Chapter 419: Pushed Back

Liam walked back through the shattered courtyard wall, his footsteps crunching on broken stone and debris. Blood still dripped from his split lip, but his smile never wavered. For the first time since arriving in Crimson Valley, anticipation thrummed through his veins.The Elder stood motionless in the compound entrance, his expression carved from ice. He appeared to be in his fifties, with silver hair pulled back in a severe topknot and a face marked by decades of combat. His robes were deep crimson, embroidered with black lotuses that seemed to writhe in the lamplight.

"I am Elder Wu," the man said, his voice carrying across the courtyard with perfect clarity. "An Elder of the Devouring Petal Pavilion. And you, have made a grave mistake coming here."

Liam’s response was to move.

He closed the distance between them in an eyeblink, his fist driving toward Elder Wu’s face with enough force to shatter stone. The speed that had overwhelmed every previous opponent, the power that had crushed Golden Core experts like insects—all of it focused into a single devastating strike.

Elder Wu’s hand rose to meet the punch, his palm intercepting Liam’s fist.

The impact created a shockwave that exploded outward, shattering windows throughout the compound and sending cracks spider-webbing across the courtyard stones. Dust and debris flew in all directions.

But Elder Wu hadn’t moved. His feet remained planted, his expression unchanged, his breathing even.

Liam’s eyes widened slightly in amusement. No one had blocked his full-strength strike like that.

Before he could process this, Elder Wu’s other hand shot forward, palm strike aimed at Liam’s chest.

Liam twisted, trying to dodge, but the strike still caught his shoulder. The force was tremendous, sending him skidding backward across the courtyard, his feet carving deep trenches in the stone before he arrested his momentum.

Pain bloomed in his shoulder, the first real pain he’d felt all day. Not from a shallow cut or minor wound, but from actual damage that made his entire arm throb.

Elder Wu lowered his hand slowly, deliberately. "You’re strong. I’ll grant you that. For someone who appears to be barely past Golden Core, your power is remarkable. But strength alone won’t save you from a Nascent Soul cultivator."

Nascent Soul. The words hung in the air like a death sentence.

Liam had known this opponent was different, but hearing it confirmed sent a jolt of genuine concern through him. Nascent Soul was an entirely different realm of power.

But concern wasn’t fear, and Liam had never backed down from a challenge.

He launched himself forward again, this time adding his telekinesis to the assault. Invisible force lashed out from multiple directions simultaneously, trying to pin Elder Wu in place while Liam closed for another strike.

Elder Wu’s spiritual energy erupted outward, creating a barrier that shattered Liam’s telekinetic grip like paper. The Elder moved, his speed suddenly matching Liam’s, and his fist drove into Liam’s ribs.

Liam felt two ribs snap under the impact, pain lancing through his chest as he was sent flying backward. He crashed into a stone pillar, the impact cratering the structure and sending chunks of masonry tumbling to the ground.

Liam pushed himself out of the rubble, breathing harder now. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth where his teeth had cut the inside of his cheek. His ribs screamed with every breath.

"Getting the picture yet?" Elder Wu asked, walking forward with measured steps. "You may have slaughtered my subordinates, but I am not them. The gap between Golden Core and Nascent Soul is not something raw power can bridge."

Liam spat blood and smiled through the pain. "Then I guess I’ll just have to try harder."

He moved again, but this time he employed strategy rather than pure aggression. His telekinesis lashed out not at Elder Wu directly but at the ground beneath his feet, tearing up massive chunks of stone and hurling them forward as projectiles while Liam circled to attack from the side.

Elder Wu’s hand moved in a casual gesture, and spiritual energy formed a barrier that reduced the stone projectiles to dust. But Liam had used the momentary obstruction to close the distance, coming in low with a devastating kick aimed at the Elder’s knee.

The kick connected, but Elder Wu’s leg didn’t budge. It was like kicking a mountain.

Elder Wu’s counter came instantly. His elbow dropped like a hammer, catching Liam on the back of his extended leg. Something tore in Liam’s thigh muscle, and he stumbled, his own momentum betraying him.

Before he could recover, Elder Wu’s palm strike caught him square in the chest, directly over his already-damaged ribs.

The world exploded into pain. Liam flew backward, crashed through another pillar, and skidded across the courtyard in a shower of stone and blood. He came to rest against the far wall, gasping for air that wouldn’t come easily through his damaged ribs.

This was bad. This was really bad.

