Wei Lin stood perfectly still, his face a mask of calm concentration despite the tempest of emotions raging within. His fingers wrapped firmly around Meng Jiao's wrist, absorbing the crackling purple lightning that had been meant for Lin Mei's heart.

The energy flowed into him like water down a mountain stream, finding its natural path into the lightning stall of his inner marketplace.

Inside his spiritual domain, the lightning stall glowed brilliantly. Each bolt of energy Meng Jiao had cultivated, each painstaking hour of meditation, each breakthrough in understanding, was now being forcibly rerouted through Wei Lin's spiritual pathways, feeding his own cultivation base.

"You're safe now," Wei Lin said softly to Lin Mei, his eyes never leaving the terrified woman before him. The gentle tone belied the absolute fury he felt seeing Lin Mei sprawled against the cave wall, her robes singed and skin bearing the angry red patterns of lightning burns.

Meng Jiao's face had drained of all color, her previous confidence replaced by naked terror as she felt her own energy being siphoned away. "Stop…how are you—" she stammered, struggling uselessly against his grip. "W-what are you doing to me?!"

"Making a withdrawal," Wei Lin replied. "Your lightning qi is quite refined. Eighth stage, I'm guessing? Not bad for your seventh stage cultivation."

Meng Jiao's eyes widened. "You…you can't just take another cultivator's qi!"

A humorless smile touched Wei Lin's lips. "And yet here we are." His gaze hardened.

Within his inner world, the Black Market stall pulsed with shadowy energy. Unlike the brightly lit, organized chaos of his main marketplace, this section existed in perpetual twilight, the boundaries between stalls blurring and shifting like smoke. Here, transactions forbidden in the regular marketplace could proceed without scrutiny or limitation.

"Normally, I take only a percentage," Wei Lin continued, his voice growing colder with each word. "A fair transaction, as befits a merchant. But you... you tried to kill someone precious to me."

He opened a direct channel between his Black Market and Meng Jiao's cultivation base, the shadowy tendrils of his technique piercing through her spiritual defenses like needles through silk. What had been a controlled drain became a violent extraction, pulling not just her active qi but reaching deeper for her stored spiritual essence.

"Wait!" Meng Jiao cried, real fear in her eyes now. "I was only following the tournament rules! Death here isn't real—"

"My mind understands that," Wei Lin replied, his voice barely above a whisper. "But my heart clearly doesn't."

The woman's eyes widened in shock as her own cultivation dropped from the seventh stage of Qi Condensation back to the sixth.

Within Wei Lin’s inner world, the Black Market stall pulsed hungrily, tendrils of shadow stretching toward the connection as if seeking more, a low, almost predatory growl echoing through the darkened corners of his spiritual marketplace.

Wei Lin severed the connection, though not without effort, the feeling of drawing another cultivator's power was intoxicating in a way that troubled him.

"Transaction complete," Wei Lin said as Meng Jiao's form dissolved into particles of light, signifying her expulsion from the Fallen Realm.

The moment she vanished, Wei Lin's composure cracked. He turned to Lin Mei and dropped to his knees beside her, hands trembling slightly as they hovered over her injuries, afraid to cause more pain.

"Are you…can you stand?" he asked.

Lin Mei winced as she pushed herself up against the cave wall. "I've been better," she admitted, attempting a smile that came out more as a grimace. "But I'm alive, thanks to you."

Without warning, Wei Lin pulled her into a tight embrace, burying his face in her hair. His shoulders shook slightly, a barely perceptible tremor that only Lin Mei, pressed so close against him, could detect.

"I almost didn't make it in time," he whispered, his voice uncharacteristically rough. "If I had been just a few minutes later..."

Lin Mei winced at the pressure on her burns but didn't pull away. "But you did make it," she reminded him, her voice hoarse from screaming. "And that's what matters."

Wei Lin pulled back just enough to look at her, his fingers carefully avoiding the angry red burns on her arms and neck.

"When I felt your mark fluctuating, I..." He paused, searching for words that wouldn't come easily to someone who prided himself on eloquence in all negotiations. "It was like watching someone try to steal the most valuable treasure in my marketplace, but a thousand times worse. It...it felt like you were dying…"

The words hung in the air between them, heavy with implications neither had fully articulated before.

"I wasn't dying," Lin Mei said softly, though they both knew that was semantics. In this realm, "death" simply meant elimination, but the pain and terror were real enough. "And even if she had killed me, I would have just been sent back to the sect."

Wei Lin's jaw tightened. "That's not the point."

"Then what is the point?" she challenged, a spark of her usual spirit returning despite her weakened state.

