Chapter 177 | Ripples of Jealousy

Chapter 177: 177 | Ripples of Jealousy

The mist around Cloud-Sea Pavilion hung low and still.

Morning light filtered weakly through the thin fog, turning the stone courtyard into a quiet, grey world. The protective arrays hummed softly, almost invisible, yet their presence made the air feel heavier than the rest of the Inner Sect.

Wei Chang arrived like a blade drawn in anger.

His dark blue robes flared with residual Qi as he stopped in front of the main gate. Two junior disciples stood behind him, both looking nervous. Wei Chang’s Peak Foundation Establishment cultivation pressed outward without restraint, stirring the mist into restless swirls.

"Lin Tian!" His voice cut through the quiet courtyard. "Come out!"

Inside the pavilion, Lin Tian sat in the private study, a cup of spiritual tea resting between his fingers. He did not rise. He did not even set the cup down.

Madam Shen’s earlier report had already told him someone would come. He had simply not expected it to be this soon.

Outside, Wei Chang’s patience snapped.

He raised one hand. A sharp, condensed blade of pale-blue Qi formed above his palm and shot forward, striking the invisible barrier of the pavilion’s outer array. The array rippled but held. The residual force still slammed against the heavy wooden doors with a deep, echoing boom.

"Hiding behind arrays like a coward?" Wei Chang sneered. "You are only Early Stage. That tournament slot does not belong to you. Come out and return it before I drag you out myself."

The doors opened.

Lin Tian stepped into the courtyard at slow pace, still holding his teacup. His black robes were neat, his expression calm. To any observer, his aura remained firmly at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment.

Wei Chang’s eyes narrowed with open contempt.

"So you finally show yourself. Listen carefully, junior. The fifth slot is for Peak Foundation cultivators who have bled for this sect. Not for some newly promoted disciple who got lucky in a secret realm. Withdraw. Or I will make you withdraw."

Lin Tian took a slow sip of tea.

Then he looked at Wei Chang over the rim of the cup.

"If you want to bark," he said quietly, "do it outside my gates."

The words were soft. The humiliation in them was not.

Wei Chang’s face flushed dark red. His Peak Foundation aura exploded outward.

"You arrogant—"

He thrust his palm forward. A dense spear of Qi, sharp enough to pierce ordinary defensive artifacts, shot straight at Lin Tian’s chest.

Lin Tian did not draw a sword.

He did not activate any visible technique.

He simply raised his left hand and caught the Qi spear with his bare palm.

The impact rang out like metal striking tempered steel. Sparks of shattered spiritual energy scattered across the courtyard. The stone tiles beneath Lin Tian’s feet cracked in a spiderweb pattern, yet his body did not move a single step backward.

Wei Chang’s eyes widened in pure disbelief.

An Early Stage disciple had blocked a full-power strike from a Peak Foundation cultivator with one hand.

Lin Tian closed his fingers. The remaining Qi spear shattered into harmless fragments of light.

He looked at Wei Chang with the same calm expression.

"You have finished?"

Wei Chang’s throat worked soundlessly for a moment. Rage, shock, and humiliation warred across his face. Around them, the two junior disciples had gone pale.

Finally, Wei Chang forced his voice out through gritted teeth.

"Fine. You want to play the expert? Then face me properly. I formally challenge you to an arena deathmatch. Three days from now. If you refuse, I will make sure the entire Inner Sect knows you are a coward who hides behind a woman’s recommendation."

Lin Tian’s golden eyes remained indifferent.

"Accepted."

Wei Chang stared at him for another long second, then spun around and stormed out of the courtyard, his juniors scrambling after him.

The mist slowly settled again.

Lin Tian stood alone for a moment, looking at the cracked tiles beneath his feet. He flexed his left hand once. There was no injury, but the pure physical force he had used had not been gentle on his old weapon.

He turned and walked back inside.

---

The private study was dim and quiet. Heavy spirit-wood shelves lined the walls, filled with jade slips and sealed containers. A single desk of dark ironwood stood near the window.

Lin Tian sat down behind it and set his teacup aside.