Every previous fight had been overwhelming dominance. Even Elder Shen, who’d managed to land hits, had never truly threatened him. But this... Elder Wu was systematically dismantling him, each strike doing real damage, each exchange leaving Liam worse off than before.

Liam forced himself to stand, his legs shaking slightly. His racial aura flared to life, the crushing pressure that had flattened so many opponents flooding outward with renewed intensity.

Elder Wu walked through it as if it didn’t exist.

"Your aura is impressive," the Elder acknowledged, still approaching at that same measured pace. "I can feel its weight. But Nascent Soul cultivators have transcended such crude suppression. You’ll need more than pressure to affect me."

Liam’s mind raced, analyzing, calculating. Pure force wasn’t working and his telekinesis was being shattered. His aura was ineffective. He needed something different, something unexpected.

He feinted left, then drove right, his fist wreathed in his unique energy. If spiritual techniques weren’t working, maybe his alien energy would prove more effective.

The punch connected with Elder Wu’s blocking arm, and for the first time, the Elder’s expression changed. His eyes widened slightly as Liam’s energy flooded into his body through the point of contact.

"What—" Elder Wu started, then his spiritual energy surged, forcibly expelling Liam’s foreign essence from his system. "Interesting. Your energy is... unusual. But ultimately insufficient."

His counterattack was devastating. A palm strike caught Liam in the solar plexus, driving the air from his lungs. Another struck his kidney, pain exploding through his lower back. A third caught his jaw, snapping his head to the side and sending blood and a tooth flying.

Liam crashed to the ground, rolled, came up on one knee. His vision swam and blood dripped steadily from his mouth and nose. His ribs were definitely broken now, multiple fractures grinding against each other with every movement.

But he stood anyway.

Elder Wu paused, something like respect flickering across his features. "You have remarkable durability. Most Golden Core cultivators would be unconscious or dead by now. Yet you keep rising."

"I told you," Liam said, his voice rough but steady despite the blood in his mouth. "I don’t give up."

"Very well," Elder Wu said. "Then I’ll show you what Nascent Soul truly means."

His spiritual pressure exploded outward, far beyond anything he’d shown before. The air itself seemed to warp around him, reality bending slightly under the force of his full power unleashed. His hands began forming complex seals, spiritual energy gathering and condensing into a technique that made the courtyard stones crack beneath the pressure.

Liam knew this was that whatever Elder Wu was preparing would end the fight if it landed. He had one chance, one moment to interrupt or counter or somehow survive what was coming.

His racial aura condensed around his body like armor, tighter and denser than ever before. His telekinesis gathered, ready to deflect or redirect. His unique energy flooded through his system, preparing for one final desperate assault.

They moved simultaneously.

Elder Wu released his technique and a massive wave of spiritual energy shaped like a blooming lotus, each petal a blade that could shear through steel, rushed toward Liam.

Liam charged straight into it, his aura taking the brunt of the impact. Petals shattered against his protective barrier, spiritual energy exploding in cascading detonations. He forced himself forward through the devastating technique, his aura cracking but holding, his body screaming in protest.

And he was through, directly in front of Elder Wu, closer than the Nascent Soul cultivator had expected him to reach. Liam’s fist drove forward, carrying every ounce of power he could muster, his unique energy concentrated to a single point.

The punch connected with Elder Wu’s chest.

For a heartbeat, Liam thought he might have actually done real damage. Elder Wu’s eyes widened, his spiritual energy flickering as Liam’s alien essence invaded his system.

Then pain exploded across Liam’s back.

A second palm strike, this one from behind, from an angle he’d never anticipated. The force of it drove him forward, his own punch losing all power as his body betrayed him. He crashed to the ground, blood spraying from his mouth.

Through pain-hazed vision, Liam saw a second figure standing where there had been empty space a moment before. Another Elder, this one younger, his hand still extended from the strike that had caught Liam from behind.

"Elder Wu," the newcomer said calmly. "I thought you might appreciate assistance."

Two Nascent Soul cultivators. The realization hit Liam like another physical blow.

He’d been fighting so hard against one, pushing himself to the absolute limit, and now there were two.

Elder Wu straightened, his breathing slightly elevated for the first time. He placed a hand on his chest where Liam’s punch had landed, and when he pulled it away, there was blood on his fingers.

"You actually wounded me," Elder Wu said, his voice filled with genuine surprise. "Remarkable."

Liam tried to stand, but his body finally refused. His legs wouldn’t support his weight. His ribs grated with every breath and blood ran freely from multiple wounds.