Zhao Kun carried a blade almost as wide as Orion’s torso.
Of course he did.
Orion stared across the arena.
“Nobody uses normal-sized weapons here.”
Zhao Kun laughed.
At least this opponent possessed a sense of humor.
His great saber rested against one shoulder.
He was twenty-one.
Broad.
Scarred.
And radiated the heavy spiritual pressure of Ninth Stage Essence Gathering.
The peak of the realm.
One breakthrough away from Meridian Foundation.
The crystal displayed their information.
The crowd murmured.
Orion’s tournament run had become a story.
The former mortal.
Two months of cultivation.
First Stage Essence Gathering.
Now one victory away from the final sixteen.
Some people wanted him to win.
Others wanted to see exactly how far the impossible could stretch before it broke.
Zhao Kun lowered his saber.
“Brother Orion.”
“Brother Zhao.”
“I watched your previous fights.”
Orion smiled.
“That sounds ominous.”
“It means I won’t give you time to adapt.”
Orion’s smile faded.
“Ah.”
That was, in fact, ominous.
The referee raised his hand.
“Begin!”
Zhao Kun’s saber descended.
Orion moved.
The arena exploded.
Stone shattered where he’d been standing.
Orion emerged through the debris.
Radiant Step.
He slashed.
Zhao Kun blocked with the flat of his saber.
The impact stopped Orion completely.
Zhao Kun smiled.
Then moved one arm.
Orion’s sword was thrown aside.
Strength.
Not like Peng Wu.
Not merely physical.
Essence reinforced every motion.
Ninth Stage.
Almost an entire major realm of accumulated power separated them.
Zhao Kun’s saber swept sideways.
Orion ducked.
The wind pressure cut three strands of dirty-blonde hair from his head.
“That was close.”
“Yes.”
Zhao Kun reversed the strike.
Orion barely blocked.
His feet left the ground.
He rolled twice.
Stood.
The crowd roared.
Xuan Mei did not move.
Her hands were clenched.
Yue Ling noticed.
Said nothing.
Zhao Kun attacked again.
No elaborate techniques.
That was what made him terrifying.
Power.
Control.
Pressure.
Every saber strike forced Orion to spend Essence defending.
Every exchange drained him faster.
He couldn’t outlast Zhao Kun.
He couldn’t overpower him.
He couldn’t afford to learn for ten minutes.
Zhao Kun had already said it.
No time.
So Orion changed tactics.
He attacked first.
Seven Dawn Sword Forms flowed.
One.
Two.
Three.
Zhao Kun blocked them all.
Orion accelerated.
Fourth.
Fifth.
Golden Essence trailed across the arena.
Zhao Kun’s eyes narrowed.
Sixth.
A cut appeared along his forearm.
The crowd erupted.
Orion’s sword came around.
Seventh Form—
Zhao Kun’s saber struck.
Orion’s technique shattered.
The great blade stopped against his chest.
A defensive layer of golden Essence broke.
The edge cut through his robe.
Blood spread.
Orion flew backward.
He hit the ground.
Hard.
“Orion!”
Xuan Mei’s voice.
He heard it.
Far away.
His chest burned.
He touched the wound.
Deep.
Not fatal.
Tournament formations would stop the fight before that.
But close enough.
Zhao Kun remained where he stood.
“Stay down.”
No cruelty.
No arrogance.
“You’re talented.”
Orion breathed.
“You proved enough.”
Enough.
That word hurt more than the saber.
Enough for whom?
The spectators?
The sect?
The elders who had decided Xuan Mei’s choice required justification?
Orion looked toward the viewing platform.
Found silver eyes.
Xuan Mei wasn’t asking him to stand.
She wasn’t asking him to win.
She simply watched.
Worried.
Waiting.
Come back.
Then stood.
Zhao Kun sighed.
“I expected that.”
“Sorry.”
“No, you’re not.”
“True.”
Orion lifted his sword.
His dantian felt thin.
Solar Essence remained.
Not much.
His body hurt.
Every breath pulled at the wound across his chest.
He could not win normally.
Good.
Normal had stopped being useful several rounds ago.
Orion closed his eyes for half a heartbeat.
Solar Absorption Cultivation Art.
The evening sun hung low.
Weak compared to noon.
Still—
It was there.
Golden Essence entered.
Zhao Kun’s eyes changed.
“You’re absorbing Essence during battle?”
Orion opened his eyes.
“Apparently.”
“That’s absurd.”
“I’ve heard that.”
Zhao Kun attacked.
Orion moved.
Not away.
Toward him.
Saber descended.
Radiant Step.
Orion slipped sideways.
The saber changed direction.
He anticipated it.
Second step.
Zhao Kun frowned.
Third.
Golden footprints flashed across the arena.
Orion entered his guard.
Zhao Kun released the saber with one hand.
A fist came forward.
Orion twisted.
The fist grazed his ribs.
Pain exploded.
He ignored it.
His sword moved.
Zhao Kun blocked.
Orion abandoned the strike halfway through.
Feint.
Zhao Kun’s eyes widened.
Daybreak Foundation Fist.
Orion’s left fist hit his chest.
