"Xue," Wei said calmly. "It's fine now. I'll handle this myself."
Xue smirked faintly.
Then his body melted instantly into liquid blood, flowing into the cracks of the arena before disappearing completely.
Across from them, Master Yen stared with murderous intensity while his damaged arm slowly regenerated. Blood dripped from his liquefied hand as flesh and bone reformed unnaturally fast.
"You think I need your mercy?" Yen growled. "I can crush both of you with one arm."
Wei shrugged lazily.
"Yeah, right. I'm terrified now." He yawned dramatically. "Can we leave already? This is starting to get boring."
Something snapped.
BOOOOM!
A violent burst of energy exploded from Yen's body, the pressure alone cracking the white stone beneath his feet. His aura ignited like wildfire, swirling around him in burning streams of light.
His injured arm healed completely in seconds.
"DO NOT RUSH YOURSELF TO DIE!!!"
FLASH!
Yen vanished.
He moved faster than lightning itself.
Wei's eyes widened—
Too late.
THUD!!
Yen's fist smashed directly into Wei's mouth.
This time—
No trick.
No liquefaction.
The impact bent Wei backward violently, his feet lifting from the ground as blood sprayed from his lips.
But Yen didn't stop there.
His glowing fists erupted into motion.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A relentless barrage of burning punches crashed into Wei mid-air, each strike exploding with fiery force.
The attacks came so fast they left afterimages—
Dozens of flaming fists and arms extending from Yen's real strikes like a storm of blazing phantoms.
Wei's body was hammered backward across the arena, trapped inside the overwhelming torrent of punches.
The air detonated repeatedly.
The floating islands trembled.
Even Amy stepped back in horror.
"Yen… stop!!"
But Yen's eyes were already consumed by battle.
Finally—
Wei crashed hard onto the ground.
The explosions didn't stop.
Burning fists continued raining down on him mercilessly, engulfing his body in fire and smoke.
Amy covered her mouth in horror.
"Yen, stop!!"
But then—
Through the storm of flaming punches—
A hand pressed against the shattered ground.
Slowly.
Wei began to stand.
While being stormed by the burning fists, Wei slowly lifted his clenched right fist and pointed it toward Master Yen.
Glowing, boiling blue water began swirling around his arm like raging flames.
The energy condensed violently—
Then exploded forward.
ROOOOAR!
A massive sperm whale made entirely of boiling blue water burst from Wei's fist, soaring across the arena toward Master Yen with terrifying force, its body roaring through the air like a crashing ocean wave.
Master Yen's eyes widened in disbelief.
The gigantic sperm whale of boiling blue water surged toward him with overwhelming speed, its roar shaking the entire arena.
Too late to dodge.
"Impossible—!"
BOOOOOOM!!!
The whale's massive face slammed directly into Master Yen's body.
For a split second, the entire battlefield froze—
Then the sperm whale exploded.
A colossal burst of glowing blue water erupted across the arena, flooding the battlefield in violent heat and pressure. Boiling waves blasted outward in every direction, ripping apart chunks of white stone and sending debris flying into the open sky.
Ryo's eyes sharpened.
"Barrier."
A whirlwind shield instantly formed around him.
Nearby, Amy quickly raised both hands, creating a magical barrier around herself as the exploding water storm swept past them violently.
The floating islands trembled.
Steam swallowed the battlefield whole.
Seconds later—
As the mist slowly cleared—
Master Yen could be seen on his knees at the center of the arena.
"Haaah… haaah…"
He gasped heavily for air, steam rising from his battered body while water dripped from his clothes.
His eyes remained locked on Wei—
Filled with shock.
Through the fading steam, Wei could be seen standing calmly on the shattered arena.
His body was covered in burns, patches of his skin scorched black from Master Yen's barrage of burning fists. Parts of his clothes had been torn apart completely.
Yet—
His wounds were healing at a frightening speed.
The burned flesh slowly regenerated before their eyes, steam rising from his body as new skin formed rapidly over the injuries.
Even the destroyed parts of his clothes began reconstructing themselves, threads of glowing blue liquid weaving together like living fabric.
Amy stared in disbelief.
"He's… regenerating?"
Ryo remained silent, though even he seemed impressed.
Wei rolled his shoulder casually as if nothing serious had happened.
Then he looked at Master Yen and smirked
.
"So?" Wei said. "Are we done now?"
Master Yen smirked faintly.
"You really love acting cool, don't you?"
Suddenly—
His right arm twisted violently.
Bones cracked and shifted as the entire limb transformed into a massive serpent.
HISSSSS!
Without warning, Yen thrust his arm forward.
The snake shot across the arena like lightning, its jaws snapping toward Wei.
Wei reacted instantly, raising his left arm to parry—
But the serpent still managed to sink its fangs into his forearm.
"Got you."
Yen yanked his snake arm back with terrifying force, pulling Wei through the air straight toward him."
The moment Wei came within reach—
Yen's left hand transformed.
Fingers sharpened and curved into the talons of a giant eagle.
SLASH!
The clawed hand pierced toward Wei's chest, aiming to rip his heart straight out—
But suddenly—
SHHKKK!
Blades made of blood erupted from Wei's chest like crimson spikes.
Master Yen immediately pulled his arm back before the blood blades could slice deeper into it.
