Blazing white lightning arcs flickered wildly across the arena, yet it was Kylen, hovering high in the sky, who held the initiative of the battle from start to finish.
His pitch-black Crimson Dragon Wings obscured the sky. The dark crimson Night Devourer Longbow glowed with a bloodthirsty luster.
He was like an envoy of the night descending, devouring all light before Thorne's eyes and plunging this speed-type genius into despair for the first time. He saw no path to victory.
"Impossible! My Thunder Step, my lightning—Kylen can never catch up! As long as he can't hit me, I'll never lose!"
Thorne roared. Lightning intertwined again, transforming into several afterimages as he attempted to assault from different angles.
Kylen's eyes remained calm. The runes on the Night Devourer Longbow in his hand suddenly lit up.
Deep crimson blood energy condensed into a scarlet arrow, its fletching swirling with black and red light patterns.
This was a special arrow fused with his own blood and Avelia's Primordial Assimilation energy.
The scarlet glow locked onto Thorne and the Thunder Claw Raptor.
No matter how the opponent dodged, the sense of lock-on lingered like a shadow.
A danger alarm blared wildly in Thorne's mind. The energy contained in this arrow filled him with instinctive fear.
"I can't block it head-on!"
Instinct drove him and the Thunder Claw Raptor to dodge frantically, trying to break free from the lock-on.
A cold smile curved on Kylen's lips. "It's useless."
Whoosh! The scarlet arrow tore through the sky like a blood-colored rift splitting space.
It pierced the Thunder Claw Raptor's spine at a speed exceeding ten Mach—ten times the speed of Thorne's Thunder Step, completely shattering his proud speed advantage.
"Screech!"
The Thunder Claw Raptor let out a shrill wail. Pale blue blood dripped from the arrow wound.
Thorne turned around abruptly. Seeing that his contracted creature was only injured but not killed, he breathed a slight sigh of relief, then sneered.
"Hmph, your lousy bow looks intimidating, but it lacks real power! Kylen, if this is all you've got, you might as well concede now!"
He transformed into a lightning arc again, surging with violent thunder as he charged at Kylen.
Discussions erupted in the spectator stands.
"The arrow speed is fast, but why is it like scraping?"
"A piercing wound, but not fatal, is the Night Devourer Longbow's power overrated?"
"Kylen, stop testing! Finish it quickly!"
But the Star Emblem Mentors from other academies in the spectator stands looked solemn.
Jaren sighed in admiration. "A true genius! He actually reversed the side effect of the Abyssal Armament!"
Lior's eyes were sharp. "As we speculated, Kylen used his own blood as a medium to infuse his talent power into the arrow.
His compatibility with Avelia has reached perfect harmony.
This method is impossible to defend against.
On future battlefields, he will surely become a nightmare for abyssal creatures."
Thorne had thought Kylen's attack was all show and no substance. He was about to launch a fatal counterattack when—
"Squelch!" A lightning-wreathed claw suddenly pierced his chest from behind!
Thorne turned around in disbelief. The attacker was actually his most trusted contracted creature—the Thunder Claw Raptor!
The entire arena fell silent. The comments on the Star Net live broadcast were instantly flooded with question marks.
The on-site audience stared in shock, unable to believe what they were seeing.
Kylen stretched out his right hand high in the sky and snapped his fingers gently. His voice was cold and authoritative.
"Obey the King's order. Kill your master, beast."
Squelch! All ten of the Thunder Claw Raptor's claws stabbed into Thorne's chest. The sound of bone cracking mingled with the gush of blood, staining the marble floor of the arena red.
"How does it feel, Thorne?" Kylen's voice echoed across the entire arena. "Your proud speed, your cherished contracted creature in the end, they became the blade that pierced your chest. Doesn't it feel good?"
Thorne's eyes were filled with confusion and hesitation. Blood choked his throat, leaving him only able to make gurgling whimpers. He didn't understand.
Kylen's blood had clearly not hit him or the Thunder Claw Raptor directly, so when had the control been completed?
It wasn't until the last moment of his blurred consciousness that he belatedly remembered the scarlet arrow; the blood had already seeped into the Thunder Claw Raptor's body through the arrow wound, completing the silent control.
The winner was decided.
The referee quickly raised his scepter. "Healing-type Contractors, enter immediately! Participant seriously injured!"
Baron, the dean of the Practical Combat Department in the spectator stands, flew into a rage. He rushed into the arena instantly, pointing at Kylen and shouting angrily.
