The great ancestral tree seed to hold its breath along with the audience.
The sun was at its zenith, pouring golden light over the Central Plateau. The floating stands were so crowded they looked ready to collapse at any mont. Thousands of eyes were fixed on the living wooden arena, where two youths faced each other.
Kyrian, of the Verdant Sword. Huo Ling, of the Flaming Sword.
The final of the Gathering of Domains.
The Leader of the Ancient Forest Sect positioned himself between the two. His eyes swept over both competitors, evaluating, and asuring. He raised his hand.
"Final of the Gathering of Domains. Kyrian versus Huo Ling. The rules are the sa. The winner is the one who throws the opponent out of the arena or incapacitates them."
He paused.
"You may begin!"
The audience held its breath.
Kyrian did not move. His sword eyes shone.
The first cut ca, invisible, fast, and deadly. A blade of pure Qi and sword intent sliced through the air toward Huo Ling.
Huo Ling felt it before he saw it.
As a sword user, his perception of sword intent was sharp. He felt the blade approaching like a cutting wind. His own sword intent burst from his body, and he raised his flaming sword in a precise motion.
"Flaming Sword Technique. Ember Shield!"
A wall of rotating fire appeared before him. Kyrian’s invisible slash collided with the shield, and both annihilated each other in an explosion of sparks and cutting wind.
The audience murmured.
"He blocked it!"
"Huo Ling managed to sense the attack!"
"Of course! He’s also a sword user!"
Kyrian showed no surprise. His eyes flickered again. The second cut ca stronger than the first.
Huo Ling gritted his teeth. He couldn’t just block passively. His sword traced a circle in the air, and a suit of fire armor enveloped his body, dense flas burning at such a high temperature that the air around him distorted.
"Firebird Armor!"
The second cut struck the armor. The impact made Huo Ling step back, but the armor held. The flas flickered for a mont, then stabilized.
The third cut ca imdiately. Even stronger.
This ti, Huo Ling’s armor nearly shattered. He was thrown three steps back, his feet dragging grooves across the wooden arena. Blood trickled from a thin cut on his shoulder, the armor had not completely blocked it.
But he was still standing.
Kyrian nodded inwardly. A small trace of respect arose in his chest. Huo Ling was a true swordsman. Soone who walked the sa path as him. He was not just any warrior, he was soone who had dedicated his life to the sword.
Because of that, Kyrian decided to honor him. He touched his spatial ring.
The sword appeared in his hand.
The mont his fingers wrapped around the hilt, the atmosphere changed completely. The sword intent emanating from Kyrian was so dense that so spectators in the nearest stands felt a chill run down their spines.
Huo Ling felt his heart tighten.
He had seen what Kyrian did to Mu Qing. One strike. Just one strike destroyed the living wood defense that had withstood three glances. And now, Kyrian was drawing his sword against him.
A mix of nervousness and tension took hold of Huo Ling. He knew he couldn’t just wait for Kyrian to attack. If that strike ca, he wouldn’t stand a chance.
"I’ll go on the offensive," Huo Ling decided.
He stomped on the arena floor with force. A fire movent technique, his shoe soles burned the wood, and his speed surged. He advanced like a teor, his sword already in motion.
"Flaming Sword Technique. Fire Blade Strike!"
Huo Ling’s sword ignited with an imnse fla, so bright it dazzled the eyes of those watching. The strike descended toward Kyrian like a wing of fire.
Kyrian raised his own sword to defend.
’Clang!’
The tallic sound echoed across the plateau. Red and green sparks flew in all directions.
Huo Ling did not stop. Strike after strike, he advanced like a whirlwind of flas. His sword slashed, thrust, and spun. Each blow was faster than the last.
Kyrian defended. And counterattacked.
The swords t once, twice, ten, twenty tis. The pace was dizzying. The audience could barely follow the movents.
But sothing beca clear quickly. Huo Ling was already injured.
A thin cut on his right arm. Another on his thigh. A third on his left shoulder, where the fire armor had failed. Blood flowed from each wound, staining his red robe.
Kyrian, on the other hand, was completely unscathed.
Every ti Huo Ling attacked, Kyrian defended, and, at the exact mont of exchange, a small counterattack appeared, a subtle cut that Huo Ling could not fully block. They were not powerful strikes, but they were precise. And they accumulated.
Huo Ling realized the truth in his heart.
It wasn’t just strength. Kyrian was stronger, yes, several tis stronger. But it wasn’t only that. Kyrian’s combat experience was superior. The way he moved, how he anticipated attacks, how he found the smallest openings... it was as if he had fought a thousand battles before.
Huo Ling did not surpass him in anything.
He jumped back, creating distance. His chest rose and fell rapidly. He was panting, exhausted, and wounded.
But his eyes still burned.
"If I’m going to lose," Huo Ling said, his voice hoarse.
"I’ll lose with everything I have."
He raised his sword above his head. All the remaining Qi in his body was channeled into the blade. The flas were red, so hot that the wood of the arena around his feet began to char.
"Supre Flaming Sword Technique. Celestial Bird!"
The sky darkened for an instant. Not because of clouds, but because the light seed to be drawn into Huo Ling’s sword.
Then, the bird appeared.
It was not a small bird like before. It was gigantic, as large as the arena itself. Its red fire wings spread wide, and the heat was so intense that the spectators in the nearest stands instinctively stepped back.
The bird flew toward Kyrian.
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