Lu Zhuo took a deep breath and muttered under his breath—
"Time to end this… once and for all!"
His magic erupted violently, flooding his dual blades and legs with a surge of blazing power. He stomped forward, the ground cracking beneath his feet. Reversing his grip on both blades, he leaned in, the right blade sweeping up from below and the left from above. The crossing arcs carved a burning "X" in the air.
The two forces converged at the intersection, detonating with a deafening shockwave.
Jian Chen's eyes narrowed slightly. He could feel it—Lu Zhuo had poured everything into this strike.
At the same moment, Jian Chen injected all of his own magic into his sword.
Lu Zhuo dashed forward like a living, blazing cross-shaped blade of light, hurtling straight toward Jian Chen at incredible speed.
Jian Chen gripped his sword with both hands, pointing the blade skyward before bringing it down in a decisive strike—
Lu Zhuo — Annihilating Cross!!
Jian Chen — Sky-Rending Slash!!
The two sword energies collided mid-air. Power intertwined into a spiraling vortex, sucking in dust and shattered stones. The ground split open, shockwaves roared, blinding white light burst outward.
Inside that glaring light, Lu Zhuo's cross-shaped blade of energy shattered inch by inch.
The Sky-Rending Slash fell like a meteor, slicing through the storm and crashing directly into Lu Zhuo.
With a thunderous blast, his body was sent hurtling back several dozen meters before collapsing onto one knee. His chest heaved violently, his breathing chaotic. Then he toppled backward, limbs spread in a giant X on the ground.
Jian Chen's magic slowly faded from his sword as he approached him with steady steps. His expression showed rare satisfaction—
"Hmm. Not dead."
Lying on the ground, Lu Zhuo asked weakly,
"Why didn't you eliminate me?"
Jian Chen gave a small smile.
"Eliminating you now would be a waste. Stay alive. I hope we meet again in the final rounds."
With that, he turned and left, leaving Lu Zhuo lying alone.
Lu Zhuo muttered to himself:
"Total defeat… And he's asking me to survive until the finals? Really? I can't even move right now. Please, let me not get attacked before I recover…"
Time jumped to the fourth day.
As usual, Tianlan wandered the jungle. Suddenly, a fierce battle aura—just as intense as the one he sensed yesterday—rippled through the air.
But this time, he felt something darker… more violent… filled with killing intent.
Curiosity pushed him forward.
When he arrived, the scene before him left him stunned—
A giant gorilla was locked in a brutal fight with a man.
That man was Kuang Yan. His hands had transformed into pitch-black claws, and black scales covered his arms.
The gorilla threw heavy punches, roaring:
"Kong… Punch!!"
But Kuang Yan only sneered. His claws intercepted each strike with pinpoint precision, counterattacking with even greater force.
Blood sprayed from the gorilla's hands, deep claw marks multiplying rapidly, staining the ground red. As its blood loss increased, its consciousness began to blur.
"Gorilla… fights for the honor of warriors!!"
It let out a final roar and threw a desperate full-power punch.
Kuang Yan crossed his arms before his chest, taking the blow head-on.
Then he grinned—
"Not bad… but I'm bored now."
Gathering magic into both hands, his claws grew sharper and larger. With a flurry of slashes, he carved deep wounds all over the gorilla, bringing it to its knees. Kuang Yan stepped forward, seized its neck with his left hand, and lifted it off the ground.
"Is that it? Looks like we're done here. How dull."
His right claw pierced straight into the gorilla's chest, ripping through its heart.
The gorilla screamed, thrashed, then fell limp.
Clan Head Hong Jin of the Honglian Family shouted in fury—
"Wasn't that too much!?"
The Beast King clan head, Kuang Chen, watched coldly, offering no response.
Tianlan's stomach churned with nausea.
That was when Kuang Yan finally noticed him.
He chuckled—
"Oh? Another little insect."
Tianlan's heart lurched—
Oh no!!
He spun around and sprinted away, but Kuang Yan instantly appeared on his left. A claw swipe came tearing toward him.
Unable to dodge, Tianlan raised both arms to block.
The impact sent him skidding back several steps.
Remaining calm, he studied the attack patterns. Kuang Yan's movements, though fast, followed certain arcs. Tianlan began predicting and dodging, but he knew—
He couldn't keep evading forever.
He made his decision.
Slipping past the next claw strike, he countered with a punch. His short thrust punch landed on Kuang Yan's arm—
But pain shot through his fist.
"Ow—so hard! Is this still a human arm? Is that magic too?"
Kuang Yan smirked.
"That all you've got? The gorilla actually managed to hurt me. You're just scratching an itch."
Switching tactics, Tianlan used his legs. A sweeping kick struck Kuang Yan's waist, finally drawing a wince—but Kuang Yan retaliated with a claw swipe.
Tianlan noticed something: on every impact site, black scales were growing.
His attacks triggered pain feedback every time they hit the scales, gradually slowing his movements.
Before long, Tianlan was covered in claw wounds, just as battered as the gorilla.
Kuang Yan grabbed his neck with his left hand and lifted him off the ground—just as he did with the gorilla.
But Tianlan's mind didn't stop working.
He grimaced inwardly—
"So damn tough… If only I had a move that could break through his scales…"
Then—like a flash—
Jian Chen's Sky-Rending Slash form surfaced in his mind!
He slowly raised his right hand, fingers pressed together like a blade.
Kuang Yan didn't bother reacting, preparing to stab his right claw into Tianlan's heart.
Tianlan roared—
"SKY-RENDING SLASH!!"
——To be continued.