Lucas’s body shimred before vanishing completely.
He’d been eliminated as well.
In the gallery, the spectators who had been watching their own children had already shifted their gaze. Now, every single eye was fixed on the panel showing Derek’s rift.
"How can a cultivator be this capable?"
"Not a single participant in that group could stand against him! And all of them were mages for God’s sake. What on earth is going on here?"
Gasps filled the hall. Eyes were wide, mouths were agape. No one could believe what they were witnessing.
Even Martha, Daisy, and Arthur were speechless.
Then, snapping out of her daze, Daisy suddenly stood up and shouted, her voice cutting through the silence. "That’s it, little one! Show them whose brother you are!"
She clapped proudly, and though she started alone, her applause soon sparked a roaring wave that spread through the entire gallery.
"He... he actually passed," Arthur muttered, still stunned.
He’d wanted his brother to succeed, of course, but the way Derek did it... It was beyond anything imaginable. Unbelievable unless witnessed with one’s own eyes. It was a feat that defied every precedent in the history.
But just as the crowd began to celebrate, just as everyone accepted this as a mont that would go down in history....
Cecilia unsheathed her sword.
The tallic sound of steel sliding free cut sharply through the air....
Schlk!
Derek didn’t miss it. He slowly turned his head toward her and unexpectedly, a smile curved up his lips.
’So, she’s finally ready to make her move.
Just as I expected.....
She didn’t attack with the others as it would’ve been cowardly, unfair. But now that only the two of us are left, even though we could both pass, she won’t let this chance for an ono on one duel to slip by. My very existence has shaken her confidence... and she needs to prove sothing.’
anwhile, when she saw him smile, Cecilia’s brows furrowed. ’Is he thinking I’m as pathetic as those losers he just defeated?’
She raised her right arm across her body and slashed her sword in a swift horizontal arc. A crescent wave of frost burst forth, slicing through the air toward Derek.
But Derek was already prepared. He jumped, flipping effortlessly through the air, the icy slash passing harmlessly beneath him.
Up in the gallery, Arthur’s heart skipped a beat. ’Damn it... why did she start attacking all of a sudden? Both of them had already passed! Did Derek sohow provoke her?
He may have crushed those mage kids like it was nothing but she’s on a completely different level. If he dares to think she’s anything like the others, that’ll be the biggest mistake of his life.’
While Arthur looked worried, Daisy was just confused. "What’s going on? Didn’t they both already pass? Why are they still fighting?!" she exclaid, eyes wide.
In the dinsion....
Seeing her attack miss so effortlessly, Cecilia’s irritation only deepened.
"Brace yourself," she warned coldly. "Here it cos."
The ground beneath her cracked as she launched forward, closing the distance in an instant, her sword gleaming as she shot straight toward Derek.
anwhile, Derek let out a quiet sigh. ’It’d be best to avoid this fight for now... but I know that’s not going to happen. No matter what, she won’t let it go.’ With that thought, he steeled himself and shifted into position for what was coming.
The mont Cecilia reached him, she slashed again, but this ti, it wasn’t a ranged arc of energy. It was the blade itself, aiming directly to strike.
Derek twisted his body, narrowly dodging the strike, and retaliated with a punch.
But Cecilia stopped her blade mid-motion and brought it up just in ti to block, holding it firmly with both hands.
Bam!
Both were forced back from the impact.
Cecilia felt a sting shoot up her forearm, the backlash numbing her grip.
Derek winced as pain flared through his knuckles, his fist felt like it had been dipped in fire.
They locked eyes.
And without hesitation, they charged at each other again.
Woosh! Bam! Thud!
Their clash was fierce, violent, yet strangely graceful. It wasn’t brute strength that drove them. It was technique. Experience. Precision. And most importantly... willpower.
Cecilia arced her sword back and brought it down in a powerful strike but Derek closed the gap, grabbing her sword arm mid-swing. He then threw a punch with his free hand, but Cecilia lifted her knee and blocked it, then imdiately countered with a punch of her own.
Derek leapt back, narrowly avoiding the hit.
From the gallery, gasps erupted.
"Wow! I can’t believe what I’m seeing!"
"Are they really just kids?! Those movents... those exchanges.. they look like seasoned fighters!"
"That’s Cecilia Glaciblade for you. She didn’t earn her title as a prodigy for nothing."
"True, but that cultivator kid.. we’ve never even heard of him before. And yet he’s going toe to toe with her like it’s nothing. What will you say about that?!"
The murmurs were growing louder, the tension rising with every passing second.
Inside the rift, Derek and Cecilia charged toward each other again but before their attacks could connect....
a deep, echoing bell rang out.
Gong!
The sound reverberated through the entire area, shaking the very air. Even the participants still fighting inside their own rifts stopped abruptly, startled by the sudden, thunderous chi.
Arthur exhaled in relief, slumping slightly in his seat. "Phew! Thank God. The designated ti for this phase has ended," he whispered.
Daisy, seated beside him, turned her head toward him looking confused as if to ask what that sound ant.
Arthur caught her look and smiled. "It ans he passed. The ti’s up and anyone still inside the rift without being eliminated passes automatically. Unless, of course, their group still has more than three remaining."
The mont his words sank in, both Martha and Daisy’s eyes lit up with excitent.
"Yes! He did it!" Daisy shouted, jumping to her feet, her voice ringing through the gallery, completely unconcerned with what anyone else might think.
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