivation level pressed down on her. Her eighth-stage Qi Condensation spiritual pressure crumpled like wet paper against mine.

The gap between us was insurmountable, and we both knew it.

For just a moment, genuine terror flickered in her eyes. Not the calculated concern of someone worried about strategic disadvantages, but the primal fear of a small animal facing a natural predator.

"I... I understand, Senior Brother," she whispered, her earlier confidence completely shattered. "It won't happen again."

I retracted my spiritual pressure, allowing her to breathe normally again. "Good. I hope you mean that."

She fled without another word, practically stumbling in her haste to get away from me.

I sighed as I watched her go, feeling a familiar distaste for the necessity of threats and intimidation. I genuinely didn't enjoy using my cultivation level to cow other people, but sometimes it was the only language that certain individuals understood.

Would she actually change her behavior? Probably not. The kind of sociopathy that allowed someone to casually sacrifice innocents for personal gain wasn't something that could be fixed with a single scary conversation.

But at least she'd think twice before trying something similar in the future.

Looking toward the Core Disciple viewing section, I caught sight of my parents.

Both of them were beaming with pride, though I doubted it was because I'd just intimidated a teenage girl. My mother would have had strong words about ungentlemanly behavior if she thought I was bullying someone weaker than me.

No, their proud expressions were probably related to how I'd conducted myself in the Realm of Living Lyrics. Protecting innocent civilians, treating the inhabitants with respect, and refusing to use collateral damage as a tactical advantage. The kind of behavior they'd raised their son to value.

I waved at them, earning enthusiastic waves in return, then settled back into meditation to observe the remaining battles. Wei Lin's battle was just concluding, and I'd been keeping a careful eye on his performance throughout the round.

Whatever had caused the concerning behavior in his previous match seemed to be under control now. His fighting style had returned to its normal calculated approach, analyzing his opponent's abilities and finding the most efficient counter-strategies. The hungry, predatory satisfaction I'd seen before was nowhere to be seen.

His opponent had been a girl named Chu Lihua, and they'd fought in what appeared to be an inner world influenced by some variant of death dao. The realm was called the "Echoing Sepulcher," and everything in it was saturated with a lower form of energy called "spectral essence" - basically harmonic essence's creepy undead cousin.

Upon entering the world, Wei Lin had quickly selected a promising vessel and begun aggressively absorbing spectral essence, then trading it through his black market stall for death qi.

While he seemed to struggle with using multiple stalls simultaneously, probably due to the difficulty of channeling complex techniques through a spiritual link, he could still access his core abilities.

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That versatility was what made Wei Lin's cultivation method so dangerous.

No matter which inner world he was matched against, he could adapt and find ways to turn the local energy systems to his advantage. Fire worlds, ice worlds, death worlds, musical worlds - he could theoretically handle any of them.

The battle itself had been fairly one-sided.

Chu Lihua specialized in plant-based techniques similar to my own, but she'd been completely unprepared for the drastic change in environment, and an opponent who could absorb her attacks and turn them into different energy types.

Wei Lin had systematically dismantled her techniques while building up enough converted death qi to overwhelm her cultivation base.

What I was most relieved to see was that he hadn't killed either his opponent or the innocent vessels caught in their battle. If Wei Lin had started sharing Guo Xinyi's casual disregard for created beings, I would have been seriously worried about his psychological state.

Especially considering that Wei Lin's father, Wei Ye, was technically a created being himself, though Wei Lin didn't know that particular detail about his family history.

The portal flashed as Wei Lin's spiritual manifestation returned and merged with his physical form. He looked tired but satisfied as he made his way across the arena floor toward the recovery area.

I stood up and walked over to congratulate him.

"Nice work," I said, clasping his shoulder. "That looked like a tricky environment to adapt to."

Wei Lin grinned, looking much more like his old self. "Thanks! Though I have to say, it's impressive how you managed to win so easily despite all those disadvantages. Fighting a musical cultivator in a realm designed for musical cultivation? That should have been impossible."

"I had some tricks up my sleeve," I replied modestly.

"Those red and blue energies of yours really are something," Wei Lin murmured, and I caught the look of longing in his eyes.

"Wei Lin..." I started, feeling a familiar worry building in my chest.

"Don't worry," he said quickly, laughing and waving off my concern. "I'm not going to try absorb those energies. I remember our conversation about the corruption risks. I'm just saying, from a theoretical standpoint, the versatility they provide is…remarkable."

"I appreciate that," I said, hoping he'd stick to that promise, for his own sake more than mine.

