Chapter Forty-One: Narrow Victory

In such a predicament, I could not afford to panic, much less entertain thoughts of abandoning my attempts to evade the Flame Lord in favor of attacking the opposing summoner.

Suddenly, mere meters away, the Flame Lord’s figure flickered and vanished within the raging inferno. In the next instant, a searing heat flared behind me. I barely had time to react before a devastating blow landed squarely on my back.

With a wretched cry, I was hurled far across the arena, my health plunging at once to 1,450 points. My body spun through the air for over ten meters before crashing heavily into the rolling sea of fire.

I collapsed amid the blistering flames, my health ticking down by ten points per second. No sooner had I tumbled into this fiery ocean than a terrifying roar filled my ears again.

A signal of absolute danger rose sharply in my heart. Without hesitation, I called forth the Giant-Horned Lizard to defend me. The creature rushed to my side, but with a thunderous crash, a massive form collided with it, sending the lizard hurtling away to struggle in the fire.

Immediately, the Flame Lord’s immense body transformed into a blazing mass, bearing down upon me like a meteor.

A true crisis!

With the Giant-Horned Lizard flung aside and myself barely regaining my footing, it was already too late to summon the Tempest Wolf King for aid. In that split second, I slammed my fists together, unleashing the Sky-Splitting Wheel. The wheel fused with the surrounding flames, becoming an enormous fiery vortex.

Encircled on all sides by roaring flames, the Flame Lord had become a true demon of fire, spewing torrents of flame toward me. Agonized screams escaped me as my health burned away. The Flame Lord, now battered by the Sky-Splitting Wheel, could not withstand its force, issuing furious, enraged roars.

In the distance, Violet Moon stared in shock, unable to comprehend the nature or power of this skill. Her Flame Lord’s health was plummeting rapidly, surging waves of fire erupting throughout the arena. The entire stage was shrouded in crimson flames. While the fire had greatly augmented the Flame Lord’s might, the Sky-Splitting Wheel’s power had likewise grown. The flames devoured my life, while the wheel harvested the Flame Lord’s.

Despite taking the Sky-Splitting Wheel’s attack head-on, the Flame Lord was not cleaved apart, enduring the blow through sheer force. With a howl, it shook off the Sky-Splitting Wheel, its arms spread wide as a terrifying ring of fire expanded outward once more. The Tempest Wolf King, which had just rushed to my aid, was blasted far away, tumbling from the arena’s fiery edge and rolling to a halt.

Gradually, the surging flames in the arena subsided, and the Flame Lord’s roars and pained groans faded. As it paused to recover, the Tempest Wolf King seized the moment, unleashing its Destructive Death Ray. The blast sent the Flame Lord flying, crashing into the arena wall. Violet Moon, standing by her battered Flame Lord, gazed at it in utter disbelief, then looked at me—she had not expected her opponent to possess such powerful abilities. Her Flame Lord’s health had been reduced to less than a third—those last two attacks had stripped away two-thirds of its life. What a terrifying skill.

I was in no better shape. Leaning on the Tempest Wolf King to stand, my body was charred black as coal, my health reduced to only 900 points after the Flame Lord’s assaults.

Violet Moon stood frozen in disbelief before collecting herself. Realizing my health was low, she commanded sharply, “Attack now!” The Flame Lord, having caught its breath, let out another roar and charged at me once more.

She too charged forward. The Tempest Wolf King intercepted the Flame Lord, grappling with it. If the Giant-Horned Lizard had not perished in the flames, with two summoned beasts restraining one, my chances would have been far greater.

I had no time for further thought. With a shout, I summoned the last dregs of my strength, dragging my scorched body to face the Flame Lord head-on. No matter what, I had to bring down this monster first—only then would I have any hope of victory. Otherwise, I stood no chance at all. Of course, as this was only the preliminary round, I did not wish to reveal all my skills.

As I charged, the ring of fire detonated once more, slamming into me. The health I had just recovered fell away again. The Tempest Wolf King, struck by the blast, saw its remaining 1,000 health points halved in an instant—one more hit and it would surely die.

At the same moment, Violet Moon was also caught in the shockwave and thrown aside. As she flew, the Tempest Wolf King unleashed its Spiral Tempest, a powerful tornado surging toward her.