Then his arms transformed again.
Muscles swelled violently as both of his hands morphed into massive tiger arms covered in burning aura.
ROAR!
Yen lunged forward.
BOOM!
His left tiger fist slammed directly into Wei's face.
Before Wei could recover—
BOOM!
Yen followed with another crushing punch from his right tiger arm, snapping Wei's head violently to the side.
But Wei retaliated instantly.
His glowing fist smashed straight into Yen's jaw at the same moment Yen threw another punch.
BOOOOM!
The collision exploded between them.
The two continued exchanging blows relentlessly, fists crashing against flesh and aura exploding with every impact. Tiger fists and boiling water punches collided across the arena like raging beasts fighting for dominance.
Shockwaves blasted through the floating battlefield while Amy watched in horror and Ryo remained silent, observing every movement carefully.
As they continued exchanging blows, the difference between them slowly became clear.
Every punch Wei landed carried monstrous force.
Master Yen's tiger arms struck quickly and skillfully, but in a direct exchange, he was taking far more damage. Bruises spread across his body, blood flew from his lips, and his breathing became heavier with every collision.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The arena shook beneath their fists.
But the exchange did not last long.
Wei suddenly twisted his body and delivered one final punch.
BOOOOOOM!
His fist crashed directly into Master Yen's face.
The impact launched Yen into the air before he came crashing down headfirst against the white stone floor.
CRAAASH!
The ground cracked beneath him.
For a few seconds, Master Yen lay motionless.
Then—
"Haaah…"
He slowly tried to push himself back up, barely conscious.
Wei looked down at him silently.
Then a sword formed in Wei's hand from swirling blue liquid.
He walked closer.
STEP.
STEP.
STEP.
Master Yen lifted his head weakly—
SHHKK!
Wei drove the blade straight through Yen's shoulder, pinning him to the ground.
"AAARRRGGHHH!!"
Yen screamed in pain, his body trembling violently.
Silence followed.
Wei released the sword handle and turned away.
After taking a few steps, he stopped.
He looked toward Amy.
Then—
Wei bowed slightly.
"I apologize," he said calmly. "I never intended for things to turn out like this."
Without another word, he continued walking away while calling out—
"Garbaru!"
A loud cry echoed across the sky.
Moments later, Garbaru descended onto the arena.
Wei and Ryo climbed onto his back.
As Garbaru rose into the air and left the floating island behind, Ryo glanced at Wei.
"That was a waste of time," Ryo said. "You didn't gain anything from that fight."
Wei sighed.
"Yeah… bad things happen."
He looked back briefly at the shrinking island behind them.
"I'm never coming back to this place again."
Meanwhile—
Amy rushed toward Master Yen, kneeling beside him and placing her hands near his wound.
But Yen weakly grabbed her wrist.
"Don't heal me," he muttered through
clenched teeth. "I can manage myself."
As Garbaru soared through the clouds, leaving the floating island farther behind, Wei suddenly raised an eyebrow.
"Wait."
A glowing status screen appeared before him.
Wei studied it for a moment.
Then he grinned.
"Well, I take that back."
Ryo glanced at him. "What?"
Wei pointed at the screen.
"I actually gained thirty percent experience from that fight."
His grin widened.
"Not bad at all."
Ryo leaned over and examined the screen himself.
"Hmmm."
He nodded slightly.
"I see."
Wei crossed his arms proudly.
"See? Even when I lose my appetite, get kicked in the face, and nearly get my heart ripped out, I still make a profit."
Ryo took a moment to think about that.
"When you put it that way, it sounds less like a victory and more like a workplace accident."
Wei laughed loudly.
"Hahaha! Maybe. But thirty percent experience is thirty percent experience."
Behind them, the floating island continued shrinking into the distance as Garbaru flew toward the horizon.
For the first time since arriving there, both warriors felt the tension of the battle slowly fade away.
"For the meantime, I just want a decent sleep. Is there a spring house nearby, Wisdom?" Wei asked.
The magical stone embedded within his mind stirred.
Wisdom was no ordinary artifact. It possessed a spirit of its own and contained vast stores of knowledge gathered from countless sources.
A moment later—
A glowing screen appeared before Wei.
It displayed a detailed map of the surrounding region.
A marker blinked near the northern mountains.
Spring House — 10 miles away.
Wei's eyes lit up.
"Oh, nice."
He studied the map for a moment before grinning.
"Looks like we're in luck."
Ryo glanced at the floating screen.
"A spring house? Planning to rest already?"
"After getting punched in the face a hundred times?"
Wei replied. "Absolutely."
The map remained suspended in the air, the route highlighted clearly.
Wei pointed toward the horizon.
"Garbaru, let's go north!"
"QUAAACK!"
Garbaru answered enthusiastically.
With a powerful flap of his wings, the giant duck accelerated through the sky, cutting through the clouds like a living arrow.
The wind roared past them.
Below, forests, rivers, and distant mountains rushed by as they followed the route shown by Wisdom.
For now, the battles could wait.
A hot spring, a good meal, and a proper sleep sounded far more appealing to Wei than another fight.
"Garbaru, let's go north!"
Wei said, Garbaru replied with a Quack as he zoomed in the sky.
Garbaru landed in a place called The Elven Oasis.