The Grand Arena of the Myriad Beast Hall was packed beyond capacity. It was a sea of noise, color, and tension. The Emperor himself sat in the highest box behind a shimmering veil of protective energy, a silent testament to the magnitude of this final match.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" The announcer's voice shook the stadium, amplified by wind magic until it rattled the teeth of everyone in the cheap seats. "THE MOMENT YOU HAVE WAITED FOR! THE GRAND FINALS!"
"On the Left! The Pride of the Empire! The Golden Talons! The Royal Academy Team!"
The crowd roared as Prince Zhao walked out, flanked by two elite students riding armored Thunder-Rhinos. The Rhinos were massive, their hides plated with enchanted steel, shaking the ground with every step. Above them soared the Golden Roc, a streak of pure sunlight cutting through the sky.
"And on the Right! The Kings of the Roach! The Lords of the Stink! The Twilight Stable!"
Su Ye walked out.
This time, there was no booing. There was no laughter. There was a hushed, terrified curiosity. The crowd had learned that when Su Ye walked out with a smile, reality was about to bend.
Gao Ming was wrapped tight in his grey cloak, looking like a wandering monk who had lost his monastery. Lin Fan walked stiffly, the twisted Echo Bone duct-taped to his chest armor. Luo Bing walked with her head high, her eyes locked on her cousin, her hands clutching the closed Heart of the Frozen North box.
And Su Ye... Su Ye was carrying Zhu Zhu. But Zhu Zhu was wearing a tiny, glittery vest made of reflective glass shards that Su Ye had glued together the night before.
"What is that?" Prince Zhao called out from across the arena, squinting at the pig as it caught the sun.
"High fashion," Su Ye called back. "You wouldn't understand."
The referee raised his hand, sweat beading on his forehead. "The rules are standard. Defeat the opposing team. No killing. BEGIN!"
The gong sounded.
"Sky Dominance!" Prince Zhao commanded instantly.
The Golden Roc shrieked and launched itself higher into the air. It ascended so fast it vanished into the clouds, becoming a golden speck ready to drop like a guillotine. The two Thunder-Rhinos charged on the ground, a wall of unstoppable muscle and metal.
"Formation Turtle!" Su Ye shouted.
Lin Fan stepped forward. He didn't attack. He slammed his bronze gauntlets together.
CLANG.
He channeled his Qi into the Echo Bone strapped to his chest. But he didn't aim it at the Rhinos. He aimed it at the ground.
VRRRRMMMM.
A low-frequency vibration sphere erupted around the Twilight Team. It wasn't a damaging attack; it was a localized earthquake. The charging Rhinos hit the sound barrier and stumbled, their sensitive inner ears disrupted by the sudden shift in ground frequency. They shook their massive heads, dazed, their charge broken.
"From the Sky!" Zhao commanded, seeing his ground game falter. "Golden Roc! Divine Strike!"
The Golden Roc folded its wings and dived. It was a golden meteor, moving faster than sound. It aimed straight for Luo Bing.
"Now! The Bait!" Su Ye yelled.
Su Ye threw Zhu Zhu into the air.
The pig, wearing the vest of reflective glass shards, spun in the sunlight. It caught the noon sun, refracting it into a blinding, spinning disco-ball of sparkles.
Zzzzt.
"SHINY!" The Golden Roc Ancestor (who Su Ye wasn't even touching, but whose instincts were universal) screamed in the Roc's brain.
The diving Roc saw the spinning, glittering pig. Its predatory instinct clashed violently with its magpie instinct. Kill the girl? Or grab the shiny thing?
It hesitated. For a microsecond, the dive faltered as the bird adjusted its trajectory toward the pig.
"Gao Ming! The Shroud!" Su Ye commanded.
Gao Ming, who had been standing perfectly still and silent (and thus was invisible under the cloak), suddenly dropped the cloak.
He appeared out of thin air, directly in the path of the diving Roc, holding a giant red banner that said "LOOK AT ME!"
