–CRACK!
A crack.
Both the Marquis and Elder Kael turned their attention toward the source of the sound. Elder Xue’s hand was clenched around the armrest of her chair, her fingers digging in with enough force that the finely crafted wood had splintered beneath her grip. Her face was a mask of controlled fury, her eyes narrowed as she watched the arena, her gaze locked onto Lucavion’s figure.
Elder Kael’s mouth curled into a smug smile, relishing the sight of his rival’s frustration. “Troubling, isn’t it?” he drawled, his voice laced with barely concealed satisfaction. “It appears that your so-called ‘Glacial Bloom’ wilted in the face of a true flame.”
Elder Xue’s gaze remained fixed on the arena, though the chill in her eyes spoke volumes. “One fight means nothing,” she replied icily, her voice low and controlled, though a tremor of anger simmered beneath her words. “Skill cannot be measured by a single bout.”
Kael’s smile widened, his tone dripping with mock sympathy. “Ah, but this was more than just a single bout, wouldn’t you agree? To lose so thoroughly, to be outmatched so easily… one might even question the quality of her training.”
Marquis Ventor raised a hand, his gaze thoughtful as he intervened smoothly, “Indeed, the young man displayed remarkable control and precision, yet every fight is but one stepping stone on a much larger path.” His tone was neutral, aimed at diffusing the mounting tension, though the faint gleam in his eyes betrayed his amusement.
Elder Xue’s grip on the armrest loosened slightly, though her posture remained rigid, her pride still stinging from the public defeat of her sect’s disciple. “This is far from over,” she murmured, her tone carrying a hint of threat. “The Cloud Heavens Sect does not yield so easily.”
Kael leaned back, folding his arms with a smug air of satisfaction. “We’ll see if there’s anything left to yield once the tournament progresses. Fire, after all, only grows stronger when fed with false pride.”
As the elders exchanged their veiled barbs, Marquis Ventor turned his gaze back to the arena, where Lucavion stood tall amidst the crowd’s awe and whispers. This fight had only deepened the intrigue surrounding him, and the Marquis knew well that this young fighter’s path would no longer be easy.
But the question was…
‘Is he worth offending the Cloud Heavens Sect?’
His mind’s gears were working….
********
Valeria had quietly settled into her spot within the fighters’ lounge, a designated space away from the raucous crowds, reserved only for the remaining competitors.
With the tournament dwindling down to its final rounds, this area provided an intimate and direct view of the arena, allowing the fighters to observe each other’s abilities firsthand.
From her seat, Valeria could see Lucavion step confidently into the arena, a slight, familiar smirk playing on his face as he faced Kara Avren.
‘This guy…..Now, I am starting to understand him, I feel like?’
She noted the way he held himself, that relaxed arrogance tempered with unwavering control. His demeanor contrasted sharply with Kara’s disciplined intensity, her every motion honed and purposeful as she prepared her stance.
‘But, regardless, this girl is strong.’
The faint blue aura surrounding her blade—a signature of the Cloud Heavens Sect’s techniques—caught Valeria’s eye, reminding her of the raw but refined mana Kara possessed.
Valeria observed closely, her expression unreadable, though internally she was dissecting each movement, each clash of blades.
She had witnessed Lucavion’s ruthless efficiency before, but seeing it from this distance and angle, the fluidity of his strikes and the absolute precision with which he maneuvered began to sink in anew. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
It was clear he wasn’t here merely to compete; he was here to dominate, perhaps to make a statement that extended far beyond a mere tournament victory.
As Kara’s attacks intensified, Valeria could see her frustration mounting. No matter how elegantly Kara wielded her mana or the techniques from her sect, Lucavion’s unyielding defense met each strike with unbothered ease, almost mocking in its efficiency.
This scene stirred something in Valeria; she felt a mix of admiration and intrigue, mingling with a quiet sense of unease. Lucavion’s control over spacing and distance, paired with his taunting remarks, had completely unraveled Kara, who had now forsaken her earlier grace for desperate attacks.
When Lucavion countered Kara’s strongest technique, breaking apart her icy Lotus Petal Severance with nothing more than a practiced flick of his estoc, Valeria’s eyes narrowed, studying the finesse in his technique.
‘This is…..This is why, I lost at that time….’
She mused, her jaw tightening slightly. Lucavion hadn’t even needed to rely on mana, relying instead on pure technique, a mastery so complete that it left little room for his opponents to respond. It was like he was on another plane of swordsmanship, wielding his blade with a refined skill she had yet to fully grasp.
