Gasps of astonishment echoed across the arena.
"Avelia is clearly just a Sequence No.99 Vampiric Slime. How can she suppress the Sequence No.17 Nether Raven?"
"It's a mutation! An absolute mutation!"
"Lysander seized the opening! Kylen is about to fall into danger!"
"I thought Lysander was going to lose just now. No wonder he's ranked third on the Imperial Potential Rankings; he really has a hidden trump card!"
Lysander's desperate counterattack gave the audience hope of a reversal.
Blood was indeed oozing from Kylen's arm, and Avelia seemed unable to completely eliminate the frenzied Nether Raven in a short time.
The situation appeared to be tilting in Lysander's favor.
But Lysander did not dare to relax in the slightest. Avelia's strength had long exceeded his highest expectations.
Even the frenzied Nether Raven was like a candle in the wind before her, merely a pure meat shield. He had to defeat Kylen before the Nether Raven's frenzy faded.
"Blazing Lava Demon!"
Under the control of the Spider Web Prison threads, the six-meter-tall Blazing Lava Demon suddenly shrank to a human size, hovering in the air and spitting out wave after wave of magma torrents.
Yet, a thick wall of deep crimson gelatin rose from the ground. Avelia actually appeared in front of the Blazing Lava Demon in an instant.
Lysander was horrified. "How is this possible? Weren't you held back by the Nether Raven?"
He turned his head in haste and realized the key point. The blood dripping from Kylen's arm when he was cut had triggered the frenzied Nether Raven's instinct.
This irrational abyssal creature only followed its final order and bloodthirsty instinct.
At the most critical moment, it abandoned blocking Avelia and instead pounced on Kylen's blood, which exuded "Crimson Temptation."
"Target switched!"
This fleeting gap became the turning point of the battle.
Avelia locked onto the Blazing Lava Demon at close range. The power of Primordial Assimilation completely permeated its body.
All movements of this contracted creature were instantly controlled by the deep crimson gelatin.
At the same time, Kylen flapped his pitch-black, patterned Crimson Dragon Wings, diving toward Lysander like an arrow released from a bow. The airflow stirred by the dragon wings let out a sharp whistling.
Lysander had long been prepared with high-tier Abyssal Armaments to resist surprise attacks. He did not panic at Kylen's charge.
But the sudden changes, the Blazing Lava Demon being controlled, and the Nether Raven turning to chase blood, still made his mind waver. Just as he thought the situation was precarious, Kylen's "reckless" head-on assault actually reignited the hope of victory.
"Kylen, you dare to rush straight into my Spider Web Prison? Seeking death!"
Countless transparent threads spread again, wrapping Kylen layer by layer the moment he charged in front of him.
"Squelch."
The sharp sound of threads cutting through the air rang out. Victory seemed within reach.
Yet, an even more bizarre scene suddenly unfolded.
Dazzling, deep crimson light spots lit up around Kylen. This was the materialization of Avelia's Eternal Symbiosis trait.
The Spider Web Prison should have torn his body apart, but with the enhancement of the eternal trait, Kylen was like an unstoppable abyssal arrow, piercing straight through the thread barrier.
Using his body as an arrow, using eternity as the blade.
Avelia's Eternal Symbiosis not only granted Kylen unsolvable defense but also allowed him to instantly heal wounds with gelatin energy after being injured.
The blood that flowed out would only become the activation medium for Primordial Blood Pact and Crimson Temptation.
Under Lysander's stunned gaze, Avelia condensed a slender blood-red gelatin spike from the wound on Kylen's arm, stabbing accurately into Lysander's body.
In an instant, Lysander's mind was controlled by a powerful will. Deep crimson patterns symbolizing the Primordial Blood Pact spread in his spiritual consciousness.
The coercion from the Abyssal True Ancestor shook his mind, leaving him completely stunned.
He stared blankly at Kylen. Kylen's cold voice sounded, issuing the final order:
"It's over. Fulfill my promise."
That was his pre-match declaration to cripple your knees and make you pay for involving others.
Lysander slowly raised his right hand. There was no resistance in his eyes, only almost devout obedience. "Yes! My Lord!"
He manipulated the sharp threads of the Spider Web Prison, slashing fiercely at his own knees.
"Bang!"
Deep crimson gelatin and blood exploded together. Lysander, who had lost his kneecaps, collapsed to his knees on the arena's marble floor, his body trembling uncontrollably.
The Blazing Lava Demon controlled by Avelia and the Nether Raven, whose frenzy had faded, also transformed into streams of light and returned to the contract space.
