The Inheritance Beacon's golden column blazed across the projection mirrors, spilling its light over the Grand Observatory Hall like dawn breaking inside the palace. The cheering began to fade as comprehension sank in. Voices rose — urgent, clipped. Elder Mei's eyes narrowed. "The beacon… this changes everything." Vash turned sharply to Umo. "He's found the true path to the inheritances!"
Across the dais, Matriarch Vanessa of the Frozen Heart Clan had already gathered two of her advisors, speaking in low, precise tones. Clan Leader Tsu of the Thousand Cuts leaned forward, eyes on Zhenba's feed, "Damnit Zhenba, Stop wasting your time on small fries." The Golden Boulder Clan's Elder Zulin barked a short laugh, beard bristling. "Hah! Now it's a hunt worth watching. With Yogrek we'll take the inheritance meant for kings."
From the shadows, Head Priestess Rai of the Dusk Spire spoke coldly to her brother Vaylan through a Psychic message. "Vaylan don't allow Ash to claim more than two beacons. Cut him off. Drive him into weaker prey."
The King of the Floating Lotus Palace sat back in his lotus throne, watching the scramble with a faint smile. "So the game is understood. Let us see who adapts… and who is devoured."
The golden beacon's light still lanced the sky behind me, but the air had changed. The island's pulse had shifted — you could feel it in the ground, in the way the beasts' roars were changing direction. Somewhere far off, a cultivators cry was cut short. Elsewhere, the rumble of battle rolled like a distant storm. They were moving.
The other prodigies had figured it out. No time to waste. I pivoted, scanning the shifting chi currents, and felt the telltale distortion of something huge moving in the eastern jungle. It was the cyclopean giant from earlier, and its qi flare was sharp with greed. I bolted. Wind tore past me as the Serpent Mirage Step blurred my body into streaks of motion, vaulting from ridge to ridge until the canopy swallowed me.
I raced along the tops of trees, air Dashing and double jumping into the next canopy section. Then I saw it. The Jungle Cyclops. But it had grown. It now stood thirty feet tall, its Stone covered and vine-wrapped limbs made it look like the jungle had grown a guardian of its own. But the most important part?
It had twenty-five tournament tokens embedded in its chest like a grotesque necklace.
"You've been busy my one-eyed friend."
I dropped into a crouch, I released a true wave of golden Animus, my muscles coiling, Ember Coil Fire roaring through my Solar pyre veins. I circulated tempest breath, Then I leapt.
FWOOOOOSH!
I shot up five hundred feet straight into the air, the wind screaming past my ears. "Not bad for a standing jump" I thought. The jungle shrank beneath me into a sea of green. I locked eyes on my target far below and let the gold Animus flood my fists.
"Meteor Fist" I whispered. I hurled my palm forward visualizing the activation sigils as I let my intent expand!
FWOOOOM!
The first impact hit like a god's hammer.
KRAA-BOOOOOOOM!!!
A shockwave tore through the surrounding trees in a perfect circle, hurling debris for hundreds of yards. The Cyclops staggered, dropping to one knee, bellowing in rage and pain.
It started to rise —
—another Meteor Fist slammed down from the heavens.
BOOOOM!!
The earth cracked, softening into churned earth, steaming building beneath the relentless barrage. Every time the giant tried to stand, I sent another colossal Meteor Fist Huge knuckle-shaped imprints cratered the earth around it and drove it back down.
BOOM.BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!
The terrain was unrecognizable now — a scarred, smoking basin pounded into the jungle floor, each massive indentation the size of a small lake. The Cyclops thrashed, vines snapping, earth shuddering… but it couldn't escape the rain of blows. My Meteor Fist Volley came to an end as I landed lightly on a patch of un-cratered ground a hundred yards away from the Cyclops.
"Twenty five tokens," I muttered, flexing my hands as Ember light crawled over my knuckles. "And you're about to hand them over."
The crater floor shifted. With a groan like stone grinding against stone, the Cyclops finally heaved itself upright, steam rising from its battered frame. Its massive single eye burned with fury, chest heaving, the four embedded Tokens pulsing like stolen heartbeats.
I licked the air — not with my mouth, but with my Ember coil tongue, the way the fire in my blood let me taste the truth. Earth element. Dense. Slow. Stubborn.
