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The energy in the arena the following day pulsed with renewed excitement. Word of Kai Jin's brutal yet calculated victory had spread like wildfire. Spectators poured into the stands earlier than usual, eager to witness what else this year's God's Tournament had in store. But Kai Jin wasn't fighting today—not yet.
Instead, the stage was set for the Outer House disciples. Dozens of sects from across the continent had sent their young talents, many barely at the edge of Body Tempering. These fights were more chaotic, less refined—but still dangerous in their own way.
Kai sat in the shadowed row of the Dawning Blades' private box, his hands freshly wrapped in gauze and bandaged with layers of spiritual balm. The pain still lingered, a dull throb that pulsed with every heartbeat, but he didn't let it show.
Below, the stone platform rumbled as two competitors collided.
One, a tall girl from the Hollow Oak Sect, wielded twin short spears with unnerving grace. Her opponent, a boy from the Sandroot Clan, moved like a beast uncaged, charging with reckless momentum. The clash was brutal. No elegance. Just force.
"She's going to outlast him," Yue muttered beside Kai. Her voice was quiet, eyes narrowed. "He's too emotional."
Kai didn't respond. His gaze was fixed, but not on the fighters. He scanned the crowd. The elders. The other disciples. He could feel something. A shift. Attention.
They're watching me now.
And somewhere, tucked high among the spectator stands, Lin Su sat with her sect elders. She didn't look toward Kai, but she felt him. Her demon stirred again, faint and coiling with satisfaction.
*He will shape the storm. That one has weight.*
*I didn't ask for your opinion,* she replied inwardly.
*But you feel it too, don't you? The pulse of something long buried? He's not like the others.*
The match below ended with a sharp scream—the Sandroot boy's leg cracked beneath a sweep of the spear. The Hollow Oak girl raised a bloodied weapon, panting hard.
There were cheers. Applause. A healer darted forward.
Another match followed. Then another. The arena's energy swelled and fell in waves. Not every fight was memorable. Some were sluggish. A few even ended in surrender before the first clash. But the crowd stayed. Waiting.
Waiting for more.
Inside, Kai's mind drifted. He was back in the quiet of his world eye—though he hadn't consciously entered it. The space flickered behind his thoughts now, like an echo in his skull.
"You're unusually quiet," Kai muttered.
The older voice answered with a snort. *I'm watching. These children call themselves warriors. Hah.*
Kai frowned. "They're just starting out."
*So were you. And you didn't make excuses.*
There was silence between them for a moment.
"I broke my hands."
*You broke a limit. The hands will heal. But what you saw—that fear in their eyes—that's not something you can bandage.*
Kai blinked slowly. "You think I scared them?"
*I know you did.*
Outside the world eye, a new match was being announced. Two sects from the mid-north: the Serpent Wind Clan and the Eastern Flame Pagoda. Their champions stepped onto the stage with bright, matching sashes and cocky smiles.
"Think we'll get something flashy?" Yue asked, breaking Kai's silence.
He finally looked at her. "Maybe. But it won't matter. These fights aren't about spectacle. They're about who still stands when the dust settles."
She tilted her head. "Poetic."
Kai almost smiled.
The fight below began with flame and wind colliding, a swirl of elemental Qi that painted the stage in orange and green light. Finally, something the crowd could cheer for. But even in the midst of the show, Kai felt distant from it.
He watched the energy flow, traced the weak points, noted how neither fighter dared get too close. It wasn't a duel. It was a dance of avoidance. An act.
"Wanna place a bet?" Lin Su's voice startled him. She had appeared behind them, arms crossed, her sect robe swaying gently.
Kai didn't turn. "On what?"
"Who'll lose their nerve first."
He chuckled softly. "The boy. He's hesitating already."
Down below, the boy from the Eastern Flame Pagoda wavered—just a second—but it was enough. The wind-spear struck him hard in the ribs and he tumbled out of the ring.
Lin Su raised an eyebrow. "Not bad."
"You came all the way here to test my observation skills?"
"No." She leaned in slightly. "I came to see how deep the break in your hands went. But you hide pain too well."
Kai met her eyes finally. "And you hide questions too well."
Their locked gaze didn't break until Yue stood up, clearly annoyed. "The next match is starting."
Lin Su straightened, brushing imaginary dust from her sleeve. "See you around, Kai Jin."
When she left, Yue glanced sidelong at Kai. "What's her problem?"
Kai didn't answer. His hands throbbed again, but his mind stayed on the ring. He wasn't fighting today. But he would soon.
And when he did, he wouldn't hold back.