The Silent Shadow's attack was a masterpiece of lethal art. She had used the entire city's underworld as a distraction, creating the perfect, singular moment to strike. The dagger, a cursed artifact named 'Oblivion's Kiss,' was aimed directly at Bai Xin Yue's heart, its tip humming with an energy that didn't just sever life, but erased the soul.
Bai Xin Yue, whose attention was momentarily diverted by Chen Fei's idiotic act of defiance, felt the whisper of death at her back a fraction of a second too late. She spun, her eyes wide with a mixture of fury and surprise, unleashing a wave of dark starlight as a desperate shield.
The dagger pierced the shield as if it were paper. But that fraction of a second was all she needed. She twisted her body with an unnatural grace, and the dagger, instead of piercing her heart, plunged deep into her left shoulder.
A pained hiss escaped her lips. The wound did not bleed. Instead, a black, corrosive energy began to spread from the dagger, the veins on her arm turning black as the poison of Oblivion's Kiss began to attack her very life force.
"Finally," the Silent Shadow's voice rustled from the darkness. "The monster shows her weakness."
The assassins who had attacked Chen Fei were instantly cut down by the golem, Wu, which moved with brutal, silent efficiency. But the true battle had just begun. Bai Xin Yue, her left arm completely paralyzed by the soul-erasing poison, was now facing a master assassin who had managed to wound her.
"You dare," Bai Xin Yue snarled, her voice a low, guttural growl. The full, unrestrained power of the Nether Empress erupted from her body. The sky above the market square darkened, and the air grew impossibly cold. "Nether Star Annihilation!"
She unleashed the vortex of dark power not at the Silent Shadow, but at the entire square, intending to wipe out everything to ensure her target was destroyed.
"Master Yue, no!" Chen Fei cried out, seeing the innocent child and the cowering locals about to be consumed by the attack.
His cry was ignored. But as the vortex expanded, the Silent Shadow simply laughed, a dry, rasping sound. Her body dissolved into a dozen identical, shifting shadows, each one darting in a different direction. It was her ultimate life-saving technique, the 'Thousand Phantom Escape.' Bai Xin Yue's attack would destroy some, but she could not possibly catch them all.
Bai Xin Yue's eyes narrowed in fury. She could not let her target escape. But as she tried to focus her power, the poison from the dagger flared, causing her spiritual energy to stutter.
It was in that moment of hesitation that Chen Fei acted. He was no longer the naive boy who needed saving. He was a warrior who had been trained by a monster, and he knew her techniques better than anyone. He saw the vortex not as a wave of power, but as a complex formation, a tapestry of laws and energy. And he saw the single, critical flaw in its design instinctively.
He leaped forward, his target not Bai Xin Yue, but the golem, and using it as a stepping stone he leapt forward again. He had no weapon. The trident was gone. He had no luck. His destiny was his own. He had only his will, and the knowledge his tormentor had given him.
He dove headfirst into the eye of the storm.
"Fool!" Bai Xin Yue screamed, thinking he was committing suicide.
But Chen Fei did not resist the power. He used his own 'Flowing Water Step' to move with the current, not against it. He navigated the chaotic energy, his body being torn apart, and thrust his hand, glowing with the pure, azure light of his own life force, into the single, quiet point where the entire technique was anchored. And he disrupted it.
For a moment, there was silence. Then, with a sound like a universe cracking, the vortex imploded. Bai Xin Yue screamed as her own power, turned back on itself and amplified by the unstable energy, washed over her. The poison from the dagger, no longer suppressed, surged through her body, and her life force began to unravel.
She stared at Chen Fei, who was falling from the sky, his body broken but his will intact, her eyes wide with a final, uncomprehending disbelief. "How...?"
"You taught me," Chen Fei said, his voice filled with a profound sadness.
The light faded, and Bai Xin Yue, the last scion of the Nether Empress, crumbled into a fine, gray ash that was scattered by the swamp's gentle breeze.
Chen Fei hit the ground, his consciousness fading. He had won. He had faced his own mistake and corrected it. He was exhausted, wounded, but for the first time in a long time, he felt whole.
As darkness claimed him, he felt a warm, gentle light wash over his body. The Trident of the Sea King materialized in the air and settled into his hand, its power flowing into him, healing his wounds. The warm, comforting presence of his fortune returned, stronger and more vibrant than ever.
High above, invisible to all, Ao Xian watched with a rare, genuine smile of approval. "A hero is not defined by his weapon, or his destiny," he said softly. "He is defined by his choices. And you, Chen Fei, have made yours." He gave a subtle nod. "The wind is at your back once more. But now, you know how to sail without it."
He gestured to the city. "This world needs more heroes. Not people who follow a script, but one who writes his own."
With a final, approving nod, Ao Xian and his maids vanished, leaving Chen Fei unconscious but safe and sound back in his sect, his trident in his hand, his destiny his own. The play was over, and the hero had earned his own fortune.