Stone split beneath the arena floor.
Boom.
Earth surged upward like a waking beast.
Thunderbolt.
Lightning tore across the training grounds, ripping through dust and shattered rock.
The arena exploded into motion.
Rayden Wolfe was already moving, lightning wrapped around his body like a living mantle. His strike collided head-on with Marek Thorne's rising earth wall, electricity screaming as it carved molten scars across reinforced stone.
Kira was airborne, her Wind Hawk spirit screeching as compressed blades of air sliced downward.
Tomas Reed charged straight through the chaos, muscles swelling unnaturally, veins glowing faintly as his Body Forger cultivation reinforced bone and sinew.
Three paths.
Three directions.
A coordinated assault.
And right at the center of it—
Kayden Arin stood calmly, hands loose at his sides, eyes half-lidded.
He didn't release an aura.
He didn't activate a technique.
He didn't even tense his body.
Yet the moment Marek's earth spike erupted toward his spine—
Kayden stepped aside.
Not fast.
Not flashy.
Just… early.
The stone blade missed by less than a finger's width, tearing a groove through the air where his body had been a heartbeat before.
[Threat Detected: Earth-Type Burst]
[Trajectory Calculated: 0.3 seconds before impact]
[Recommended Action: Lateral Step – Left, 12 cm]
Kayden had already done it.
He moved again as Kira's wind blades descended.
A twist of the shoulder.
A shift of weight.
Air screamed past his face, close enough to tug at his hair.
Students watching from the stands gasped.
"What the—?"
"He didn't use anything!"
Liora felt her breath catch.
Rayden noticed it too.
Kayden wasn't dodging like a cultivator.
He was moving like someone who already knew the outcome.
System-Guided Stillness
Kayden's mind was quiet.
Not empty—clear.
The world slowed, not because time obeyed him, but because information arrived before danger.
[Host Heart Rate: Stable]
[Muscle Tension (Opponents): Elevated]
[Killing Intent: Moderate – Non-lethal]
Marek's frustration bled through every movement.
Kira's attacks were sharp but impatient.
Tomas was predictable—direct, overwhelming force.
Kayden didn't judge them.
He simply listened.
Another earth wave surged from below.
Kayden stepped onto the rising stone, using it as a platform instead of avoiding it. The movement shocked Marek into hesitation.
That hesitation cost him.
Kayden pushed off, flipping lightly through the air, landing behind Tomas just as the body forger swung.
The punch missed.
Tomas overextended.
Kayden inhaled.
Then exhaled.
No Power — Only Technique
Kayden stepped in.
A short jab—not enhanced—snapped into Tomas's ribs.
Not hard.
Precise.
The impact disrupted breathing.
Before Tomas could recover, Kayden pivoted, delivering a low kick to the knee.
Bone met bone.
The reinforced joint held—but balance didn't.
Tomas stumbled.
Kayden followed with a shoulder check, driving his weight into Tomas's center of gravity.
The body forger skidded backward across the arena floor, boots scraping violently before he crashed into the stone barrier.
Silence followed.
"What… was that?" someone whispered.
"That was body forger combat," another replied slowly. "But… cleaner."
Rayden stared.
He could feel it now.
Kayden wasn't fighting like a sealed cultivator.
He was fighting like someone who understood every path.
Kira's Descent
Kira shrieked, anger overtaking discipline.
Her Wind Hawk spirit screamed as she dove, talons of compressed air forming around her legs.
Kayden looked up.
[Aerial Attack Detected]
[Velocity: High]
[Optimal Counter: Intercept – 0.7 seconds]
He stepped forward instead of back.
At the last instant, Kayden reached up and caught her ankle.
The impact rattled his arm—but he held.
Gasps echoed from the stands.
Kayden twisted and threw.
Kira slammed into the ground, skidding until her wind spirit dispersed with a sharp cry.
She lay still, stunned but conscious.
Kayden released her ankle gently, as if setting down something fragile.
"I'm not trying to hurt you," he said calmly.
That somehow felt worse.
Marek Breaks
Marek roared.
Earth surged wildly now, uncontrolled, jagged pillars erupting in every direction.
The arena shook.
"Enough!" Marek shouted. "Stop dodging!"
Kayden walked forward through the chaos.
Stone rose beneath his feet.
He stepped between fractures, timing his movement with impossible precision.
Marek's breathing became ragged.
Why can't I hit him?
The answer terrified him.
Kayden closed the distance.
Marek swung, channeling everything into a reinforced stone fist.
Kayden didn't dodge.
He stepped inside the swing.
And punched.
No glow.
No enhancement.
Just a clean strike to the sternum.
Marek's eyes widened.
The impact sent him flying backward, crashing into the arena wall hard enough to crack it.
He slid down, unconscious.
The arena fell silent.
Group F Stands Alone
Dust settled.
Group D was down.
Rayden slowly lowered his lightning-charged arm.
Talking to himself in his mind, "what the hell is the guy taking up three cultivators, well I wouldn't lose to you no matter what".
"…You didn't use power," he said quietly.
Kayden dusted off his hands.
"I didn't need to."
Liora stared at him like she was seeing him for the first time.
No aura.
No spiritual fluctuation.
Yet he had dismantled three cultivators.
Her mind tingled uncomfortably.
He's not hiding strength, she realized.
He's hiding intention.
High above the arena, behind layered barriers, Principal Aria Nightfall stood with her hands clasped behind her back.
Her expression was unreadable.
"No aura," she murmured.
No spiritual surge.
No elemental resonance.
Yet the movements…
"They were too clean," she said softly.
Instructor Halden stood beside her, brow furrowed.
"He listened," Aria continued. "Not with his ears."
Her eyes narrowed.
"He's responding to something before it happens."
She turned slightly.
"Keep watching him."
Halden nodded slowly.
"For now."
Instructor Halden descended into the arena.
"Group F," he announced, voice steady but eyes sharp, "victory."
A ripple of reaction spread through the stands.
Kayden felt it.
Attention.
Danger.
[Notice: Exposure Increased]
[Recommendation: Maintain Low Profile]
Rayden scoffed quietly. "Low profile my ass."
Kayden smiled faintly.
As they left the arena, Rayden glanced at him again.
"You're really annoying," Rayden muttered.
Kayden replied calmly, "You should see me when I try."
Behind them, the academy watched.
Above them, the principal judged.
And deep within Kayden—
The system waited.