The arena fell into a strange silence.
Dust drifted slowly across the cracked battlefield, caught in the faint currents of wind that still lingered from Chen’s earlier assault. The ground beneath both fighters bore the marks of their clash, fractures spreading outward like scars that refused to heal. Every eye in the stadium remained fixed on the two figures standing at its center.
Lin Yi.
Chen Feng.
Neither moved.
But the pressure between them was suffocating.
Chen exhaled slowly, his grip tightening around his blade as the storm around him began to change. The violent, scattered currents from before no longer lashed outward wildly. Instead, they began to draw inward, compressing, condensing, gathering closer and closer to his body.
The air sharpened.
Even the sound of the wind shifted, turning from a chaotic roar into a low, controlled hum.
"...You’re strong," Chen said at last, his voice steady but heavier than before. "Stronger than anyone I’ve faced."
He lowered his stance slightly, his eyes never leaving Lin Yi.
"But if this is all I can do..."
A faint smile appeared.
"...then I don’t deserve to stand here."
The crowd reacted instantly.
"He’s not done yet!"
"That pressure... it’s changing!"
"What is he doing?!"
On the high platform, Yan Honglie’s gaze sharpened.
"...He’s compressing his entire output."
A guild scout beside him frowned. "At his level... that’s dangerous."
Yan Honglie didn’t respond imdiately.
Then—
"...Good."
Back on the battlefield, Chen’s aura tightened further.
"Stormblade Art—Third Form."
His voice dropped.
"...Heavenly Severance."
For a single mont—
Everything stopped.
Then—
BOOM!
The ground beneath him shattered as Chen shot forward, faster than before, faster than the eye could fully follow. The compressed storm around his blade elongated into a thin, razor-sharp arc of energy that cut through the air without resistance.
It wasn’t wide.
It wasn’t flashy.
But it was—
Pure.
Focused.
Deadly.
The distance between them disappeared instantly.
SLASH!
The blade ca down.
Lin Yi moved.
The Celestial Lord Blade rose to et it—
CLANG!!!
The impact exploded.
A shockwave burst outward, tearing across the arena, forcing several students in the front rows to shield their faces as wind and dust blasted outward violently.
But this ti—
The result was different.
Lin Yi’s feet slid back half a step, as the crowd froze.
"He... moved him!"
"Chen actually pushed him back!"
Chen’s eyes burned brighter.
"...Not enough!"
He twisted his body mid-clash, redirecting his blade and striking again.
SLASH!
Then again.
SLASH!
Each strike carried that sa condensed power, each one sharper, heavier, faster than the last. The storm no longer scattered—it pierced.
Lin Yi responded.
His blade t each attack.
But now—
The rhythm had changed.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Each collision rang louder than before, the force behind them cracking the already damaged arena floor further. Lin Yi stepped again, adjusting, matching, his movents precise but now undeniably engaged.
The crowd erupted.
"This is it!"
"This is the final clash!"
"Chen is actually fighting him head-on!"
Wang Hao leaned forward, his fists clenched tightly.
"...Co on..."
His voice was barely a whisper.
"...Don’t lose."
Chen pressed forward relentlessly, his breathing growing heavier but his movents refusing to slow. His blade cut through the air again and again, every strike carrying his full intent.
"Lin Yi!" he shouted, his voice cutting through the noise, "don’t hold back!"
CLANG!
Another collision.
"Fight seriously!"
CLANG!
"I didn’t co this far—"
CLANG!
"—to lose to soone who isn’t even trying!"
For the first ti—
Lin Yi spoke.
"...I see."
His voice was calm, but sothing shifted.
His grip on the Celestial Lord Blade tightened slightly, as the faint golden glow along its surface deepened.
Then—
He stepped forward.
CLANG!!!
The next collision sent Chen’s body backward.
Not far.
But enough.
Chen skidded across the ground, his feet digging in as he stabilized himself. His chest rose and fell more noticeably now, his energy clearly being pushed to its limit.
