The bright, burning sun was slowly beginning to set over the Imperial Capital. The sky turned dark orange and deep purple. Up in the magnificent, floating Royal Box of the Grand Arena, the air was poisoned with absolute fury. Crown Prince Julian Saint-Aurelius stood perfectly still. His hands were curled into tight fists. He stared down at the white sand of the arena. His golden eyes burned with an ugly, murderous light. His perfect plan was completely ruined. He had wanted to watch the Cloud-Soaring Sect cry. He had wanted to see them humiliated, beaten, and broken in front of millions of people. But instead, those dirty mountain kids had destroyed his best fighters. They had slapped his cousin Titus out of the ring like a piece of garbage. They had embarrassed the glorious Saint-Aurelius Clan. And then, his father, the Emperor, had announced the Survival Zone for tomorrow. But tomorrow was too far away for Julian. Julian’s chest heaved up and down. His heart was hammering wit

Julian raised his hand. The ten Royal Guards immediately spread out, blocking the entire hallway. There was no way around them. "You are not going to see the Adjudicator," Julian sneered. "Because the Adjudicator works for me. He is counting his bags of gold right now."Julian walked slowly toward her. He stopped just five feet away. He looked her up and down with a disgusting, hungry look in his golden eyes. "You look so proud, Seraphina," Julian whispered cruelly. "But your pride is going to get your favorite student chopped into tiny pieces today.""If you touch him, I will kill you myself," Seraphina hissed, her pale blue eyes burning with absolute hatred. Julian laughed. It was a dark, evil sound. "You cannot kill me," Julian smiled. "I am the Crown Prince. If you draw your sword against me in this hallway, my guards will execute you for treason. And then, my father will march the entire Imperial Army to your mountain. We will burn your beautiful trees. We will slaughter ever

"I am going into that arena right now!" Julian roared, pointing a shaking finger at Lucien. "I am going to fight your best student! I am not just going to beat him! I am going to butcher him! I will chop him into tiny, bloody pieces while you watch!"Julian’s face twisted into an ugly, evil mask. "And when I am done breaking your student," Julian hissed, "I am coming for you, Mo Yan. I will burn your dirty cloak. I will melt your skin. You are a dead man!"Lucien slouched his shoulders. He let out a loud, bored yawn. "Whatever you say, shiny," Lucien mumbled lazily. "Just don't trip on your cape."Lucien turned around and walked away, disappearing into the shadows of the tunnel with Seraphina. Julian stood alone in the hallway with his unconscious guards. He let out a massive, furious scream of pure anger. He drew his golden sword and slashed the stone wall violently, sending sparks flying into the air. He was going to murder the Cloud-Soaring boy. He was going to paint the white san

Julian panicked. He swung his heavy golden sword downward, trying to chop Kai in half. But Kai was already moving. Kai twisted his body, stepping perfectly into the empty space beside Julian’s swing. Kai raised his plain steel sword. He did not use magic. He used pure, brutal, kinetic force. Kai swung his sword with both hands, aiming directly at the side of Julian’s golden helmet. The plain steel sword smashed into the heavy dragon-scale helmet. The magical shield surrounding Julian flickered wildly. The physical shockwave passed right through the helmet and rattled Julian’s brain. Julian groaned in pain. His vision blurred for a split second. He stumbled backward, his ears ringing loudly. The crowd went completely, absolutely silent. A seventeen-year-old boy had just hit the Crown Prince of the Empire in the head. Kai did not stop. He was a survivor. He was a monster forged in the dark. Kai spun around and kicked Julian hard in the knee. The heavy golden armor protected Julia

Suddenly, the tiny pebble hit Julian’s right wrist. It sounded like a heavy iron hammer hitting a piece of meat. The impact was absolutely devastating. The tiny rock hit a specific, critical nerve cluster on the inside of Julian’s wrist with the force of a speeding horse. Julian’s eyes bugged out of his head. A terrible, shocking pain shot entirely up his arm. His hand instantly went completely numb. His fingers violently popped open against his will. The heavy golden sword slipped from his grip. Because he was swinging down with all his might, the sword was deflected. Instead of stabbing directly into Kai’s stomach, the heavy golden blade hit the white sand right next to Kai’s side. The sword sank deeply into the dirt, missing the boy entirely. Julian stumbled forward, grabbing his numb, aching wrist. "What... what was that?!" Julian gasped, looking around in total confusion. He felt like someone had just shot him. But the crowd did not see the tiny rock. The crowd only saw t