The tension in the air was palpable.
Dust swirled across the stage like dancing spirits caught between dimensions, reacting to the fierce energies being unleashed. The crowd sat on the edge of their seats, hearts pounding in their chests, unable to take their eyes off the two figures that stood amidst the cracked arena stage, one, a snow-haired youth with a roguish grin; the other, a golden-robed sword cultivator, composed and solemn.
Gojo grinned as he raised his arm to block the incoming blow.
A golden arc, like the fangs of a divine beast, descended upon him with the might of a mountain. The impact landed squarely across his chest. A deep gash split through his robes, flesh tearing as blood spurted out violently.
And yet, he laughed.
A low, guttural, almost mocking chuckle. It sent a shiver down the spines of every disciple in the arena.
"Insane bastard…"
"Did he just… let himself get hit?!"
Indeed, he had. Chen Zhen had allowed the strike to land. With someone as disciplined and tactical as Lu Changqing, it was almost impossible to find an opening.
So Gojo had created one himself, by taking damage.
But the price paid was not without reward.
With a sudden snap of his wrist, Chen Zhen extended two fingers and slashed them diagonally through the air. Space folded, twisted, and then violently shattered as an arc of folding space tore out, the shattering of dimensions.
Lu Changqing's pupils constricted, instincts roaring.
But it was too late.
The slash tore through his chest in an explosion of spatial force, catapulting him across the stage like a ragdoll. He slammed into the far wall of the dueling platform with bone-jarring impact, his body bouncing once before crashing into the tiles.
The entire world seemed to pause for a second.
Then...
"CHEN ZHEN IS A MONSTER!!"
"Did you see that? He just tanked Lu Changqing's strongest blow, and countered instantly!"
"Even Ma Kui couldnt pull that off!"
Shock turned to awe, awe turned into frenzy. The crowd exploded.
But Gojo stood still, blood dripping down his chest, staining his tattered robes. He sighed, glancing down at the crimson mess and shaking his head in exasperation.
"That's robe number… seven? Eight?" he muttered. "At this rate, I'll have to start walking around half-naked."
He gave a dramatic sigh and started walking forward, eyes locking onto the figure slowly rising on the opposite end.
Lu Changqing.
Despite being launched like a cannonball, he was rising to his feet with unnatural calm. His blade acted as a crutch, his body slightly hunched, hair ruffled. And yet, there was no blood.
Gojo's eyes narrowed.
"…Ah. That's why you're still standing," he muttered. "Nice armor."
Indeed, beneath Lu Changqing's torn robes, faint lines of golden inscription shimmered, a defensive spiritual treasure, no doubt. A high-tier one. It had absorbed the brunt of Gojo's dimensional attack.
Lu Changqing's breathing was labored, yet his expression was grim. Confusion, disbelief, and a flicker of something else, fear.
"Even with this armor… it hurts," he whispered. "That wasn't a technique I could tank. Not even once."
His eyes locked with Gojo's, and he gave a low chuckle. "You should've gone for the head."
There was a pause.
"…Alright, Thanos," Chen Zhen replied with a smirk, rubbing his neck sheepishly. "Let's not get dramatic. I'm trying not to kill you."
The words were honest. Holding back, in his case, was harder than going all out. Power surged through his veins like a flood. If he wasn't careful, the stage would be nothing but an empty crater. He admired Lu Changqing's skill, and he had no intention of wiping out a rising genius.
But Lu Changqing didn't see it that way.
With a grunt, he stood straight. His fingers wrapped tightly around the hilt of his blade, knuckles white. The golden aura around him flared with renewed intensity.
"Heavenly Coil Slash!"
His body blurred. A streak of golden lightning tore across the stage as he rocketed toward Chen Zhen once more, blade poised to cut through flesh and soul.
But this time Gojo didn't move.
A meter before the blade struck, space buckled.
A wall of fragmented reality erupted in front of him, bending Lu Changqing's slash off-course as if the laws of the world refused to let it land. The sword screeched against the barrier before being repelled.
