The final four stood atop the Sky Vine Arena.
Li Fan: battered but unbeaten, the Fourth Cauldron burning under his skin like molten lead.
Ren Tian: the Heavenly Sword Prodigy, eyes calm but blade-hungry.
Yue Xin: cold as winter moonlight, her aura veiled in elegant slaughter.
Mu Qiu: smiling, but his sleeves were heavy with talismans and vials—each one a trick to survive what he shouldn't.
Elder Hua's voice rang out like a bell.
> "Semifinal matchups will be determined by the Heaven-Drawing Stone!"
A jade slab hovered in the air. Each contestant sent a strand of Qi into it.
Names flashed.
The arena grew silent.
---
Match One: Ren Tian vs. Mu Qiu
Match Two: Li Fan vs. Yue Xin
The silence cracked like thunder.
Even the elders exchanged glances.
"This will be... delicate," whispered Grandmaster Feng, folding his arms.
---
⚔️ Match One: Ren Tian vs. Mu Qiu
They stepped onto the dueling platform.
Ren Tian drew his sword with a single breath. "Yield."
Mu Qiu grinned. "Can't. I already bet a spirit ginseng root on myself."
The match was swift—too swift.
Mu Qiu unleashed five spirit talismans, a smoke bomb, and a burst of poison mist… but Ren Tian moved like a thought and struck like thunder.
A single cut split the air—and Mu Qiu's shoulder bled.
He staggered.
But he smiled. "You didn't kill me. That counts as a win."
He fell unconscious before he hit the ground.
Ren Tian sheathed his sword.
"Next."
---
⚔️ Match Two: Li Fan vs. Yue Xin
The two stepped into the arena.
Yue Xin's gaze was unreadable. Her robes fluttered with frost Qi, her presence tranquil yet sharp.
"I heard you were saving your breakthrough for something important," she said softly.
"I am," Li Fan replied.
She stepped forward. "Then show me what you can do without it."
---
The battle began in silence—but exploded in an instant.
Yue Xin's frost art bloomed across the platform, forming lotus blossoms of absolute cold that cracked space itself. Her attacks were elegant—like calligraphy written in battle.
Li Fan met her with raw momentum, his fists heavy with Cauldron Force, each strike like a drum of war.
Frost clashed with fury. Stillness met storm.
But something strange happened.
They were… evenly matched.
For every frost barrier Yue Xin summoned, Li Fan shattered it with force. For every blow he struck, she redirected or softened it with Qi channels etched into the air.
Minutes passed.
Neither faltered.
---
Then Yue Xin stepped back.
"You're holding back," she said.
"So are you."
A pause.
Then, for the first time—she smiled.
> "Fine."
She raised her hands.
From above, a frozen star formed—drawn from the clouds themselves. Pure spirit energy condensed into an orb of crystallized death.
Li Fan's Cauldron Sea roared in answer. His muscles trembled. His vision blurred.
> "I said I wouldn't break through," he muttered. "But if I don't... I'll lose."
The Fifth Cauldron stirred.
It glowed. It burned.
But he crushed it with sheer will.
---
With a roar, Li Fan condensed every ounce of his body refinement into a single strike.
His Mountain Collapsing Fist met her Frozen Nova Palm in a brilliant clash of opposites.
The sky split.
The arena cracked.
A ring of spirit energy blew the spectators back.
And when the light faded—
Both stood.
Barely.
Yue Xin clutched her shoulder, blood dripping from her lips.
Li Fan's arm was limp. His ribs broken.
But the Elder Judge raised his hand.
> "Victory... Li Fan!"
---
As he staggered from the platform, thunder echoed above.
Lightning arced through the clouds.
Even holding back, he was pushing the limits.
One more step...
And the heavens would no longer wait.
---