---
The world roared.
The Sky Abyss Basin had become a storm of color and light, every breath soaked in the fury of battle. Qi clashed against qi in tidal waves, shaking the ground until the stone trembled like the skin of a living beast. Thousands of disciples filled the air with shouts, spells, and fire.
From the floating terraces above, the sect masters watched in silence.
Lightning danced between the clouds, turning their faces into shifting portraits of light and shadow. Below, banners fell, flames rose, and the first true round of the Grand Battle Royale began.
Ria stood with her teammates at the border of Cloud-Ridge's shimmering barrier. The field around them pulsed with restrained energy, the faint hum of a containment seal holding them in place until their turn came.
The others waited in tense silence. Mei's hands fidgeted with her talismans. Jin's spear point glowed faintly with light he tried to suppress. Ren simply leaned on his blades and watched the chaos with the casual calm of a fox in tall grass.
On the opposite end of the arena, the Windspire Sect unleashed a torrent of jade wind that carved valleys into the stone floor. Their opponents, the Crimson Fang Clan, responded with rivers of flame that curled like dragons through the sky. The collision split the clouds apart, leaving behind a storm of dust and fractured air.
Ren whistled low. "Remind me to avoid whoever wins that one."
Ria said nothing. Her eyes followed the movement of the battle, not the spectacle. Every clash, every flicker of energy told her a story — how one sect overcommitted its defense, how another staggered its rhythm. She wasn't watching to be entertained. She was learning.
> Boundless Universe System — Analysis Active.
Detected Power Signatures: 10,254 Active Participants.
Battlefield Stability: 62 %.
Recommended Strategy — Observe. Adapt. Synchronize.
A deafening boom cut through the air. From the southern ring, Ironheart Fortress faced Silent Peak Sect, and their battle was a collision of philosophy itself — brute power against stillness. The Ironheart disciples charged like thunder incarnate, their fists wrapped in lightning. Silent Peak moved as a mirror — calm, deliberate, letting the storm strike first before folding it inward. When the dust cleared, both sects still stood.
"Even balance cracks under enough weight," Ren murmured.
Ria nodded. "And yet balance always returns."
He gave her a sidelong look. "You sound like Hanzo again."
"He's right more often than you think."
The ground shook again as Stormveil Sect entered from the northern rings. Their leader, a towering woman in armor of black glass, struck her spear into the earth. Lightning erupted upward, splitting the air with a roar that silenced the basin for a moment. Even the watching sect masters stirred at her strength.
"Impressive," murmured Instructor Kao from above, standing beside Elder Hanzo on the floating pavilion. "If our disciples face them too soon—"
Hanzo raised a hand. "They will face them when the heavens will it. The fox does not choose its prey; it adapts to the path given."
Kao smiled faintly. "And if the prey breathes lightning?"
"Then the fox learns thunder."
---
Back on the ground, the air was turning thick with smoke and qi residue. More than three hundred sects had already entered, their duels turning the arena into a vast mosaic of shattered stone and floating embers. The Grand Arbiter's voice echoed across the basin like the voice of a god.
> "Round Five concluded. Remaining Sects: 712."
"Next Draw: Eastern Sector, Group Three — Prepare."
Ren's hand tightened on his blades. "That's us soon."
Ria closed her eyes. The faint hum of the Ignis Resonance Field rippled through her, connecting her heartbeat to the others'. She could feel them — Mei's focused tremor, Jin's slow calm, Suna's steady flow, Lian's warmth, Hiro's restraint, Ren's restless energy. Each one was a note, and she was the rhythm holding them together.
They'd trained for this moment, but now that the roar of ten thousand cultivators filled the air, she felt something new inside her chest — not fear, but a strange, crystalline clarity.
The Boundless Universe System pulsed faintly.
> Group Synchronization: 98 %.
Harmony Field Potential: Maximum.
System Message: Cloud-Ridge readiness exceeds predicted threshold. Observation requested.
She opened her eyes. "Stay calm. We fight as one breath."
