The Price of Victory

“I await your guidance!” Shangshan Huichuan was clearly a taciturn individual, initiating the battle without a single word. Whatever they had come for, it would be decided in combat.

From Su Han’s perspective, her opponent was undoubtedly a bloodline cultivator. Shangshan Huichuan was clad in pale yellow armor, devoid of a magic staff, which immediately dismissed the notion of her being a mage.

For mages below the magician rank, a magic staff served as their most crucial weapon.

Had she been a knight, a lance or a shield and sword would have been her companions. Yet, like Su Han, Shangshan Huichuan stood unarmed.

This led Su Han to initially conclude that her opponent was a bloodline cultivator, though the specifics of her rank and lineage remained elusive. Even Su Han’s unique ‘golden finger’ ability couldn’t unveil these details, for it was not truly omnipotent.

Shangshan Huichuan closed in, favoring a style of brutal hand-to-hand combat. A flurry of white fist-shadows, imbued with terrifying force, materialized abruptly before Su Han.

Each strike sent subtle ripples through the very air, while deafening sonic booms, reminiscent of distant thunder, reverberated without cease.

In an instant, Su Han’s blood surged with exhilaration. She felt a profound resonance within her veins, an undeniable urge for a truly exhilarating battle, where victory and defeat held little sway.

As Shangshan Huichuan’s fist hurtled toward her face, Su Han instinctively arched her back, twisting her head to narrowly escape. Yet, the sheer force of the blow was relentless.

The sharp gust of the punch solidified into a potent energy, slicing several crimson marks across Su Han’s flawless countenance, as if etched by a razor’s edge.

In that moment, Su Han acutely perceived the true tier of her opponent’s bloodline. ‘A peak Fourth-tier bloodline!’ she realized.

Though Su Han herself had only recently ascended to the Fourth-tier, her noble lineage ensured she wasn’t immediately at a disadvantage during their short skirmish. Nevertheless, she knew that a protracted battle would undeniably spell her defeat.

‘No, I must devise a plan!’ Su Han wiped the fresh blood from her cheek, then decisively launched her own assault.

Pushing off her toes, Shangshan Huichuan delivered a powerful vertical kick. Su Han parried it with her forearm, then abruptly dropped into a squat, spinning into a sweeping leg kick that left afterimages in its wake.

Like a nimble feline, Shangshan Huichuan vaulted backward. From her wrist, a dark blur shot forth, hurtling towards Su Han.

With no time to discern its nature, Su Han activated her forbidden eye technique—[Kaleidoscope of the Void]. Her double pupils manifested, and time seemed to decelerate, revealing a dagger launching from Shangshan Huichuan’s wrist.

Under the effect of attacks slowing by more than twofold, Su Han narrowly evaded the projectile.

‘A hidden weapon?’ Su Han’s guard immediately rose; her opponent was clearly more complex than she’d assumed. She then channeled her bloodline skill—[Gluttony].

Su Han made a drastic choice: she would sacrifice half her own blood to amplify her combat prowess threefold. With a rapid surge of power, she launched herself at Shangshan Huichuan, moving with such blinding speed that only dazzling afterimages remained.

Su Han’s [Gluttony] was a fundamental bloodline skill inherent to the Destructive Dragon species. As a bloodline cultivator herself, her adversary naturally possessed a repertoire of her own unique abilities.

Sensing Su Han’s aura escalate to an utterly terrifying state, Shangshan Huichuan ceased holding back. She let out a sharp cry, ‘[Transformation]!’

Her entire form became engulfed in a brilliant, silvery-white radiance. Then, a resounding ‘Roar!’ ripped through the air, followed by the clear, piercing cry of a dragon.

As the milky, silver-white glow dissipated, it revealed a rather slender silver tyrannosaurus, over four meters in length. Its scales shimmered with a smooth, delicate silver, and its razor-sharp claws gleamed like polished daggers.

‘Dragon Transformation! No, it’s Shapeshifting!’ Dragon Transformation was a bloodline skill Su Han could only acquire upon reaching the Fifth-tier. To her astonishment, her opponent had mastered it at the peak of the Fourth-tier!

Yet, this wasn’t Su Han’s greatest surprise. Given the inherent dominance of her own bloodline, it wasn’t unusual for her to only learn Dragon Transformation at the Fifth-tier, especially since her version was considerably more powerful than others’.

What truly left Su Han aghast was the revelation that her opponent was, in fact, a genuine member of the Dragon Race! Moreover, the ability she wielded wasn’t [Dragon Transformation], but [Shapeshifting]!

This implied her opponent was a direct descendant of an Ancient Dragon!

As she gazed upon the shimmering, silver-white form, Su Han’s memories flashed through her mind. She simultaneously parried the silver tyrannosaurus’s ferocious assaults and delved into contemplation.

‘I’ve got it!’ ‘It’s the Silver Dragon race! The swiftest of all species!’ Even common silver dragons could achieve supersonic speeds, creating sonic booms.

Adults surpassed Mach speeds, while the most formidable among them were said to attain the speed of light!

