Splash!
The sound of the pressured ink pillar hitting the lake woke everyone from their daze and made them at last acknowledge the existence of Dominic.
He was so fast, he saved Li Mei, fixed his attire, dropped her off, talked, and only then did the ink pillar return to the lake’s embrace!
Even Levi, who was proud of his auditory vision, failed to understand what happened.
’So fast... he is so fast, it looked like he teleported, not even my harmonic spine can keep up.’ He sucked in a cold breath, ’Is this what it’s like to be the strongest Daywalker in the world?’
’He is decent.’
Ash’Kral said lazily, but Levi paid him no attention, eavesdropping on the conversation Dominic was having with his ’sponsored’ teams.
"You guys know that if you lose ten times, it’s over, right?" Dominic said calmly, "I really want that prick as my right hand, so get your shit together... otherwise, the only site you will be exploring is your rooms back in the Conference."
With that warning uttered, Dominic left behind an electrical spark and returned to Feng Ling’s side.
"Starting to get nervous?"
"Shut up, it’s not over yet."
Feng Ling snickered and switched his focus back on Jasmine... Then, he asked her if she was going to continue or take a rest through a dimensional message.
She replied with one finger raised up... meaning she still had one more round in her.
"Tough luck for your side." Feng Ling announced, "Next fighter!"
While Levi’s side was cheering and high-fiving at Jasmine’s single-handedly defeating four Daywalkers, and still seemed to desire more, the Conference teams’ side wasn’t doing too good... their mental was at an all-time low.
"I am sorry... I thought I had it."
Li Mei apologized to Yanhuan while fiddling with her fingers... her entire body was covered in ink... If it wasn’t for her swarm shielding her from the explosions, she might have lost a limb at minimum.
Although she was fine, Dominic had noticed that Jasmine’s brush was tainted with white ink as she waited for her descent... he didn’t want to find out what would have happened to Li Mei if she were touched by it.
"Don’t, you did more than I asked for... great efforts."
Yanhuan praised her with a head pat and turned to face the captains and the others, his expression turning cold all of a sudden.
"You heard Sir Dominic... our performance doesn’t represent the elite status of the Conference in the slightest... I know she is powerful with Aspects I still can’t grasp at all, but until when are we going to have our asses kicked by her? Don’t you think it’s embarrassing for a single Daywalker from a low-ranked region to defeat four of us and still look to aim for more?"
He paused and scanned everyone’s gloomy expressions.
"Wake up, people... I have seen you at your best and lowest, and besides Li Mei, who has given it all, your performance is a mockery to our regions, agencies, and status as the best of our generation."
Hearing enough, Tyrese lifted his head and walked to Yanhuan, his size towering over him... then, he leaned closer and uttered indifferently, "Little Majesty... if you want to lecture your teammates, go ahead, wash them as you would like... but don’t f*cking involve me or my people ever again... got it?"
Yanhuan was unfazed by his threat, not sweating a drop... he tilted his head slightly and said coldly, "Your teammate Blake is next, tell him to get his shit together and get rid of her... Li Mei has already destroyed all of her warriors, and she can’t restore them in form without exhausting her entire reservoir."
Before Tyrese could respond, Yanhuan walked back next to his teammates and said with his back facing him.
"If I knew it would end like this, I would have gone first and gotten rid of them on my own... how bothersome."
Evangeline and Tyrese remained silent... as cocky as Yanhuan was, they were the only ones who had experienced his full power and lived to tell the tale.
They knew he was right... even if Jasmine was at full power, he would have wiped the floor with her, or so they believed.
"If you don’t send anyone in the next three seconds, I will consider it a forfeit."
"Blake, do what you have to do."
Hearing Feng Ling’s irritated voice from above, Tyrese tapped the shoulder of a slender white boy with messy, short platinum blond hair.
He wore a sleeveless navy vest over a silver mesh shirt, paired with black cargo pants tucked into steel-toed boots... He had a tattoo of a two-headed peacock whose tail extended outside the tattoo’s border, emitting an electrifying shock, on his left temple... It was hidden a bit by his hair.
"Dontchu worry, bosh, I got thish."
Blake spoke with a lisp, his voice somewhat immature, like he hadn’t gone through puberty yet... Then, he walked in the direction of the inked lake, eyeing Jasmine, who was standing above the lake peacefully.
"Ink ish shtill water... in water, I am sha king!"
He uttered coolly while summoning his signature weapon... a long peacock feather that resembled a whip. The twist? It was emitting black electricity nonstop.
"Sha king... he will be sha crushed just like the rest of ush." Mira sneered, mocking his lisp.
No one showed much of a reaction, knowing that although Mira and Blake were under Tyrese’s team, they were like fire and water... always bickering.
They only wished that she was wrong, but alas... the fight ended faster than any other fight.
Jasmine, knowing that she had only enough energy for this round, did something no one could have predicted... the moment he stepped into the arena, the ink lake retracted into Jasmine’s ethereal palm, resembling a gigantic black hole.
She balanced it atop the brush’s tip... and before Blake could even register what she was doing, Jasmine flicked the brush to the side and calmly walked back toward her teammates.
As for the giant ink sphere? It splashed into the ground, creating a mesmerizing giant calligraphy in the shape of a full name... Blake Thompson
The moment Dominic and Feng Ling saw his name written in ink and started to shimmer, their hearts skipped a beat... even when they had never seen this ability before, Dominic swiftly picked up Blake while Feng Ling released a powerful tornado to get rid of the letters!
"Why did shou do that?! I haven’t done anyshing yet!"
Blake complained the moment Dominic put him down next to his teammates, having no clue that he was an inch away from getting killed.
"Shut it, brat, your life wasn’t yours anymore..." Dominic uttered solemnly as he gazed at Jasmine’s back.
’Jasmine, if your ability were to be activated, what would it do?’ Feng Ling asked dimensionally as he gazed at the splattered ink everywhere.
Jasmine merely shrugged her shoulders with a smile.
"..."
"..."
Both Feng Ling and Mao were left speechless, realizing that maybe Jasmine had bluffed them all. She knew that her energy was low and couldn’t go for a prolonged battle.
Instead of fighting, she wrote Blake’s name on the field without saying anything else... but because her powers were too mystical and seemed to have capabilities of shifting reality, she left everything to their imagination.
Neither Dominic nor Feng Ling dared to wait and see what would happen after the name was activated.
"What happened?" Dominic asked after returning.
"I believe we have been bamboozled." Feng Ling smiled faintly.
"Shit... I knew she couldn’t kill anyone with just a name, but her powers are too mystical to dare test them." Dominic rubbed his eyes in annoyance.
Dominic had seen a lot of powers, but to kill someone purely with his name? He had never seen it before, and even if it existed, he believed it should be an endgame ability... Still, it was better to be safe than sorry.
"You’re telling them?"
"Not a chance."
"Suit yourself." Feng Ling glanced below and announced, "Five-minute break until the arena is cleaned."
Hearing this, Levi and the others grouped up with Jasmine, giving her high fives for her absolute masterwork of a performance.
Although she hadn’t defeated a captain, she took down five Daywalkers, with Li Mei being the closest to a captain’s strength... she did it in a row!
’I just wanna know... what would have happened if the written name remained?’ Levi asked privately, his curiosity eating him away.