The sky above the Scarlet Arena bled crimson as dusk fell, casting a hellish glow over the ancient stone coliseum nestled in the heart of the Deadroot Province. Once a sacred ground for noble duels between martial sects, it had long been claimed by the underworld—renegade cultivators, pill lords, and blood-thirsty spectators who thrived on brutal contests of strength and skill.
Jayden Cross stood in the center of the ring, his boots crushing the dusty floor that still held the faint stains of old blood. His breath was steady. His eyes sharp. This was no longer about survival—it was a statement.
Around him, thousands of cloaked onlookers filled the stone seats, their murmurs mixing with the wind like whispers of ghosts. Betting slips passed from hand to hand. Names were shouted. Some cheered for blood. Others for glory.
He had accepted this battle not just for pride—but to reclaim an artifact that belonged to his bloodline: the Azure Dragon Scale, a relic once worn by his great-grandfather during the Celestial War. Its current owner was a ruthless pill refining master turned warlord—Deng Lo, known in the martial underworld as the Crimson Flame Reaper.
Jayden's expression hardened. He had fought beasts. He had faced elites from renowned clans. But Deng was different—older, smarter, and crueler. More than a fighter, Deng was a poisoner, a manipulator, and worst of all… a master pill forger who infused his body with volatile chi toxins to burn through his enemies.
A low hum filled the arena as the gate across from him creaked open. Deng Lo stepped out, clad in tattered crimson robes, his arms bare and etched with glowing rune tattoos. Steam hissed from his shoulders, and his breath radiated heat like an active volcano.
He grinned with yellowing teeth.
"So you're the boy they call the Heir," Deng mocked. "I've burned through better men."
Jayden said nothing.
A bell rang once. Silence followed.
Then—the flames erupted.
Deng launched forward with terrifying speed, his fist cloaked in flaming chi. Jayden sidestepped, narrowly dodging the scorching arc. The heat singed his robe. The crowd roared as Deng spun, releasing a Blazing Palm Shockwave, aimed directly at Jayden's back.
Jayden activated Flowing Shadow Step, blinking just beyond the strike. Dust burst from the ground as the force collided with the arena wall behind him, leaving a smoking crater.
Deng laughed. "Slippery."
Jayden's eyes glowed faintly. He touched his dantian and channeled his chi into his legs, rushing forward. Their fists collided—heat against calm, chaos against clarity. The sound echoed like thunder. Jayden twisted mid-punch, hooking Deng's arm and using his opponent's own momentum to flip him overhead.
Deng landed on his feet, crouched low like a beast, and spat a spray of chi flames toward Jayden.
Jayden raised his palm and activated Azure Water Vein, a defensive technique he'd learned in the Rainfall Caverns. A wall of shimmering liquid chi surged up, blocking the flames. Steam filled the air, shrouding the arena in mist.
Then came the pills.
Deng retrieved a red orb from his robe—Inferno Heart Pill, a forbidden 4th-grade pill designed to spike inner fire in exchange for internal damage.
He swallowed it whole.
Jayden felt the shift immediately. Deng's aura exploded, his body wrapped in spirals of flame. The stone beneath him cracked. Even spectators flinched.
Jayden exhaled and reached into his sash. He had come prepared too. He pulled out a Frost Lotus Essence Pill—a 3rd-grade pill he had refined after twenty failures. It wasn't as strong, but it didn't need to be. It was perfectly crafted to counter heat.
He crushed it between his teeth and swallowed.
Ice and fire collided again as they charged. Jayden ducked under Deng's spinning blaze kick, rolled, and delivered a sweeping palm strike to his opponent's ribs. A shockwave burst outward.
Deng staggered, but didn't fall.
"You've been trained," Deng growled. "Let me guess… the Blind Sage?"
Jayden didn't respond.
Deng grinned. "I burned out his other disciple years ago. Let's see if you're any different."
With a guttural roar, Deng unleashed his Flame Serpent Form, one of the lost techniques from the Ember Mountain Sect. A giant serpent made of fire surged from his body, coiling around the arena, its mouth gaping wide and fangs of chi aimed for Jayden.
Jayden raised his hands, channeling the Dragon Pulse Technique. His own chi surged upward, forming the head of a spectral azure dragon. The serpent and the dragon clashed mid-air in a roar of energy.
The coliseum shook.
Spectators stood, eyes wide, watching ancient martial arts clash like the gods of old.
Jayden gritted his teeth as his knees buckled under the force. Deng's flame serpent kept pressing. The heat was unbearable. His robe ignited at the edges. His chi flared desperately.
Then—something shifted.
Within his dantian, the third Dragon Seal pulsed.
It unlocked.
Power surged through Jayden's meridians like a tidal wave. His dragon construct roared and doubled in size. His eyes glowed bright gold, and his hair lifted slightly from the sheer force of rising energy.
"You wield dragon chi…" Deng muttered, shaken.
Jayden stepped forward and released a roar that wasn't fully human. His dragon struck, coiling around the serpent, then crushed it in mid-air, exploding it into flaming shards.
Deng staggered back, coughing blood. "Impossible…"
Jayden blurred forward and struck Deng's chest with an open palm—Heaven's Vein Breaker, a technique passed down in his bloodline.
Deng's ribs cracked. The rune tattoos flickered, then died out.
Silence fell across the arena.
Jayden looked into Deng's eyes as the warlord collapsed, the crimson flame finally extinguished.
He knelt and retrieved the Azure Dragon Scale from Deng's waist pouch. The moment his fingers touched it, a vision surged into his mind—a memory of his great-grandfather on a battlefield, breathing dragon fire, surrounded by fallen gods.
His destiny… was tied to this scale.
Jayden rose slowly. Blood stained his knuckles. Steam rose from his shoulders. But he stood victorious.
The crowd erupted into a deafening roar.
Bets lost. Fortunes made. But no one doubted one thing:
The Heir to the Dragon Form had arrived.
As he limped toward the exit, Lena met him at the gate, eyes wide. She had watched the entire fight from the shadows.
"You did it," she said softly.
Jayden nodded, his voice calm despite the heat still radiating from his skin.
"I'm just getting started."