Wei Lin pulled away, helping her lean back against the cave wall as he tried to organize his thoughts. The inner marketplace that served as his cultivation foundation had always given him clarity, compartmentalizing emotions as neatly as different types of qi. But right now, everything felt jumbled, the neat stalls of his inner world in disarray.

"The point," he finally said, "is that it made me realize something." He ran a hand through his hair. "Today it was just the tournament. But what about tomorrow? Or next month? Or five years from now?"

Lin Mei watched him with a steady gaze, waiting.

"The cultivation world is dangerous," Wei Lin continued, pacing the small confines of the cave. "I've always known that intellectually. My family prepared me for it: the politics, the risks, the constant struggle for resources. But seeing you like this..." He gestured to her injuries. "It makes it real in a way tables of odds and risk assessment never could."

A small smile touched Lin Mei's lips. "Are you saying you care about me, Wei Lin? How unprofitable."

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He stopped pacing and looked at her directly. "I'm saying I can't calculate the value of your life, and that terrifies me."

The admission hung in the air between them, more intimate than any passionate declaration might have been. For Wei Lin, whose entire cultivation path and family legacy revolved around assigning value to everything, to admit something was beyond price was a profound confession.

Lin Mei's teasing smile softened into something more vulnerable. "I feel the same when I think about you facing danger," she admitted. "And I know what you're thinking, that you want to protect me, keep me safe somehow."

"Is that so unreasonable?" Wei Lin asked.

"It is if you're thinking about locking me away in some garden pavilion while you go out and face the world," she replied with a firmness that belied her weakened state. "I chose this path, Wei Lin. Just as you did."

"I know." He sighed, taking her hand carefully between his. "I wouldn't try to cage you. That would make me your jailor, not your partner. And I know the world is dangerous whether you're a cultivator or a mortal. At least this way..."

"At least this way I have some power to protect myself," Lin Mei finished for him. "Exactly. Just as you do. I defeated Lei Zhong on my own, a seventh stage fire cultivator. He underestimated me because of my cultivation level."

"Of course he did," Wei Lin replied. "Most cultivators see only the stage, not the person." His expression grew serious again. "Which is why we need to work harder on your advancement. When we get back to the sect, I'm going to dedicate more resources to helping you break through."

Lin Mei's eyes widened slightly. "Wei Lin, your resources are for your own breakthrough to the Elemental Realm. You can't—"

"I can and I will," he interrupted firmly. "My Black Market stall has proven more profitable than anticipated. We've already seen how it can accelerate your cultivation." He squeezed her hands. "Let me do this, Lin Mei. Not because I don't think you can protect yourself, but because I want you to have every advantage possible."

After a moment's hesitation, Lin Mei nodded. "Alright," she agreed. "But this goes both ways. I’ll help you however I can."

"Deal," Wei Lin smiled, sealing their agreement like any good merchant would.

"I'm glad you're thinking long term about us," Lin Mei replied softly, squeezing his hand back.

Wei Lin reached into his storage ring and produced a jade bottle. "Healing salve," he explained, removing the stopper. "It's better than the one the sect provides; you should be back to normal within a few minutes.”

As he carefully applied the cool ointment to Lin Mei's injuries, he assessed their situation. "We need to find Ke Yin," he said. "Can you travel or should we wait a little?"

Lin Mei nodded, determination replacing the weariness in her eyes. "I can manage. My qi is nearly depleted, but my legs still work."

Wei Lin supported her weight as they walked out of the cave. "Ke Yin's signal is coming from the northeast," he said, checking the Mark of Return on his palm. "If we follow the river for a while, then cut through the forest, we should reach him within an hour."

"Lead the way," Lin Mei said, gathering what remained of her strength. "Our team isn't getting eliminated today."

***

In the spectators' viewing area of Azure Peak Sect, Hong and Lixue leaned forward on their cushioned seats, eyes fixed on the massive screens floating above the arena. Each screen displayed a different area of the Fallen Realm, providing viewers with an unprecedented view of the competition as it unfolded.

The technology, or perhaps it was more accurate to call it formation art, was unlike anything they had ever witnessed.

"The screens connect directly to the Fallen Realm," Liu Chen had told them proudly. "Focus on one, and your consciousness will be drawn deeper into it, almost as if you're there yourself. But don't worry," he had added, noticing Lixue's concerned expression, "it's perfectly safe. The connection is one-way only."

He had been right. When Hong concentrated on a particular screen, the image seemed to expand, drawing him in until he felt as though he were floating as an invisible observer within the realm itself. The sensation was disorienting at first, but he had quickly adapted, grateful for the chance to keep watch over his son.

