?Chapter 411:


    Two towering opponents—one wiry, the other powerfully built—stood toe-to-toe at the heart of the arena.


    Elliana tilted her chin up just enough tomand attention. “Sombra, let’s see what you’ve got.”


    Jason’s mouth twisted in a sneer. “With that delicate frame of yours, I’ll let you take the first three shots.”


    Elliana burst intoughter, her voice ringing out as if she’d just heard the punchline to a ridiculous joke. “No need for that, Sombra. If I put you down in that window, everyone will im I took advantage, and I don’t want that kind of talk.”


    Jason’s lips curled into a disdainful smirk. “If that’s how you want it, then forget it.”


    Without another word, they lunged at each other in perfect sync. Their strikes blurred together—blindingly fast, every blow charged with raw force, the tension between them almost suffocating.


    All around the arena, instructors and trainees from both sides watched with ragged breath, gripped by the sheer unpredictability of how it might end. To them, this showdown could drag on for three relentless days without a victor. In the end, either Lexi or Sombra would push the other to the brink of exhaustion or leave the ring bloodied and broken—there seemed no other possible ending.


    After all, the fights between Donovan and Seth had ended like that. Now, their respective star apprentices—Lexi and Sombra—stepped onto the battlefield. Echoing the legacy of their mentors with every move, their fight was destined to end simrly.


    Deep down, Elliana expected the same oue, not entertaining any notion of besting Jason outright. She’d only issued the challenge to wear him down, hoping to sap his strength before he carried out his threat three dayster.


    Yet, everything veered off her expectations—the drawn-out duel she’d imagined, spanning thousands of blows, ended shockingly fast after just a few dozen exchanges.


    Both Jason and Elliana blurred across the arena, trading blows with relentless force, their abilities perfectly matched. Then, the briefest gap appeared. She aimed a kick squarely at Jason’s chest, half-expecting a counter. To her astonishment, he stood his ground and took the full force of her attack, flying backward without so much as an attempt to evade…


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    No one could have foreseen Elliana, deceptively slight in stature, delivering a kick so powerful that itunched the towering Jason a full ten meters through the air.


    Even above the roaring wind, the sickening crack of splintering bone rang out across the arena.


    Jason had endured countless brutal trainings, his physique honed to endure blows few could withstand—so the fact that his bones actually fractured spoke to the sheer, staggering force behind that kick.


    Jason spun helplessly, his body carving a sharp arc beneath the bright sun before mming into the earth with a bone-jarring thud, a thick cloud of dust billowing up in his wake.


    For a moment, the entire arena went silent. Jasony sprawled in the dirt, unmoving, the severity of his injuries sending a chill through the crowd.


    All around the arena, instructors and trainees from both factions gaped in disbelief, frozen in ce. Not a single person moved to check on Jason. Instead, silent confusion rippled through the crowd as they tried to process what they’d just witnessed. This battle was meant to be an epic confrontation—an endless duel with no obvious victor. They had braced themselves for a grueling standoff, certain Lexi and Sombra were on par. Yet somehow, Sombra had been toppled in the blink of an eye, his defeat abrupt and almost surreal. Doubt crept in: was that truly Sombra lying there, or had someone swapped in a decoy?


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