The dust of the Red Desert doesn't just settle; it lingers, a fine, ochre powder that coats the lungs and stains the soul. As the echoes of the latest clash died down, the air in the arena remained thick with the scent of scorched earth and spent essence.
"You really are something else, City Lord Luo," Xie Jun grunted, his voice a gravelly rasp. He pushed himself off the dirt, his movements stiff and jerky. He spent a moment massaging his forearms, which were still humming with the residual vibration of a strike that should have shattered his bones. "The sheer audacity of that single blade—it's terrifying. It's not just power; it's a force of nature."
Standing beside him, Wei Rui was in no better shape, though he managed to maintain a modicum of dignity. He dusted off his robes, his eyes fixed on the distant silhouette of Luo Zhen. "We should count our lucky stars," Wei Rui muttered, his gaze flickering toward the center of the ring. "Luo Zhen only saw fit to blast us out of bounds. He had the precision to spare our magic treasures. I haven't forgotten what happened yesterday. When Pang Hong went up against him in that life-and-death duel, Luo didn't just win—he pulverized every defensive treasure the man owned. He's a surgeon with a meat cleaver."
"A terrifying man, indeed," Xie Jun agreed, leaning on his friend as they hobbled back toward the spectator benches. As they passed Luo Zhen, Xie Jun caught his eye and offered a conspiratorial wink—a silent acknowledgment of the secrets they shared from the shadows of the Corpse Cave. It was a look that said, I know what you are, and I'm glad I'm on your good side.
Luo Zhen offered a thin, enigmatic smile. He understood the subtext. In this world of shifting allegiances and sudden violence, a shared secret was often more valuable than a signed treaty.
But there was no time for lingering glances. The atmospheric tension shifted as the presiding Demon King stepped into the light, his voice booming across the tiered seating. "The first act is concluded. We move now to the second match of the second round: Silver Ring City versus Cangyue City!"
The announcement acted like a spark in a powder keg. Two figures detached themselves from the Silver Ring delegation, their movements fluid and predatory. Simultaneously, the Green Wolf King and the Savage Bull King stood up from their seats, their massive frames casting long, intimidating shadows across the stone.
"Give them hell, you two!" Xie Jun hollered from the sidelines, his voice full of a desperate sort of hope.
The Green Wolf King gave a sharp, toothy grin. He and the Savage Bull King strode into the center of the arena, their presence radiating raw, unadulterated strength. The Wolf King wielded a massive, spiked mace that looked like it had been forged from the jawbone of a leviathan, while the Bull King held a staff of tempered iron so heavy it left divots in the earth with every step.
The battle began not with a bang, but with a roar. The Green Wolf King swung his mace in wide, devastating arcs, each whistle of the weapon through the air sounding like a localized gale. Beside him, the Savage Bull King was a mountain in motion, his iron staff creating shockwaves that rippled the very air.
Yet, for all their brute force, they were fighting a losing game. The two Demon Kings from Silver Ring City—Li Que and Song Xuan—were masters of a different craft. They moved with a synchronized elegance that bordered on the supernatural. They didn't meet the Wolf and the Bull head-on; they flowed around them like water around stones, their pale-silver spears flashing like lightning in a summer storm.
Within ten minutes, the tide had turned from a struggle to a slaughter. Every time the Green Wolf King swung, he found only air. Every time the Savage Bull King lunged, a spear tip greeted his joints. With a final, coordinated surge of energy, the Silver Ring duo unleashed a dual strike that sent the two behemoths flying backward, tumbling out of the arena's boundaries in a cloud of shame and dust.
"Match over! Silver Ring City claims victory!" the referee shouted.
The stadium went momentarily quiet. The implications were clear. The grand finale, the clash for the highest honor in the Red Desert ranking tournament, would be a showdown between the rising star of Red Rock City, Luo Zhen, and the entrenched, century-long dominance of Silver Ring City.
The Green Wolf King and Savage Bull King trudged back to their seats, their faces a deep shade of crimson. They didn't look at the crowd. Instead, they focused on their feet, the weight of their defeat visible in the slump of their shoulders.
"I've made a right mess of things, haven't I?" the Green Wolf King muttered as he reached Luo Zhen. "Those two... they're on another level. I thought we had the strength, but they had the technique."
"Don't beat yourself up, Old Wolf," Xie Jun said, his voice softer now. "Silver Ring has been the undisputed king of the hill for over a hundred years. They are the benchmark for everything below a Peak Great Demon King. Losing to them isn't a disgrace; it's a rite of passage."
