The Grand Arena held its breath. As the Head Instructor's voice faded, a deafening silence fell, only to be shattered by a furious roar.
As planned, Xue Feng ignored everyone else. His pride, stoked to a raging inferno by Bu He's quiet defiance the night before, allowed for no other target. "Today, this farce ends, heretic!" he bellowed, his body exploding with the brilliant light of a miniature sun. He was a true prodigy of the Golden Vein Hall, a genius who had already touched the threshold of the Core Formation Realm.
He shot across the arena, leaving a golden trail in his wake. "Golden Lion's Roaring Fist!"
It was his signature opening move, a devastating combination of kinetic force and pure Qi designed to shatter shields and spirits alike. The crowd expected annihilation. Even Bu He's teammates tensed, their plan facing its first, most brutal test.
Bu He did not run. He did not retreat. He remembered Bao's words: 'Be the wall.'
He planted his feet, sinking into the Root of Agony Stance, and crossed his arms before his chest. The golden fist struck with the sound of a thunderclap.
BOOM!
The impact threw Bu He back several meters, his boots carving deep gouges into the stone floor. A trickle of blood escaped his lips, and a tremor ran through his very bones. The pain was blinding, an all-consuming fire. But… he was standing. He had not broken. And with a ragged Leyna Breath, he pulled every ounce of that agony, every shockwave of that hostile Qi, into the hungry, waiting furnace of his Blood Core. A faint, defiant crimson glow pulsed beneath his skin.
Xue Feng's eyes widened in shock. "Impossible! How..." His most powerful opening move had done little more than push his opponent back. It was the first crack in the armor of his pride.
"Is that all you have, lion?" Bu He rasped, spitting a wad of blood onto the ground. "You should pay attention to your pride."
As Xue Feng's focus wavered for a split second, Bao's plan went into motion.
Yao Zhi, Xue Feng's agile second-in-command, a peak Foundation Establishment expert, darted like a phantom from the side, aiming for Jian Ming. But Lian Hua's senses, a web of silent perception, had already read his intent. "He's targeting Jian Ming! Ci Ying, cut him off!"
Ci Ying didn't create a wall of fire. Instead, she anticipated Yao Zhi's path and launched a pillar of flame precisely where he was about to land, forcing him to change direction and funneling him into a pre-calculated corridor.
"Their defender's shield weakens on his left side after every third block!" Jian Ming's voice cut through the chaos of battle, sharp and clear.
It was the signal. Lian Hua sent a silent, invisible wave of spiritual pressure toward the Golden Vein's "Stone Skin" defender, not an attack, but a momentary distraction. It was enough.
"Flame Needle!" Ci Ying commanded her power. A thin, white-hot needle of focused fire shot across the arena and struck the defender's shield at the exact weak point Jian Ming had identified. The Qi shield, which could withstand a battering ram, shattered like glass. The defender was thrown from the arena, eliminated.
The Golden Vein Team: Three members remaining.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Xue Feng roared, seeing his teammate fall. His rage eclipsed his strategy. He now had only one target: to personally pulverize the unbreakable wall before him.
"Golden Lion's Claw Barrage!"
Dozens of golden Qi claws rained down on Bu He. Each impact tore at his robes and flesh. He grunted in pain, his knees buckling under the relentless assault. It was pure torture. But every wound, every wave of agony, was also a feast. His Blood Core devoured the energy, the crimson glow on his skin growing brighter, more defiant with every blow. He was not a wall being weathered down. He was an anvil being hardened by every strike.
The Golden Vein's last support member, a ranged attacker, began to form Qi arrows to aid his leader. "Protect the Young Master!"
"Lian Hua, now!" Jian Ming commanded.
Lian Hua sent a tremor of Leyna through the stone floor beneath the archer's feet, throwing off his balance for a critical second. His first arrow flew wide.
That second was an invitation for Ci Ying. With a sweeping wave of fire, she pushed the archer toward the edge of the platform. Trying to escape the flames, he lost his footing and was eliminated.
The Golden Vein Team: Two members remaining.
Xue Feng looked around. In the arena, it was now just him and his last remaining teammate against the full, unbroken Heretic Team. His plan had failed. His pride had trapped him. While he had been singularly focused on breaking Bu He, his entire pride of lions had been dismantled around him.
He roared in fury, but it was no longer the confident roar of a king. It was the desperate cry of a cornered animal.
Bao's plan had worked to perfection. And now, the roles were reversing.
Bu He, the unbreakable wall who had done nothing but endure, slowly straightened up. Steam rose from his body, a testament to the punishment he had taken. But his eyes held no pain, only the terrifying glow of a sated power.
For the first time in the match, he was no longer just defending. He took his first step forward.
Xue Feng froze. The wall he had been relentlessly pounding was now walking toward him. And it was thrumming with the very power he had been feeding it.
The hunter had become the prey.