"I'm curious about something," I said, changing the subject to something safer, "How come you didn't create a permanent stall with the spectral essence from that inner world? It seemed like you absorbed quite a bit of it."

"That's one of the limitations of my cultivation method that I don't think I've explained properly," Wei Lin grimaced slightly. "Once I establish a stall, it becomes integrated into my spiritual foundation. Replacing it with something else would require essentially dismantling part of my cultivation base, which could cause permanent damage."

He gestured toward his dantian area. "That's why I'm really selective about what types of energy I choose to work with. The stalls I create now will be with me for the rest of my cultivation journey. I can't just swap them out when I encounter something more interesting."

"Plus," he added, "the energy types in Civilization Realm inner worlds aren't usually as powerful or versatile as pure qi. They're more specialized, which makes them useful for specific applications but less valuable for general cultivation advancement."

I nodded, understanding the strategic considerations involved.

"So, you're holding out for opportunities to work with higher-tier energy types?"

"Exactly. I'm hoping the next inner world I encounter will be more like the Fallen Realm, where the inhabitants still used qi instead of some derivative energy form. That would let me establish a pure qi stall without compromising on power level."

"That's actually pretty interesting," I mused. "It sounds like there are two different approaches to Civilization Realm cultivation. Some experts create their own unique energy types, while others stick with qi but develop more sophisticated applications."

"Yeah, they are basically two categories of Civilization Realm experts," Wei Lin explained, warming to the topic. "Those who maintain qi-based systems tend to be stronger in the short term, since their inner world inhabitants can draw on the same fundamental power source that we use."

I nodded. That made sense with what I learned about the hierarchy of energy types.

"But cultivators who develop entirely original energy systems often have more long-term potential, since they're essentially creating new branches of dao comprehension," Wei Lin continued. "It makes it easier for them to break through to higher realms because they're not just following existing paths."

I found these cultivation theory discussions genuinely fascinating. There was so much depth to the power systems in this world that I was still discovering new aspects and implications constantly.

Before I could respond with my own thoughts, Elder Wan stepped forward and raised his hand for attention.

"Congratulations to the sixteen disciples who have advanced to the fourth round," his voice silencing the audience. "You have shown exceptional skill and adaptability in facing the challenges of foreign cultivation systems."

I looked around at the remaining competitors, noting that the group was noticeably smaller now and the overall quality of opposition had increased significantly.

Some of the participants looked tired, not physically since their bodies had remained in the arena throughout the battles, but mentally exhausted from the strain of projecting their consciousness into alien environments.

As I'd expected, all the tournament favorites had successfully advanced.

Wu Kangming stood with quiet confidence near the arena's edge, his sword ring glinting in the afternoon sunlight.

Luo Yichen remained close to his sworn brother, the Mirrorwater Blade secured at his side.

Yuan Zhen maintained his ordinary appearance, though I could sense the tremendous power lurking beneath his unassuming exterior.

Earth Fist Liu towered over most of the other competitors, his massive frame radiating the stability of mountains.

"The fourth round will commence after a brief rest period," Elder Wan continued. "Please observe the new matchings displayed above."

I looked up as the formation array activated, showing the bracket for the fourth round.

My name appeared near the top of the list.

"Ke Yin versus Yuan Zhen," I read aloud, feeling a mixture of anticipation and concern.

Yuan Zhen was widely considered to have been the tournament favorite before the emergence of Wu Kangming, Wei Lin, and myself. His ordinary appearance was deceiving; the man possessed combat abilities that had made him a legend among the outer disciples.

But what caught my attention wasn't just my opponent's name; it was the designation of the inner world where we'd be fighting.

"Realm of the Chosen."

That name alone was enough to make me suspicious.

Any place that referred to its inhabitants as "chosen" fell into one of two categories.

Either this was the inner world of a Civilization Realm expert who had genuinely been some kind of "son of heaven" figure during their lifetime: a real protagonist with heaven-defying luck, mysterious bloodlines, and the kind of plot armor that let them overcome impossible odds.

Or, and this seemed more likely given recent experience, it belonged to someone who was completely deluded about their own importance. Someone like Tang Shuo, but who'd actually managed to reach the Civilization Realm despite their fundamental disconnect from reality.

The first type would be challenging but at least internally consistent. Real protagonists, even arrogant ones, usually had some basis for their confidence. And their inner world would essentially be a goldmine for Qi Condensation cultivators.

The second type was just exhausting to deal with. Fighting in a realm where every rock, tree, and random peasant would probably try to convince me that they themselves were the greatest being to ever exist.

Yeah…this was going to be an experience.

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