Lu Shen moved the instant Jin turned to face him.
[ Crimson Horn Drive ]
Fire coiled tight around his frame as he stepped in, not exploding outward but compressing inward, every motion heavy and deliberate. Jin barely brought his guard up before Lu Shen's forearm smashed into it, the impact jolting through his bones.
"You really did fight those two," Lu Shen said, voice steady even as he struck again. "And you're still standing."
Another blow came in low. Jin twisted, knee lifting to intercept. The impact sent a shock through both of them.
Lu Shen smiled faintly. Not mocking. Interested.
"That wasn't luck."
He shifted his weight and drove his elbow forward, heat flaring at the last instant.
Lu Shen stayed inside.
Always inside.
A knee came up. Jin twisted, the blow grazing past his hip—but the follow-up punch was already there, heat snapping at the moment of contact.
[ Furnace Strike ]
Jin slid back half a step.
Lu Shen didn't let it become a step.
He advanced again, boot cutting off Jin's angle, shoulder dropping as he drove forward.
Jin leaned back just enough to avoid the worst of it, the edge of the strike grazing his chest. His jacket smoked as he slid sideways, boots scraping.
"You're generous," Jin said, breath controlled but tight.
Lu Shen stepped in again immediately.
[ Crimson Horn Drive ]
The shoulder charge came fast. Jin met it head-on this time, lightning bursting outward as he braced. The collision cracked like thunder, fire and electricity tearing through the air.
They separated half a step.
Only half.
Lu Shen didn't let it grow.
He threw a short hook, then a knee, then another punch—compact, relentless, no wasted motion. Jin blocked two, slipped one, took the last on his guard and felt his arms scream in protest.
The crowd was fully on its feet now.
"He's not giving him room!" "That's First Academy pressure!"
Lu Shen watched Jin's footing as he attacked, eyes sharp, calculating even in the middle of the exchange.
"You adapt fast," he said. "Faster than most of us did at this level."
Jin ducked under a strike and tried to pivot out.
Lu Shen cut him off instantly.
[ Ember Lock ]
Heat flared around his stance, not exploding but anchoring him, locking the space. Jin felt it—every angle he tried to take was already closed.
"Tch," Jin muttered. "You're annoying."
Lu Shen actually laughed at that, breath fogging slightly in the heat. "I'll take that as praise."
He struck again, harder this time.
Jin absorbed it, lightning crackling louder now as he pushed back, muscles tightening, refusing to give ground. For a brief moment, they were chest to chest—fire and lightning grinding against each other.
Lu Shen's eyes narrowed.
"…You're not breaking," he said quietly.
Jin looked up at him, sparks dancing along his jaw. "Did you think I would?"
The next exchange was brutal.
Lu Shen unleashed a flurry—short punches, elbows, a rising knee—all aimed to overwhelm. Jin answered with tight counters, deflections, bursts of static that forced micro-pauses but never enough to escape.
Neither backed down.
The arena shook with every collision.
Lu Shen finally stepped back a fraction, exhaling once.
"Good," he said, tone serious now. "I was worried it'd end too easily."
Fire surged higher around him.
Jin rolled his shoulders, lightning snapping louder in response.
"Careful," Jin replied. "You might get what you're hoping for."
Lu Shen's grin widened.
"That's exactly why I'm here."
And then he stepped in again—faster, heavier, giving Jin no space at all as the clash escalated once more.
They collided again.
No reset. No pause. Just momentum slamming back into momentum.
Lu Shen drove forward with a short step, forearm crashing into Jin's guard. Jin answered with a burst of lightning that crawled up Lu Shen's arm, but Lu Shen didn't pull back. He powered through it, teeth clenched, fire roaring hotter in response.
The impact sent both of them skidding—then they were back in each other's space before the echo faded.
Again.
And again.
Neither gave an inch.
Jin struck first this time, lightning flaring as he snapped a punch toward Lu Shen's ribs. Lu Shen twisted with it, letting it glance off, then slammed his shoulder in. Jin staggered, caught himself, and countered with a sharp elbow that cracked against Lu Shen's collarbone.
Lu Shen grunted—and smiled.
"That's it," he said, breath heavy now. "That pressure."
He stepped in harder, attacks chaining together faster than before. Jin blocked, parried, slipped, took two hits clean and paid them back with one that snapped Lu Shen's head to the side.
The arena noise blurred into a constant roar.
"They're still trading!" "No one's backing down!"
Fire and lightning tore scars into the platform beneath them. Jin's breathing roughened. Lu Shen's shoulders rose and fell, heat shimmering off his skin.
Lu Shen wiped blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb and looked at it briefly, almost thoughtfully.
"…You know," he said, eyes lifting back to Jin, "people keep acting like you're the only anomaly here."
Jin steadied his stance. "You got a point coming?"
Lu Shen's aura shifted.
The fire didn't surge outward this time.
It sank.
Compressed. Dense. Heavy.
"Don't mistake First Academy for being behind," Lu Shen said calmly. "You're not the only one with more than one card."
Jin's instincts screamed.
[ Sensory Enhancement ]
Too late to stop it. Only enough to brace.
Lu Shen brought both hands together.
[ Crimson Dominion ] — Unique Skill
The fire around him collapsed inward and then detonated—not as an explosion, but as a crushing wave. Heat and force slammed forward in a focused arc, space itself seeming to buckle under the pressure.
Jin crossed his arms, lightning flaring wildly as he tried to meet it head-on.
The clash thundered.
For a split second, they held.
Then Jin was blown backward.
He hit the ground hard, skidding across the platform, lightning flickering and sputtering as he rolled once and came to a stop on one knee—then both.
The arena went quiet in shock.
Lu Shen stood where he was, chest heaving, fire still burning but no longer overflowing. He didn't chase.
He just looked at Jin.
"…You see?" he said, voice steady but strained. "You pushed me to use that."
Jin stayed down for a moment, one hand pressed to the ground, breath uneven. Smoke curled off his sleeve. His muscles trembled—but they didn't give out.
Slowly, he lifted his head.
A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Guess," Jin said hoarsely, "I'm not the only one worth taking seriously."
Lu Shen's eyes sharpened—not satisfied, not relaxed.
Excited.
He settled back into his stance.
"Good," he said. "Then get back up."
Because everyone watching could see it clearly now.
Jin wasn't defeated.
He'd just been knocked down.
And the fight was far from over.