The impact felt like catching a falling boulder with my bare hands.My blunt iron sword clashed against Han Seol-Woon’s master-crafted steel. There was no explosion of flashy light, no arrogant shout. There was only the pure, deafening ring of metal on metal, and a kinetic shockwave that traveled straight down my forearms, into my shoulders, and buried itself deep into my spine.I was pushed backward, my straw sandals carving two deep trenches into the crushed white quartz sand.Seol-Woon did not pause. He moved with a terrifying, rhythmic fluidness. His grey robes barely fluttered as he stepped forward, pulling his blade back and driving it forward in a flawless, horizontal sweep aimed at my ribs.He wasn't trying to torture me. Every strike was precise, clean, and carrying enough lethal intent to end my life instantly if I failed to block. It was a terrifying display of absolute martial respect. He was treating me like an equal.I twisted my hips, bringing my iron sword down vertica

The faint, glowing blue grid of the system overlay cast a ghostly light over the glaring white quartz sand. To the tens of thousands of cheering spectators, the arena floor was perfectly clean and flat. To me, it was a literal minefield.Massive, pulsing red circles dominated the center of the ring, burying highly concentrated explosive arrays directly beneath the surface.Han Seol-Woon stood fifteen paces away, his pristine grey robes completely still in the stagnant, baking heat. His silver eyes were calm, his straight sword held in a relaxed, flawless guard. He took a single step forward.My breath hitched. His right boot landed less than an inch from the glowing edge of a massive red circle.He had absolutely no idea he was standing on a bomb."Resume the match!" the judge roared from the safety of the reinforced barricades, violently dropping the red flag.Seol-Woon didn't waste a fraction of a second. He launched himself forward.The sheer kinetic force of his movement kicked up

The heat radiating from the crushed white quartz sand felt entirely different now. It was no longer just the baking warmth of the midday sun. It was a synthetic, rising fever. Beneath the soles of my straw sandals, the arena floor was subtly vibrating.I stood near the edge of the center ring, my chest heaving violently. Every ragged breath forced the fractured edges of my left collarbone to grind together. The sickening, wet friction sent blinding spikes of nausea straight to the base of my skull. My left arm hung completely dead at my side, heavy and useless, the torn muscles of my flank still leaking dark crimson blood into my shredded grey robes.Through the blue grid of the system overlay, the arena was a glowing minefield.Massive, pulsing red circles dominated the center of the ring. They throbbed in perfect, terrifying synchronization with the golden aura flaring around Nam Gyu-Jin. He stood directly on top of the largest explosive array, his pristine white silk robes untouche

The golden wave of lethal Qi tore across the arena floor, ripping a deep, scorched trench through the crushed white quartz sand. The heat coming off the attack blistered the sweat on my face.I couldn't dodge left or right. The system overlay in my vision showed the massive, pulsing red circles of the explosive arrays completely boxing me in. My heel was a millimeter from triggering a bomb that would vaporize my legs.I had exactly half a second to act.I didn't step back. I slammed the tip of my blunt iron sword directly into the tiny, safe patch of sand between my boots. I tightened my right grip, channeled a massive surge of my pure Foundation Establishment Qi into my arm, and used the heavy iron blade as a pole vault.I threw my entire body straight up into the air.The golden crescent of Gyu-Jin’s Qi swept directly beneath me. The kinetic backdraft felt like opening the door to a blast furnace. It singed the frayed edges of my ruined grey robes and burned the hair on my calves.B

The deafening chant of ten thousand people vibrating against the ruined stone walls of the arena was not a sound. It was a physical pressure. It pressed against my eardrums, thick and heavy, drowning out the high-pitched ringing that the explosion had left behind."Merciful Blade! Merciful Blade!"I stood in the hot, gray ash, my chest heaving with shallow, ragged gasps. Every time I drew breath, the blistered, burned skin stretching across my back cracked and wept. My left arm hung completely useless at my side, the fractured collarbone grinding wetly with every slight shift of my weight.I didn't look at the crowd. I kept my good right eye locked on the VIP balcony.Nam Gyu-Jin stood there, his hands gripping the stone railing so tightly his knuckles were stark white. His pristine silk robes were perfectly clean, completely untouched by the blast he had orchestrated. He had fled his own trap. He had abandoned the ring to save his own skin, leaving me to take the fire.He stared down