The air after Phase Two felt wrong.
Not heavy.
Not quiet.
Watching.
Fourteen students remained standing in the arena. Everyone else had been carried away by medics or dragged aside by instructors. The stands were silent now, thousands of eyes fixed on the survivors.
Above them, the Federation seal shimmered as the next directive unfolded.
PHASE THREE — COMBAT DOMINANCE
The platform expanded outward, reshaping itself into a ring of floating islands connected by collapsing bridges. Energy storms twisted between them, warping space and bending gravity.
Objective: Eliminate all remaining opponents.
Ranking based on final standing.
No more survival.
No more endurance.
Only victory.
Zhao Jie's gaze flicked toward Kali.
This time, there was no mockery in his eyes.
Only calculation.
The horn sounded.
The battle exploded.
Two students lunged at each other on the nearest platform, shockwaves ripping through the air. Another was hurled off the island entirely, vanishing into the storm below.
Kali moved.
His body was damaged, exhausted, burning from within — and yet every motion felt sharp. Controlled. Deadly.
He leapt across a collapsing bridge as energy blasts detonated behind him. His opponent emerged from the smoke, launching a blade of condensed force.
Kali slipped inside the strike and drove his fist into the man's abdomen.
The student folded.
Kali didn't stop.
He crossed another bridge, intercepted a second attacker, shattered their guard, and sent them flying into the void.
Three left on his side of the ring.
Two on Zhao Jie's.
The arena shrank as platforms fell away.
Zhao Jie eliminated his opponent with a brutal exchange that cracked the island beneath them.
Only four remained.
Kali stood on one floating fragment, blood dripping from his knuckles.
Zhao Jie stood across from him on another, his aura blazing.
The remaining two hesitated.
They knew what came next.
One made the mistake of attacking Kali first.
It ended instantly.
The last student fled toward Zhao Jie.
Zhao Jie cut him down without looking.
Silence fell.
Only two remained.
Kali.
Zhao Jie.
Their islands drifted closer.
The storm howled.
The world waited.