The Moonlit Lake Duel

The Drunken Beauty Palace was a pleasure-ground fit for an emperor—a labyrinth of interlocking halls and pavilions, brilliantly lit, gilded and painted with dragons and phoenixes. Soft songs and delicate dances drifted through the air; zithers chimed, jade flutes warbled, music so intoxicating it seemed to seep into the marrow itself.

This was a gilded pit where one could squander a fortune. Here were the mellowest wines, the most succulent dishes, the most graceful movements, the sweetest voices… many superlatives could be claimed, but the foremost among them was beauty.

Here were the wildest maidens, lithe and fierce as leopards, brimming with untamed spirit. Here were the most unyielding women, as unconquerable as wild horses, chaste and proud. Here were the most talented beauties, who could speak with you of wind and moon, compose verses and paint, who would add fragrance to your sleeve late into the quiet night, conjuring an atmosphere of scholarly poetry and prose.

Innocent girls, enchanting beings, dazzling talents, peerless matrons… it was a haven of tenderness that could make even a Buddha forget himself.

Xiao Chen stood silently atop a grand palace, gazing at the starry sky, as though separated from the world below into a different space.

Above was the cold, clear firmament; below was the gaudy mortal realm. In his heart, there was only stillness—a fleeting insight, a dawning comprehension. The mind before the celestial palace gates; the body amid the red dust of the world.

Cultivation was not merely the forging of the flesh, but also the refining of the heart. Dwelling within the turbulent currents of the mundane world, one should sometimes follow one’s desires, act unreservedly, shatter all obstacles and bonds. At other times, one must adopt a transcendent posture, standing above the clouds to observe the boiling red dust, regarding the myriad forms of all beings with a detached eye.

Forge the body. Refine the heart. The long blade points forward—no turning back.

Xiao Chen had already adjusted his wounded body to its peak condition. He moved like a startled swan, silent and unseen, leaving behind only a faint afterimage as he stepped into a courtyard.

This was a place he knew well—the Drunken Hut of Rose Court, within the Drunken Beauty Palace. It was the private chambers of the top courtesans, Bingqin and Huowu, where Yuwen Feng currently was.

The courtyard was full of roses, their fragrance thick in the air.

Xiao Chen strode forward. Bingqin’s masterful skill with the zither was on full display—the notes wrapped around the ear, immersing the listener in a marvelous realm. Orioles sang, grasses grew, spring flowers burst into bloom, and a carefree maiden laughed among the blossoms… a vivid scene unfolded with the melody, as if right before one’s eyes.

“Stop!”

Yuwen Feng’s voice rang out from the hall.

The music ceased. Huowu also stopped her graceful dance.

At that moment, Yuwen Feng sat topless, drinking alone. His bronze, powerfully-built body seemed coiled with sinewy dragons—solid, explosive with strength, his skin gleaming with a precious luster.

He was a man of wildness, his eyes like a beast’s, radiating a chilling light—cold, sharp, fierce!

Yuwen Feng turned and called toward the courtyard: “Since you’re here, come in.”

Xiao Chen pushed open the door and entered, calm and composed. He sat down on a dragon-skin armchair, his eyes cutting like blades, fixing Yuwen Feng with a direct gaze.

“Ah… Brother Xiao is here…” Huowu, the curvaceous, enchanting beauty, walked forward with delicate steps, swaying her wasp-like waist as sinuous as a water snake, her voice sweet and cloying. “Lan’er, why haven’t you all come yet?”

Without needing her order, the clever young maids hurriedly brought trays laden with fine wine and delicacies.

Yuwen Feng stared at Xiao Chen coldly, like a savage beast, and the temperature in the hall seemed to plummet. Several young maids shivered in fright. He stood up, towering over Xiao Chen, and said, “You want to settle this here?”

“Anywhere is fine.”

“Killing you won’t dirty my fists!” Yuwen Feng’s confidence was absolute, as if he looked down on the entire world and all his peers. Three days ago, he had struck Xiao Chen down at the city gates of Heavenly Emperor City in just such a posture—wild, demonic!

“I am invincible!” Xiao Chen had no desire for idle talk. He rose and walked outside.

Yuwen Feng’s long black hair drifted without wind. A terrifying battle intent exploded forth. He said in a cold, sinister tone, “Good. That state of mind is acceptable. As for me, you must die. I am invincible—you were already my chosen prey. Even if you hadn’t come tonight, I would have sought you out!” With that, he drained a cup of strong wine, then dashed the cup violently to the ground and strode out after him.