"Doesn't make the 'flesh-cutting' any easier," the Wolf grumbled, referring to the steep tributes and resources they would now be forced to surrender.
Luo Zhen didn't join the conversation. He felt a prickle at the back of his neck—the sensation of being watched by predators. He looked up. In the center of the arena, Li Que and Song Xuan had not moved. They stood shoulder to shoulder, their spears planted in the ground, their eyes locked firmly on him.
Li Que broke the silence, his voice carrying an edge of practiced arrogance. "City Lord Luo! We watched your little display against Yellow Maple City. You were holding back, weren't you? A little cat-and-mouse game to keep the crowd entertained?" He leaned on his spear, a mocking glint in his eye. "Well, Song Xuan and I haven't shown our hands either. Why bother with the formalities? Why wait for the scheduled hour? Let's settle this now and save everyone the trouble of a long-winded afternoon."
Luo Zhen felt a surge of cold interest. He wasn't one for bravado, but he appreciated efficiency. "You want to finish this early?" he asked, his voice calm, cutting through the murmurs of the crowd. "I can live with that. The sooner this is over, the sooner I can get back to things that actually matter."
With a single, effortless leap, Luo Zhen blurred through the air, landing softly in the center of the cratered arena. He stood thirty paces from his opponents. He took a moment to study them. Their spears were identical—forged from a rare, pale-silver alloy that seemed to swallow the sunlight and emit a soft, ghostly hum.
"I've heard the tales, Luo," Li Que said, his posture shifting into a combat stance. "The man who came from nowhere to upend the balance of power. It's a compelling story. But stories usually end when they meet reality. Today, you can use every ounce of that 'terrifying' power Xie Jun was crying about. We want to see if the legend holds up under pressure."
Beside him, Song Xuan didn't speak, but his eyes were alight with a feverish battle intent. He looked like a man who hadn't felt a challenge in a long time and was hungry for the sensation.
Luo Zhen reached for his spatial ring. In a blur of movement and a flash of emerald light, the Green Brilliance Blade appeared in his grip. The air around the blade seemed to warp, the sheer density of the spiritual energy contained within the weapon manifesting as a visible shimmer.
"If that's what you want," Luo Zhen said, his voice dropping an octave, "then far be it from me to disappoint."
He didn't wait for a signal. He moved.
"Tyrant Sovereign Strike!"
The scream of the blade through the air was deafening. Luo Zhen swung the weapon in a vertical arc, and from the tip of the blade, a hundred-meter-long shadow of pure green energy erupted. It wasn't just a projectile; it was a localized cataclysm. The ground beneath the strike shattered instantly, the stones pulverized into sand before the energy even touched them.
Li Que and Song Xuan didn't flinch. They had anticipated this level of violence. With a synchronized shout, they unleashed their own techniques.
"Hundred Shadows Spear!"
"Cloud Shuttle Spear!"
Li Que's spear became a blur, thrusting out thousands of silver afterimages that formed a defensive wall of piercing light. Song Xuan, meanwhile, spun his weapon, condensing his essence into layers of roiling white clouds that seemed to have the density of lead.
The collision was like the world ending.
A blinding sphere of white and green light consumed the center of the arena. The sound followed a heartbeat later—a roar so profound it felt as though it were tearing the sky apart. A thirty-meter crater opened up where they stood, the shockwave rippling outward and nearly knocking the spectators from their benches. Dust, smoke, and ionized air filled the space, obscuring everything in a choking gray veil.
"Who's left?" a voice cried out from the stands.
As the wind whipped away the debris, the three figures became visible. They were exactly where they had been. Luo Zhen stood with his blade lowered, the green light still pulsing rhythmically. Li Que and Song Xuan stood together, their breathing slightly elevated but otherwise unharmed.
"A draw?" a Demon King whispered in disbelief. "He took on both of them at once and walked away?"
Li Que wiped a smudge of soot from his cheek, a cold smile playing on his lips. "Impressive, City Lord Luo. Genuinely impressive. I can see why the others fell. That strike... it weighed a Peak Great Demon King behind it. But here's the problem." He glanced at Song Xuan, then back at Luo Zhen. "We still haven't gone all out."
He took a step forward, his aura beginning to swell, turning the air heavy and cold. "We have a combined martial technique, Luo. A skill that merges our two souls into a single point of destruction. If we use it, there won't be enough of you left to bury. If you surrender now, we'll let you keep your dignity. We'll even waive the usual humiliation rituals. But make no mistake: Silver Ring City is going to win this."
