170: Chapter 170 18 to 9

Dragon Country · Su Qing (Arena 8)

The chill was bone-piercing.

Su Qing's Thunder Fire flickered at her fingertips, like a candle in the wind.

Andrei stood in the center of the arena, which was frozen into crystal. The cold air around him solidified, and the frost spreading beneath his feet expanded outwards like a living thing.

'Frozen Domain.' His voice was low, carrying the distinct chill of the Arctic Circle.

Su Qing gritted her teeth, Lightning Radiance crackling as she attempted to break through the siege of cold. But every burst of Thunder Fire was weakened layer by layer by the plummeting temperature.

She could see her own lightning slowing down in the air, like frozen streaks of light.

Andrei raised his hand, and ice spikes hung suspended in mid-air, thick and dense.

In the first round of the Thunder Fire exchange, Su Qing forced back three waves of attacks. But by the second round, her spiritual energy was bottoming out.

An ice spike grazed her shoulder; before the beads of blood could even drip down, they had already frozen into ice.

'Your Thunder Fire is very intense.' Andrei retracted the ice spikes. There was no disdain in his tone, only the respect of a warrior. 'But the ice Domain can extinguish fire. Next time we meet, I will be stronger.'

Su Qing stood up, clutching her shoulder, and looked up at the tall Polar Bear Country warrior. She suddenly smiled, 'Next time, my lightning will burn through your ice.'

Andrei was slightly stunned, then nodded.

It was a promise between warriors.

Dragon Country · Chu Yao (Arena 12)

Chu Yao's opponent was Catherine from Eagle Country.

The golden-haired female warrior held a slender sword; the tip of the blade did not raise a sharp edge, but rather layers of sound waves.

Chu Yao's Crimson Flame dual blades slashed into the sound waves, only to feel as if they had sunk into a quagmire; every swing was drained of its force by the strange frequency.

'Your flames are very hot.' Catherine dodged a scorching Saber Qi, her slender sword tapping lightly, causing the sound waves to ripple out into tangible form. 'But sound is everywhere.'

Chu Yao narrowed her eyes, crossing her blades as the crimson flames surged.

She refused to accept defeat.

But in the end, it was to no avail, and she was defeated by Catherine.

Dragon Country · Murong Wu (Arena 19)

The sound of the Star Disk shattering was as crisp as if something had snapped.

Nafis stared at the new cracks on his Star Disk, his eyes complex. Last time, when Said lost to Murong Wu, he thought it was luck.

This time, he had come with a more serious and precise prediction, yet he still could not change the outcome, defeated by the same Star Orbit.

Faint starlight still lingered on Murong Wu's fingertips. She did not press the attack, but just watched her opponent from Pharaoh Country quietly.

'Your Star Disk...' Nafis spoke, his voice hoarse. 'Why can it penetrate my predictions?'

Murong Wu was silent for a moment, then answered irrelevantly, 'Astrology is not for prediction; it is for seeing oneself.'

Nafis was stunned.

Murong Wu turned and left, leaving behind the dissolving star chart and a completely convinced opponent.

Dragon Country · Zhang Wen (Arena 36)

The moment Ivan's ice and snow Domain unfolded, Zhang Wen moved.

He did not retreat, but instead took a step forward. With this step, Lightning Radiance spread from under his feet, not the usual purple lightning, but a strange, nearly transparent hue.

'Ten Thousand Phenomena Return to Void,' Zhang Wen said softly.

Ivan's pupils constricted—he couldn't feel his ice.

The cold air that should have frozen everything, the moment it touched that transparent Lightning Radiance, seemed to have its properties forcibly twisted by some power.

The ice was no longer ice, but had become something between lightning and ice—Thunder Ice.

Zhang Wen raised his hand, and the sky-filling 'Thunder Ice' condensed into a long spear, the tip pointing directly at Ivan's throat.

'Your lightning...' Ivan said with difficulty, 'can melt all things.'

Zhang Wen did not answer; he simply retracted the spear and turned to leave.

Behind him, Ivan knelt on the ground, unable to get up for a long time.

Rome Country · Caesar (Arena 41)

Dark horse!

This was everyone's evaluation of Caesar. In the last round, he defeated a seeded player with a stunning 'Roman Meteor.' In this round, his opponent was Arden from Eagle Country—a heavy warrior known for his defense.

Arden's 'Absolute Barrier' had never been broken head-on. That giant shield formed of spiritual energy was said to be able to withstand ten full-force strikes without breaking.

Caesar stood at the other end of the arena, looking at the giant shield that occupied nearly half the arena, and suddenly smiled.

'Romans never attack shields,' he said. 'We attack the person.'

As his voice fell, his figure disappeared from where he stood.

Arden's pupils constricted—it wasn't teleportation, it was pure explosive power.

Beneath that man's feet, the ground shattered into spiderweb-like cracks, and his figure had already appeared behind the side of the giant shield.

'What—?!'

Caesar's fist slammed down.

There were no fancy Moves, no dazzling fluctuations of spiritual energy, just one punch.

But when this punch landed, the air was torn apart with a sharp whistling sound, and the defensive spiritual energy on Arden's side collapsed as if it were made of paper.

'Roman Meteor' was not a Move that descended from the sky—it was Caesar's fist itself.

Arden flew backward, smashing through the arena wall.

Caesar retracted his fist, shook his wrist, and looked at the referee: 'Did I win?'

The referee was stunned for a second before hurriedly raising the flag.

In the distant viewing area, several gazes landed on this Roman man simultaneously. Arthur narrowed his eyes, Andrei frowned slightly, and Chiyo's hand pressed onto the hilt of her sword without a sound.

Caesar seemed to sense it, turned his head to look in that direction, and grinned.

In that smile was naked Battle Intent.

The second round had concluded.

When the list of those advancing was posted, the crowd was buzzing with discussion.

Dragon Country: two people, Murong Wu, Zhang Wen.

Eagle Country: two people, Arthur, Catherine.

Polar Bear Country: one person, Andrei.

Kangaroo Country: one person, Corona.

Korea Country: one person, Park Ji-yeon.

Rome Country: one person, Caesar.

Sakura Country: one person, Chiyo.

A total of nine people.

But more people were discussing another name—Caesar.

Rome Country, dark horse.

Two rounds, two victories, two seeded players fallen under his fist. No one knew where his limit was, just as no one knew how many shields that 'Roman Meteor' could shatter.

When Murong Wu passed by the bulletin board, her gaze paused on that name for a moment.

Caesar.

She recalled the gaze the man had cast from afar when the last round ended—not a provocation, not a probe, but a pure, almost scorching stare.

Like one star seeing another star.

Murong Wu lowered her eyes, the starlight on her fingertips flickering slightly.

In the third round, who would she meet?

Night fell, and the arena returned to silence. But beneath the undercurrent, nine gazes pierced through the night, looking at each other from afar.