Lin Shu and Kai exited the stadium and waited near the lower corridors. Aoyan eventually appeared, walking stiffly, her face dark with embarrassment and anger. The salamander behind her mirrored her mood, flames flickering erratically along its scales.
Yanqi had instructed them to escort her back after her match, so they followed silently as she stomped through the arena tunnel that led away from the stages,until they spotted two figures approaching.
A boy with fiery red hair and a girl with the same blazing color walked side by side. Their facial features, posture, and expressions were nearly identical—Lin Shu immediately guessed they were either siblings or twins.
Aoyan froze the moment she saw them. The beast behind her emitted a low, rumbling growl.
"Jue, Yue… what do you two want?" she snapped. "Why are you here?"
Chi Jue stepped forward, smiling.
"We were just touring this little arena everyone keeps fussing about. Didn't expect to see you here, but… I suppose you and your master chose this place as your playground?"
His sister, Chi Yue, stepped up beside him.
"But maybe he didn't think things through, don't you think, brother?"
Jue nodded mockingly.
"Yeah. He was supposed to help you accomplish something impressive. Not… be beaten into the dirt."
Yue's smile sharpened.
"And here I was, hoping to check on our 'dear sister' and see how badly she's doing in the heir race. Su would be laughing if she saw you right now."
Aoyan glared, but forced her anger down as she spoke with cutting calm.
"So Su sent her two dogs to check on me."
The twins' expressions tightened. Heat radiated from them both.
"Dog?" Chi Yue sneered. "The only dog here is the one who got beaten senseless a few minutes ago."
Aoyan's lips curled upward. Her salamander's flames rose.
"Well, this dog is enough to handle two pampered rats. If you don't believe me… try me."
The twins exchanged delighted grins and began walking toward her.
Lin Shu and Kai were completely ignored—treated as background furniture.
Kai nudged Lin Shu, whispering, "What do we do?"
Lin Shu shrugged lightly.
"I'll just watch for now. Help her if you want."
Kai scowled. "But Elder Yanqi won't like it if we don't both help her."
Lin Shu gave him a sideways look.
"You know… Aoyan once called you insane. But listening to you right now… you don't sound so crazy after all."
Kai froze. His expression darkened.
"I'm not insane. She's just a spoiled, annoying brat. Don't call me crazy."
Lin Shu noticed the flare in Kai's emotions and smirked.
"So… you still want to help her?"
Kai looked at Aoyan, frowned deeply, and muttered,
"None of my damn business."
Lin Shu's smile widened slightly. Perfect. He didn't want to get involved unless he absolutely had to. Helping Aoyan here would only draw the wrath of her powerful rivals onto him. Letting her get smacked around a little was ideal—he could always claim later that she would've refused his help anyway.
Better to stay on the sidelines than offend future heirs of the Chi Clan.
The twins finally took notice of the two silent figures behind Aoyan. Chi Yue squinted, then her eyes widened.
"Hey, isn't that the nutcase who fought Chi Fan? Didn't he almost lose the rest of his face when he tried that? Didn't the elders send him off to be punished? What's he doing here?"
Chi Jue frowned.
"Yeah. And why is he with Aoyan? Did her master help him?"
They dismissed Lin Shu entirely—his cultivation didn't catch their attention, and his presence didn't ring any bells.
Kai heard their words clearly.
His brows lowered. Slowly, dangerously.
"I am not crazy," Kai said. His voice was quiet, but venomous. "And he didn't beat me. His damned brother Kun jumped in."
He tilted his head, eyes sharp as blades.
"If you don't believe me, go check Fan's chest—I left him a lovely gift there. And I can leave one on you two as well… if you don't get out of my face."
The twins burst into laughter.
"So you're that crazy," Chi Yue mocked. "Crazy enough to imagine Kun only saved your life. Fan would've finished you."
Chi Jue grinned viciously.
"And you should watch your mouth with us. If Fan burned your already deformed face, then I promise—we'll boil your guts."
Kai's head lowered, shadow covering his eyes.
Lin Shu glanced at him… and immediately recognized the danger.
Kai's eyes were shaking with fury.
"For the last time," Kai hissed, voice shaking with rage, "he didn't beat me. He's a liar. And I swear I'll rip both your faces off if you keep calling me crazy. So this is your last chance—piss. Off."
Aoyan looked at him from the corner of her eye. She didn't want to admit it, but she was injured—too injured to fight properly. And in this narrow tunnel, her salamander couldn't maneuver well. She hated relying on anyone, hated showing weakness… and she especially hated how Rampage's words earlier had hit her deeper than any wound.
So when the twins angered Kai enough to move, she felt a tiny, shameful spark of relief.
The twins moved first—two red streaks vanishing and reappearing right on top of her.
Aoyan reacted instantly.
"Back!" she ordered her beast.
It retreated, flames crashing forward in a barrier to shield her.
But Chi Jue and Chi Yue tore through the wall of fire like paper—and Aoyan froze when she saw the incoming blade aimed straight at her heart.
She didn't even see the hand until it was on her shoulder.
Lin Shu yanked her backward, the sword slicing through empty air where her chest had been a second before.
A split second later—Kai blurred behind him, arms extending.
"TURBID FIRE BLAST!"