Gojo smirked, about to counter, when his eyes flickered. Six Eyes squinted.
He tilted his head slightly, just in time to narrowly avoid a second golden slash that had come from the air itself. A delayed technique?
"Tch. That's cute," he muttered.
Without shifting posture, he unleashed a surge of dense Yuan Power, compressing it into a single pulse. The space around him fractured like glass, shards of reality slicing outward in concentric waves.
BOOM!
Lu Changqing was thrown back again, feet skidding along the stage, tearing through tiles as if they were paper. He stopped mere inches from the arena's edge.
This time, the fear in his eyes was unmistakable.
This wasn't just a strong opponent. This wasn't just a genius. This was something else.
"So this is Chen Zhen…" he muttered, heart pounding.
Their cultivation bases were similar. On paper, he should have had a chance. But in reality? Chen Zhen fought like someone far beyond him, as if space itself bent to his will.
"I'm not done…" he growled. "Coiling Dragon Slash!"
A fierce horizontal slash cut through the air, sending a spiraling golden wave toward his opponent. But Gojo, hands still lazily in his pockets, merely shifted his weight and sidestepped.
"You're repeating patterns now," he said casually. "I've seen it all."
Lu Changqing gritted his teeth. "Then take this!"
He leapt high into the air, spiritual energy coalescing above his head in the form of a massive golden sigil. The sky darkened as power condensed, the heavens trembling under the weight of the incoming strike.
"Heaven Descending Dragon Slash!!"
From above, a dragon of pure destructive intent and Yuan Power manifested, hundreds of feet long, scales glimmering like celestial steel. Its roar split the sky as it plunged down like divine judgment.
The arena trembled. The audience gasped.
"That's the final form… the killer move of the Coiling Dragon Scripture!"
"They say, at full mastery, the dragon can devour mountains!"
"Can Chen Zhen survive this?!"
But the white-haired youth didn't flinch.
Instead, he sighed.
"Guess I'll have to clean this up now…"
He lifted his head and stepped forward, left foot rising off the ground.
A calm murmur escaped his lips, almost too soft for anyone to hear.
"Titan's Step—First Step: Spatial Quake."
His foot came down.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The world split open.
Space convulsed, warping in unnatural waves. Cracks laced the air like broken glass. Color bled from the sky as time itself seemed to shudder. The shockwave wasn't a simple burst, it was an omnidirectional collapse of reality, an implosion followed by an unstoppable expansion.
The golden dragon didn't even reach him.
It disintegrated mid-air, torn to atoms by the quake.
Lu Changqing's spiritual energy collapsed instantly, his form knocked down by the sheer force. A massive crater emerged beneath their feet, and the entire Outer Court Arena shook like a leaf in a storm.
Silence.
Dead silence.
Then, footsteps.
Gojo, perfectly untouched, walked calmly through the dust, toward the stunned Lu Changqing, whom he had protected from a sure deat with his own power..
He stopped just short, reached down, and patted the youth's shoulder.
"You're weak," he said gently. "But come back when you're stronger. I'll fight you again, anytime, anywhere… well, not when I'm in bed or eating, obviously, but you get the point."
He turned and walked off with a lazy grin, blood still dripping from his chest, hands still in his pockets.
A moment later, the crowd finally erupted.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!!"
"Where did this freak come from?!"
"Saint Origin Sect? Forget them! With Chen Zhen here, our sect doesn't need to bow to anyone!"
"That was space. He's cultivating the Dao of Space! Do you know how rare that is?! It's practically forbidden! How can anyone beat that?!"
From the high stands, several elders exchanged glances.
"He broke the Coiling Dragon Slash…"
"With a single step," another whispered.
"...He might be even more monstrous than the Barbarian King's successor."
From the back of the crowd, Su Qingshi stood in silence, her sword sheathed, her heart pounding.
'So that's Chen Zhen… The one MeiYing talks about. He's... something else.'
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A/N: Enjoy..