The stranger's words echoed through the Martial Hall.
“I've been waiting for your eighth life.”
Kael's fingers tightened around his sword.
“Who are you?”
The stranger smiled.
“You don't remember me?”
Kael shook his head.
“No.”
“Good.”
The stranger stepped down from the balcony.
“Then the seal is still working.”
Kael's eyes narrowed.
Seal?
Before he could ask, a powerful pressure crashed down.
BOOM!
Several contestants dropped to their knees.
Kael's legs shook.
His Human Flame burned violently inside his body.
The stranger looked at him.
“Interesting.”
He raised one hand.
The pressure disappeared.
Kael immediately took a breath.
The difference between them was overwhelming.
This wasn't someone he could fight.
Not yet.
“Why did you kill the judge?” Kael asked.
“I didn't.”
Kael froze.
The stranger pointed toward the corpse.
“He was already dead before I arrived.”
“Then who killed him?”
A faint smile appeared.
“You did.”
Kael's expression changed.
“That's impossible.”
“You're thinking about this life.”
The stranger stepped closer.
“I'm talking about your seventh.”
Kael's mind went blank.
A sharp pain suddenly pierced his head.
Another memory surfaced.
The same Martial Hall.
The same judge.
Kael stood in the arena, older and covered in blood.
The judge was kneeling before him.
And Kael was holding the black ring.
Then—
A sword pierced his chest.
Kael collapsed.
The memory vanished.
He stumbled backward.
It was real.
He had died here.
The stranger continued.
“In your seventh life, you reached this place much earlier.”
Kael stared at him.
“What happened?”
“You discovered the ring.”
Kael looked toward the black ring on the floor.
“And then?”
“You tried to destroy it.”
Kael's breathing became heavier.
“Did I succeed?”
The stranger shook his head.
“No.”
“Then what happened?”
“You died.”
Silence.
Kael looked down at his hands.
Seven lives.
Seven deaths.
And every time he got closer to the truth—
He died.
But something was different now.
His eighth life.
His Human Flame.
His memories.
And the people he had met.
Kael slowly raised his head.
“I won't die this time.”
The stranger smiled.
“That is exactly what I wanted to hear.”
Suddenly, the black ring shot into the air.
It flew directly toward Kael.
Luo Chen shouted—
“Kael!”
Kael raised his sword.
But the ring stopped before touching him.
A golden flame surrounded it.
The ring trembled.
Then a single word appeared in Kael's mind.
CHOOSE.
Kael stared at it.
The stranger's expression became serious.
“This is your first real choice.”
Kael reached toward the ring.
His fingers touched it.
A massive wave of memories exploded through his mind.
Seven deaths.
Seven failures.
Seven different endings.
But beneath them all was one constant.
A shadow.
Someone had been watching every life.
Someone had guided his choices.
Someone had made sure Kael always walked toward the same ending.
Kael opened his eyes.
The golden flame around him changed.
For the first time—
A silver spark appeared inside it.
The stranger stepped backward.
“So it begins.”
Kael looked directly at him.
“Who controls my life?”
The stranger smiled.
“You'll have to survive long enough to find out.”
Then every formation inside the Martial Hall activated.
BOOM!
The doors disappeared.
The walls turned black.
And hundreds of contestants suddenly found themselves trapped inside a massive formation.
The tournament was over.
The real test had begun.