Bingqin, with her cultured elegance, and Huowu, tall and tantalizingly voluptuous, exchanged a glance and followed the two men out of the hall.

“Both of you are heroes. Tonight’s battle will surely shake the Southern Wastes. The Drunken Beauty Palace has a ‘Bright Lake’—you may duel there,” Bingqin said. She was dressed in white, her robes fluttering in the night breeze, as ethereal as a celestial maiden.

Huowu was more direct, swaying her supple waist and chuckling, “A battle that shakes the Southern Wastes needs beautiful women to accompany its heroism, doesn’t it? Sister Bingqin and I would be honored to play the zither and flute by the lake to add to the atmosphere.”

“If you open your fragrant chambers tonight, I have high expectations,” Yuwen Feng said, his expression lecherous and wild.

“Hehe, even if we do open them, it will only be for the victor.”

“Good. Tonight you’ll be waiting for me,” Yuwen Feng’s expression grew even wilder. The light in his eyes blazed brighter. He turned and fixed his cold gaze on Xiao Chen. “Tonight’s battle has beauties by the side. The victor also has another great joy waiting.”

A tipsy fragrance drifted on the wind, and from a distance came Huowu’s chuckling laughter, seductive and enchanting to the extreme.

The bright moon hung overhead by Bright Lake. Xiao Chen and Yuwen Feng faced each other on the shore.

Moonlight spread like mist, casting a hazy glow over the clear little lake—an indescribably ethereal and mysterious scene.

There was nothing to say, no need for talk.

Yuwen Feng, bare-chested, looked like a demonic body cast from iron and steel, radiating supreme, unfathomable might. He took a step and vanished from his spot, leaving only a faint afterimage in the air—so fast!

A punch!

A seemingly casual punch, aimed viciously at Xiao Chen’s head. The ground shook, the lake water suddenly churned, and an overwhelming wave of violent energy exploded.

Yuwen Feng seemed like a primeval demonic mountain, radiating power so vast it defied measurement. At that moment, he seemed to weigh ten thousand jun—even the ground cracked from that casual punch!

His demonic body left an afterimage as he appeared directly before Xiao Chen. Instead of retreating, Xiao Chen advanced and met him with a punch of his own.

Boom!

The two fists collided like a thunderclap from the nine heavens, the deafening sound tearing across the night sky. Nearby palaces trembled. Over a dozen figures rushed toward the scene, but at a wave from Bingqin and Huowu, they retreated silently.

Yuwen Feng was wild as a savage beast, fierce as an evil dragon. His demonic body was swift as lightning, wide and sweeping, locked in violent combat with Xiao Chen.

Great fissures opened in the ground beneath them. Yuwen Feng’s strength was terrifying—every step he took shook the surrounding earth. He was the wildest opponent Xiao Chen had ever faced.

He was a true savage beast in human form!

Boom!

The force of Yuwen Feng’s fists was immense. Each punch released a blaze of crimson light, surging like bloody waves—terrifying. Every movement seemed to shake the mountains, yet his speed was extreme.

He was extraordinarily powerful and fierce.

The zither rang out like clashing swords and sabers, then a flute joined in. Zither and flute together, bristling with martial spirit, as if thousands of horsemen were charging. The music perfectly amplified the atmosphere of mortal combat.

Xiao Chen soared into the air, then stepped down from the sky, walking through the void. Each step carried the weight of ten thousand jun, stamping viciously toward Yuwen Feng’s chest.

This was the most ferocious of cultivation combat techniques—the Heaven-Slaughtering Step!

Though it was a publicly known technique, few could master its full power. In the hands of a true cultivation master, it was a terrifying killing strike, not lightly used, because it invariably meant death.

The Heaven-Slaughtering Step—one step, and mountains crumble, earth splits!

After Xiao Chen took three steps, even space began to distort. Though he still hovered nearly two meters above the ground, the earth beneath him shattered, and Bright Lake beside him boiled, water surging violently!

He stepped forward through the void. At the fourth step, wind and thunder roared. The sky seemed to be lashed by a furious gale, peals of thunder rolling—an oppressive weight filled the shore.

“Roar…”

Yuwen Feng, wild as an evil dragon, raised his fist and struck directly at the descending foot. His mountain-heavy fist pressed against the space, distorting it violently, threatening to shatter it.

The ferocious punch collided heavily with Xiao Chen’s right foot. But Xiao Chen’s eyes were sharp as blades, his own power pushed to the limit. He did not retreat, for he had left himself no path of retreat. In this battle, there was only advance, never retreat!

While his right foot absorbed the impact of that savage force, his left foot had already stepped forward. The fifth step still came down firmly toward Yuwen Feng’s chest.