The battle ended abruptly in a way no one had anticipated.
The entire arena fell silent.
Few people could understand the reversal at the last moment: why did the Nether Raven suddenly abandon its block? Why couldn't the Spider Web Prison harm Kylen? Why did Lysander mutilate himself and concede?
Dean Helena of the Plant Spirit Department rushed to Lysander's side, anxiously channeling plant spirit magic.
A crystal-clear healing vine emerged from the ground, dripping dewdrops containing life energy that covered his wounds.
Kylen hovered in the air and said softly, "I held back. He has no life-threatening injuries."
In the face of the Arcana Empire's high-tier healing magic and abyssal elixirs, physical disability was merely a minor ailment.
Helena let out a long sigh of relief, then raised her scepter high, amplifying her voice across the entire venue with spiritual power.
"Lysander is confirmed defeated! The first match of the Saint Laurent Contract Academy Qualifying Tournament Promotion Finals—advancer: Kylen!"
In an instant, the entire arena erupted in cheers.
Some spectators, however, looked dejected, and discussions broke out one after another:
"He won? How exactly did he win? I still don't get it until the end!"
"As long as he bleeds, he can be controlled? He's simply the ruler of blood control!"
"Lysander actually lost! I bet ten Imperial Gold Coins on him!"
"It's all those so-called experts who swore he would win? I lost badly too… So Kylen and Avelia have been holding back this entire time!"
"Look! The Imperial Potential Rankings have updated in real-time! Kylen has replaced Lysander, ranking third!"
"Not first? Is there anyone stronger than him?"
"The top two are both monsters from the abyssal rifts. It's still unclear who will win!"
In the corner of the VIP stands, Baron's face was ashen, like poisoned iron ore. Lysander's defeat was far beyond his expectations. The degree of abyssal mutation of this Vampiric Slime had exceeded his control.
He had originally planned to use the envoys from the Tyrennia Empire to eliminate Kylen, but now that Governor Xandros had come to watch the match in person, Kylen would surely be closely monitored by the empire.
The difficulty of making a move later would skyrocket.
"It seems we can only find a breakthrough through his family…" A sinister glint flashed in Baron's eyes.
In the core area of the VIP stands, Governor Xandros stood up and looked at Principal Orion beside him. "Principal Orion, this match was truly wonderful. It seems I should fulfill my previous promise."
Orion was slightly surprised. "Oh? What promise?"
Xandros sighed. "Before the match, Kylen proposed that if he won, he would advance forty drops of Life Marrow.
He promised to win the championship of the Abyssal Exchange Tournament for the empire. I never thought he actually possesses the Eternal Symbiosis trait, which is close to the Divine Era Sequence."
"Why? Is Your Excellency the Governor going back on your word?" Orion stroked his white beard.
Xandros smiled. "Naturally not."
He turned his gaze to Kylen in the center of the arena, his tone serious. "There is more than one Divine Era-level talent this year. I am already looking forward to his duel with Sylvia."
Orion nodded thoughtfully. "You're talking about that young girl from the Imperial Contract Academy who inherited the blood of the Ethereal Abyssal Clan? Hehe, if that's the case, I'm afraid Principal Julian will have a headache."
Xandros glanced at Orion strangely, never able to fathom the old principal's thoughts.
...
At the same time, thousands of miles away in the meeting room of the Imperial Contract Academy, Principal Julian and a group of mentors were watching the live broadcast of the match in its entirety.
Star Emblem Mentor Maren said in a deep voice, "He really had a hidden trump card! I never thought he could actually defeat Lysander."
"In that case, this year's Abyssal Exchange Tournament…"
The eyes of several mentors turned to the corner of the meeting room in unison.
If there was anyone among the freshmen of the Imperial Contract Academy who could compete with Kylen, it was only this half-human, half-spirit girl—Sylvia, who inherited the blood of the Abyssal Spirit Clan.
The Abyssal Spirit Clan originated from the Shadow Abyssal Rift. Every hundred years, a Divine Era Sequence No.008 Spirit Demon Queen is born.
The "Ethereal Disaster Night" she triggers is listed as one of the Top Ten Abyssal Catastrophes.
The girl in the corner propped her chin, her gaze fixed on Kylen on the screen. Her silver hair cascaded over her shoulders, and the beauty mark on her forehead made her features even more delicate.
Her water-blue pupils were like a calm ice lake, and every smile carried a fatal charm.
Facing the mentors' gazes, Sylvia spoke softly, her tone flat yet full of undeniable confidence:
"I can beat him."