[23]
The knight's halberd swept wide again — forcing Riven into another desperate roll. The blade clipped him as he moved, carving a shallow line across his ribs.
He hissed through his teeth and scrambled back to his feet.
No time.
He was getting pushed back — too close to Yue Lin.
At this rate… he wouldn't stop it in time.
Without Divine Speed, and unable to land Frostbind Chains, he had no real advantage. Even his needles were useless here.
The only attack he could reliably land was Falconburst Kick.
But that wasn't enough.
Unless…
His eyes sharpened.
If he could only hit with Falconburst Kick… and only restrain with Frostbind Chains…
Then he'd have to combine them.
The manual had never explicitly stated that Frostbind Chains required a palm strike.
He'd always used his hands because that was how he'd first practiced it. But the technique only required contact — and qi formation at the moment of binding.
If he could trigger Frostbind Chains through his foot… at the instant of impact…
It might work.
It was theory.
Desperate theory.
But it was the only thing he had left.
His jaw tightened.
The timing would have to be perfect.
If the qi for Falconburst Kick was still fully active at the moment of impact, he wouldn't be able to redirect it into Frostbind Chains.
He would need to retract the kick's qi mid-strike — dull the explosive force just before contact — and redirect that same energy into the binding.
A split-second adjustment.
While moving at full speed.
I should have practiced this before...
The knight lunged again.
Riven darted forward.
Falconburst Kick—
He tried to retract—
Too slow.
The kick landed heavy, qi still flaring in his leg. The frost never formed.
The knight's halberd came down immediately after. Riven barely twisted aside in time, the blade smashing into stone where his head had been.
[20]
Too close.
He reset his stance.
Again.
The skeleton advanced, laughing.
"Struggling, little human?"
Riven ignored it.
Second attempt.
He launched forward — kick snapping out—
This time he cut the qi at the right moment.
He felt it.
The surge shifted.
Frost gathered—
But nothing formed.
Or not where he wanted it.
He felt frost gather, between his foot and the inside of his boots.
Shit. Not like this.
The kick connected cleanly.
But the frost formed at the wrong place.
He quickly dispelled it.
The skeleton's elbow slammed toward his face. Riven barely ducked under it, stumbling back.
[17]
Seven meters.
His mind raced.
The timing had been right.
But...
His gaze flicked downward.
Boots.
Of course.
Every successful Frostbind Chain he'd formed had required direct contact. Palm to flesh. Skin to surface. Clear qi transfer.
That's it.
Riven jumped back, creating distance. Four meters from Yue Lin now.
I'll have to try.
"Giving up?"
The skeleton advanced lazily, halberd scraping along the stone.
[14]
He didn't answer.
Instead, he bent down.
And yanked his boots and socks off.
The stone beneath his bare feet was cold — unnaturally smooth, almost humming faintly with the arena's energy.
The knight paused.
"…What?"
Riven flexed his toes against the ground, grounding himself.
This was a gamble.
If this failed, he wouldn't get another chance.
The skeleton surged forward, amused now.
"Kekeke— desperate humans are my favorite."
[11]
Riven inhaled.
Centered himself.
Falconburst Kick.
He exploded forward.
Qi surged down his leg—
He cut it—
Redirected—
Impact.
Bare foot met bone.
And this time—
Frost erupted.
A sharp burst of icy qi snapped into existence at the exact point of contact, chaining his ankle to the skeleton's shin in a crackling arc of pale blue light.
It worked.
The knight's laughter cut off mid-cackle.
"What—"
Riven hit the ground and twisted, pulling with everything he had.
The sudden tether yanked the skeleton's leg sideways.
It stumbled violently.
And began to fall as the frost chain dissipated.
The skeletal knight's balance shattered in an instant.
Its halberd clattered from its hands as it toppled, both arms flailing to catch itself.
The knight slammed down, barely catching itself.
Riven didn't wait.
But he didn't use the chance to attack.
There was no point. He couldn't land a fatal blow anyway.
Instead he kicked the halberd away — hard — sending it skidding across the island, far out of the knight's reach.
[7]
The knight snarled — the sound low and guttural — and scrambled back to its feet.
Just seven more seconds.
