The final match of the Grand Obsidian Ascension Tournament approached.
The massive stadium was packed to absolute capacity. Tens of thousands of outer disciples, inner peak geniuses, and grand elders waited in breathless anticipation.
Tony Clark stood near the edge of the central platform, his standard lazy posture perfectly intact. His fingers lightly grazed the sleek, runic bone of the Void Dragon's Shadow Bow slung across his back.
Before the referee could call the final combatants to the center, the space directly in front of the platform rippled with a dense, heavy aura.
A young man dressed in the magnificent, gold-trimmed robes of an elite inner-peak genius stepped forward. This was Julian Faith, the absolute top-ranked candidate of the tournament and the premier martial hope of the Faith Family. He looked down at Tony with a mask of calculated calmness, though his eyes carried a sharp, predatory gleam that showed his deep-seated arrogance.
