The grand observatory hall of the Floating Lotus Palace shimmered with projection mirrors formed from shimmering lotus petals, each suspended midair in a rotating constellation. Within each projection was streaming live feed from inside the Little World — scenes of chaos, survival, team work and stunning displays of power. Around the curved dais stood the Clan Heads, elite sect elders, and the Royal Observers of the Lotus Palace. Silken robes rustled.
Tempers simmered.
Elder Umo stood with arms crossed, glowering in particular at one screen; showing Yogrek Grimbark lifting a screaming youth by the collar and wrenching the Token from his spirit thread.
Elder Zulin of the Golden Boulder Clan chuckled behind his thick beard. "What? The boy should be grateful Yogrek left him breathing." Elder Mei cut in sharply, "There is a difference between strength and cruelty. That child Cultivator was already yielding." Across the room, Clan Leader Tsu of the Thousand Cuts Clan narrowed her eyes as Zhenba's feed flickered — showing him dual-wielding sabers and severing two Tokens in one devastating blur. "Zhenba has already claimed two Tokens.
If he keeps carving through the ranks like this, there won't be a tournament left." Matriarch Vanessa, of the Frozen Hearts clan, pursed her lips, arms folded. "Let the brutes swing and burn themselves out. True path cultivators endure. Elyahna remains untouched. Unchallenged."
A few murmurs rose from rival factions. Head Priestess Rai of the Dusk Spire clan and sister of Vaylan spoke, "We cannot pretend this is a fair trial of cultivation anymore. The strong are preying upon the weak. What will be left by the final phase?" The King of the Floating Lotus Palace, was seated atop a lotus throne above the others, lifted a hand, and silence rippled through the room like falling bells.
"High Priestess Rai, seldom is life fair in any matter. The Will of the Continent itself has intervened. The Prodigies have been plucked out of our hand and placed in a real world environment, with real danger and real threats. Now the prodigies are free to act un-impeded by our limiting rule set. The air remained tense as the projections continued rotating — each one telling a story of hope, violence, or collapse.
Yogrex Grimbark towered over a teenage boy cultivator, one hand gripping the Token, the other hoisting his granite hammer in casual threat. Yogrek sneered, "Inside this world, there's no sect law, no elders, no mommy to run to. You want to walk out alive? You give me that Token."
The boy hesitated—qi trembling, breath short. Yogrek snatched the Token, causing the boy to collapse backward. Yogrek snorted, "You're lucky. Most don't get to crawl away." He turned, throwing the Token into the air. It hovered behind him now — his second conquest. Five clicks away near the volcanic region of the island a defensive fortress built by five minor coalitions stood tall in the blazing heat — surrounded by jagged magma trenches and stone walls.
Suddenly—
BOOOOM!
A beast came crashing down the magma valley! It was a Molten Bull Minotaur on four legs, sixteen feet tall, its body dripping with lava. The fortress and encampment of the cultivators had aroused its ire. It charged forward with an Earth-Grade weapon! A spiked Wrecking Ball attached to a forged iron chain. Its bellow shook the canyon.
CRASH!!
The wrecking ball slammed into the side of the erected earth qi walls! Obliterating a full defensive quadrant. Cultivators screamed. Some launched desperate attacks. Others fled into the nearby jungle! One defender screamed,
"IT'S A GUARDIAN BEAST!"
Another elder gasped as the fortress collapsed in flame and fury—"There must be a Heaven-Tier treasure in the magma region!" The Bull Minotaur roared, breathing molten breath that melted a fleeing cultivator's weapon into slag. As the feed of the fortress's destruction played out, silence overtook the chamber. The King of the floating Lotus Palace spoke quietly, with reverence.
"Some challenges cannot be defeated. Only survived." Elder Jinn leaned forward, "But some of these… these are not trials. They are massacres." Elder Zulin grinned wide, "Then may the weak be culled.The Golden Boulder will not weep for ants."
