Chapter 19
Jin Xieren stepped onto the arena first, he dragged a single gloved hand across his chest and an orange rune glowed on his gloves and robes.
Lin Yai followed shortly after Jin. He carried himself with a calm posture. He stepped through the barrier looking completely at ease, as if under the influence of a drug.
He tapped one foot on the ground and a thick layer of mist began pouring out of his feet swirling in unusual patterns.
"BEGIN"
As the elder spoke the word, it triggered an explosion.
Because Jin Xieren wasn't wasting time.
He slammed his fist to the ground and a wave of explosive qi erupted from the point of impact. Marble tiles launched into the air as the shockwave pushed the mist back. For a moment, the fog split clean in half, parting like a curtain.
BOOM!
A section of the arena floor cratered from the blast, and Lin Yai vanished into his mist.
Jin removed his hand from the crater, his eyes darted searching for any sign of movement. The fog returned, rebounding from the explosion and swirling around the entire barrier. The mist was dense and it stuck to his skin like a second skin.
SHFF.
Jin sensed movement behind him. Jin spun low, his elbow snapping out behind him. It connected with something hard and sharp, then sliced open a sharp line across his bicep.
Blood sprayed like a fountain.
"Tch—!"
He stumbled back, barely registering the second blade whipping toward his throat from the mist. He ducked by instinct, the edge grazing the hairs on his neck.
Lin Yai's foot met Jin's ribs like a battering ram.
WHUMP!
The impact sent Jin flying several meters back across the arena. He landed in a roll, breath wheezing from his lungs as he skidded to a stop near the edge of the platform.
The audience gasped.
Zhao Su's jaw clenched. "That was barely even visible. He's synchronising with the fog."
Yu Miaoran's eyes darted from left to right. "No... he's becoming the fog itself. Every step he takes births mist. He's marking the entire arena as his domain."
Cui Huang murmured, "Smart bastard. The longer the fight drags, the stronger he gets."
Meanwhile, Jin wiped the blood off his lip with the back of his hand and spat to the side.
His side was already bruised. His bicep stung, it was a shallow but clean cut.
Still, he grinned.
"Impressive. But have you ever been in a bar fight in the outer rings of Yanzhou City? Because I have. And lemme tell you..."
He extended both arms outward and clenched his fists. The runes on his gloves glowed. The marble under his boots cracked.
"Fog doesn't stop fists."
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM!
He launched forward with three controlled bursts of explosive qi. The recoil propelled him through the fog like a cannonball.
A silhouette flickered in the haze and Jin turned mid-air, with his fist cocked back.
CRACK!
A solid punch landed squarely into Lin Yai's ribs.
The mist swordsman grunted, flying backward through his own mist. He slammed into one of the arena's glowing inscription pillars hard enough to shake the barrier dome.
Before Lin could even recover, Jin was atop him.
Jin gave him a Left jab. A right hook. An elbow to the face. Then he delivered a knee to the gut. Lin Yai tried to raise his blades, but he was too slow. And far too late.
One of Jin's gloved fists snapped out like a piston and smashed into his jaw.
CRUNCH!
A tooth flew from Lin's mouth.
He staggered. He stood there crouched, holding his ribs. He spatt blood, and then he vanished.
Whhhf.
Mist swallowed him again.
Jin's nose twitched. His eyes moved up.
He spun, lifting his leg in a high arc, and slammed his heel downward.
BOOM!
An explosion blasted the mist apart just as Lin appeared with a blade raised. Jin punched Lin straight in the shoulder.
The impact wave caught Lin's shoulder and blew him sideways like a ragdoll. He tumbled and rolled, shoulder smoking, blade skidding across the marble floor.
Xun Xuefeng narrowed her eyes. "He's adapting."
A junior disciple whispered, "I thought Lin had this."
"He does," Xun muttered. "But Jin... he's a chaos cultivator. He thrives on unpredictability."
Back in the ring, Jin Xieren walked towards Lin Yai, he was breathing hard now. His gloves steamed.
"You wanna dance?" he growled. "I'm here, fog-boy. Let's finish this."
Lin Yai wiped blood from his mouth. His shoulder was half-seared, robe was charred, and yet, he was smiling.
"Your style's brute force. Raw instinct."
He lowered one blade to the ground. The other he raised upright, the blade to his own forehead.
"I respect that."
Then he closed his eyes.
And the fog collapsed.
It sank deep into the floor. Then it sprouted up like a geyser and encased Jin Xieren like a cocoon.
[Mist Style: Hiding Cocoon]
FWMP.
The entire arena dimmed and the sound warped.
He couldn't hear his own heartbeat.
There was no sound.
Just... pure white light.
SHFF!
A cut opened across his chest.
SHHHFF!
One across his calf.
Then one on his shoulder. Then two more on his ribs. He spun in place, wild-eyed, fists flying.
"FUCK—!"
In desperation, he roared and slammed both fists into the ground.
KA-BOOM!
A full-bodied explosion shook the entire arena. A column of raw Qi shot upward, shattering the fog.
And then finally Jin saw Lin.
Just three meters away. Lunging at him, blade-first.
He couldn't dodge.So he headbutted him.
CRACK!
Both fighters collapsed from the force of the impact.
Jin was bleeding and shaking.
Lin was dazed and coughing blood.
The arena fell silent.
Both tried to rise up.
Jin planted a fist.
Lin pushed with his blade.
One second passed.
Two.
Three
Then Jin dropped.
"Winner: Lin Yai of the Wisteria Empress Sect."