Almost simultaneously, I leaped at the Flame Lord. I could not allow it another opportunity to unleash that devastating ring attack. Sensing its master’s peril, the Flame Lord smashed both fists into the ground, but in that instant, my Ruyi Staff came crashing down upon its chest.

Whatever skill it had intended to use, it was too late. This crushing blow shattered its remaining life.

In that instant, the massive Flame Lord melted away, dissolving into a pool of viscous magma. Although Violet Moon dodged the Spiral Tempest, the Tempest Wolf King’s jaws still managed to clamp onto her.

The Flame Lord’s liquefied form quickly melted through the arena floor, leaving a deep, terrifying crimson crater at the center. From this abyss, countless balls of molten lava erupted like a shower of deadly stars. I retreated rapidly; a single fireball struck the Tempest Wolf King, dealing a staggering 4,000 points of damage and instantly erasing it from existence. I frantically dodged the barrage—one hit would spell my end. The fireballs pursued me relentlessly, making evasion a desperate task.

At last, after what felt like an eternity, the crater ceased its deadly eruptions. I paused, gasping, “Is it over?”

“You did well. In that case, how about this?” Violet Moon’s voice was cold. The ground began to tremble once more as magma surged from the crater, gushing skyward like a volcanic eruption. Even at a distance of dozens of meters, I could feel the searing heat and terrifying energy radiating from the molten flow.

From the erupting lava came a titanic roar, and then a colossal serpent, its entire body sheathed in fire-red stone and stretching over ten meters long, emerged. “The Lava Serpent—this is my other elemental summon besides the Flame Lord. I didn’t expect you to force me to summon it. Weiwei Long, I must admit, you are truly formidable. But in your current state, defeating my Lava Serpent will not be easy,” Violet Moon declared.

I was stunned. I had never imagined that, in addition to the fearsome demon summon, my opponent also possessed such a powerful elemental beast. In the next instant, Violet Moon cracked her whip, sending the Lava Serpent surging toward me with incredible speed. Its massive head reached me in a flash, sending me flying high into the air. My health plummeted to its lowest ebb.

Gulping down a handful of potions, I barely managed to stay conscious as the serpent’s body slammed into me, hurling me to the ground with bone-crushing force.

Blood spurted from my mouth as the Lava Serpent’s gaping maw descended upon me. The impact shook the arena, raising clouds of dust and gouging a huge pit. The serpent’s jaws crushed my body completely. Violet Moon smiled, but her smile quickly turned to shock as my shattered form dissolved into a wisp of blue smoke. She was not the only one astonished—the entire crowd was taken aback. In that instant, Violet Moon sensed a chill at her back. She spun around, but it was already too late. The Ruyi Staff crashed down upon her as she turned, a damage value of 1,320 points flashing above her head as she left the arena, her face frozen in surprise.

Though the system declared my victory, I felt little joy. The Second World was a place of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. I had grown somewhat arrogant, convinced that my green equipment and strong attributes made me invincible. But despite my gear and stats, my control and technique were still lacking compared to true experts. This battle left a deep impression on me—I took a long, steadying breath, realizing I needed to train even harder. In the Second World, a single step behind could see you left far behind by others. The advantage of superior attributes and equipment would soon be overtaken if I did not keep up; I might soon find myself dropped from the ranks of the elite.

Leaving the arena, I reflected that, were it not for my feinting moves and my Wings of a Thousand Li skill, I might well have lost just now. This was already the third round—75% of the competitors had been eliminated. Only the true experts remained.

The others had already emerged. Seeing Long Xin’s delighted expression, I knew she had won. As I joined them, Feng Xiao Yue spoke up, “Long Ling, you really gave me a scare just now—I thought you were going to lose. Seems I was worrying too much.”

I forced a smile. “Yes, haha. How did you all do?”

Feng Xiao Yue replied, “Long Xin and I both won, but Ye Zi and Xiao Xi lost.”

“Who did you lose to?” I asked curiously.

Ye Shuang, clearly upset, replied, “I lost to Phantom Moon. That guy is a total monster—I couldn’t even touch him before he comboed me to death. Xiao Xi faced One Sword Dust—he finished her with a single sword energy slash.”

I thought their defeats were not undeserved. Phantom Moon was a hidden class with a veritable sea of powerful skills. One Sword Dust possessed sword energy, a long-range killing technique. Combined with his high attack power, he could easily one-shot Xiao Xi, the archer.