The public ranking ended by noon.
Most participants believed the trials were complete.
They were wrong.
As evening approached, the top ten candidates were summoned privately to the inner academy hall.
Kael entered without surprise.
He had expected this.
Aric was already there.
So were the other eight ranked participants.
An academy elder stood at the front.
"The public test measures tolerance," the elder said calmly. "The real test measures judgment."
Silence filled the hall.
"You will enter the Azure Ruins tonight," the elder continued. "It is a controlled environment. However, accidents do occur."
Several participants stiffened.
"The objective is simple," the elder said. "Retrieve one Azure Core from within the ruins."
Kael listened carefully.
Azure Cores were energy condensations formed inside ancient structures. Valuable. Difficult to obtain.
"Participants may compete," the elder added. "Interference is not prohibited."
That was the real message.
This was not just endurance.
It was confrontation.
The ruins lay outside the city walls.
Ancient stone structures half-buried in earth.
Formation arrays still faintly active.
The ten candidates entered together.
The moment Kael stepped inside, he felt it.
Residual spiritual distortion.
Unstable energy pockets.
Good environment for ambush.
He did not stay near the group.
He moved independently.
Aric noticed but did not follow immediately.
Inside the ruins, broken pillars cast long shadows.
Kael moved carefully.
He did not rush toward visible energy fluctuations.
He searched for patterns.
After several minutes, he found one.
A corridor with faint Azure glow.
Two Foundation Peak candidates were already fighting near it.
Both trying to claim a forming core.
Kael did not intervene immediately.
He observed.
One candidate overextended.
The other prepared a finishing strike.
Kael moved then.
He entered the clash directly, intercepting the final strike mid-path.
Both candidates froze.
"You want it too?" one demanded.
"Yes," Kael replied calmly.
The stronger of the two attacked first.
Foundation Peak.
Solid technique.
Kael met him directly.
Their Qi collided.
The candidate expected overwhelming force.
Instead, he felt pressure.
Heavy.
Structured.
Kael rotated his chaotic circulation and disrupted the opponent's flow.
One clean strike to the abdomen.
The candidate staggered.
Kael followed with a second palm to the chest.
Blood Devouring Art activated briefly.
Not full drain.
Just destabilization.
The candidate collapsed unconscious.
The second participant retreated immediately.
Smart.
Kael did not chase.
He stepped forward and retrieved the forming Azure Core.
Warm energy pulsed inside it.
Dense.
Useful.
He stored it calmly.
One secured.
Meanwhile, deeper in the ruins, Aric fought three corrupted spirit constructs simultaneously.
His Core Formation power shattered them cleanly.
He retrieved his own Azure Core without difficulty.
But he sensed something.
Kael's aura had flared briefly during that earlier clash.
Not loud.
But distinct.
Different.
Aric frowned.
That feeling again.
Not normal Foundation energy.
As the trial progressed, only five candidates remained active.
Two had withdrawn injured.
Three Azure Cores remained.
Kael found the second core near a collapsed archway.
This one was guarded by a formation trap.
Spiritual blades activated when he approached.
He did not retreat.
Instead, he adjusted his circulation and let the incoming force press against him.
His Qi reshaped around it.
Deflected.
Suppressed.
He stepped through the formation.
Observers outside the ruins leaned forward.
"He's not breaking it," one elder muttered.
"He's adapting to it."
Kael reached the center and claimed the second core.
By the end of the trial, only Aric and Kael held two cores each.
The final core remained in the central chamber.
Both entered nearly at the same time.
They stood opposite each other in the ruined hall.
The Azure Core floated between them.
Aric spoke first.
"We can split this."
"No," Kael replied.
Aric's expression hardened slightly.
"You want to test yourself?"
"Yes."
No hesitation.
No theatrics.
Just agreement.
Aric moved first.
Core Formation aura expanded.
Heavy.
Dominant.
Kael did not step back.
Foundation Late.
He compressed his Qi inward.
The clash shook the chamber.
Aric's strikes were precise and overwhelming.
Kael did not try to overpower him.
He redirected.
Absorbed partial impact.
Stepped inside angles.
Their fight was fast.
Clean.
No wasted motion.
Aric's expression shifted gradually.
Kael was not reckless.
Not unstable.
He was calculating mid-fight.
After several exchanges, Aric launched a full-powered palm strike.
Kael met it head-on.
This time he activated Blood Devouring Art briefly during impact.
Not enough to drain.
Just enough to disturb flow.
Aric felt his circulation wobble for a split second.
That was the opening.
Kael seized the Azure Core and retreated immediately.
He did not press further.
The horn sounded.
Trial complete.
Outside the ruins, rankings were announced again.
Aric — first overall.
Kael — tied in core retrieval but slightly behind in time.
Still second.
The academy elders watched him carefully.
"His foundation is abnormal," one murmured.
"Dangerous," another replied.
As the crowd dispersed, Aric approached him again.
"You're not chasing immediate victory," Aric said.
"No."
"You're building something."
"Yes."
Aric's gaze sharpened.
"That path will make you enemies."
Kael nodded.
"I know."
He turned and walked away.
That night, Kael absorbed one of the Azure Cores.
Energy surged through his meridians.
Foundation Late trembled.
Close.
Very close to Core Formation.
He exhaled slowly.
If he broke through soon—
The real competition would begin.