The arena had become a battlefield of gods.
Liang Chen clashed with Xun Tai, their strikes shaking the very foundation of the platform. Mei Rong darted between them like a phantom, her graceful blade seeking opportunities to pierce through their relentless assaults. Qi collided with Qi. Sparks lit the air like stars fallen from the sky.
And amidst this chaos—
Shadow stood still.
His posture relaxed, his eyes sharp. He didn't move. Didn't even blink. His attention wasn't solely on the three powerhouses exchanging blows.
No. His focus was split.
There was another.
---
**Yun Xue**, Rank 5, the Frost Step.
She hadn't fallen.
She hadn't joined the main battle.
Instead, she had waited.
Silent as snowfall. Hidden within her own lingering frost.
Now, she struck.
Her form shimmered from a frosted illusion at the edge of the arena.
A slim blade coated in chilling Qi flashed forward—her signature assassination strike: **Frozen Vein Pierce**.
But Shadow?
He had felt the temperature drop seconds before.
He had seen the frost coiling unnaturally near his foot.
He turned.
Her blade was only a meter away.
His eyes locked onto hers—
they widened.
But it was too late.
**Flash Blade Art: Kill Line.**
Shadow sidestepped and slashed.
A flash of steel.
A burst of wind.
**CRACK.**
Yun Xue was blasted sideways, her formation core blade shattering from the backlash.
She crashed into the arena wall, coughing blood, and crumpled.
The judge immediately appeared.
"Yun Xue is eliminated!"
Gasps tore through the crowd.
The cold-blooded assassin of the outer sect had been taken down in a single strike.
But Shadow didn't celebrate.
His blade lowered.
His eyes turned.
Because someone had been watching.
---
**Jinhai.**
The black flame twisted around his body like a living cloak.
His chains hung loose at his sides, crackling with searing energy.
He took a step forward, boots grinding against scorched stone.
"I thought you'd stay quiet till the end," he muttered.
Shadow didn't reply.
Jinhai smiled. "Guess I was wrong."
The chains snapped forward.
Shadow vanished.
**Thunder Step.**
The clash that followed tore across the arena like a cyclone.
Shadow and Jinhai collided at full speed—steel against flame, precision against fury.
Jinhai's chains spiraled, seeking to bind and burn.
Shadow deflected, redirected, and slipped through gaps with impossible grace.
But Jinhai pressed harder.
"You strike like a ghost," Jinhai growled mid-swing. "But you bleed like the rest."
His chains coiled around Shadow's wrist, yanking him forward.
Shadow twisted, blade glinting.
**Flash Blade Art: Pulse One.**
Jinhai blocked with a burning vambrace, the two locked in a brutal deadlock.
"I knew you were watching," he hissed, "but did you know I'd be this fast?"
"Faster than the weak," Shadow replied, voice like steel. "Slower than death."
Jinhai grinned.
Their blades clashed again.
**BOOM!**
A ring of smoke and static exploded outward.
Jinhai spun his chains and unleashed his trump card:
**Black Lotus Flame: Blooming Wrath.**
The fire spiraled into a lotus shape and launched forward. The temperature soared.
Shadow leapt skyward, burning Qi licking at his feet.
**Thunder Step: Spiral Reposition.**
He dashed down from the sky like a falling star.
**Flash Blade Art: Pulse Two.**
Their weapons collided once more—this time with no restraint.
Shadow's blade cut deep into Jinhai's shoulder, and Jinhai's chain tore across Shadow's ribs.
Both staggered.
Both bled.
But neither fell.
"You're not just thunder," Jinhai said, panting.
Shadow wiped blood from his lip.
"And you're not just ash."
Jinhai grinned. "Then let's find out what breaks first."
They charged again.
Behind them, the top three continued their own war.
But now—
The true storm had two hearts.
Ash.
And Thunder.
---