Ashes of the star forge

Chapter 127: The Abyss of Fear

Lian’s mind was a storm of rage and purpose.

“I will defeat him,” he whispered, the words a vow carved into his soul.

He moved forward without hesitation, his feet carrying him toward the replica of Lord Valerian Crowe. The training room was vast and white, the air heavy with tension. The representative stood motionless, his posture relaxed, almost arrogant, as if he had already won. Lian’s black blade was drawn, gripped tightly in his hand, the cold liquid inside him stirring in response to his killing intent.

A shadow flickered past him.

It was fast — too fast. A blur at the edge of his vision. Lian’s focus broke for a split second. What was that? he thought, his steps faltering. He cleared his head quickly and looked back at his opponent.

The representative was gone.

Lian stopped abruptly, confusion flashing across his face. “What just happened? Where is the representative? And what was that shadow?”

He turned to ask Lirien, but before he could speak, the world shifted.

The representative was standing right in front of him.

His defense was completely down, as if he had already claimed victory. His expression was calm, almost bored. Lian’s instincts screamed, but it was too late.

A sharp, cold pain exploded in his neck.

He reached up instinctively, fingers touching warm blood. His eyes widened in shock. The pain was clean, precise, final. His head tilted, then fell. It rolled across the white floor with a dull, wet sound, leaving a trail of red. His body collapsed a moment later, lifeless.

Elara watched from the edge of the room, her face twisted in horror. Her eyes widened in pure terror, her hand flying to her mouth. Fear gripped her heart like ice. She had never seen Lian die before. Not like this. Not so suddenly, so brutally. Her blade trembled in her grip.

Lirien stood calmly, completely unbothered. She simply tapped her small fingers once.

The lifeless body of Lian vanished.

From thin air, he materialized again, reforming in the same spot where he had stood moments before. The moment his body finished forming, Lian let out a raw, guttural scream. His legs gave out beneath him, and he collapsed to the ground, vomiting violently. His chest heaved as he panted, eyes wide with terror. The feeling of death — the cold finality, the sudden nothingness — was still fresh. It clung to him like a second skin.

He had just died.

It was horrifying.

He could still feel the blade slicing through his neck, the world spinning as his head separated from his body. The sensation lingered, a phantom pain that refused to fade.

Before he could recover, the representative moved again. Lian barely had time to register it. The pain returned — sharper this time, his heart ripped from his chest in a single brutal motion. His vision went black.

He died again.

And again.

And again.

Each death was different. His head crushed by overwhelming force. His body torn apart piece by piece. His meridians shattered from the inside. His core destroyed in a single strike. He died a hundred times, each death more vivid and painful than the last. Every time he reformed, the trauma stacked, building a mountain of fear inside him. His mind fractured under the weight. He screamed, he vomited, he shook uncontrollably. The fear of death consumed him. It was no longer abstract — it was real, repeated, relentless.

Lirien observed everything with quiet calculation. She noticed how deeply the fear had taken root. Lian was not the type to act purely on emotion, yet here he was, broken by the repeated cycle of death. She had seen enough.

My Master is strong, she thought, but he still carries fear. To become truly powerful, he must shed every emotion. Fear, love, hate, jealousy — nothing can remain. He must become empty, like a void. Only then can he reach his full potential.

She would help him. She would make him strong. She would start with fear.

This was only the beginning.

Power Scale / Cultivation Realms (Quick Reminder)

Foundation Realm (Layers 1–9): Body forging, no external Qi.

Circuit Awakening Realm (Early–Peak): First Qi loop, internal bursts.

Core Condensation Realm (Early–Peak): External Qi release, short flight.

Stellar Circuit Realm (1–9 Stars): True flight, Qi armor, energy projection.

Nebula Dominion Realm and higher: Domain control, galaxy-level power, etc

Power Scale Reminder

Lian Yu: Stellar Circuit Star 1.

Elara Voss: Core Condensation Middle

Keep it as reminders