?The candle on the table flickered and died.

  ?Jiang Chen didn't relight it. He sat in the center of his small hut, the tattered manual—The Starless Breath—open on his lap.

  ?"The theory is sound," Apeiron's voice echoed, sounding bored. "But the human author was an idiot. He tried to visualize the 'emptiness' as a lack of air. That's why his disciples suffocated. The Void is not the absence of air. It is the presence of Hunger."

  ?Jiang Chen traced the ink diagrams on the page. They showed a cultivator expelling all Qi from their body to create a vacuum seal.

  ?"So if I follow the book," Jiang Chen said, "I die."

  ?"Correct. Your heart will stop."

  ?"And if I follow you?"

  ?"You might wish you had died. But you will succeed."

  ?Jiang Chen closed the book. He didn't immediately obey. He sat there, thinking.

  ?He thought about the feeling of the Void Claw. The way it didn't just break the rock—it erased the binding energy holding the rock together. He thought about the Venom Core, how it filtered poison into power.

  ?"You're not teaching me a breathing technique," Jiang Chen realized aloud. "You're teaching me how to camouflage."

  ?"Explain," Apeiron challenged.

  ?"If I create a vacuum in my Dantian," Jiang Chen reasoned, "I'm not just absorbing energy. I'm stopping energy from leaking out. No aura. No spirit fluctuations. To the outside world, I become a stone."

  ?"...Acceptable deduction," Apeiron admitted. "Stealth is a byproduct of perfect retention. Now, begin. Exhale. Push every drop of Qi out of your meridians."

  ?Jiang Chen closed his eyes.

  ?He didn't just breathe out. He visualized his Dantian—the swirling black hole in his gut—reversing its spin. Instead of pulling, he pushed.

  ?[Technique Initiated: The Starless Breath.]

  ?Pain exploded in his chest.

  ?It felt like his lungs were being crushed by deep-sea pressure. His veins bulged. The [Void Foundation] fought him, wanting to consume, not expel.

  ?"Push harder," Apeiron commanded. "The pain is your body resisting the unnatural state. Break the resistance."

  ?Jiang Chen gritted his teeth. I control the spoon, he reminded himself. I control the flow.

  ?He forced the Qi out. His skin turned gray. His heart rate slowed.

  ?Thump... thump... ... ...

  ?Silence.

  ?For ten seconds, Jiang Chen didn't exist.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  ?If an Elder had walked into the room, they would have seen a boy sitting there, but their spiritual sense would have reported an empty chair. He emitted no heat, no sound, no Qi.

  ?The ambient energy in the room—the thin, wispy spiritual air of District 9—began to drift toward him. Not because he pulled it, but because nature abhors a vacuum. It rushed into his pores to fill the empty space.

  ?[Absorption Efficiency: 100%.]

  [Leakage: 0%.]

  ?Jiang Chen gasped, breaking the seal. Air rushed back into his lungs.

  ?"It works," he wheezed, wiping sweat from his forehead. "It pulls energy in passively. I don't even have to meditate."

  ?"Primitive, but functional," Apeiron noted. "Keep practicing. You need to maintain that state while moving, while fighting. A predator that makes noise is a starving predator."

  ?Jiang Chen looked at his hands. They were trembling, but not from weakness. From excitement.

  ?"This isn't just for cultivation," Jiang Chen said, a plan forming in his mind. "If I can mask my signature completely... I can walk into places I shouldn't be."

  ?"Like the Inner Sect?"

  ?"Like the Tournament," Jiang Chen corrected. "Everyone will underestimate me. They'll see a Qi Condensation weakling. They won't see the abyss until they fall into it."

  ?He stood up. He felt... balanced. For the first time since the Corpse Pit, his body didn't feel like a ticking time bomb.

  ?"I'm going to sleep," Jiang Chen decided, tossing the manual onto the table.

  ?"Sleep? You could cultivate for another four hours."

  ?"I'm human, Apeiron," Jiang Chen said, lying down on the bed. "Humans sleep. If I burn out, you lose your host. Goodnight."

  ?He closed his eyes.

  ?Apeiron grumbled something about "fragile biology," but the voice went silent.

  ?The Next Morning.

  ?Jiang Chen was woken up by a horn blast that shook the window frames.

  ?BWAAAAAAAAP.

  ?He rolled out of bed, instantly alert.

  ?Outside, the District 9 plaza was buzzing. Disciples were rushing toward the main notice board.

  ?Jiang Chen washed his face, threw on his gray robe, and joined the crowd.

  ?"It's early," one disciple muttered. "The Tournament isn't supposed to be for another month."

  ?"They moved it up!" another shouted. "Look!"

  ?Jiang Chen pushed his way to the front. A golden scroll hovered in the air, projected by a formation array.

  ?[OFFICIAL SECT DECREE]

  ?The Seven Peaks Tournament

  ?Date: 7 Days from Now.

  ?Eligibility: All Outer Disciples (Qi Condensation Layer 6+) and Inner Disciples.

  ?Prize Pool: ?1st Place: 1,000 Spirit Stones + Inner Sect Promotion + Spirit Spring Access (3 Days). ?2nd-3rd Place: 500 Spirit Stones + Low-Tier Spirit Weapon. ?

  Top 10: Entry into the Inner Sect. ?

  Special Note: Due to the recent tragedy at Alchemy Peak, the Sect Master wishes to identify new talent to fill the ranks. Combat restrictions are lowered. "Accidental" death is permitted within the arena.

  ?Jiang Chen stared at the words "Spirit Spring Access."

  ?"There," Apeiron whispered. "Liquidized heaven and earth energy. If you bathe in that spring, we can upgrade the Obsidian Furnace Body to Tier 2. You will become impervious to standard steel."

  ?"Accidental death permitted," Jiang Chen read aloud. "That means it's going to be a bloodbath."

  ?"Jiang Chen!"

  ?A familiar voice called out. Lu Pao came waddling through the crowd, looking anxious.

  ?"You saw it?" Lu Pao hissed, dragging Jiang Chen away from the other disciples. "They moved it up because the Sect is panicking. Losing Elder Han and a whole generation of disciples made us look weak. They want a show of strength."

  ?"Good," Jiang Chen said. "I like a show."

  ?Lu Pao looked at him. "You're entering? Boss, you're strong, but the Inner Disciples... there's a guy named Liu Feng. They call him the 'Little Sun'. He's already at Foundation Establishment. He's the favorite to win."

  ?"Foundation Establishment?" Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow.

  ?"A False Foundation," Apeiron sniffed. "Likely built on pills and daddy's money. He will be brittle."

  ?"I'm entering," Jiang Chen told Lu Pao. "Put a bet on me."

  ?Lu Pao's eyes widened. "On you? The odds will be 100 to 1. You're a nobody."

  ?Jiang Chen smiled. The Starless Breath was working perfectly; to Lu Pao, Jiang Chen just felt like a regular, slightly intense mortal.

  ?"Exactly," Jiang Chen said. "Put the money down, Lu. We're going to clean the house."

  ?He turned and looked up at the distant arena peaks.

  ?"Seven days," Jiang Chen muttered.

  ?He had one week to turn his new technique into a weapon.