I studied Guo Xinyi as she settled into a combat stance.

The red sun energy demonstration had definitely rattled her, but I could see her mind working, probably trying to figure out what kind of technique could so completely disrupt harmonic essence. The confusion in her eyes was satisfying, but I knew better than to rely on that advantage.

"Master," Azure said quietly in my mind, "you're not planning to keep using the red energy, are you?"

"No," I replied. "As much as I'd love to just counter every attack she throws at us, that would be strategically stupid for multiple reasons."

The first problem was obvious enough.

If I negated harmonic essence for both of us, this would turn into a pure martial arts contest.

Guo Xinyi's vessel was not only a Fourth Scale cultivator with superior physical capabilities, but I had a sneaking suspicion she was also a better hand-to-hand fighter than me. After all, close combat had always been one of my weaknesses. I was much better at using techniques and spiritual abilities than throwing punches.

But the second reason was potentially more concerning.

The red sun energy was a higher form of power compared to harmonic essence, just like qi. And we'd already seen what happened when qi influenced Mo Yuhang's cultivation; it had upgraded his core formation from what should have been a basic Foundation Core all the way to a legendary Symphony Core.

If red sun energy could also influence cultivation in this realm, and considering its specialization in physical transformation and its natural repellent effect on harmonic essence, I had a bad feeling that prolonged exposure might corrupt or damage Mo Yuhang's cultivation base entirely.

The poor guy had spent his his whole life dreaming of reaching the Third Scale; I wasn't about to accidentally cripple him just to win a tournament match.

"Smart thinking," Azure agreed. "The red energy should be saved for critical moments only."

I then made a decision that might have seemed insane to an outside observer, but felt right given everything I'd learned about Mo Yuhang's character.

"Mo Yuhang," I said, speaking to his consciousness, "I want you to take majority control of the body. This is your world, your cultivation system. You understand these techniques better than I do."

I felt his surprise ripple through our mental connection. "Divine one, are you certain? She's reached Fourth Scale cultivation, and…"

"And you have something she doesn't," I interrupted gently. "Trust me on this. I'll use my abilities when needed. But this battle? This is yours to fight."

The transition was smooth as I allowed Mo Yuhang to take the lead, settling into the passenger seat of our shared consciousness while keeping a careful grip on our right hand and the storage ring it wore.

Guo Xinyi's eyebrows rose in apparent confusion as she watched our posture shift subtly, our spiritual presence changing as Mo Yuhang assumed primary control.

"You're letting your vessel fight for you?" she asked, her tone carrying a mixture of surprise and disappointment. "I expected more from someone who, in less than a year, could go from a mere nobody to one of the favorites for the tournament."

I stayed quiet, not wanting to engage in her psychological games. Her attitude toward the people of this realm would ultimately lead to her defeat. She saw them as props, tools to be used and discarded. That misunderstanding would cost her dearly.

Mo Yuhang, however, straightened our shoulders. "I am not just a vessel, I am Mo Yuhang. You stand in my home, threatening my family and friends. That is something I cannot allow."

"How noble," Guo Xinyi laughed. "Let's see how long that nobility lasts."

She began to sing, her voice carrying the clear, precise tones of a master musician:

"Wind that howls through mountain peaks,

Razor sharp and swift it seeks,

Cut the flesh and break the bone,

Leave my enemy alone."

The harmonic essence around her responded immediately, gathering into visible currents of air that began to swirl faster and faster. In less than a fraction of a second, she'd created a miniature tornado of cutting wind, each strand sharp enough to slice through stone.

Mo Yuhang didn't hesitate. He planted our feet firmly against the ground and began his own song, his voice carrying the deep, resonant tones of earth affinity:

"Stone and soil, hear my call,

Rise as shield and standing wall,

From the depths where minerals sleep,

Earth's protection, strong and deep."

The plateau beneath us cracked and shifted as Mo Yuhang's technique took hold. Massive stone slabs erupted from the ground, forming a protective barrier just as Guo Xinyi's wind blades struck. The cutting air carved deep grooves into the stone, but the barrier held.

"Impressive," Guo Xinyi admitted, already beginning another song. "But let's see how you handle this."

Her next technique was more complex, involving rapid tempo changes and multiple harmonic layers:

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"Gale force rising, tempest born,

Swift as lightning, sharp as thorn,

Dance around my foe with might,

Bring the storm into the fight."

The wind around her exploded outward, creating a controlled hurricane that surrounded her form. She became a blur of motion, moving with impossible speed as the wind carried her in unpredictable patterns around the battlefield.

Mo Yuhang tried to track her movement, turning our body to follow her path, but she was simply too fast. The Fourth Scale cultivation boost made her wind techniques far more potent than anything a Third Scale cultivator could match.

The first strike came from our left, a concentrated wind blade that slashed across our ribs.

The second came from behind, raking claws of compressed air across our back.

Mo Yuhang grunted in pain but kept singing, trying to maintain his defensive techniques while under assault.

"Bedrock strong and mountain true,

Lend your strength to see me through,

Make my flesh like granite stone,

Stand against what I have known."

The earth enhancement technique took hold, hardening our skin and muscles, but it wasn't enough.

Guo Xinyi's speed advantage was too overwhelming.

She struck again and again, each hit precise and calculated to wear down our defenses until it would be time for her to deliver the killing blow.

"Master," Azure whispered urgently, "she's playing with him."

I watched through Mo Yuhang's eyes as blood began to seep through our robes from multiple shallow cuts. His breathing was becoming labored, and I could feel his spiritual essence reserves depleting rapidly from maintaining multiple techniques simultaneously.

But I wasn't worried. This was exactly what I'd expected.

