The Shadow Blade’s Revenge: From Trash to Sword Saint

Chapter 8: The Bare-Handed Humiliation

A collective gasp echoed across the floating arena.

Marcus stared at Kaelen, his face turning beet-red with anger. "You arrogant slum rat! You think you can face a Vance Clan officer bare-handed? I'll tear your limbs off!"

"Begin!" the instructor shouted, stepping back as a protective barrier flared to life around the ring.

Marcus didn't hesitate. He surged forward, his Bronze-Tier 9 light Qi exploding from his body in a bright yellow aura. He raised his plasma-imbued broadsword, executing the Vance Clan's high-speed technique: [Sun-Shatter Tri-Slash].

Three blazing arcs of heat and steel sliced through the air toward Kaelen’s head, chest, and knees simultaneously. The sheer pressure of the attack cracked the reinforced floor.

In the VIP box, Julian leaned forward with a cold smile, waiting to see the arrogant transfer student shredded.

Kaelen didn't even take his left hand out of his pocket.

Whoosh.

Using a subtle, micro-adjustment of his footwork, Kaelen swayed his upper body back by less than an inch. The first arc of glowing plasma missed his nose by a hair's breadth.

Clang!

Marcus pulled his blade back, executing the second and third slashes in a blinding blur.

Kaelen stepped inside the blade's turning radius, his movements so smooth and precise he looked like a ghost drifting through a storm. The lethal plasma blade cut through empty air, leaving hot scorch marks on the barrier behind him.

"Stop running!" Marcus screamed, his heavy swings growing wilder as frustration mounted. "Stand still and die!"

"Your footwork is open on the left," Kaelen said calmly.

Before Marcus could recover his balance from his fourth swing, Kaelen’s right hand whipped out from his pocket.

PAK!

A single, crisp open-palm strike landed directly against Marcus’s chin.

The hit wasn't backed by heavy Qi, but the angle and timing were flawless. Marcus’s head snapped back, his teeth clattering together as his vision flared white. He stumbled backward, his plasma sword slipping from his numb fingers and clattering onto the stage.

"What... what was that?!" a disciple in the crowd yelled. "He redirected Marcus’s momentum with a single palm!"

"He didn't even use a weapon!"

Marcus shook his head, spitting blood onto the arena floor. Disgrace and panic flooded his veins. Over a thousand students—and Young Master Julian—were watching him get clowned by a nobody from the lower sectors.

"I'll kill you!" Marcus roared, abandoning all refined form. He gathered every drop of his Bronze-Tier 9 Qi into his fist and lunged in a desperate tackle.

Kaelen took half a step to the side.

As Marcus overextended, Kaelen grabbed Marcus’s wrist, pivoted on his heel, and drove his knee sharply into Marcus’s solar plexus.

CRACK!

Air exploded from Marcus’s lungs. Before he could fall, Kaelen gripped his collar and slammed him face-first into the concrete floor with brutal, terrifying force.

BOOM!

The stone shattered under Marcus’s face. Blood and broken teeth sprayed across the ring.

Kaelen stood over the twitching body of the Vance Clan lieutenant, stepping lightly onto the back of Marcus’s neck to pin him flat against the stone. He placed his right hand back into his pocket, his expression completely unreadable behind his subtle illusion lenses.

Silence hung heavy over the entire arena.

[TARGET DEFEATED: MARCUS (BRONZE-TIER 9)]

[EXP +1,500]

[CULTIVATION LEVEL UP: BRONZE-TIER (ADEPT 5)]

Kaelen didn't look down at the groaning lieutenant beneath his boot. Instead, he raised his head, his gaze sweeping slowly past the stunned instructor, past the frozen disciples, and locking straight onto Julian sitting in the high VIP pavilion.

Through his illusion lenses, Kaelen let a tiny, razor-thin sliver of his violet void aura flare in his eyes—visible only to Julian.

In the VIP box, Julian’s breath hitched. His glass tumbler slipped from his hand, shattering on the marble floor.

That aura...

Julian pushed himself up from his throne, his face deathly pale, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped beast.

Kaelen removed his boot from Marcus's neck, turned around, and walked off the stage without saying another word.

[QUEST COMPLETED: ESTABLISH PRESENCE IN SECTOR 1]

[NEW QUEST UNLOCKED: THE ACADEMY TRIALS]

[OBJECTIVE: ENTER THE ANCIENT LEY-LINE DUNGEON BENEATH THE ACADEMY AND CLAIM THE SOVEREIGN DRAGON CORE BEFORE JULIAN'S FACTION.]