Luo Zhen looked at them, and for the first time, he let out a short, dry laugh. "You think that was my limit? You think I've shown you my best card?" He tilted his head, his eyes suddenly becoming distant and cold. "I have things in my repertoire that would make your combined technique look like a child's toy."
Li Que's smile faltered. "Enough boasting. If you have a move, show it. Otherwise, prepare to fall."
"As you wish," Luo Zhen whispered.
The transition was instantaneous. Before Li Que or Song Xuan could even draw a breath to initiate their secret technique, Luo Zhen's eyes underwent a terrifying transformation. They didn't just glow; they ignited with a pure, blinding radiance.
Illusionary Light Eyes.
The world didn't explode this time. It simply vanished for the two spear-wielding kings.
For Li Que, the arena disappeared. The crowd, the heat, and the sound of his own breathing were replaced by a vast, infinite void of white light. He felt his limbs go numb. He tried to scream, but he had no mouth. He tried to move, but he had no body. He was a speck of consciousness adrift in a sea of nothingness. Beside him, in his own private hell, Song Xuan experienced the same existential erasure.
To the audience, it was the strangest thing they had ever seen. One moment, the two Silver Ring leaders were at the height of their power, ready to unleash a world-ending spear strike. The next, they simply... stopped. Their eyes went vacant, their spears sagged, and they stood there like statues carved from ice.
Luo Zhen didn't hesitate. He walked across the shattered ground with a calm, measured stride. He reached Li Que and, with a flick of his wrist, brought the Green Brilliance Blade up. He didn't swing. He simply rested the razor-sharp edge against the side of Li Que's neck.
Then, he blinked.
The illusion shattered. Li Que gasped, his lungs burning as if he had been underwater for an hour. He instinctively tried to jump back, but the sudden sting of cold steel against his throat stopped him dead. A thin line of blood welled up where the blade met his skin.
He looked up into Luo Zhen's eyes. There was no anger there—only a terrifying, clinical detachment.
"How?" Li Que rasped, his voice trembling. "What did you do?"
"The battle was over the moment you looked at me," Luo Zhen said softly. "I could have taken your head five seconds ago. Do you want to continue, or shall we talk about the terms of your surrender?"
Li Que looked at his spear, then at his partner, who was still blinking away the fog of the illusion. The realization hit him like a physical blow. They hadn't just been beaten; they had been toyed with.
"We... we surrender," Li Que whispered, the words tasting like ash. "Silver Ring City yields."
The silence that followed was broken only by the host's voice, which sounded uncharacteristically small. "The final match is concluded. Red Rock City's Luo Zhen is the victor and the new third-ranked power of the Red Desert!"
The aftermath was a blur of political maneuvering and forced smiles. As the sun began to set over the arena, the leaders of the defeated cities gathered around Luo Zhen.
"A deal is a deal," Li Que said, having recovered some of his composure. "For the next twelve months, one of our primary spirit veins will be under your jurisdiction. You can mine it dry if you have the manpower."
Xie Jun and King Wu approached as well, offering their shares of taxes and tributes. They spoke of yearly quotas and long-term extraction rights.
Luo Zhen listened to them, but his mind was already miles away. He looked at the horizon, toward the distant silhouette of the Manzhou Continent. This island, this desert—it was a pond. And he was growing far too large for it.
"A year is too long," Luo Zhen interrupted, cutting through Xie Jun's explanation of tax brackets.
"I beg your pardon?" Li Que asked.
"I don't want your mining rights for a year. I don't want a percentage of your taxes paid out over twelve months," Luo Zhen said, his gaze returning to them with a piercing intensity. "I want the total value of those tributes converted into high-grade spirit herbs and pills. Now. Within the week."
The city lords looked at each other in confusion. "But... that's not how the ranking rewards work," Xie Jun stammered. "It's about long-term stability, building the foundation of your city—"
"I'm not interested in building a foundation," Luo Zhen said, his voice carrying the weight of a man who knew his time was short. "I have a journey to make, and I need the fuel today, not next year. Give me the pills, and we're square."
Li Que looked at the young man standing before him. He saw the ambition, the raw power, and the restless energy of someone who was destined to leave this place behind. He nodded slowly. "As you wish, City Lord Luo. We'll have the resources delivered to your manor by week's end."
Luo Zhen turned away, his cloak fluttering in the cooling desert wind. He had won the tournament, but the real fight—the one that would take him across the ocean to the heart of the world—was only just beginning.