Mo Yuhang was getting pushed to his limits, beaten down by a superior opponent, facing impossible odds with nothing but stubborn determination keeping him upright. In other words, he was in the perfect position for a protagonist moment.

It came when Guo Xinyi overextended herself, growing overconfident in her superiority. She came in for what should have been a finishing strike, her wind-enhanced speed making her appear as little more than a blur.

But Mo Yuhang's Symphony Core suddenly flared with power no one had expected, his earth affinity resonating with something deeper than normal harmonic essence. His eyes blazed with determination as he sang a technique not even Azure recognized:

"Ancient earth that holds the sky,

Hear the call of those who cry,

Lend your power, lend your rage,

Break the bonds of mortal cage!"

The freestyle song was devastating.

A massive stone pillar erupted from directly beneath Guo Xinyi's position, moving faster than her wind-enhanced reflexes could dodge. The pillar caught her square in the chest, launching her backwards across the plateau with bone-jarring force.

She hit the far wall hard enough to crack the formation, coughing up blood as she slumped to the ground.

"Impossible," she gasped, struggling to her feet. "That technique... that was beyond Third Scale power."

Mo Yuhang stood in the center of a web of cracks spreading outward from where the pillar had erupted, his body radiating an aura of earth-brown energy that seemed to pulse with the heartbeat of the mountain itself.

"This is my world," he said simply. "And you are not welcome here."

I felt a surge of pride. Whatever had just happened, Mo Yuhang had tapped into something beyond normal cultivation, some deeper connection to the realm itself. It was exactly the kind of protagonist moment I'd been hoping for.

But Guo Xinyi wasn't finished.

Her eyes blazed with fury as she wiped blood from her mouth, her spiritual pressure spiking as she prepared something that made the air itself tremble with anticipation.

"You want to see Fourth Scale power?" she snarled. "Then witness the true might of the wind!"

She began to sing again, but this time her voice carried harmonics that seemed to bypass the ears entirely, resonating directly with the spiritual essence in the air:

"Hurricane's heart, typhoon's eye,

Bring the wrath that rules the sky,

Tear the earth and rend the stone,

Let destruction be my throne!"

The very atmosphere began to change.

Wind gathered from all directions, creating a massive vortex centered on Guo Xinyi's position.

The pressure dropped so suddenly that our ears popped, and I could see debris from around the plateau being pulled into the growing maelstrom.

This wasn't just a technique anymore.

This was a manifestation of genuine Fourth Scale power, the kind of devastating force that could level entire city blocks.

Mo Yuhang tried to respond, channeling his earth techniques to create barriers and defensive structures, but the hurricane-force winds simply tore them apart before they could fully form. He was being pushed backward by the sheer force of the wind, his feet leaving grooves in the stone as he fought to maintain his footing.

I felt the first tendrils of real concern.

This was beyond what a Third Scale cultivator could handle, even one with protagonist potential. If I didn't act soon, Mo Yuhang would be seriously injured or killed.

The moment came when Guo Xinyi raised her hand, the massive vortex of wind condensing into a single point above her palm. The concentrated air pressure was so intense it looked like a miniature star.

"Goodbye, little vessel," she whispered. "Your divine passenger should have chosen a stronger host."

Mo Yuhang tried to respond with a song of his own, but his voice was lost in the howling wind. I felt his panic as the technique bore down on him like a natural disaster given form.

"Divine one!" he called out desperately in my mind. "I can't... this is beyond anything I can handle!"

That was my cue.

I took full control of Mo Yuhang's right hand, reaching into the storage ring to withdraw one of the scrolls I'd prepared. The Guardian Grove Aria parchment unfolded in my grasp, its musical notation already beginning to glow with faint blue light.

"Hold on," I told Mo Yuhang as I channeled blue sun energy into the scroll. "Trust me."

The notes lifted off the page and began to dance, their musical patterns filling the air as the scroll itself began to sing without any voice guiding it:

"From tiny seed to mighty tree,

Branches strong protect all those who flee,

Roots that delve through earth so deep,

Sacred groves their vigil keep,

Rise as shields against the storm,

Keep the innocent from harm."

Every plant within a hundred-meter radius - grass, small shrubs, even moss growing on the rocks - suddenly exploded into rapid growth. Trees that should have taken decades to mature reached full size within a second, their branches interweaving to form a dome of living wood around us.

Guo Xinyi's compressed wind beam struck the botanical fortress with the force of a tsunami, but the interwoven trees held firm. More than that, they actually began to grow stronger under the assault, drawing power from the wind itself and converting it into even more robust growth.

"What... how are you..." Guo Xinyi's song faltered as she stared at the impossible sight of her ultimate technique being completely negated by what appeared to be a singing parchment.

But I wasn't done.

While she was still reeling from the shock, I withdrew a second scroll: the Titan Fist Harmony. This one felt different as I activated it, its musical patterns more aggressive, more focused on overwhelming force:

"Ancient oak and mighty pine,

Lend your strength to this design,

Wooden giant, timber strong,

Rise and right what has been wrong,

Form a fist of living wood,

Strike down evil as you should."

The Titan Fist Harmony reached out to the massive tree that grew at the edge of the plateau - an ancient giant that had stood here for centuries. Blue sun energy flowed into its trunk, its branches, its very essence.

Immediately, the tree uprooted itself and began to reshape. Its trunk elongated and compressed, its massive canopy condensed and hardened, until what stood before us was no longer a tree but a wooden fist the size of a building.

Guo Xinyi looked up at the massive construct looming over her, and for the first time since this battle began, I saw real terror in her eyes.

The colossal fist began its descent, ready to end this fight once and for all.

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