A knot of unease tightened in Su Han’s chest as she observed Shangshan Huichuan’s transformed silver dragon. Her opponent belonged to the inherently fastest species, and even as a juvenile, Su Han found herself struggling to parry the onslaught.

The silver dragon struck with startling unpredictability, sometimes with immense ferocity, at other times ambushing from behind. Its speed was pushed to its absolute limit, leaving Su Han utterly overwhelmed and disoriented.

There were no discernible afterimages, only a cacophony of buzzing sonic booms filling the air.

Upon Shangshan Huichuan’s transformation, her delicate, petite head became covered in intricate scales. Two pointed horns, split into two rows, crowned her head like sky-piercing blades.

Her pale blue eyes, enigmatic as the luminous moon that once graced the skies of the Ael’tara continent, held an unfathomable depth.

Under Shangshan Huichuan’s ferocious, lightning-fast assault, Su Han was forced into a desperate retreat, barely fending off the blows. Beneath the immense pressure, an eerie stillness settled over the battlefield, broken only by the ‘thump, thump, thump’ of their combat and Su Han’s ragged gasps.

As Su Han continuously stumbled back, unable to withstand the barrage, the very stone floor beneath her cracked and groaned. A web of fissures rapidly spread from her feet, watched by countless, stunned onlookers.

Shangshan Huichuan’s attacks were blindingly swift, like bolts of lightning. Yet, in that critical moment, Su Han achieved a profound calm.

Her cooled-down skills reactivated, and her dormant double pupils resurfaced. Employing her ocular technique, she drastically slowed her opponent’s movements, then awaited the opportune moment to break free from the relentless assault.

‘Indeed, she is incredibly powerful!’

However, Su Han, having already reached the Fourth-tier, commanded more than just the basic skill of [Gluttony]. Under Shangshan Huichuan’s unyielding barrage, Su Han recognized the futility of seeking an opening.

Instead, she swiftly widened the gap between them. As Shangshan Huichuan prepared to lunge once more, Su Han unleashed her bloodline skill: [Blood Feast]!

[Blood Feast], also known as the Blood Explosion Art, bore a resemblance to the Corpse Explosion Art—save for its nature as a self-detonation! This technique involved pushing one’s own blood to its absolute limit, then triggering a violent collision within, causing it to erupt and unleash colossal energy.

This was a technique of self-sacrifice, where one endured a thousand units of damage to inflict eight hundred upon the foe. Su Han would never resort to it unless absolutely all other options were exhausted!

Indeed, it wasn’t the more favorable ‘harm eight hundred to inflict a thousand,’ but rather ‘harm a thousand to inflict eight hundred!’

Within Su Han, her blood boiled with an intense fervor, channeled to its absolute zenith. A pale red mist erupted from her form, coalescing into a shimmering crimson veil that draped over her skin.

Beneath the watchful eyes of the multitude in the plaza, a blinding flash of light erupted, unleashing a torrential wave of air. Such immense power elicited gasps of astonishment from many.

“Boom~!”

A colossal explosion reverberated, accompanied by a mournful dragon’s cry and a gush of dark, viscous blood.

Shangshan Huichuan, flung to the very edge of the stage by the blast, bore the marks of its fury; her silver dragon scales were charred and flaking away. She sorrowfully exhaled a stream of blue dragon’s breath, attempting to corrode Su Han, but her power was already insufficient to sustain her transformation.

With a soft ‘plop,’ she reverted to her original human form and toppled from the combat platform’s edge, falling unconscious amidst the spectators.

Shangshan Huichuan lay unconscious within the crowd, a faint trickle of blood seeping from the corner of her lips.

In stark contrast, Su Han’s face was ashen, her features drawn with exhaustion. Despite the blood welling at her lips, a faint, resolute smile graced her face as she stood steadfast in the arena’s center.

‘I must grow stronger. How could I ever truly lose?’

The Destructive Dragon species’ Blood Explosion Art carried an inherent Soul Explosion effect. Consequently, Shangshan Huichuan’s physical form remained largely intact; however, her spirit had sustained damage, leading to instability and rendering her unconscious.

Su Han, conversely, had sustained even more grievous injuries. She, too, should have succumbed to unconsciousness, yet the dual, profound trauma to both her soul and body subjected her to a mental agony like ‘ice and fire’.

Even if she were to faint, the sheer pain would invariably jolt her awake.

With her magic utterly depleted, Su Han’s form regressed, becoming childlike once more. She coughed up a mouthful of vibrant crimson blood, then, wiping her lips, offered a sweet, innocent smile.

“I won this match, didn’t I?”

“Hmm,” the referee murmured, momentarily failing to recognize the childlike Su Han. Upon hearing her words, he hastily declared: “I announce the victor of this match to be—Su Han!”

“Congratulations to her on successfully entering the Inner Court!”

A thunderous applause erupted, yet Su Han was beyond hearing it. She lay sprawled upon the dark blue-grey floor, having succumbed to a profound unconsciousness…