The excitement in the arena hadn't faded yet, but the mood had shifted.
An official's voice echoed clearly through the stands.
"Attention. Due to post-match evaluations and arena recalibration, the award ceremony will be delayed."
A wave of murmurs spread through the audience. Some groaned. Others leaned back, still buzzing from the final fight.
Another announcement followed, calmer and more controlled.
"All finalists are instructed to return to the resting area. Recover your stamina and await further instructions."
Staff moved in quickly. Medics guided the exhausted contestants away from the platform. The arena lights dimmed slightly, settling into a neutral glow.
Jin exhaled and rolled his shoulders once, lightning residue still prickling under his skin. His body felt heavy, but his mind was clear.
That was when an official approached him.
Standard uniform. Silver badge. Calm expression.
"Wei Jin," the man said evenly. "You're required for a post-match physiological evaluation. Routine procedure."
Jin glanced at the badge.
Then past him—toward the instructors' section.
---
At the same time, another official stepped up beside Teacher Han.
"Instructor Han."
Teacher Han turned.
"Director Luo requests your presence," the man said. "It concerns Starfall Tenth Academy's standing after today's results."
The words were polite.
The timing wasn't.
Teacher Han's brows tightened. His gaze shifted instinctively toward Jin, just in time to see him being escorted away by staff.
Their eyes met.
Jin paused.
Then gave a small nod.
I'll be fine.
Teacher Han hesitated. Just a second too long. Something about this felt off—but refusing a direct summons from the director wasn't an option.
"…Alright," he said at last.
As he turned, the official subtly stepped closer, guiding him toward a different corridor.
Behind them, the arena gates slid shut with a low, final sound.
---
Lin Hao hadn't left yet.
He stood near the edge of the arena, arms folded, expression lazy—until he saw Jin again.
Jin wasn't heading toward the usual medical wing.
He was being taken down a side corridor.
Restricted access.
Lin Hao straightened.
"…That's not where evaluations happen."
He didn't follow immediately.
He waited until the escorts were far enough ahead.
Then he moved, slipping into the corridor with quiet, measured steps, keeping his distance.
Something was wrong.
And Lin Hao had learned a long time ago not to ignore that feeling.
---
The corridors beneath the arena were silent.
Too silent.
Jin noticed the direction almost immediately.
"This isn't the medical wing," he said calmly.
The official in front didn't slow down. "Temporary facilities. Crowd control."
Jin didn't argue.
But his senses stayed sharp.
They stopped in front of a plain white door. No markings. No cameras. No visible monitoring arrays.
The door slid open.
Inside, the room was spotless. Cold. Smelled faintly of disinfectant.
A woman in a lab coat stood near a metal table, preparing a syringe filled with faintly glowing liquid.
"Sit," she said without looking up. "Your gene output exceeded safe parameters. This will stabilize it."
Jin didn't move.
[ Sensory Enhancement ]
The world snapped into focus.
The compound inside the syringe wasn't calming.
It was invasive.
Violent.
It clawed at mana pathways instead of soothing them.
Forbidden.
A banned combat enhancer—one that permanently altered a gene user's mana signature.
Enough to taint him.
Enough to erase everything he'd earned.
Jin exhaled slowly.
"That's not a stabilizer."
The room froze.
The woman finally looked up.
One of the guards shifted behind Jin.
"Don't make this difficult," he said.
The woman sighed, irritation flickering across her face. "Just hold him."
The guard reached out.
Jin moved.
He twisted aside, elbow snapping up and knocking the arm away. The syringe slipped from the woman's fingers and shattered against the wall, liquid hissing as it splashed across the floor.
The door slammed shut.
Locks engaged.
Jin straightened, lightning crackling faintly along his fingers as he looked at them.
A guard lunged first. Jin slipped inside the swing and drove his elbow into the man's ribs. Bone cracked. The guard folded with a grunt.
Another came from the side.
Jin caught his wrist, twisted, and used the momentum to slam him shoulder-first into the wall. The impact rattled the room. The man slid down, groaning.
The last guard hesitated.
Lightning crept along Jin's fingers.
"Still want to do this?" Jin asked calmly.
The guard swallowed—and charged anyway.
"So," he said quietly, "this is how you planned to do it."
Outside the room, Lin Hao stopped short.
He'd heard the glass break.
His eyes narrowed.
"…Yeah," he muttered. "Definitely not an evaluation."
And then he stepped forward.
Elsewhere beneath the arena, Teacher Han stopped walking.
The corridor was empty. Too empty.
He turned slowly to face Director Luo.
"So," Teacher Han said, voice flat. "What is this really about?"
Director Luo stood with his hands behind his back, posture relaxed, face unreadable. For a moment, he didn't answer.
Then he smiled.
"Do you remember the NCEE, twenty years ago?"
Teacher Han's eyes narrowed. "That has nothing to do with today."
"Oh, but it does," Luo replied lightly. "It has everything to do with today."
Teacher Han didn't speak.
Luo continued, voice calm, almost reflective. "I was the top seed that year. One of Starfall city top academy. Three-star at entry. Everyone said I was guaranteed to win."
His smile thinned.
"Then a nobody from a third-rate school beat me."
Teacher Han's jaw tightened.
"That 'nobody' was you."
Silence stretched between them.
"I lost," Luo said. "On the main stage. Cleanly. Publicly." His eyes flickered. "And then you didn't stop there."
Teacher Han's voice was cold. "You used a forbidden enhancer."
"You reported me," Luo snapped, the calm cracking for the first time. "You forced an investigation. You dragged my name through the dirt."
"You did that yourself," Teacher Han shot back. "I just made sure the truth came out."
Luo laughed. Sharp. Bitter.
"The truth?" He stepped closer. "I lost everything. My academy expelled me. My future vanished. All because a low-school student wanted to play hero."
Teacher Han stared at him. "So that's why you're doing this?"
Luo's eyes hardened. "I don't like people like you," he said quietly. "And I despise what you represent."
"Students crawling up from the mud," Luo continued, voice low and venomous. "Challenging the order. Making the elites look weak."
Teacher Han's expression changed.
"You're framing Jin," he said slowly.
Luo didn't deny it.
"I'm correcting a mistake," he replied. "The same mistake I made—letting someone like you rise."
Teacher Han stepped forward, fury burning through his composure. "Where is he?"
Luo met his gaze.
Then smiled.
"Right now?" he said softly. "Your student is learning what happens when low schools forget their place."
Teacher Han's fists clenched.
"Why tell me all this now?" he demanded.
Luo's smile widened.
"Because," he said, turning away, "this time—you won't be able to stop it."
He paused at the end of the corridor and looked back once.
"Your student will pay," Luo said. "For what you did to me."