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Morning came like a roar.
The Sky Abyss Basin shone under the rising sun, its vast stone terraces glittering with light from a thousand banners. The air trembled with the energy of twelve thousand cultivators gathering in one place—the greatest assembly of power seen in a century.
From the edges of the world they had come—sect masters, elders, and disciples alike. Ships of jade, palanquins carved from cloud-stone, spirit beasts with wings of lightning and scales of frost. All descended upon the colossal arena that sprawled like a living continent beneath the heavens.
Every corner of the basin shimmered with sect colors: Emberspire's crimson flame, Flowing Lotus's gentle green, Silent Peak's silver mist, Ironheart's thundersteel, and a thousand more—each bearing centuries of pride.
The mountain wind carried the echo of drums.
The Battle Royale had come.
---
From the floating pavilions above, the sect masters gathered, each seated upon a throne of light. Their voices drifted across the valley—boastful, serene, venomous.
"Look well, Hanzo," called Master Kaido of Emberspire, his fiery aura radiating even at this distance. "Your foxes will be ashes before sunset. My disciples trained within magma! Their qi burns brighter than divine flame."
Lady Qian of Flowing Lotus Sect smiled gently, sipping from her porcelain cup. "Ah, but fire without focus only blinds its wielder. The lotus grows through mud—it blooms even in chaos."
An old man in gray robes, Dao Han of Silent Peak, opened one cold eye. "Both of you are too loud. Strength that announces itself is already losing."
Tao Gan of Ironheart Fortress slammed his fist into the armrest of his floating chair. "Hah! You philosophers forget what war is! The Cavern will open for the bold, not the quiet!"
The sky itself seemed to shake with their rivalry. Lightning crawled along the edges of clouds; fire and frost clashed in the air.
But Elder Hanzo of Cloud-Ridge remained still upon his modest platform. His fox-tail crest fluttered gently behind him. He looked neither angry nor impressed—only thoughtful.
Instructor Kao stood beside him. "The others mock us still," she murmured.
Hanzo's eyes tracked the horizon, where sunlight broke across the banners. "Mockery is a kind of prayer. It means they've noticed."
---
On the basin floor, the disciples formed into their assigned territories. Ria stood among the Cloud-Ridge contingent, her sword resting across her knees. The Boundless Universe System shimmered faintly before her eyes.
> Event Confirmed — Grand Battle Royale (Outer Disciple Division).
Participants: 12,824.
Objective: Rank Top 10.
Cycle Duration: 7 Days.
Ren exhaled softly, adjusting his twin blades. "So… twelve thousand maniacs. That's comforting."
Ria smiled faintly. "Only until they start fighting."
The air was charged with tension. Every breath carried the hum of a thousand qi signatures pressing against one another. The formation barriers separating sect territories glowed, runes pulsing like veins of light beneath the earth.
A single voice echoed from above—the Grand Arbiter of the Battle Royale. His tone was calm, yet every word carried the weight of law.
> "The heavens bear witness. The thousand sects stand gathered. Each shall prove its worth before dawn's seventh light. Those who remain shall ascend."
A great bronze gong sounded. The arena trembled as the first phase began.
---
"By decree of the Grand Alliance," the Arbiter continued, "the first round shall begin with the Outer Rings of Flame."
Across the basin, half the disciples stirred. Runes shifted beneath their feet, glowing with fiery red light. A deep rumble split the ground as the formation expanded, raising enormous walls of molten stone that circled one portion of the arena.
Emberspire's disciples were first to move. They advanced in perfect formation, a wave of crimson armor and blazing fists.
Ren whistled low. "They look like a walking volcano."
Ria didn't answer. Her golden eyes followed their movements, reading every shift in stance, every pulse of energy.
Opposite them stood the warriors of Ironheart Fortress, their weapons forged from lightning, their bodies etched with glowing runes. Sparks crawled across their armor as their sect master laughed above.
Kaido of Emberspire raised a hand. "Show them the meaning of fire!"
Tao Gan of Ironheart roared in response. "Crush the mountain!"
The barrier between them shattered.
The impact was immediate and deafening.
Flame met steel. The air detonated. A wall of fire surged skyward as explosions rippled through the arena, shaking the ground beneath Cloud-Ridge's feet. The crowd erupted in thunderous cheers.
From the spectator stands, sect masters leaned forward, eyes glowing. The first battle was a spectacle—Emberspire's heat waves turning the battlefield into molten chaos while Ironheart's warriors charged through with terrifying strength, their lightning cracking the air.
Ren winced. "They call that a test round?"
"Observation," Ria said quietly. "Look deeper."
He followed her gaze. Beneath the chaos, patterns began to emerge—discipline, synergy, timing. Emberspire's formation pulsed in waves of synchronized qi, each flame echoing another, while Ironheart's team used brute force to shatter their rhythm.
Ria's Boundless Universe System flickered.
> Observation Skill Activated — Combat Synchrony Analysis.
Efficiency Ratios Detected:
Emberspire: 72 % (Coordinated Flow).
Ironheart: 81 % (Aggressive Impact).
Projected Outcome: 54/46 Favor Ironheart.
She frowned slightly. "Their aggression is winning."
Ren tilted his head. "You can see that?"
"I can feel it," she said simply.
Moments later, her prediction proved true. A thunderous strike from Ironheart's lead disciple shattered the formation. Fire exploded outward—and then collapsed. The Emberspire team was thrown back, defeated but unbroken.
The gong struck again. The molten walls sank into the earth. The Arbiter's voice rang out.
> "Ironheart Fortress advances. Emberspire falls to Rank 87."
Above, Kaido's expression twisted into restrained fury. Tao Gan only laughed, his voice booming. "Strength speaks! The first of ten thousand to fall!"
---
More rounds followed. The Sky Serpent Sect battled Moonvale Monastery in a contest of illusion and speed, their movements so fast the eye could barely follow. Flowing Lotus danced against Silent Peak, turning battlefield dust into petals and frost. The sky filled with light and thunder, every clash birthing new storms.
Yet Cloud-Ridge waited. Their barrier shimmered, still intact, untouched. Ria watched in silence, her hand resting on her sword.
"Why aren't we called yet?" Ren asked, restless.
"Because we're the eastern sector," Mei said softly, eyes closed in meditation. "We'll move when the tide shifts."
Ria nodded. "Let them burn their strength first. The fox watches the forest before it runs."
Ren grinned. "You've been spending too much time with Elder Hanzo."
"Maybe," she said, smiling faintly. "But he's right."
---
From the floating platform above, Hanzo also watched the chaos unfold. Instructor Kao stepped closer. "They are stronger than we expected. Even the weaker sects command power fit for inner disciples."
Hanzo's gaze never left the battlefield. "And yet they all fight the same way—shouting louder, striking harder. The fox's path is not in power, but in patience."
Below, the ground shook again as another sect fell. The air was thick with smoke and glowing embers.
The Arbiter's voice resounded once more. "The western sector's preliminary rounds are complete. Eastern rings, prepare yourselves."
Cloud-Ridge's barrier pulsed. The rune-lights shifted from blue to white.
Ren tightened his gloves. "Guess that's us next."
Ria's sword hummed faintly as she drew it, mist and fire curling around her blade. Her voice was steady, but her heart beat faster than it had in years.
"Remember our training," she said quietly. "We flow. We do not chase. We endure, and we strike only when harmony calls."
The others nodded, their auras flaring in synchronized unity.
Far above, the sect masters turned their gazes eastward.
The next storm was about to begin.
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