“Wow…” she whispered under her breath, still processing the scene that had just unfolded.
A sharp, guttural noise broke through her thoughts. The tense sound of clenched fists, the quiet rage simmering in the air, pulled her back to the present.
She turned her head slightly and noticed a small group of disciples from the Cloud Heavens Sect, their eyes narrowed with barely concealed hatred as they stared at Lucavion’s distant figure. Murmurs of anger and quiet, venom-laden threats slipped from between their gritted teeth.
“Arrogant bastard,” one of them spat, her voice low and trembling with barely suppressed rage. “He’ll pay for this. Mark my words.”
“He doesn’t know who he’s messing with. The Cloud Heavens Sect won’t stand for this,” muttered another, her gaze dark with resentment.
Valeria watched them quietly, recognizing the frustration and wounded pride in their eyes. Lucavion had humiliated Kara—not just defeated her, but broken through her strongest moves with such ease that it almost seemed disrespectful.
And Kara, the once-composed Glacial Bloom, had been forced to yield in front of the entire crowd, her pride and reputation in tatters.
But even as she absorbed the disciples’ anger, Valeria felt a cold clarity settle over her own thoughts.
‘At the end of the day,’
she reasoned
, ‘this only happened because Kara was too weak to withstand him.’
The raw truth of that thought surprised even herself, but it felt solid, undeniable.
‘If she couldn’t hold her ground, if she let herself fall into his traps and lose control, that’s on her.’
In this tournament, weakness had no place. Watching Lucavion’s display had only reinforced that for her. If Kara had truly been prepared, she wouldn’t have succumbed so easily to her anger, nor would she have made mistakes that exposed her vulnerabilities.
‘No….regardless of what she did, her level was simply not enough….’
Valeria’s thoughts drifted back to Kara’s movements, replaying each of her swings, the flow of her mana, and the stance she’d held at the beginning of the fight.
The power of Kara’s mana had been undeniable, a potent force that filled the arena with a bone-chilling aura. It was the kind of raw strength that only high-level cultivation could provide.
But beneath that icy energy, something was missing—a cohesion, a true foundation to support the power she wielded.
‘Her cultivation level must be advanced,’
Valeria mused, recalling the concentrated aura that had encased Kara’s blade, a chilling blue light dense enough to almost freeze the air.
‘But what good is that power if her technique can’t back it up?’
Kara’s strikes had been filled with force, but her stance and movements had been slightly misaligned, lacking the stability and focus needed to wield that kind of strength effectively.
Valeria had noticed it right from the start: Kara’s form wavered when she channeled too much mana, her movements becoming erratic and less precise. It was a flaw Lucavion had picked up on immediately, and he’d exploited it, letting her own strength become a liability.
‘If she had the foundation, if her stance was even a fraction steadier…’ Valeria
trailed off, her gaze sharpening. As a knight, she had trained rigorously in the basics—stances drilled until her feet ached, blade angles adjusted until every move was instinct.
Her own family had insisted on perfection, telling her time and again that without solid basics, strength meant nothing. Kara’s performance had shown her just how true that was.
‘But, is this really the extent of Cloud Heavens Sect? Why is there such a disparity?’
That was the question that was on everyone’s mind right now.
One of the strongest disciples of the entire sect, lost in such a pathetic manner? Could this really happen for a sect that was rumored to be filled with talents and could rival the Silver Flame Sect?
For those in the path of Awakening, the process wasn’t just about power; it required balance. Strength alone wasn’t enough. Awakened fighters often had to first stabilize their cultivation after each breakthrough, refining their cores and learning to wield their enhanced mana without becoming reckless.
This stabilization phase—where they became accustomed to the advanced intricacies of their techniques—was just as crucial as reaching a new level.
‘So why didn’t she show any sign of that stability?’
Valeria mused, the question settling heavily in her mind. It wasn’t uncommon for sect disciples to divide their training between combat technique and cultivation.
This practice provided not only stability but also a deep understanding of their power’s limits and applications, preventing their strength from becoming a liability.
Among the stronger sects, this integration of combat and cultivation was finely tuned, each phase meticulously optimized.
She glanced toward the seating area of the Silver Flame Sect, noting their composed expressions and steady demeanors as they observed the scene without a trace of surprise or frustration.
Rather, they looked pleased, and it was understandable. Their enemy got a swift tent in their reputation after all.
CREAK!
Just then, the door opened.
And…..
Lucavion entered.