The sky above Azure River Sect darkened.
Not from clouds.
From formation activation.
A low hum spread across the entire sect as massive arrays awakened beneath the ground, their energy lines connecting like veins through stone and air. Spiritual pressure thickened, pressing down on every disciple, every structure, every breath.
This was no longer containment.
This was suppression.
Li Feng stood in the outer courtyard.
He didn't move.
Didn't react immediately.
But his eyes had already shifted.
The wind was gone.
Not physically.
But perceptually.
Its flow had been overwritten—replaced by something artificial, something imposed.
[Large-scale formation detected]
[Movement restriction: Active]
Li Feng exhaled slowly.
"…So they've decided."
No more observation.
No more hesitation.
Only control.
Across the sect, pillars of light rose one after another, anchoring the formation in place. Each pillar pulsed with dense Qi, locking space within defined boundaries.
Escape was no longer an option.
Not that Li Feng had planned to.
He raised his hand slightly.
The air resisted him.
Not strongly.
But enough.
"…Interesting."
The system flickered again.
[External structure interfering with environmental Dao perception]
"They're rewriting the field itself," Li Feng muttered.
This wasn't just pressure.
It was layered suppression.
Control of movement.
Control of flow.
Control of interaction.
They weren't trying to overpower him.
They were trying to limit what he could understand.
Footsteps approached.
Not rushed.
Not chaotic.
Measured.
Disciplined.
Li Feng turned.
This time—
They didn't send three.
Or five.
Or even ten.
A full unit.
Twelve Inner Sect Hunters.
All in uniform black-grey robes, silver lines marking rank and specialization. Their auras were controlled, stable, interlinked.
They didn't feel like individuals.
They felt like a system.
At the center stood one figure slightly ahead of the others.
Not older.
But sharper.
His presence cut through the formation pressure like a fixed point.
"Li Feng."
His voice carried clearly despite the suppression field.
"You have been classified."
Li Feng tilted his head slightly.
"Classified as what?"
A brief pause.
Then—
"An anomaly."
No emotion.
No hostility.
Just definition.
Li Feng nodded once.
"…Accurate."
The leader raised his hand.
The formation shifted.
The ground beneath Li Feng's feet darkened slightly, lines of energy forming a containment ring.
"Final directive," the leader continued.
"You will submit for extraction and containment."
Li Feng didn't move.
"And if I refuse?"
The leader's expression didn't change.
"Then suppression will escalate to termination."
A quiet silence followed.
Then—
Li Feng smiled faintly.
"Then escalate."
The formation reacted instantly.
The twelve hunters moved at once.
Not attacking blindly.
Not rushing.
They formed positions.
A circle.
Each one anchoring a point of the formation.
The ground lit up.
A second layer activated.
Li Feng felt it immediately.
His body grew heavier.
Not physically.
Structurally.
[Dual-layer suppression field detected]
[Host interaction efficiency reduced by 63%]
Li Feng exhaled.
"…Better than before."
The leader stepped forward.
"Begin."
They didn't strike him.
They struck the space around him.
Twelve coordinated techniques activated simultaneously—streams of refined Qi forming a lattice that closed inward from all directions.
A cage.
Not of force.
Of structure.
Li Feng moved.
One step.
Slower than before.
But precise.
Wind perception tried to activate—
And failed.
Not completely.
But partially blocked.
"…So that's the goal."
Limit perception.
Limit understanding.
Limit consumption.
He raised his hand and struck one of the incoming streams.
Contact.
[Consumption Initiated]
The stream flickered.
Destabilized—
Then stabilized again.
Li Feng's eyes narrowed.
"…Reinforced."
The leader spoke calmly.
"Layered Qi constructs. Even if one collapses, eleven remain."
The lattice tightened.
Li Feng stepped back.
Another stream closed in.
He struck again.
[Consumption Initiated]
This time, it worked partially.
A segment of the structure dissolved.
But not enough.
Another layer replaced it instantly.
"…So I can't break it directly."
The leader nodded slightly.
"Correct."
Li Feng's expression didn't change.
But his thinking accelerated.
Not brute force.
Not direct devouring.
Then—
He shifted strategy.
Instead of targeting the structure—
He targeted the connection.
His perception sharpened.
Not outward.
Inward.
Toward the interaction points between the streams.
"…There."
He moved.
Fast.
Faster than before.
One step into the narrowing lattice.
The hunters reacted instantly.
"Collapse inward!"
The formation tightened violently.
But Li Feng had already reached the point.
His hand struck not a stream—
But the intersection.
[Consumption Attempt: Structural Link]
For a split second—
Everything froze.
Then—
The lattice flickered.
One connection point collapsed.
Just one.
But it was enough.
The entire structure destabilized briefly.
The leader's eyes narrowed.
"…He's adapting."
Li Feng stepped through the gap.
Out of the center.
Now inside the formation ring—
But no longer trapped at its core.
The hunters shifted immediately.
Formation adjusted.
But Li Feng didn't wait.
He moved.
Directly toward the nearest hunter.
Contact.
[Consumption Initiated]
This time—
There was no full defense.
The hunter's Qi destabilized instantly.
Not completely—
But enough.
He staggered.
The formation weakened.
"Maintain formation!" the leader commanded.
But it was already too late.
A single break in synchronization—
And Li Feng exploited it.
He moved again.
Second contact.
Second destabilization.
[Dao Fragment Acquisition in progress…]
The system flickered rapidly.
The formation began to collapse.
Not fully.
But unevenly.
The hunters were no longer one system.
They were individuals again.
And individuals—
Could be consumed.
Li Feng stepped forward.
Calm.
Precise.
Unstoppable.
The leader watched.
And for the first time—
His expression changed slightly.
"…So this is what escalation means."
Across the sect—
The formation trembled.
Not breaking.
But reacting.
Because something inside it—
Was beginning to dismantle it from within.
And at the center of it all—
Li Feng reached for another target