Golden Essence erupted.
Zhao Kun moved back one step.
Only one.
But—
One was enough.
Orion followed.
Sword.
Fist.
Shoulder.
Basic techniques.
No supreme inheritance.
No secret killing move.
Everything Rowan had drilled into him.
Everything Xuan Mei had beaten into him.
Fundamentals.
Zhao Kun recovered.
His saber swept.
Orion jumped.
The blade passed beneath him.
He landed on the flat.
For one impossible instant—
Orion stood on Zhao Kun’s saber.
The audience went silent.
Zhao Kun stared upward.
Orion smiled.
“Sorry.”
Radiant Step.
He launched from the blade.
Zhao Kun turned.
Too slow.
Orion landed behind him.
His sword struck.
Zhao Kun twisted desperately.
The blade cut across his back.
Not deep.
But enough to break balance.
He stumbled toward the boundary.
Orion had nothing left.
Almost.
He dropped the sword.
Both hands hit Zhao Kun’s back.
Solar Essence surged.
Zhao Kun realized what was happening.
“You—”
“Move.”
Orion pushed.
Zhao Kun slid.
One meter.
Two.
His feet dug into stone.
Stopped.
Orion screamed.
Every remaining thread of Essence emptied from his dantian.
Golden light erupted.
The stone beneath them cracked.
Zhao Kun moved again.
Half a meter.
Another.
His heel reached the arena edge.
Stopped.
Orion’s vision blurred.
No.
He pushed.
Nothing.
Zhao Kun began forcing himself forward.
Orion’s arms shook.
His wound opened.
Blood ran down his chest.
The crowd rose.
Xuan Mei stopped breathing.
Orion looked at the bracelet on his wrist.
Sun.
Moon.
He laughed weakly.
“Come on.”
Rao’s Immortal Body burned.
Not with new power.
Not a breakthrough.
Simply everything his body had left.
His muscles tightened.
His legs drove forward.
Zhao Kun’s foot moved.
Then—
Off the platform.
The boundary formation activated.
Both men froze.
Orion remained inside.
Zhao Kun—
Outside.
Silence.
The referee stared.
Then shouted—
“WINNER!”
The arena exploded.
“ORION ATLAS!”
Orion stood motionless.
Final sixteen.
He had done it.
Not top ten.
Not yet.
But—
Sixteen.
His knees buckled.
This time—
He didn’t catch himself.
⸻
He woke to moonlight.
Orion blinked.
Wooden ceiling.
Medicine scent.
Medical pavilion.
He tried to sit.
Immediately regretted it.
“Don’t.”
Orion looked sideways.
Xuan Mei sat beside the bed.
Her silver hair had been loosely tied.
She was still wearing her tournament robes.
“You waited.”
“Obviously.”
Orion smiled.
“How long?”
“Three hours.”
“Oh.”
She looked angry.
Again.
Orion had become familiar with the expression.
But something else sat beneath it.
Fear.
That hurt.
“I’m sorry.”
Xuan Mei froze.
Orion looked toward the ceiling.
“I scared you.”
She was quiet.
“Yes.”
No denial.
Orion swallowed.
“I said I’d come back.”
“You almost failed.”
“But I didn’t.”
“That isn’t comforting.”
He looked at her.
“I’m sorry.”
Xuan Mei’s expression softened.
Then she reached forward.
Her fingers intertwined with his.
Matching bracelets touched.
Sun.
Moon.
“I know why you fought.”
Her voice was quiet.
“I know.”
She looked down at their hands.
“But Orion…”
He waited.
“You don’t have to destroy yourself to prove you deserve to stand beside me.”
His chest tightened.
“I know.”
“Do you?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
That was answer enough.
Xuan Mei sighed.
Then rested her forehead lightly against his hand.
For several seconds—
Nothing existed outside the room.
[Affection: 49%]
Orion saw the number.
One point.
One point from fifty.
He looked at Xuan Mei.
And did not care.
Not right now.
Outside—
A shadow crossed the pavilion roof.
Neither noticed.
Gu Yan stood on a distant walkway.
His pale eyes rested on the medical building.
Final sixteen.
Too close.
If Orion won once more—
The top ten condition could slip beyond recovery.
More importantly, opportunities were disappearing.
Security would tighten as the tournament narrowed.
Observers would increase.
Participants would receive more protection.
Tonight—
Orion was injured.
Exhausted.
His Essence depleted.
Gu Yan’s gaze moved toward the room.
Xuan Mei was inside.
Annoying.
But manageable.
Fifth Stage Meridian Foundation.
Two stages beneath him.
Strong.
Dangerous.
Not enough.
Gu Yan withdrew a small black talisman.
Demonic Essence entered it.
Across the medical pavilion—
One formation rune dimmed.
Then another.
No alarm sounded.
Gu Yan’s expression remained calm.
Tomorrow, Orion Atlas was scheduled to fight again.
Gu Yan had no intention of allowing that.
Inside—
Orion squeezed Xuan Mei’s hand.
She looked up.
He smiled.
“Still here.”
Xuan Mei’s fingers tightened around his.
“Stay that way.”
Outside the window—
The protective formation went dark.