And earth…breaks before the wind. My chest expanded as I drew in tempest breath, the air inside me compressing until my ribs thrummed with it.
Then—
WHHRRROOOOSSHHH!!!
I exhaled. A miniature emerald cyclone tore from my mouth, a twisting serpent of screaming wind that wrapped around the giant's legs and waist. The Cyclops roared as the twister lifted and battered it, the wind slicing at its mossy hide, peeling bark-like skin from muscle beneath. Chunks of stone armor cracked and spun away into the air.
Before it could regain balance, I was already moving.
One leap —
Two —
I came down in a blur, both hands slashing through the air.
Claw Arc Novas!
SHHRAKK! SHHRAKK! SHHRAKK!
Crescent arcs of wind chi, razor-thin and gleaming green, ripped across the Cyclops' body. Each one landed with a detonation of air pressure, leaving deep diagonal gouges from shoulder to thigh. The beast staggered under the combined force of the cyclone still tearing at its frame and the barrage of cutting wind strikes. Its roar turned to a choking bellow as it swung wildly at the afterimages I left behind.
One Token in its chest flickered — then another — as its qi defenses buckled. I dropped into the Iron Fang crouch stance, wind curling like living serpents around my forearms. "You're tokens! hand'em ovah." The Cyclops thrashed wildly, swinging its massive club like a tempest, each blow shaking the earth beneath me.
But I was faster.
Feet barely touching the churned earth, I dashed up its trembling arm, leaping onto the swollen shoulder. Its bellow shook the jungle canopy, but I didn't hesitate. With a sharp grip, I yanked the first Token from its chest — a pulse of stolen power freeing itself in a radiant burst.
One by one, I tore free the remaining tokens free, each of them joining my floating collection. As the Cyclops flailed in desperation, unable to catch the blur of my movement. Thirty-six tokens now orbited me, glowing softly with their earned victories. I landed lightly in the dirt, chest heaving, the beast staggering but not yet broken.
A voice whispered in my blood, calm and precise —"Ash, the Cyclops' eye… it's a rare crafting item, and invaluable. Take it. It could shift the tides of battle."
I nodded, eyes locking onto the Cyclops' massive, weathered orb. Without hesitation, I leapt again, hand outstretched. The eye felt warm to the touch, a shimmering core of raw earth energy pulsating beneath its surface. Carefully, I plucked it free and slid it into my Pocket Ring — a safe vessel glowing faintly with protective qi.
The Cyclops collapsed with a ground-shaking roar, dust and leaves swirling around its massive form. For a heartbeat, silence fell. Then — a brilliant column of radiant light erupted from the creature's chest, piercing the jungle canopy like a divine spear. The air hummed with raw energy as the Inheritance Beacon soared skyward, casting golden light that shimmered across the twisted jungle trees.
I staggered back, eyes wide, heart pounding. "Another beacon…" I breathed. A cloud of tokens circled me — a testament to the beast's fall and a reminder of the path ahead. The projection mirrors flickered as the feed shifted to the jungle battlefield — Ash darting like a tempest, snatching Tokens from the enraged Cyclops with the precision of a master thief.
Marla's eyes shone like firelight, fists clenched so tight her knuckles whitened. "Thirty-six tokens, who else is out there moving like that?" Faeluxe stood close, her silver hair cascading over her shoulders, tail flicking with restrained excitement. "He's not just fighting — he's rewriting the rules of the game. Taking what others can't even see."
Behind them, the crowd had swelled from hundreds to thousands, cultivators and spectators alike drawn to the screen like moths to a flame. Cheers echoed through the hall, voices raised in chants and praise. A young disciple shouted, "Ash Iron Fang! Ash Iron Fang!" Others picked it up, and soon the entire hall was alive with his name — a tide of admiration and hope rising from every corner. Elder Mei watched quietly, a rare smile touching her lips. "He's become a beacon himself — not just for the Iron Fang, but for all who seek to challenge fate." Elder Umo's stern gaze softened, nodding once. "This is more than talent. This is destiny unfolding."
Marla caught Faeluxe's eye and grinned. "We've got a legend in the making, Faeluxe."
Faeluxe's voice was soft, almost a vow. "And we'll be there every step of the way."