"Match Four."
"Lin Hao — Starfall Second Academy."
"Wei Jin — Starfall Tenth Academy."
The moment the names appeared, the noise surged.
Starfall Second was a major academy.
Lin Hao wasn't just their first rank—he was famous.
At the same time, another wave rose from the opposite side.
"Tenth Academy!"
"Wei Jin!"
The screens shifted.
---
Student Profile Display
Lin Hao
Academy: Starfall Second Academy
Primary Monster Gene: Cloudmane Silver Lion
Elemental Affinity: Light — Mid-High
Rank: Three-Star Warrior [High]
Wei Jin
Academy: Starfall Tenth Academy
Primary Monster Gene: — Undisclosed
Elemental Affinity: Lightning, Water
Rank: Three-Star Warrior [High]
---
Lin Hao stepped onto the platform first, posture relaxed, hands loose at his sides. Faint light gathered around him without effort, soft but unmistakably powerful. He looked confident. Like someone who had always expected to be here.
Wei Jin followed from the opposite side.
No display of power.
No unnecessary movement.
Just calm.
The barrier rose.
Before the signal sounded, Lin Hao glanced over and smiled— with interest.
"You did well getting this far," he said casually. "Tenth Academy doesn't usually make it to this stage."
Jin stopped a few steps away. "Is that all?"
Lin Hao laughed quietly. "Straight to the point, huh?"
Jin met his eyes. "Are you here to talk, or are you actually going to fight?"
The smile on Lin Hao's face widened.
The signal sounded.
Light exploded beneath Lin Hao's feet.
[ Radiant Drift ]
He vanished in a flash, reappearing to Jin's left in the same breath, palm glowing as it swept toward Jin's ribs.
The strike never landed.
Jin turned slightly and caught Lin Hao's wrist.
Just enough.
The light dispersed on contact, rippling uselessly across Jin's forearm before fading.
The arena went quiet.
Lin Hao blinked once.
Jin released him and stepped back. "That's it? I expected more."
For the first time, Lin Hao's expression changed—not anger, not shock, but surprise sharpened into interest.
""Oh," he muttered. "Guess you weren't exaggerating."
Light flared again.
[ Lion's Gleam ]
A radiant pressure burst outward as Lin Hao surged forward, fists striking in rapid succession, each blow layered with light meant to overwhelm and blind.
Jin didn't retreat.
Lightning flickered faintly along his legs as he shifted, deflecting one strike, slipping past another. A thin layer of water clung to his movements, redirecting force instead of resisting it.
He stepped inside Lin Hao's guard and drove his shoulder forward.
Lin Hao was forced back two steps.
The audience stirred.
"Did he just push Lin Hao back?"
"No way—"
Jin didn't stop.
He moved in again, faster now, pressure mounting with every step.
"You people from top academies," Jin said calmly as he attacked, his strikes clean and relentless, "are always talking about low academies like we don't belong here."
Lin Hao blocked, light flaring as he absorbed a blow, boots scraping against the platform.
Jin pressed harder.
"From now on," Jin continued, not raising his voice, not slowing down, "I'll show you what we can actually do."
He struck again.
And again.
Lin Hao barely had time to stabilize before another attack came in, Jin giving him no space to breathe, no room to reset.
The crowd was fully on its feet now.
This wasn't a fluke.
This wasn't luck.
Lin Hao slid back, light pulsing brighter around him as he finally steadied himself, eyes gleaming with excitement instead of disdain.
"…Interesting," he said, grin sharp. "Looks like I underestimated you."
Lightning crackled faintly around Jin's fingers as he took another step forward.
The fight had only just begun.
The pressure on the platform kept climbing.
Lin Hao steadied his footing, light pooling around him more densely now, no longer casual or playful. The earlier ease was gone. What replaced it was focus—sharp, excited, serious.
"So that's how you fight," he said, rolling his shoulders once. "Good. Then I won't hold back either."
He inhaled slowly.
The light around him compressed instead of expanding, drawing inward until it clung tightly to his body, outlining him like a second skin. The air itself seemed to thin.
Someone in the audience sucked in a breath.
"That stance—"
Lin Hao lifted his hand, fingers curling.
[ Unique Skill — King's Radiant Descent ]
The light detonated.
A massive projection of a lion's silhouette surged forward with Lin Hao at its core, every step cracking the platform beneath him. This wasn't speed meant to confuse or pressure meant to suppress. It was dominance—raw, overwhelming force meant to crush whatever stood in front of it.
"Move!" someone shouted instinctively.
Jin didn't.
He stood his ground as the light bore down on him, hair lifting, clothes snapping violently in the pressure. Lightning crawled across his arms, not flaring wildly, but tightening—coiling inward, gathering.
Chen's hands clenched in the stands.
"He's not dodging?"
Jin stepped forward instead.
Lightning surged up his arm, shaping itself around his fingers, sharp and condensed, arcs snapping like living blades.
[ Lightning Claw ]
He met Lin Hao head-on.
Light and lightning collided.
The impact didn't explode outward—it crushed inward, the sound like thunder being strangled mid-roar. For a split second, both forces locked, sparks and radiance tearing at each other in violent spirals.
The barrier groaned.
Lin Hao's eyes widened as resistance met his unique skill head-on.
Jin pushed.
The lightning claw tore through the lion-shaped radiance, shredding it piece by piece. The light fractured, collapsed, and finally shattered completely.
Lin Hao was thrown backward, skidding across the platform before barely catching himself on one knee, breath sharp, chest heaving.
Silence swallowed the arena.
Before Lin Hao could rise—
Jin was already there.
Water surged beneath his feet, lightning threading through it as he drove forward in one final motion, his strike clean, controlled, and merciless.
Lin Hao raised his arms too late.
The blow sent him crashing to the ground, the light around him flickering out completely.
The medic signal flared.
---
[ Match Ended ]
Winner: Wei Jin — Starfall Tenth Academy
For a heartbeat, no one spoke.
Then the arena erupted.
Not shock this time. Not disbelief.
Recognition.
Jin stood still, breathing steady, lightning fading quietly from his hand. He looked down once, then stepped back as medics rushed in.
From the top academy sections, faces were tight.
From the lower academies, voices broke loose—cheers, shouts, names being yelled without restraint.
Lin Hao was helped up, still dazed. Before being led away, he glanced back once, eyes burning—not with resentment, but excitement.
"…So you're really that kind of opponent," he muttered.
Jin didn't respond.
He turned and walked off the platform.
Behind him, the screens updated.
And somewhere among the officials, more than one person realized the same uncomfortable truth—
This wasn't something they could control anymore.