The only problem was... the skeleton had fallen forward.
So now they were at most three, probably just two meters away from Yue Lin.
He could not step back anymore at all.
The knight swung his fist, seemingly aware of the timer, not opting to collect his halbert.
But this time Riven matched it with a fist of his own.
Without the sharp edge of the halbert, he felt like he could match the skeletons punch as long as he used Vaern's Basic Martial Arts combined with his own phyiscal power.
And reality proved him right.
It was an even impact.
There was only one issue.
This hurts.
Punching bone was not very comfortable. The impact traveled straight through his knuckles and into his wrist, a dull, rattling ache.
But it would be enough to stall.
[5]
He didn't have enough qi left for another Falconburst Kick or Frostbind Chains anyway.
The only thing he could still fuel were the most basic reinforcements — the thin layer of qi Vaern's Basic Martial Arts used.
At this point, the skeleton stopped caring about Riven.
Instead it simply walked forward.
Even though Riven landed punches and kicks it wouldn't stop.
He simply didn't have the qi left to really impact it.
[3]
Even tho he hadn't wanted to retreat, he'd been pushed back to right in front of Yue Lin now.
The knight reached out one arm and Riven used his own to grab it, forcefully stopping its advance.
But the skeleton had another arm, and he didn't.
With no hesitation it hit Riven in the side, trying to get him out of the way.
Pff!
Riven sucked in air but stayed his ground.
[2]
But the skeleton didn't stop.
It hit again — this time he was knocked violently to the side.
He tumbled, his back slamming into the stone. The world spun. Pain lanced through his ribs.
And now, there was nothing between it and Yue Lin.
Riven's blurred gaze found her — pale, lips tight, eyes wide, still bound by chains. Struggling, helpless.
[1]
The knight stepped forward quickly.
It raised its hand — curling its fingers into a bony fist, lining it up with her head.
The killing blow.
The first cut through the air.
[0]
And stopped —
Just centimeters from her skull.
There was a flash of silver-white.
Chains exploded upward from the ground — spectral, humming, glowing faintly with the same dull light as the trial's bridge.
They wrapped around the knight's arms, torso, legs — and froze it in place.
It screeched — an unearthly sound that echoed across the island.
At the same moment, the chains around Yue Lin vanished.
She staggered backward, finally free.
And wasted no time.
She darted away, putting distance between her and the shrieking knight as its limbs jerked against its new bindings.
The countdown stone was empty now — its glow gone, the numbers erased.
Yue Lin bent forward, catching her breath, then quickly turned and rushed to Riven.
He was pushing himself up with one arm, breath ragged.
"You alright?" she asked, concern flickering through her otherwise calm tone.
No one would believe us if we told them what sects we are from.
Riven thought kind of cynical, aware that they strayed further and further from their sects ideals.
"Yeah," he muttered. "No major wounds… but I really, really need a break."
Yue Lin exhaled — part relief, part fatigue — and knelt beside him.
"…Thank you," she said softly.
He gave a weak grin. "It was easy."
She rolled her eyes slightly, but the small smile on her lips lingered.
"You might wanna put your boots on again."
"Ah."
Together, they made their way to the dimly glowing path that led to the next island, ignoring the now bound knights screams.
But they didn't step on yet, instead they took a break.
Riven sat cross-legged and focused on absorbing qi, finally replenishing some of what he'd burned through.
There was surprisingly a lot in the surroundings.
It was going way faster than even back at the sect.
He even felt like he might be able to reach the Inner Condesation Realm very fast here.
But when they checked their belongings after he'd restored his qi, he knew he couldn't do that.
"…Only enough for one or two days," Yue Lin said quietly. "And that's if we're careful."
Eventually, Riven exhaled and pushed himself to his feet. His breathing was steadier now. The aches hadn't gone, but they were manageable.
"Alright," he said, brushing dust from his sleeves. "Let's go fast then."
With no time to waste, he stepped onto the dim light bridge toward the next island.
But the moment his foot touched the glowing surface, it gave way.
His boot landed on nothing.
Air.
"Wha—"
The world tilted.
He dropped — straight through the light.
Toward the abyss below.
"Kekekeke…"
The bound skeleton cackled behind them.