But his eyes were still burning.
"...Good."
He smiled.
"...That’s what I wanted."
He raised his blade again.
The storm around him flickered, unstable now, pushed beyond its natural limits.
"One more."
His voice lowered.
"...Just one more exchange."
He inhaled deeply.
Then exhaled, as he gathered everything he had left.
"Stormblade Art—Final Form."
The air around him trembled.
"...Skybreaker."
BOOM!!!
The entire arena shook as Chen launched forward one final ti, his speed reaching its peak, his blade wrapped in the last of his compressed storm, the energy tearing at the air itself as he closed the distance in an instant.
Lin Yi stood there, and raised his blade. The golden light intensified, like sothing that simply existed above everything else.
"...Enough."
One step forward.
That was all.
CLANG!!!
The final collision rang out across the arena. For a mont, ti seed to stop. Then,
CRACK.
Chen Feng’s blade trembled, as the storm around it shattered. His eyes widened slightly as the force traveled through his weapon, through his arms, through his entire body, and broke his stance completely.
BOOM!
He was thrown backward, his body hitting the ground and sliding several ters before finally coming to a stop. Complete silence followed. Chen Feng lay there, staring at the sky. His chest rose slowly, then fell. A faint laugh escaped him.
"...Haha..."
He lifted one arm slightly, then let it fall back down. "...So this... is the difference."
He then turned his head toward Lin Yi, who still stood at the center of the arena, unmoved. "...I lost."
The instructor raised his hand.
"Match over!"
A pause.
Then—
"Winner... Lin Yi!"
For one brief mont, no one reacted. Then the entire stadium erupted. Cheers, shouts, disbelief, and excitent collided into a single wall of sound that shook the arena from floor to ceiling.
"Champion!"
"He actually won!"
"He defeated an S-Rank!"
"This is insane!"
Wang Hao jumped to his feet, laughing loudly.
"I knew it!
"I knew it!"
On the high platform, the guild scouts no longer bothered hiding their reactions, leaning toward each other with wide eyes and voices barely held in check.
"A monster..."
"No... more than that."
Yan Honglie nodded slowly, "...He’s qualified."
Back on the battlefield, Chen Feng slowly sat up, wincing slightly before pushing himself to his feet. He looked at Lin Yi one last ti. "...Next ti," he said, a faint smile returning, "I won’t lose so easily."
Lin Yi looked at him. "Next ti."
Chen Feng laughed. "...I will." Then he turned and walked away with steady steps, and sohow that made the crowd cheer even louder.
Monts later, Instructor Han stepped forward and raised his hand. The noise gradually settled into a tense, electric anticipation.
"Students!"
He waited until the last murmur faded to continue.
"Today marks the conclusion of the Jianghe Hunter Academy Tournant." He paused, then turned and gestured toward Lin Yi. "This year’s champion..." His voice rose. "...Lin Yi!"
The crowd erupted again.
"Champion!"
"Champion!"
"Champion!"
The chant rolled through the stands in waves, section by section, each repetition louder than the last. Lin Yi stood calmly at the center of it all, unchanged as always.
Instructor Han raised his hand again, and the noise gradually pulled back.
"As announced before the tournant, rewards will now be distributed. The Top Ten participants will receive rare equipnt from the academy treasury. And the Top Three will receive equipnt from the Jianghe City Armory, with the Champion receiving a Rare Weapon Blueprint, and a recomndation to a Regional Elite Academy."
All eyes turned toward the high platform, as Yan Honglie stepped forward, and his presence alone settled the remaining noise without a word.
"...Lin Yi." His voice was calm but carried undeniable authority. "The Heavenly Phoenix Hunter Academy acknowledges your talent."
"You are granted a direct recomndation."
A ripple of shock passed through the crowd. Direct recomndation. Not just eligibility, but recognition.
Yan Honglie’s eyes narrowed slightly. "...Do not disappoint."