The air quivered with ancient battle essence, the ghostly afterimages of long-dead warriors flickering through the cracked terrain like echoes of a forgotten war. I stood still as stone, wind tugging at my Gi. I was locked in a stare down with the Stalker Revenant. The thing twitched — a grotesque amalgamation of crablike shell, bone-laced limbs, and tormented faces fused into its torso.
Its six arms jittered in alien rhythm.
The glowing sinkhole behind it pulsed, as if reacting to the tension.
Suddenly —
FLASH!
A jolt of insight struck me — not from my mind, but from my blood. A memory not my own. A warrior's battle instinct. The legacy of a divine King. "This thing… it's killed prodigies before. It consumes their essence…"
My eyes narrowed. I drew the Jawbreaker Beast Hammer from my pocket bracelet with a flare of fire and lightning — the weapon gleamed with runes and teeth, pulsing with qi.
WHOOMPH!
I hurled the hammer like a comet of raw Intent! The hammer whistled as it tore through the smoky air with nearly 2500 kilograms of force, glowing embers trailing its path.
CRRRRUUUNNNCH!!
Direct hit. The hammer smashed into the Revenant's torso, sending it tumbling backward end over end. The monster screeched, limbs flailing like dead leaves in a storm, its chitinous shell cracked and smoking. Upside down, its back shell spasmed like a dying insect, humanoid arms flapping grotesquely.
I didn't wait. "Vorpal Retrieve." The hammer vanished in a flash of light — then reappeared in my grip, handle-first. I spun and hurled it again! SMASH!
Another blow slammed into the Revenant, just as it managed to right itself. It screamed, a sound like metal scraping bone, and lurched away, twitching in panic. I landed, recalling my hammer with a snap of my Vorpal Retrieve. I darted forward, blurring.
"SERPENT MIRAGE STEP!"
Suddenly the battlefield was alive with afterimages — dozens of Ashes circling the Revenant, each flickering in and out of existence with a different pose — one crouched, one mid-air, one dragging a hammer, one leaping.
The Revenant froze.
Then —
SSSSHRRAAAACKKK!!
It launched into its battle phase! Its crab legs double-jointed popped and extended, propelling it up and into a standing twirling nightmare dance of slashing limbs and shrieking heads. From its chest, whips of dark qi and consumed souls lashed out, striking at afterimages with feral speed. Black ichor bled from its side. The sinkhole behind it glowed brighter. The ground cracked. Ghostly battle spirits begin to hover over the fight, drawn by the surge of life-and-death intent.
I tightened my grip on the hammer, eyes locked. "Let's see whose soul burns brighter." The abomination twirled forward like a living hurricane, dozens of weapons appearing from within its body—blades, lances, and jagged black sabers—some still fused with bits of ancient bone or cloth from the cultivators it consumed.
WHOOSH! SLASH! WHHRRR-CHAK!!
It barreled toward me with a speed that belied its bulk.
SZZZ-CRACK!!!
—A flash of white-blue electricity exploded across the battlefield!
Several of the creature's absorbed cultivator arms thrust forward, just then the heads spoke in a hissing guttural clicking voice!
"SEARING LIGHTNING PALM!" — bolts of crackling qi split the ground and explode with concussive heat.
BOOM!
BOOM-BOOM!!
I flipped sideways, air-dashing into a spinning roll to dodge, my feathers fluttering like a kite as lightning blasts tore at the rocks behind me!
I gritted my teeth, "This thing's a damn army!" And then — it began to heal itself! Several of its inner arms press together, glowing with eerie green-white qi. With quick, trained gestures — stolen gestures — it begins mending its cracked carapace, smoothing over fractured bone and re-sealing ruptured flesh. As if that wasn't enough —
Another pair of cannibalized arms begins weaving intricate symbols in the air, forming a semi-sphere of defensive qi. My eyes flashed. "It's a striker… a healer…a tank and a caster. All at once."
I dropped low, bracing my legs in the Iron fang crouch stance. Battle essence raged around me—the ghosts of warriors past now circling like curious gods. I clenched the Jawbreaker Beast Hammer, veins lighting up with ember flame and thunder qi.
"If You want to play every role, then I'll just have to introduce a new build."