By dawn, the Ember Arena's atmosphere had changed.
Gone were the eager hopefuls. Gone were the untrained and overconfident. What remained were fighters with fire in their eyes, hardened from countless hours of grueling battle and relentless ambition.
Thirty-two warriors remained. And the specters of defeat now lingered behind every swing.
Kai stood beside a fountain in the competitor's inner hall, hands wrapped in new bandages, blade freshly sharpened. His mind ran through every matchup from the day before. Every strike. Every dodge.
He couldn't afford a single wasted motion.
Then the System pinged.
[Match Announcement – Round 3]Opponent: Yin IshaAffiliation: Unaffiliated Rogue CultivatorRank: Poison Veil PractitionerLevel: 9Threat Rating: HighEstimated Win Rate: 38%Environment: Mist Arena
His eyes narrowed.
He remembered her name from the scan—a user of Ghost Leaf Form, a style developed in the Mist Gardens of Shenzhou's eastern mountains. Rumors said it was a forbidden offshoot of an assassination art, laced with poisons and deceptive movements.
He had expected a brute. Instead, he got a killer.
The Mist Arena was unlike the others.
Circular, covered in ankle-deep fog, and enclosed by rune-lined walls that pulsed with cold energy. Even the light was faint. Visibility: low. Visibility for someone with high Perception?
Better than most.
[Zone Buff Applied: Perception Advantage – Moderate]
Yin Isha emerged from the haze like a ghost—tall, pale, wearing a long-sleeved black tunic, her twin curved daggers already coated in greenish-blue mist. She didn't speak. Her eyes told the story: you bleed, I win.
A horn echoed once.
Begin.
She vanished.
Kai didn't see her move, but the pressure changed—her Ki flared like a whisper, subtle and sharp. His instincts screamed. He spun—
CLINK!
Her dagger caught his shoulder plate, grazing skin but not cutting deep.
[Health -4%]Poison Exposure Detected – Nullified: Resistance Rank D]
He dashed back and activated Fang Step, creating distance—but she was already adjusting, vanishing again into the fog.
"She's using mist Ki to mask presence," he thought. "But it's not perfect."
He closed his eyes—briefly.
Focused on the flow of movement.
The ripple of Ki. A faint sound on the right.
He lunged—
CLASH!
His blade met hers. Sparks danced between them. Her eyes widened. She twisted, flipping back, vanishing into mist again.
But now, Kai was calm.
Rhythm. Footwork. Flow.
He exhaled.
[Fang Step Lv.3 – Activate: Chain into Fang Lash]
She came again. From above.
Kai dashed forward, then reversed the second dash mid-motion. Her blade cut through air—and he slammed his pommel into her ribs.
She gasped.
Kai followed up with Fang Lash, his blade cutting across her leg.
Blood.
[Victory Condition: First Blood Achieved – Kai Wins]+190 XP | Stat +1 | Fang Step Progress +5%]
She knelt, silent, clutching her leg. Then... she laughed.
Softly.
"You're not fast," she whispered. "You're clear. That's worse."
Then she vanished into the fog, escorted by staff.
Back in the waiting room, Fang Duun met him with a crooked grin.
"Still alive, huh? Figured the mist girl might cut that pretty face."
Kai cracked his knuckles. "Close. But not close enough."
Duun tossed him a sealed envelope.
"Read it later. Just know—people are watching. Not just from this arena. Bigger names. Inner Circle types."
Kai raised a brow.
"Me?"
"No," Duun said, then smirked. "The version of you that survives another three rounds."
That night, Kai opened the envelope.
Inside was a scroll with a single red seal: the symbol of House Flamewind, one of the six great sect-clans of Verdane.
A note followed.
"We are watching, Kai of no clan. Win again. We will speak."
The road to the Inner Ring was opening.
But he had to keep climbing.