Yuwen Feng had trained for over a year deep in the Southern Wastes, and his own cultivation art, the Ten Thousand Beast Demonic Art, had reached a new realm. He was filled with fierce confidence. Still, he raised his fist to meet the blow, matching it head-on!

The sounds of cracking rang out incessantly. The earth was like a mountain being crushed, splitting again and again!

Xiao Chen continued his Heaven-Slaughtering Step, his footfalls causing great upheaval in the space around him. At last, faint cracks appeared in the air. Yuwen Feng met every blow with his fists, forced steadily backward, until both his legs sank into the fractured ground, half his body hammered into the earth by Xiao Chen.

It was not that Yuwen Feng’s cultivation was inferior to Xiao Chen’s. Rather, Xiao Chen’s relentless assault, delivered with overwhelming force, had put him momentarily on the defensive.

But once Xiao Chen’s Heaven-Slaughtering Step ended, Yuwen Feng was revived like a dragon refreshed. With a long cry, his black hair flying wildly, he shattered the surrounding ground and leaped up, charging at Xiao Chen with savage fury.

The zither rang like a steel march, as if an ancient battlefield had descended upon the lake shore—a million soldiers charging, hot blood spraying, white bones crushed beneath charging hooves, generals slain before the lines, the clang and clash of metal… the zither and flute played in perfect harmony with the scene.

Boom!

It was as if a meteor had struck Bright Lake. The two top experts clashed with earth-shattering force, stirring up a great wave on the shore. A pale-white mist hung in the moonlight, especially hazy and ethereal.

Yuwen Feng, cold as a demon, wild as a savage beast, left a trail of afterimages as he and Xiao Chen plunged into the lake. They fought atop the waves, and whenever the water could not bear their weight, they would lightly tap a lotus leaf and leap up again.

They battled almost in flight!

Walking on the waves under the moonlight—the pinnacle duel of the Southern Wastes’ younger generation!

The battle had now reached a fever pitch. Yuwen Feng’s surrounding space began to warp and blur. A piercing crimson light enveloped him—it was a strange field! Filled with the stench of blood and slaughter, Yuwen Feng’s hair whipped wildly; he looked like a blood-soaked Asura.

A field was generally a divine power that awakened only at the Spirit-Treasury realm. Only a very few cultivators at the Mortal-Shedding level could unlock such potential. Undoubtedly, the wild Yuwen Feng was among the top young experts.

Xiao Chen had seen a field on other young masters before, so he was not too surprised. Long ago, Dugu the Sword Demon had revealed a mysterious field on Dragon Island. Moreover, Xiao Chen’s own spiritual perception was also a premature awakening of Spirit-Treasury potential.

No one was the sole favored child of heaven. Everyone had different encounters. Xiao Chen had achieved something in cultivation, but others had extraordinary opportunities too, advancing stride for stride. In the end, everything came down to their steadfast determination and relentless effort.

I am invincible!

Yuwen Feng—the wildest youth of the younger generation—truly possessed cultivation to be proud of. He could indeed look down upon his peers.

Once his blood-colored field appeared, the stench of blood instantly stirred the wind and clouds, dimming heaven and earth, shaking all directions!

Countless beast shadows emerged behind him—his cultivation of the Ten Thousand Beast Demonic Art had borne great fruit. During his year of seclusion, he had fought savage beasts every day, even slaying some legendary ancient war souls.

The Ten Thousand Beast Demonic Art refined beast souls!

Thus he had cultivated that fearsome blood-colored field—the Beast Domain!

“Xiao Chen, die!” Within the field, Yuwen Feng could no longer be seen. Only the crimson field, like blazing divine flame, leapt and churned like a thousand blood waves, filled with countless beast shadows, brandishing their claws, roaring at the sky.

It seemed able to wound the soul. A terrifying power surged as Yuwen Feng charged wildly toward Xiao Chen.

Under the moonlit night, Xiao Chen stood tall, his eyes blazing like stars, radiating two sharp beams. He was not afraid. War intent exploded from him, a tremendous power erupting that overturned the lake water. The will to kill surged to the heavens!

The stronger the opponent, the stronger he grew!

Confronted by an enemy with a field, Xiao Chen was like an awakened war god, his whole body bursting with dazzling light. The Big Dipper light screen surged from his body and draped over him like an ancient battle armor reborn, filled with a brutal, killing aura!

Every time the glittering battle armor covered another part of his body, a clear metallic clang rang out. Finally, the Big Dipper light screen fully enclosed Xiao Chen!