"Yes, Captain Fox," Ren said with a grin, rolling his shoulders. "Lead, and we'll follow."
---
The next match burst into life across the basin.
Azure Mist Valley Sect faced Twin Hammer Forge — elegance against fury. Azure Mist disciples moved like water spirits, flowing between strikes in shimmering waves of mist. Their opponents fought like an earthquake, smashing through the air with spirit hammers that glowed red-hot. The first blow sent shockwaves across half the arena, scattering spectators' robes and extinguishing torches.
"By the Mother…" Mei breathed. "That could've flattened a mountain."
Ria watched carefully, her gaze tracking the ripple of qi through the mist. "And yet they miss."
The moment the hammer fell again, Azure Mist vanished. Their silhouettes blurred, splitting into a hundred mirrored reflections. The forgers swung wildly, their strength wasted against phantoms. Then the mist condensed around them and struck back as liquid blades.
Ren let out a low laugh. "Now that's art."
The battle ended in a blinding flash of silver and steam. When the haze cleared, Azure Mist Valley stood victorious.
The Arbiter's voice rang out again.
> "Azure Mist Valley — Advance to Rank 58."
Cheers erupted from their sector. But even as triumph rang through the air, Ria noticed how their formation wavered slightly afterward, their qi flow uneven. Victories here cost more than pride — they drained cultivation itself.
Ren noticed her watching. "You're already planning counters, aren't you?"
She didn't deny it. "If we meet them later, their water flow bends to rhythm. We'll lead them with flame."
He nodded approvingly. "Good fox."
---
Above, the sect masters spoke quietly among themselves. Kaido of Emberspire scowled, arms crossed. "These matches are too tame. When do the eastern foxes join? I want to see if Hanzo's silence hides skill."
Hanzo smiled faintly but did not answer.
From her seat nearby, Lady Qian of Flowing Lotus leaned over her railing, elegant and calm. "Patience, Lord Kaido. True talent blooms at the right season. The eastern wind hasn't yet turned."
"Bah," he muttered. "If they delay much longer, there'll be nothing left to prove."
---
Another battle ended in screams of thunder. The basin floor cracked open, revealing molten rivers below. Spirit beasts summoned by summoners rampaged across sections of the battlefield until sealed again by the Arbiters. The crowd's excitement built like fire feeding on air.
The gong sounded once more.
> "Prepare, Eastern Sector — Group Three."
The words echoed like prophecy.
Ria's head lifted. Around her, the Cloud-Ridge disciples straightened. The air changed — even Ren's easy grin faded into focus.
Their barrier flared with light. The runes that had contained them for hours began to dissolve, one by one, like fireflies winking out in the dark. Beyond the fading veil, the battlefield stretched wide and waiting — a sea of shattered stone and swirling energy, where heroes and fools alike tested their truth.
"Finally," Ren breathed.
Mei pressed her palms together, whispering a short prayer. Jin twirled his spear, eyes bright. Suna's water coiled around her wrists like bracelets. Lian's flame pulsed in her hands, while Hiro's wind hummed through the grass.
Ria's sword whispered as she drew it, the edge glinting with twin lights — flame and mist intertwined.
> System Notice: Cloud-Ridge, prepare for deployment.
Opponent Draw: Frost Sky Temple (Rank 76).
Estimated Power Gap: +37 %.
Synchronization Required: Complete before entry.
Ren laughed under his breath. "Thirty-seven percent stronger, huh? Guess we'll have to make up the difference in style."
"Or in harmony," Ria said quietly.
The final runes on their barrier flickered. The arena's roaring crowd seemed to fade, replaced by the steady sound of their own breathing.
Elder Hanzo's voice came through the link one last time — distant, calm, immovable.
"Remember the fox's creed. Balance before brilliance. Flow before flame."
Ria raised her blade in salute. "Understood."
The last of the light vanished. The gate to the battlefield opened like an awakening eye.
"Cloud-Ridge," she said, her voice soft but carrying through the air, "step forward."
Together, they did.
---