Gas surged from one hand and flame from the other, colliding into a roaring, unstable explosion. The twins threw up their arms, caught completely off guard by the close-range blast—
—but someone else appeared behind them.
A hand grabbed each twin by the collar, yanking them back as a shimmering water barrier erupted, absorbing the explosion.
Steam flooded the tunnel.
Kai stood ready to fire another blast.
Aoyan stood silently behind Lin Shu, shaking—not from fear, but rage at herself.
"Pathetic… I couldn't even last five seconds…"
Lin Shu watched Kai's technique carefully.
"That's a high-tier technique. Chaotic, yes, but if he controlled it better, it could hit peak-tier easily… And those arm guards… so that's why his arms don't get shredded by the blasts."
Kai's sleeves had burned off, revealing long reinforced gauntlets built to withstand his self-damaging style.
The twins coughed through the steam.
"Aoyan!" they laughed. "Where'd all that big talk go? Getting saved within five seconds of our fight? Hahahaha—"
But the laughter died instantly when the one who saved them stepped forward.
A girl—fifteen at most—with long soft red hair when compared to aoyan's hair and blue-sky eyes. Her presence froze the air. The twins shut their mouths immediately.
She stared directly at Kai.
Kai stared back, jaw clenched, posture daring her to try him.
She exhaled once, coldly, then turned. A small gesture of the hand—and the twins obeyed, stepping behind her like chastened dogs.
Kai smirked and turned back toward Lin Shu—
—only to see Lin Shu storming toward him.
A fist shot straight at Kai's face.
Kai flinched—
But the impact never came.
Kai opened his eyes and saw Lin Shu, arm transformed into a steel-clawed gauntlet, gripping a slim wrist. The red-haired girl's wrist.
She had slipped behind Kai, aiming a strike at the back of his skull.
Lin Shu's grip tightened.
"You shouldn't turn your back to anyone," Lin Shu said quietly. "Didn't Yanqi teach you that?"
Kai scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. He had lost focus too early.
The girl with blue eyes stared at Lin Shu, who still hadn't released her wrist. He didn't look away—he couldn't. Letting her hit Kai would sabotage everything he'd worked toward with Yanqi. Losing Kai now would cost him opportunities he desperately needed.
And more importantly…
For the moment, Kai was his teammate.
So Lin Shu held his ground.
Lin Shu shoved Kai back with one hand as he flanked the girl's arm, twisting her strike slightly off-course without breaking his grip. The red-haired, blue-eyed girl stared into his mask, searching for a reaction—anger, fear, hesitation.
She found nothing.
But Lin Shu didn't dare blink.
Not after she tried to strike Kai from behind.
A sheen of metal crept across his skin, starting from his neck and spreading like living steel over his shoulders and arms. He wasn't taking chances. He didn't know who she was, what she was capable of, or how far this situation might spiral.
And at this moment, he needed Kai alive.
But because this little scene already gave him leverage with Yanqi… leverage he desperately needed if he proved he can ne trusted and that he's willing to help aoyan and kai he might get yanqi to invest in him even more and there was another reason. If Yanqi was bold enough to challenge multiple heirs and elders by supporting Aoyan in the heir race, then that meant he had power—real power. Standing behind that kind of strength gave Lin Shu a wall to shelter behind.
He just needed to make sure that if the wall ever collapsed…
he wouldn't be buried under it.
The girl finally tore her eyes from him and looked toward Aoyan.
"Sister Su extends her greetings—and her warning," she said coldly. "Aoyan, if you know what's good for you… drop the heir competition."
Aoyan took a single step forward.
She hadn't missed it—Chi Ran had backed down. Chi Ran, who never backed down from anything. That could only mean one thing:
She felt Lin Shu's strength.
And Aoyan was more than willing to exploit that.
She moved to stand directly beside Lin Shu and Kai, chin raised with renewed defiance.
"If Su wants me to stop, she can come to the arena herself," Aoyan said sharply. "She's welcome to try her luck against my team. Until then—mind your tongue, Chi Ran."
Ran's expression didn't change—still cold, still unreadable—but she slowly withdrew her arm from Lin Shu's grip.
Without another word, she turned and walked away.
The twins followed her, silent this time, though both shot venomous death glares at Lin Shu, Kai, and Aoyan before disappearing deeper into the tunnel.
Aoyan exhaled shakily.
Kai muttered something under his breath.
And Lin Shu silently let the steel fade from his body.
Lin Shu chuckled lightly as the group finally stepped out of the tension-filled tunnel.
"Friends of yours?" he asked Aoyan, amusement slipping through his voice.
Aoyan snorted. "Very dear ones," she muttered. "Dear enough to want to kill me."
Kai barked a laugh and walked up beside Lin Shu.
"Thanks for saving me from Chi Ran back there. I should've been smarter—turning my back on someone like her is just asking to die." He slung an arm around Lin Shu's shoulder in a friendly gesture. "So… thanks."
Lin Shu immediately sidestepped out of the half-hug, brushing Kai's arm off.
"Let's just go," he said. "I have other things to do."
Kai only smirked, unfazed.
Aoyan walked a little behind them, silent.
She wanted to say thank you—to both of them. She really did.
But her pride… or maybe the sting of her earlier humiliation…
wouldn't let the words come out.
So she stayed quiet, clutching her beast's fur, eyes cold, cheeks slightly flushed.
And the three of them moved on.