In the following rounds, Ye Chen advanced steadily.
In the fourth round, his opponent was a boy wielding a short sword with swift, fierce techniques. But he relied too heavily on his weapon—Ye Chen used Spatial Perception to find an opening and knocked the sword from his hand with a single palm strike.
In the fifth round, his opponent was a fire-attribute Lingyuan master who could launch fist-sized fireballs. Ye Chen used Time Perception to predict the fireballs' trajectories, evaded them easily, then closed in for a decisive strike.
In the sixth round, his opponent was a boy who could form a Lingyuan shield with formidable defense. Ye Chen spent some time locating the shield's weak point, pierced it with a finger strike, and ended the match.
In every match, Ye Chen refrained from using Space Cutting.
Not because he couldn't, but because he didn't need to. Though these opponents were stronger than the first-round fighter, none had forced him to use his full strength. He needed to conserve his power for the stronger opponents ahead.
More importantly, he was observing.
Observing Bai Yu's fighting style. Observing the silver-haired girl's abilities. Observing the characteristics of the stocky boy and the gray-robed girl.
Bai Yu's fighting could only be described as "spectacular."
The Wind Lingyuan granted him astonishing speed. His footwork was as elusive as the wind—opponents could barely track his movements, often defeated before they realized what had happened. His attacks were not heavy, but extremely fast, too fast to defend against.
In three matches, Bai Yu's average completion time was under ten seconds.
"The ceiling of speed-types," Ye Chen assessed.
The silver-haired girl's fighting, by contrast, could be described as "cold."
Her name was Luo Li—Ye Chen had heard it from others' conversations. Her ice Lingyuan was astonishingly powerful; with each move, she could freeze her opponents solid. But she showed restraint, merely immobilizing them without causing real harm.
In three matches, each opponent was frozen in place, unable to move, forced to concede.
"Ultimate ice Lingyuan. Truly lives up to its reputation." Ye Chen was impressed.
The stocky boy was called Tie Shan, an earth-attribute Lingyuan user. His fighting style was simple and brutal—stand still and let his opponents strike him until they tired themselves out, then finish with one punch. His defense was absurd; ordinary attacks didn't even make him frown.
The gray-robed girl was called Qin Yurou, a light-attribute Lingyuan user, healing type. Her fighting style was the most unique—she didn't attack; she only defended. Whenever opponents struck at her, she blocked with a light shield and politely said, "Please concede." If they persisted, she continued blocking until they exhausted their Lingyuan.
In three matches, she hadn't won a single one, but she hadn't lost any either—her opponents all collapsed from exhaustion while she remained standing.
"These four…" Ye Chen surveyed them, making mental notes. "Will all be among the final ten."
And he himself was also in that list.
Finally, the seventh round.
This time, his opponent was a lightning-attribute Lingyuan master.
The boy stood on the arena, crackling blue arcs of electricity dancing around his body, his hair standing on end—an imposing sight. His eyes were sharp as he fixed them on Ye Chen, a cold smile on his lips.
"So you're that Space-Time attribute waste?"
Ye Chen did not respond.
"I heard you can predict movements?" The boy sneered. "Can you predict lightning?"
The referee raised his hand: "Begin!"
The boy pressed his palms together, and a blue electric arc shot from his hand straight toward Ye Chen's face.
Incredibly fast.
Ye Chen activated Time Perception and sidestepped. The arc flew past his cheek, leaving a faint burnt smell in the air.
"You dodged?" The boy was slightly surprised but quickly released a second and third arc.
Ye Chen weaved across the arena, barely evading each arc. But the lightning attribute's attack speed was too high—he had almost no chance to counterattack.
"This can't continue," Ye Chen thought.
Though Time Perception let him predict the arcs' trajectories, his body's speed was limited. He couldn't evade forever. Moreover, his Lingyuan was draining rapidly.
He needed to close in.
While evading, Ye Chen observed the boy's attack pattern. He noticed that after every three arcs, the boy paused briefly—the moment he needed to gather more Lingyuan.
"Now!"
After the third arc shot out, the boy drew his hands back to gather energy for the next wave. In that gap, Ye Chen surged forward, closing the distance like an arrow.
The boy's expression changed. He retreated hastily while forming a lightning shield before him.
Ye Chen did not charge through blindly. His Spatial Perception told him that though the shield appeared solid, it had a tiny weak spot at its lower right corner—a dead zone in the energy flow.
He raised his right hand, fingers together like a blade, and stabbed precisely at that weak point.
"Break!"
His fingertips pierced the shield and touched the boy's chest.
The boy grunted, the lightning shield shattered, and he flew backward, crashing heavily at the arena's edge.
But he did not concede.
Gritting his teeth, he rose, a flash of madness in his eyes. "You forced me to do this!"
He raised both hands, palms facing each other, a blazing blue light gathering between them. The light grew larger, brighter, the air around him thick with the pungent smell of ozone.
"Lightning Cannon!"
A beam as thick as a bucket shot from the boy's palms, carrying devastating power straight toward Ye Chen.
This attack was too powerful to block. Ye Chen's Time Perception told him its range covered almost the entire arena—nowhere to hide.
"I have to gamble."
Ye Chen took a deep breath and concentrated all his remaining Lingyuan into his right hand. His fingers trembled slightly; in his palm, a tiny spatial discontinuity was taking shape.
The Lightning Cannon was almost upon him.
Ye Chen raised his hand sharply, swinging it down like a blade to meet the beam.
"Space Cutting!"
Soundless.
The Lightning Cannon, powerful enough to shatter a stone wall, split in two before Ye Chen. Blue arcs of lightning flowed past him on both sides, blasting two craters into the arena floor.
Ye Chen stood unscathed.
Absolute silence fell over the crowd.
Everyone stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.
The boy stood frozen, his face pale. His strongest technique had been torn apart by a "useless attribute" with bare hands?
"Do you want to continue?" Ye Chen lowered his hand, his tone calm.
The boy opened his mouth, then finally shook his head in defeat. "I concede."
"Number thirty-seven wins!"
This time, even the referee's voice trembled slightly.
As Ye Chen descended from the arena, he felt everyone's eyes on him. Those looks held surprise, shock, disbelief, and… fear.
Bai Yu stood at the front of the crowd. His usual smile was gone, replaced by an unprecedented seriousness.
"What was that you just used?" Bai Yu asked.
Ye Chen glanced at him. "Space Cutting."
"Space…" Bai Yu murmured, then suddenly laughed. "Interesting. Very interesting. I'm starting to look forward to our match."
Ye Chen did not reply, walking toward the resting area.
But he could feel someone's gaze following him—from the eastern side of the arena, where the silver-haired girl stood.
Luo Li watched Ye Chen's retreating figure, a glint of something unusual flickering in her ice-blue eyes.
"Space-Time attribute…" she whispered, her voice so soft only she could hear. "So it truly exists."