When the air finally settled, the arena was unrecognizable. Shards of stone and dust littered the ground, deep gouges from Rui's blades carved across the battlefield. For a moment, there was only silence—every spectator holding their breath, waiting to see the result of Rui's ruthless assault.
Then, the smoke thinned.
And there it was.
At the center of the devastation stood a cocoon. Threads of gleaming, hardened web wrapped around themselves in overlapping layers, forming a shell that pulsed faintly under the pressure of Rui's last attack. Each air slash had left shallow scars across its surface, but none had pierced through. Slowly, strands unwound, peeling back like the petals of a flower.
From within, Lian appeared, calm, unflustered, strands of web snapping off his shoulders as he brushed them off. His eyes were strong, his respiration unbroken.
The stadium erupted into chaos.
"Impossible…"
Rui breathed, his sharp smile trembling for the first time.
From the 1-C, Chen sat back with his arms folded, a smile twisting onto his lips. "At last. Took him long enough. I was thinking Lian hadn't been utilizing his webs at all this entire damn time."
Xia blinked in shock as she sat forward. "But how he used them—it wasn't purely for trapping. He spun them into a defense hard enough to deflect Rui's air blades. That's… That's genius."
Chen's smile broadened even further. "Just like that. That's Lian, all right. Silent the whole time, convincing Rui he was in charge. And then—boom." He snapped his fingers once more. "Surprise."
There were gasps of wonder and a few of shock among the other students. Even those who had been cheering for Rui couldn't resist watching. The fight had evolved into something different.
Back in the arena, Rui's fingers twitched. For the first time, there was hesitation. He had thrown everything into that attack, confident it would carve down even the toughest defense. But Lian had turned it aside—not with brute strength, but with ingenuity.
And now, the counterattack began.
Lian raised a hand, webs streaming out—not sticky, binding webs he usually had at his beck and call, but stiff strands hardened until they glowed like burnished metal. They shot through the air like javelins, and Rui was forced to dodge and leap aside. One strand sliced through a clump of hair as it whizzed past, thudding into the arena floor with a snapping crack.
Rui's eyes widened. He spun away from another strike, the hardened web slicing a clean line across the sleeve of his uniform. A bead of sweat slid down his temple.
The crowd roared again, electrified by the reversal.
"This is insane!" Yan shouted, clutching the railing. "If Rui had been just a step slower, that thing would've skewered him!"
"And he keeps dodging by skin of his teeth," another student added, voice tight.
Shen, however, remained composed, though even he had adjusted his glasses twice in quick succession. "This is the first time Rui has been forced into a defensive position," he said calmly. "The tempo of the match has shifted. If Lian keeps this up, Rui's composure may finally break."
As if to emphasize his words, Lian lashed out again—two hardened strands at once, weaving through the air in a crisscross pattern designed to cut off Rui's escape routes. Rui reacted fast, summoning a blast of wind to launch himself upward, but Lian anticipated it. Another strand snapped upward, missing Rui's torso by inches.
The close call brought gasps from the bystanders. Rui crash-landed, rolling on the ground before stumbling back onto his feet. His breathing accelerated now, the smile on his face spasm between excitement and effort.
"You been keeping secrets from me all this while, Lian?" Rui snarled, his voice hard, more warning than teasing. "Saving tricks up your sleeve?!"
Lian remained silent. His gaze narrowed, his silence slicing deeper than any reply. A hard strand was pushed out again, forcing Rui to cut it in two in mid-air with a swift stroke of wind.
The impact was like steel against steel.
For every web Rui destroyed, two more followed. Lian's hands moved with precision, his control over the hardened strands flawless. They curved, stabbed, and lashed with mechanical accuracy, never giving Rui a moment's rest.
From the stands, Xia's eyes shone. "It's not just power… Look at how he's controlling them. Each strand is like an extension of his body. He's turning Rui's greatest strength—his mobility—into a weakness."
Even Chen nodded in respect, though a smirk remained on his face. "This is what happens when you underestimate Lian. He is not just strong. He is smart. That is worse for someone like Rui."
Rui gritted his teeth, his movements becoming less elegant than before. He was fast, faster than everyone else in the tournament, but now each evasion was half a second slower, each riposte forced, his body worked harder than before.
A strand grazed his cheek, leaving a thin red line.
The sight silenced the arena for a heartbeat. Rui's grin faltered, his chest heaving. For the first time since the tournament began, he looked—nervous.
The 1-C students erupted in cheers.
"He got him!"
"Lian's actually pushing Rui back!"
But Shen's calm voice cut through again. "Don't celebrate yet. Rui's far from finished. But yes… for now, the fight favors Lian."
Down below, Rui's sharp eyes darted, analyzing, desperate for an opening. He raised both hands, swirling the air around him into a protective vortex. The hardened webs slammed into it, ricocheting away, though each impact strained the barrier further. Rui's jaw clenched.
He could still fight. He had to.
But above all else, one truth gnawed at him:
For the first time, Rui wasn't in control.
And Lian's firm, unshakable stare promised he would not give Rui so easily back.
The battle raged on, webs slicing, gusts screaming, the outcome still in doubt—but this much was certain: the tide had turned.
And Rui was more than well aware of it.