Chapter 374: The First Exchange

Chapter 374: Chapter 374: The First Exchange

Grand Marshal Vane stood at the center of the Great Solaris Arena.

The bronze gong hung suspended before him, massive and ancient, etched with formations that amplified sound across the entire coliseum. He raised his hammer.

The crowd held its breath.

One hundred thousand cultivators fell silent.

Vane brought the hammer down.

The gong rang out, deep and resonant, a sound that vibrated through stone and bone alike.

The shockwave rippled across the arena floor, stirring dust and sending a tremor through the barrier.

The final had begun.

Damon stood at the edge of the Azure Dragon dugout, his golden eyes fixed on the arena floor.

Behind him, Ariel, Mio, Mia, Seraphina, Flare, Lumina, and Alena waited in formation.

Their auras pulsed with readiness. Their weapons gleamed under the morning sun.

Across the arena, the Nameless Sect’s dugout remained shrouded in shadow.

Kael sat at its center, his grey eyes fixed on Damon.

The crowd’s roar built to a fever pitch.

Names were chanted. Flags waved. Spiritual energy crackled through the air like static before a storm.

Damon turned to Ariel.

"You’re up."

Ariel nodded. She gripped The Trident and stepped forward.

She walked across the arena floor.

The crowd erupted at the sight of her. They remembered her performance against the Iron Mountain Sect.

They remembered the mermaid princess projection. They remembered the way she had crushed seven opponents without breaking a sweat.

She stopped at the center line and planted The Trident into the stone.

The weapon hummed with power.

Damon watched from the dugout, his expression calm.

’She knows what to do. Test their defenses. Feel out their rhythm. Don’t commit too early.’

Ariel turned and looked back at him.

He gave her a small nod.

She turned back to face the Nameless Sect.

From the shadowed dugout, Kael raised his hand.

One of his subordinates stepped forward.

The figure that emerged from the Nameless Sect dugout was tall and gaunt.

Bandages wrapped around the figure’s entire body, leaving only narrow slits for eyes. The bandages were stained with patches of grey and black, as if the rot had seeped through from within.

The figure walked with an uneven gait, one leg dragging slightly.

But as the figure stepped onto the arena floor, the temperature dropped.

The crowd’s cheering faltered.

A ripple of unease spread through the stands.

Damon narrowed his eyes and activated Incubus Celestial Eyes.

The figure’s spiritual structure appeared in his vision.

’Heavenly Spirit Realm Fifth Level. Decay-aligned qi. The body is a vessel, not a warrior. The real threat is the energy inside.’

He saw it clearly now.

The figure’s dantian was a swirling mass of grey mist, dense and corrosive. The cultivation base was unstable, held together by external seals rather than internal foundation.

’A disposable soldier. Kael doesn’t care if this one dies.’

The figure stopped ten meters from Ariel.

Grand Marshal Vane raised his hand.

"Fighters ready?"

Ariel nodded.

The bandaged figure said nothing.

Vane’s hand dropped.

"Begin."

Ariel moved first.

She was faster than anyone expected, her body blurring as she closed the distance. The Trident swept forward in a wide arc, water qi condensing along its length into a crescent blade.

The bandaged figure raised a hand, grey mist erupting.

The water blade dissolved on contact, evaporating before reaching target.

Ariel widened her eyes and pivoted away.

The figure didn’t pursue, mist curling around its fingers.

The crowd murmured.

Damon’s eyes tracked every detail.

He saw the pattern now.

’That’s how Kael’s bloodline works. It doesn’t overpower. It erodes.’

Ariel circled to the left, testing the figure’s reaction.

The figure turned to face her, its movements slow and deliberate.

Ariel feinted left then lunged right, The Trident thrusting forward with concentrated water pressure.

The bandaged figure caught the thrust with both hands.

Grey mist exploded outward.

The Trident’s tip stopped inches from the figure’s chest, held in place by a wall of decaying energy.

The water qi around the weapon began to hiss and steam, breaking down under the mist’s influence.

Ariel pulled back.

The mist followed her, reaching out like grasping fingers.

She spun The Trident and unleashed a spiral of water that wrapped around the mist and hurled it aside.

The bandaged figure didn’t react.

It simply raised both hands and released a wave of grey energy that spread across the arena floor.

The stone cracked where the mist touched it.

The grass withered and turned to ash.

Ariel leaped backward, avoiding the leading edge of the wave.

’This is going to be harder than I thought.’

Damon watched from the dugout.

’She’s adapting. Good. But she needs to find the weakness.’

He focused his Incubus Celestial Eyes on the bandaged figure’s core.

The grey mist swirled inside the dantian, dense and chaotic.

But there was a pattern.

’The seals. They’re holding the decay in check. If she can break the seals, the energy will consume the host.’

Damon’s lips curved into a small smile.

’There it is.’

He sent a message through the communication ring.

’Ariel. Target the seals on the body. The bandages are the containment.’

Ariel’s eyes flickered toward the dugout.

Then she smiled.

She rose to her feet and gripped The Trident with both hands.

The bandaged figure raised its hands for another attack.

Ariel was already moving.

She went for the arm.

The Trident swept in from the side, water qi condensing into a razor-sharp edge.

The bandaged figure tried to block with mist, but Ariel was too fast.

The Trident sliced through the bandages on the figure’s forearm.

Grey energy erupted from the wound.

The figure staggered.

The mist around it flickered.

Ariel pressed the attack.

She drove The Trident forward, targeting the chest where the bandages were thickest.

The figure caught the weapon with both hands, mist flaring to stop the thrust.

But Ariel had already let go.

She dropped low and swept the figure’s legs.

The figure crashed to the ground.

Grey mist exploded from the impact, spreading across the arena floor like a living thing.

Ariel rolled backward and came up with The Trident in hand.

The bandaged figure rose slowly, its movements jerky and unstable.

The seals on its body were failing.

Grey energy leaked from the torn bandages, eating away at the stone beneath its feet.

Ariel didn’t give it time to recover.

She lunged forward, The Trident leading.

The figure raised both hands, mist gathering for a final attack.

Ariel’s weapon struck first.

The Trident pierced through the figure’s chest, emerging from its back in a spray of grey fluid.

The figure froze.

The bandages fell away, revealing nothing but hollow darkness inside.

The figure collapsed to the ground, empty and still.

Grand Marshal Vane raised his hand.

"Azure Dragon Sect leads. One to zero."

The crowd exploded.

Ariel pulled The Trident free and walked back to the dugout.

Damon met her at the edge.

"Good work."

Ariel smiled.

They turned to face the arena.

Kael was already standing, his grey eyes fixed on them.

The next fighter was coming.