The cemetery erupted with blinding light as my formation activated. Eight beams shot upward from the hidden runes I''d carefully ced days ago, creating a perfect octagonal barrier around Conrad and me. The spectators backed away, their faces illuminated by the crimson glow.


    "Formation Master?" Caspian Kane''s voice carried over the humming energy, his usuallyposed face betraying genuine shock. "The boy is a Formation Master as well?"


    I didn''t have time to savor his surprise. My body was still broken, and Conrad''s twin dragons continued trying to devour me. I needed to act fast.


    "You think some parlor tricks will save you?" Conrad spat, though his eyes darted nervously to the glowing runes beneath our feet.


    "Not tricks," I said, forcing myself to stand despite the agony ripping through my body. "Knowledge. The kind your family tried to suppress for generations."


    I closed my eyes and drew upon the darkness within me – that cold, hungry energy I''d been hesitant to fully embrace. It rushed through my veins like liquid ice, threatening to consume me even as it empowered me. My golden aura flickered and darkened, taking on a purplish hue.


    "What is this?" Conrad took a step back, his dragons wavering slightly with his concentration. "This energy... it''s forbidden!"


    I looked at him through eyes now tinged with violet light. "You''re right to be afraid."


    With a savage cry, I thrust my injured arm forward, dark tendrils erupting from my fingertips. They shot toward Conrad''s dragons, wrapping around their ethereal forms. Where light and dark met, violent crackling filled the air.


    Conrad desperately pushed more energy into his technique. "Divine Dragon Fist: DEVOUR!"


    The dragons roared and lunged at me with renewed ferocity, but the formation around us was now fully active. The air grew thick withpeting energies, making it difficult for both of us to breathe.


    I felt blood trickling from my nose and ears as the dark power strained my already damaged body. My knees threatened to buckle. If I fell now, Conrad would finish me.


    "Your brother died screaming," I taunted, needing to break his concentration. "He begged for mercy at the end."


    Conrad''s face contorted with rage. "I''ll tear you apart!"


    His control slipped just enough. I seized the opportunity and channeled every remaining ounce of my strength into my right fist. Both light and dark energies spiraled around my arm, creating a vortex that howled with destructive potential.


    "Eight Formations Convergence," I growled, naming a technique I''d created through desperate experimentation. "Shatter!"


    I mmed my fist directly into the nearest dragon''s maw. For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then the dragon''s energy form began to crack like ss, fractures spreading outward from the point of impact.


    "Impossible!" Conrad stumbled backward, his legendaryposure finally breaking.


    The dragon shatteredpletely, its fragments dissolving into mist. Its twin followed momentster, unable to maintain cohesion without its pair. Conrad''s ultimate technique – the pride of the Thornton lineage for three generations – had been broken.


    I didn''t waste the opening. Gathering the remnants of my strength, I charged forward and delivered a crushing blow to Conrad''s chest.


    His eyes widened in shock and pain as my fist connected. I followed with an elbow to his temple, a knee to his gut, and another punch that caught him square in the throat. Each impact was enhanced by the formation''s energy, multiplying the damage.


    Blood sprayed from Conrad''s mouth as he tried to defend himself, but I was beyond stopping. Every humiliation I''d suffered, every moment of doubt and pain – I channeled it all into my assault.


    "This is for everyone you''ve crushed!" I shouted, mming my fist into his face. "Everyone you''ve killed!" Another blow shattered his ribs. "Everyone you''ve threatened!"


    Conrad''s attempts to block grew weaker with each impact. When he finally copsed to his knees, I grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground, my arm trembling with effort.


    "Remember this moment, Conrad Thornton," I snarled into his bloody, battered face. "Remember that Liam Knight was the one who broke you."


    With thest of my strength, I hurled him against arge tombstone. The stone cracked from the impact as Conrad slid to the ground, unconscious and defeated. His chest still rose and fell with shallow breaths – he would live, but his legend was shattered forever. <i ss="meta-ref-static">This content is presented by *.</i>


    The formation''s light faded as my energy reserves hit empty. I swayed on my feet, the world spinning around me. Through blurred vision, I saw the crowd staring in disbelief.


    "He... he defeated a Grandmaster," someone whispered, the words spreading through the onlookers like wildfire.


    Killian Moreau pushed through the crowd, a gleeful expression on his face. "Magnificent! Simply magnificent!" He reached my side just as my legs gave out, catching me before I hit the ground.


    "Easy there, champion," he said, his voice unusually warm. "You''ve done enough."


    I fumbled for my phone with trembling fingers. "Need to... text Isabelle."


    Killian helped me operate the device. With bloody thumbs, I managed to type out three simple words: "Isabelle, I won."


    As soon as the message sent, darkness imed me.


    ---


    Three dayster, in avish hospital suite across town, Conrad Thornton opened his eyes for the first time since his defeat. His body was wrapped in bandages, several machines monitoring his vital signs.


    Uncle Armando sat beside the bed, his aged face tight with barely contained fury. "The doctors say you''ll recover," he said without preamble. "Eventually."


    Conrad tried to speak, but only a raspy wheeze emerged. His throat had been crushed, requiring emergency surgery.


    "Don''t strain yourself," Armando continued. "Just listen. News of your defeat has spread throughout Eldoria. The Thornton family''s standing has... suffered."


    Conrad closed his eyes, pain that had nothing to do with his injuries washing over him.


    "This Liam Knight has be an overnight sensation," Armando spat. "Caspian Kane himself has extended an invitation to meet. The Four Families are watching with interest."


    Conrad''s hand clenched weakly on the nket.


    "But don''t worry, nephew," Armando leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "We Thorntons have always understood when to change tactics."


    He pulled out his phone, his eyes never leaving Conrad''s face. "If martial might fails, we turn to other sources of power."


    Conrad gave a small nod of agreement, permission granted.


    Uncle Armando dialed a number, waited for the connection, then spoke with cold authority: "Send someone immediately to arrest Liam Knight!"