For a few seconds, no one made a sound. Then Sun Wuji's severed head struck the stage with a dull thud and rolled across the ground.
At the same time, Wuji's stone fist punched through Ying Lizhua's chest. His entire forearm protruded from Lizhua's back. Neither had pulled his final attack. They had been close enough to finish each other, and neither had given way before the last blow landed.
Lizhua coughed the last mouthful of blood, the crimson droplets splattering on the ground as his life force waned.
Then both fighters disappeared from the stage at the same time. There was no last man standing, no chance for either of them to claim that he had lasted longer. The battle had ended in a draw.
Applause broke out around the arena. The gruesome finish had left the spectators speechless, but now their cheers rose over one another. Wuji had faced the academy's greatest genius and refused to give ground, right up to that final exchange.