Not long after, soft footsteps approached. Madam Shen entered without knocking, carrying a thin jade ledger. Her crimson robes were neat and formal, the picture of the strict Vice-Manager of the Resource Hall.

She stopped when she saw his calm expression.

"Wei Chang came," she said. It was not a question.

"He did."

"And?"

"He challenged me to a deathmatch in three days."

Madam Shen’s eyes flashed with cold light. "I can have his resource allocations delayed. Or restricted."

"No need." Lin Tian leaned back in his chair. "Let him come to the arena."

She studied him for a moment longer. The dominant calm in his posture, the complete lack of concern after facing a Peak Foundation cultivator, stirred something deep and familiar inside her. The 100% devotion that bound her to him pulsed like a living thing.

Her breathing softened.

Slowly, she closed the ledger and set it on the desk. Without a word, she walked around the heavy ironwood table, her crimson robes whispering against the floor. Then she sank to her knees between his legs, looking up at him with open, hungry devotion.

Lin Tian’s gaze lowered.

He reached out and rested his hand on her head, fingers sliding into her dark hair.

"Look at the strict Deputy Hall Master now," he murmured, voice low and teasing. "Begging to serve a junior disciple under the desk."

A soft shiver ran through Madam Shen’s body. Her cheeks flushed, but her eyes never left his.

"Only for you," she whispered.

She leaned forward. Her elegant hands moved with practiced care, unfastening his robes. When she freed him, her breath caught at the dense heat and weight of his Primordial Yang. She did not hesitate.

Her soft lips parted. She took him into her mouth slowly, deeply, with the reverence of someone worshipping.

A quiet, wet sound filled the study as she began to move. Her tongue worked along his length with devoted precision, occasionally pulling back just enough to let a soft, slick sound escape before she took him deeper again. Her eyes watered slightly from the effort, yet she never pulled away. Instead she pressed closer, throat relaxing to accept more of him.

Lin Tian’s fingers tightened gently in her hair, guiding her rhythm without force. His breathing remained controlled, but the heavy pulse of Yang energy flowing into her was impossible to hide.

"Good," he said quietly. "Take it properly."

Madam Shen moaned softly around him, the vibration traveling up his length. She obeyed without question, her head bobbing in a steady, eager rhythm. Saliva glistened at the corners of her lips. Her crimson robes had slipped slightly off one shoulder, but she paid no attention to anything except the thick heat filling her mouth.

Every time she swallowed around him, a faint thread of pure Yin feedback flowed back into Lin Tian’s body, dense and refined. His Liquid Qi stirred in response, growing marginally heavier and more compact.

Minutes passed in the quiet study, broken only by the wet, intimate sounds of her service and her occasional muffled whimpers of pleasure.

When Lin Tian finally released, she took everything without pulling away, throat working as she swallowed. Only when he was finished did she slowly draw back, lips glistening, eyes hazy with satisfaction and devotion.

She rested her forehead lightly against his thigh for a moment, breathing evenly.

Lin Tian stroked her hair once.

"Enough for now."

Madam Shen rose gracefully, adjusting her robes until she once again looked like the perfect, untouchable Vice-Manager. Only the faint flush on her cheeks and the softness in her eyes remained as evidence.

She picked up the jade ledger.

"I will handle the Resource Hall reports," she said quietly. "Call me if you need anything."

Lin Tian gave a small nod. She left the study in silence.

---

Alone again, Lin Tian opened a spatial ring and took out his old profound-iron broadsword. The heavy, unrefined blade looked the same as always—until he ran his thumb along the flat near the guard.

A microscopic crack, almost invisible to the naked eye, had formed where residual force from Wei Chang’s strike had traveled through his body into the weapon.

Lin Tian’s expression remained calm, but a cold light flickered in his golden eyes.

Pure physical power was enough to humiliate a Peak Foundation cultivator.

But to crush them flawlessly in the arena, without revealing more than necessary...

He needed better steel.

He set the cracked broadsword down on the desk and looked toward the direction of Alchemy Peak, where Elder Liu was already preparing her furnace.

Three days.

That was enough time.