For the past hour, they had been focusing their attention on Ke Yin, who was traversing what appeared to be an endless desert of shifting black sands.

"He's still so far away from his friends" Lixue whispered, one hand clenched tightly in the fabric of her dress as they watched Ke Yin navigate the treacherous terrain.

A sudden commotion from nearby spectators drew their attention to the screen displaying Lin Mei's cave hideout. Lin Mei, their son's teammate, was engaged in desperate combat with a fire-wielding opponent.

"That's Lei Zhong," Liu Chen identified using a jade token that had all the names of the participants. His face creased with concern as he read out the cultivation realm. "Seventh stage Qi Condensation. Lin Mei is only at the sixth stage, and she just broke through recently."

Lixue gasped as a massive wave of flame filled the cave, momentarily obscuring their view of the combat. "She'll be killed!"

"Not permanently," Liu Chen reminded them gently. "Remember, even if she's defeated, she'll just be expelled from the realm. Hurt, perhaps, but alive."

This did little to ease their concern. As mortals who had lived their entire lives in a small village, the casual discussion of potentially lethal combat was deeply unsettling. The cultivation world their son had entered was far more brutal than they had imagined, even after hearing his careful explanations.

When the flames cleared, they were astonished to see Lin Mei still standing, though clearly injured. More surprising was what happened next, the young woman lured her opponent into a cleverly concealed formation trap, then struck with a precisely aimed water technique that pierced directly through his heart.

"She got him!" Hong exclaimed, unable to contain his surprise.

Beside him, Lixue's face showed a complex mixture of relief and distress. "So... violent," she murmured, one protective hand moving unconsciously to rest on her rounded belly.

"That's the cultivation world," Liu Chen said matter-of-factly, seemingly unbothered by the lethal exchange they had just witnessed. "Combat between cultivators is rarely decided by small advantages. Victory often requires decisive, fatal strikes."

They watched as Lei Zhong's body dissolved into particles of light, expelled from the Fallen Realm. Lin Mei collapsed against the cave wall, clearly exhausted from the encounter.

"She should leave," Lixue urged, as if Lin Mei could somehow hear her advice. "Someone else might find her there."

Her words proved eerily prophetic. Just a second later, another cultivator appeared, a young woman wielding lightning techniques who announced herself as Meng Jiao. The newcomer attacked without hesitation, exploiting Lin Mei's weakened state with ruthless efficiency.

"This is wrong," Hong protested, his hands clenching into fists. "Attacking someone who can barely stand? Where's the honor in that?"

Liu Chen's expression remained neutral. "Honor is a luxury many cultivators cannot afford," he said quietly. "Meng Jiao is being pragmatic. By eliminating Lin Mei, she eliminates an entire team of competitors, including two ninth-stage cultivators."

They watched in horror as Lin Mei's desperate counterattack failed, the lightning cultivator trapping her in a cage of electrical energy that left her helpless on the cave floor. Just as Meng Jiao prepared to deliver a final strike, a familiar figure appeared in the cave entrance.

"Wei Lin!" Lixue exclaimed, recognizing Ke Yin’s friend they had met during their tour of the sect.

The young man moved with astonishing speed, placing himself between Lin Mei and her attacker. What happened next left both Hong and Lixue speechless, Wei Lin seized Meng Jiao's wrist and somehow began absorbing her lightning energy into himself, the power visibly flowing up his arm in crackling streams.

"It’s an ability of his cultivation method," Liu Chen explained, noting their confusion. "Wei Lin can absorb, convert, and redirect different types of energy through his spiritual marketplace. It's an extremely rare and versatile technique."

They watched as Wei Lin executed the lightning cultivator after draining her own energy. The brutality of it was shocking, but after witnessing what Meng Jiao had done to Lin Mei, Hong found he could not summon much sympathy for her fate.

What followed was unexpected, a moment of genuine tenderness between Wei Lin and Lin Mei that seemed at odds with the ruthless efficiency he had just displayed. The contrast was jarring, a reminder that these young cultivators were still human despite their extraordinary powers.

"They truly care for each other," Lixue observed softly, her eyes misty as she watched Wei Lin gently treat Lin Mei's injuries.

"Wei Lin doesn't show that side of himself to many people," Liu Chen agreed. "Most disciples know him only as the calculating merchant always looking to make profit."

As Wei Lin and Lin Mei prepared to set out in search of their teammate, Hong and Lixue returned their attention to the screen displaying Ke Yin's progress. What they saw made the blood drain from their faces.

"W-what is that?" Lixue whispered, her voice barely audible as fear constricted her throat.