Lin Yi t his gaze. "...I won’t."
Then a second staff mber appeared, carrying a small ceremonial case. Instructor Han opened it himself. Inside, resting against a cushion of deep red fabric, was a gold dal. The Jianghe Hunter Academy Tournant Championship dallion, awarded only once per year, to the student who stood above all others. Han Ming walked toward Lin Yi and held it out with both hands.
"On behalf of Jianghe Hunter Academy..." His voice carried to every corner of the stadium. "I present this to you. This year’s champion. And the highest ranked freshman in the history of this session." He paused, letting those words settle. "Lin Yi."
Lin Yi reached out and took the dal.
The mont his fingers closed around it, the stadium detonated.
Every student on their feet simultaneously. Every voice rising together. The sound rolled through the arena like a physical force, filling every corner, bouncing off every wall, and for the first ti since the tournant began, even the instructors in the elevated seats rose from their chairs.
A standing ovation.
For a Laborer class student.
"LIN YI!"
"LIN YI!"
"LIN YI!"
The chant spread like wildfire. Students who had doubted him. Students who had dismissed the rumors. Students who had watched in disbelief as he broke every expectation the tournant had set. All of them now standing, all of them shouting the sa na.
The whispers in the stands told their own story.
"A E rank... tournant champion..."
"He defeated Chen Feng’s record.He beat an S-Rank in the final."
"That’s not a freshman. That’s a monster."
"He’s not even using his full strength. I could tell."
"Did you see his weapon? That is surely a celestial weapon!"
"Whatever that blade is, it’s not sothing any student should have."
"Who is this guy? Where did he even co from?"
On the high platform, the guild scouts were no longer whispering among themselves. Several had already drawn out recording equipnt. Yan Honglie stood with his arms folded, watching Lin Yi in silence. The faint curve at the corner of his lips had not moved since the final strike landed. Beside him, soone leaned close.
"He’s already on our list, right?"
Yan Honglie didn’t look away from the arena floor. "He’s at the top of it."
Wang Hao stood in the competitor section with both fists raised, tears threatening to spill from the corners of his eyes that he absolutely refused to acknowledge.
"That’s my brother!" he shouted to no one in particular. "That’s my brother right there!" Several students around him glanced over. He didn’t care.
Shen Ryu sat quietly in his seat, the ghost of a smile still on his face, watching Lin Yi with the quiet satisfaction of soone who had faced a worthy opponent and known it. Chen Feng stood further back, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the center of the arena with an expression that was not defeat but sothing sharper, sothing that looked more like a vow.
Liu Ling stood near the edge of the competitor seats, her hands clasped together, her expression soft and proud and slightly flushed, though she would have denied all three.
Su Qinghan stood still. She said nothing. But her eyes, calm and steady as they always were, did not leave Lin Yi for a long mont.
And at the center of all of it, Lin Yi stood alone on the arena floor. The gold dal was in his hand, warm from the ceremony. The noise of the stadium crashed against him from every direction, thousands of voices rising together in a sound he had never heard directed at himself before. He looked down at the dal briefly. Then he looked up, out across the stands, across the tournant bracket displays still glowing above the arena, across the faces of every student who had doubted and watched and eventually understood.
He was E-Rank.
And he had just won the Jianghe Hunter Academy Tournant.
Lin Yi closed his fingers around the dal. His expression remained calm, as it always was. But sowhere deep behind his eyes, the quiet fire that had been burning since the first day he stepped into this academy burned a little steadier.
This was not the end. It wasn’t even close. Heavenly Phoenix Hunter Academy waited. The wider world waited. Monsters, dungeons, guilds, and battles that made this tournant look like a warmup. All of it waited for him beyond the city walls. He turned and began walking off the arena floor, the gold dal catching the afternoon light as the crowd’s roar followed him all the way to the exit.
One na. Echoing through the entire academy.
Lin Yi.
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