"I AM THE PHANTOM STAG!" Gao Ming screamed at the top of his lungs, breaking his silence with explosive volume.
The sudden appearance of a screaming boy in mid-air (he had jumped off a rock) completely broke the Roc's target lock. The bird screeched in confusion, flapping its wings frantically to brake.
It stalled. For one second, the fastest bird in the world was stationary, hovering ten feet off the ground, confused by a glittery pig and a screaming boy.
"BING! NOW!" Su Ye roared.
Princess Luo Bing stepped forward. She held the Heart of the Frozen North in her hands. She kicked the lid open.
"Ice Phoenix..." she whispered, her eyes glowing blue. "...Absolute Zero Prison."
She didn't cast a spell. She simply dumped the contents of the box—pure, concentrated glacial essence—toward the stalled bird.
The cold was absolute. It flashed through the arena.
The Golden Roc didn't freeze into a block of ice. That would be too simple. The humidity in the air turned into solid heavy chains of ice that wrapped around the bird's wings, anchoring it to the ground.
CRASH.
The Golden Roc fell, slamming into the dirt, weighed down by a hundred pounds of flash-frozen atmosphere.
"What?!" Prince Zhao stood up in his stirrups, horrified. His invincible bird was grounded.
"Pig! Eat!" Su Ye pointed at the Rhinos.
Zhu Zhu, who had landed safely, trotted over to the dazed Rhinos. He didn't attack them. He attacked their armor.
CRUNCH.
Zhu Zhu bit the strap holding the saddle on the lead Rhino. The magical leather snapped like paper. The saddle collapsed, dumping the Royal Academy student face-first into the mud.
"Lin Fan! Brown Note! Maximum Output!"
Lin Fan aimed the Echo Bone at the fallen Prince Zhao.
BWAAAAAAAAH.
The sound wave hit the Prince. His perfect hair blew back. His golden armor rattled. And his stomach... his stomach rebelled.
Prince Zhao doubled over, clutching his gut, his face turning green. The majestic aura of the Royal Academy shattered under the assault of pure nausea.
"Surrender!" Su Ye shouted, walking calmly across the field while his students unleashed chaos. "Or my pig eats your pants next!"
The Golden Roc struggled, but the ice chains held. The Rhinos were riderless and confused. The Prince was fighting the urge to vomit.
Prince Zhao looked up at Su Ye. He looked at the glittery pig chewing on a saddle. He looked at the invisible screaming boy waving a banner.
He realized he wasn't fighting Tamers. He was fighting a force of nature.
"I... yield," Zhao gasped, holding his hand up.
The gong sounded.
"WINNER! AND NEW CHAMPIONS! THE TWILIGHT STABLE!"
The crowd didn't just cheer. They roared. It was the upset of the century. The underdogs had dethroned the royalty.
Su Ye walked over to the Prince. He held out a hand to help him up.
"Good game," Su Ye said. "I believe you owe my student an apology."
Prince Zhao stood up, shaky but dignified. He wiped a streak of mud from his face. He looked at Luo Bing, who was standing tall, her Phoenix perched proudly on her shoulder.
Zhao walked over to her. He bowed. Deeply.
"Cousin," Zhao said, his voice amplified for the whole stadium. "I was wrong. You have found a true path. I apologize for my arrogance."
Luo Bing nodded, tears streaming down her face. She had done it. She had reclaimed her honor.
Su Ye turned to the crowd, raising Zhu Zhu (who was eating the Prince's sash) into the air like a trophy.
The Roach King had ascended. The era of the Twilight Stable had begun.
But as Su Ye basked in the victory, he felt a cold shiver. Not from the ice box. But from the Ancestors.
Zzzzt.
"Be careful, boy," the Tortoise Ancestor whispered, his voice devoid of its usual laziness. "You made too much noise. The Void is listening. And it is hungry."
Su Ye's smile faded slightly. He looked up at the sky.
The tournament was over. But the real danger was just waking up.