"A second consecutive loss for Rodova, this makes things very hard—"
"It's Su Yang who steps up now for Rodova. Can he turn things around?" Derek said, as Su Yang walked onto the arena amidst muffled cheers from the Rodova supporters, whose dream of winning the championship after 22 years now hung by a thread, unraveling with each breath.
He walked with the calm confidence of someone who had mastered his craft, as he did not seem worried about who he was going to face at all, and was confident in defeating anyone that dared step up against him.
And while he was ready to face anyone, if there was one man he wanted to face more than anyone else, it was Su Ran—and to his joy, as if summoned by fate, it was Su Ran who appeared from the opposite gate.
A faint smile touched Su Ran's lips as he raised his silver spear and bowed slightly. "Good luck for the fight, brother—may the best fighter amongst us win," he said smoothly, his voice low, calm, and cordial.
As just listening to his disgusting voice made Su Yang's blood boil with rage.
If any other fighter said those words, and offered him that innocent-looking smile, Su Yang would have smiled back or offered him good luck—but never for Su Ran.
Because he knew that smile very well.
Knew that tone.
Knew that bow.
And knew just how fake it all was—
Everything about Su Ran was fake.
That display of nobility and grace—designed solely for the Patriarch watching from above—was an act meant to please and nothing more.
Just another performance in Su Ran's lifelong play to appear dignified and respectable, just like a snake wearing silk robes.
In truth, he was nothing more than a bastard child trying to play prince. A half-blood who had to pretend to be humble at every step of his upbringing because deep down, he knew what he really was.
And his fakeness repulsed Su Yang more than anything else.
"Rot in hell, commoner—" Su Yang spat, pointing his sword at Su Ran's chest as his mana surged, flaring with razor-sharp intent.
The camera panned to the private viewing box, where the Su Clan Patriarch remained motionless, his expression unreadable as he watched one legitimate son and one mistake prepare to tear each other apart.
"Begin—" The referee said at this moment, and the arena exploded.
Su Yang jumped into motion without hesitation, vanishing and reappearing beside Su Ran in a flash of white energy, his sword already mid-swing in a vicious upward arc.
But Su Ran didn't flinch—his spear spun into position with [Serpent Coil], wrapping around Su Yang's blade mid-strike, forcing the clash to be locked in a stalemate, as neither could push the other back.
Their eyes met for a fraction of a second—both blank, both furious.
Then Su Ran twisted his spear and pushed forward with the move [Drifting Spiral], shoving Su Yang back with a spinning shockwave of compressed air that cracked the floor beneath their feet.
Despite taking the blow head-on, Su Yang landed on his heels, barely skidding before lunging forward again with [Cross Fang], a two-slash combination meant to cleave Su Ran's body in half.
Su Ran was quick, countering with the technique [Seven Petal Bloom], deflecting the first strike and absorbing the second with the spear's flexible shaft, parrying it perfectly—like someone who had studied Su Yang's every move since childhood.
"Using the same old moves, brother? Have you learnt nothing new at Rodova?" Su Ran said at this moment, mocking Su Yang as he tried to look cool for the camera and their father. However, this was his big mistake, as Su Yang did not respond with words but rather action.
He activated the move [Flickering Step], which was a move he had never shown in the circuits before, and as he activated it, Su Ran was left at a complete loss over where his real location was, as Su Yang reappeared behind his back and slashed low to cut off both his Achilles tendons at once.
*SLASH*
The hit connected.
And a shower of blood sprayed outwards from Su Ran's heel as he screamed loudly, his voice cracking from pain.
"Aaaghhh—!"
But he didn't fall.
He didn't even stumble.
He limped—wobbling backward with each strained step, his wounded legs dragging across the arena floor as his spear came up in a shaky guard.
He gritted his teeth and absorbed Su Yang's follow-up blows, barely parrying a vicious [Overhead Strike] and catching the edge of a [Flickering Step] feint that nearly took his arm off.
At this point, every block looked like it would be his last.
His mobility was nearly gone, his usual fighting stance was broken, and his overall prospects did not look good at all.
But still, his eyes—were wide, alert, and waiting, as despite his disadvantage, it was clear that he had not given up yet.
He kept baiting Su Yang by keeping up with his defense and doing nothing else. After a few seconds, Su Yang broke his discipline and went for the move—
[Mountain Splitting Slash]
He tried to end the fight at once.
However, this was the exact moment Su Ran had been waiting for. He tilted his spear at just the right angle, sliding Su Yang's blade off its axis with [Deflect], then twisted with a violent snap of his hips to drive a [Piercing Stab] straight through his opponent's core.
*SHINK!*
The spear went clean through Su Yang's body, as he choked and spat blood, his eyes going wide as his breath was knocked from his lungs.
*Splat–*
Blood splattered the floor in front of him, and his sword arm twitched, beginning to fall.
But he didn't drop.
Not yet.
Just like Su Ran before him, he too hardened his eyes and forced his body to move as he unhooked himself from the spear by willingly stepping back, as despite the gaping hole in his body, he seemed hell-bent on continuing the fight.
*...*
Silence engulfed the stadium.
Nobody in the audience could understand how Su Yang was still standing… especially the referee. And yet, with Su Yang still upright—sword raised, eyes locked—the referee had no choice but to let the fight continue for now.