"Kylen! How dare you! Daring to use such ruthless tactics in a student spar violates the academy's rules!"
Kylen shrugged, his tone indifferent. "Dean Baron, you're accusing the wrong person. The referee can check carefully. I deliberately avoided vital areas like the heart and spine. I only wanted Thorne to suffer a little. On the contrary, you should thank me for holding back. If I had really wanted to kill him, he would have been decapitated by now."
Baron was lost for words, his face turning livid. The referee stepped forward to check, then nodded.
"Dean Baron, it's as Kylen said. The vital areas were avoided. But blood transfusion is needed immediately. There's no time to delay."
Before Baron could continue his outburst, the on-site audience first voiced their dissatisfaction.
"Is the Practical Combat Department a sore loser? When Isabella was seriously injured earlier, Dean Seraphina didn't lose her composure like this!"
"That's right! Kylen already held back. Anyone else would have crippled Thorne by now!"
"Is Dean Baron trying to get revenge for personal gain? Don't forget this duel is being broadcast live!"
The comments on the Star Net live broadcast were even more one-sided, mocking Baron for being a sore loser.
Under the accusations of countless eyes, Baron's face turned extremely ugly. He could only retreat awkwardly to the side, watching as the healing-type Contractors carried Thorne away.
The mentor responsible for commentary in the spectator stands quickly tried to defuse the situation.
"A fantastic duel! I'm sure everyone is as shocked as I am.
Kylen once again demonstrated his talent, similar to 'command'! The blood arrow that seemed to miss actually injected the blood medium into the Thunder Claw Raptor's body long ago, completing the hidden control.
This tactic is almost unsolvable! The pre-match odds completely underestimated his strength.
Now it seems that the coordination between Kylen and Avelia has reached a mutually complementary level!"
The commentator's words temporarily calmed the commotion on-site, but the discussions on Star Net intensified.
The hot search on Arcana Empire's Star Net was instantly dominated by related topics:
#Dean Baron's Meltdown Moment#
#Blood Arrow Kills Master! Kylen's Hidden Control Technique#
#Saint Laurent Freshman Kylen, a Dark Horse on the Potential Rankings?#
Speculations about Kylen's talent emerged one after another.
The most widely accepted theory was that his blood contained royal power that could invade the spiritual core of contracted creatures.
Once infiltrated, it could forcefully rewrite their loyalty. This was a terrifying S-rank talent.
Shortly after Kylen stepped down from the arena, the Arcana Empire's official Potential Rankings updated in real-time, a message that detonated the entire network:
[Arcana Potential Rankings Updated]
9th Place: Kylen (Saint Laurent Contract Academy · Otherworldly Creatures Department)
Talent Rating: S-rank (Suspected Over-Specification)
Contracted Creature: Vampiric Slime (Avelia Selis, Sequence No.99)
Battle Records: Cleared SSS-rank entrance test mission, crushed Thorne (formerly ranked 43) in the qualifying round...
As soon as Kylen stepped down from the arena, Elara, Victor, and the others gathered around him, their eyes filled with excitement.
"Captain! Well done!"
"Isabella, look! The captain avenged you!"
"The Practical Combat Department really takes after their leader. Even the dean is so rude!"
Thanks to the healing from Avelia's "Eternal Symbiosis" trait, Isabella could already walk normally. She walked up to Kylen and said softly, "Kylen, thank you..."
Kylen shook his head with a smile. "This is what I should do as the captain."
Not far away, the people from the Practical Combat Department were in chaos, treating injuries, contacting the family, and handling follow-ups.
The scene was exactly the same as when Isabella was seriously injured earlier, only the sides had reversed.
Lysander stared at Kylen coldly, his eyes filled with unwillingness and killing intent.
Kylen sensed his gaze and spoke calmly. "Don't look at me like that. In your words, you should thank me for not crippling Thorne. Rest well for tomorrow. I will personally shatter your kneecaps."
Lysander clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. "Kylen, just you wait. Who will shatter whose kneecaps is still unknown. Tomorrow, I will use my strength to show you that you and your arrogance are worthless in the face of my family's heritage."
Although the next round of the draw hadn't taken place, everyone knew that the Practical Combat Department would never swallow this defeat.
As the most outstanding S-rank student specially recruited this year, the duel between Lysander and Kylen was inevitable.
This would be the most anticipated peak battle of the qualifying round.