The arena had fallen into a strange, electric silence as soon as Jin Huang appeared on the arena floor..
The noise from before- thousands of voices, wagers, and speculations- had thinned into scattered murmurs. Every eye followed him as he walked forward, unhurried, and came to stand before Wu Shen.
Behind him, Hei Shisan and Xu Ye were seated at the closest level to the ground, watching closely.
Wu Shen watched him, golden hair stirring in the wind of his own aura. The spectral dragons circling him tightened their coils, responding to the shift in tension.
"So you finally crawled out of whatever hole you were hiding in," Wu Shen sneered.
Jin Huang shrugged, the very picture of a calm and relaxed party.
"Two months," Wu Shen continued, spreading his arms. "You made a lot of noise before. Challenged half the academy with your talk of proving that you deserve the title of the Fourteenth Unteachable Student."
The golden aura around him flared, the dragons roaring as they begun to fade. His posturing was over.
"So prove it."
Jin Huang tilted his head slightly, a smile already forming. "Alright."
The moment the word left his mouth...
Wu Shen vanished.
The arena groaned beneath his feet as he lunged forward, draconic power erupting from his core. Golden dragons spiraled around his body as his fist surged toward Jin Huang's chest like a falling star.
Gasps rippled through the stands, the power behind this strike confirming it to everyone. This first year was already at the Inner Core realm.
Numerous pitiful looks were sent Jin Huang's way. He was yet to move, and they assumed it was because his lack of cultivation did not enable him to keep up with Wu Shen's speed.
Many were already calling it, saying that this was Wu Shen's victory. Particularly, the few students who were in or above the Inner Core realm, and knew the level of power that came with it.
Among those in the crowd, Qin Shuyue was one of the few who crossed her fingers and held out hope.
Jin Huang didn't move until the very last instant, but then he shifted half a step.
Wu Shen's fist tore past his ribs with a thunderous boom, the pressure alone kicking up a cloud of dust from the arena floor behind him. Realizing Jin Huang had dodged, he followed up with an elbow strike.
Jin Huang's palm tapped Wu Shen's elbow, just hard enough to change the angle of it. His attack slammed into empty air, and a shockwave tore across the arena, carving a trench through the stone tiles.
"Too wide," Jin Huang said mildly.
"Shut your fucking mouth!" Wu Shen spun, leg whipping upward in a sweeping kick that shattered the air.
Jin Huang leaned back, the heel missing his nose by a finger's width.
Yet another strike came, then a palm thrust, another elbow, and finally a crushing downward fist. Wu Shen did not let up, his anger continually rising toward a boiling point.
Each one of Wu Shen's attacks carried the power of a newly formed Inner Core, in addition to the powerful draconic energy bursting from his body in waves that made the arena's defensive formations flicker.
Even so, each one of his attacks also...
Missed.
Jin Huang moved through the storm like a leaf in a river current. He twisted, stepped, shifted his shoulders by inches. Not a single blow touched him.
The crowd was beginning to murmur again.
"Is he actually dodging?"
"Just look at the spacing!"
"That's not luck..."
Picking up on the crowd's reactions, Wu Shen's attacks only grew heavier. Golden dragons roared around him as he drove forward with relentless power, fists hammering like meteors. "You can keep up with me, so what!? You'll tire out and slip up sooner or later, you talentless glutton!"
Finally, Jin Huang responded. His palm struck, and Wu Shen's shoulder jerked sideways.
His elbow tapped Wu Shen's ribs, a knuckle simultaneously brushing his wrist and redirecting another punch.
None of the strikes were dramatic, nor did any of them look powerful. Yet, Wu Shen's momentum kept collapsing inward, his attacks slowly unraveling under Jin Huang's control.
High in the stands, Nagira whistled softly, "He's herding him."
"Like a bull," Lu Chen's eyes glimmered.
Wu Shen could certainly feel it now. Every attack he launched seemed to slide away. Every time he tried to trap Jin Huang's movement, the distance shifted just beyond his reach.
His teeth clenched. "Are you fucking with me, Jin Huang!? You dare!?"
Golden light exploded around him. The dragons circling him multiplied, crying out as his aura surged to its very limit. His core burning like a miniature sun, he stepped forward with a crushing palm strike that carried the weight of his entire cultivation.
Jin Huang met it. Palm to palm.
The collision rang like a temple bell and, for a heartbeat, both young men stood locked in place as their energies clashed.
Then the arena floor shattered beneath Wu Shen's feet, his eyes widening when he realized that Jin Huang hadn't moved even so much as an inch.
The strength behind that single palm was monstrous, to say the least, but only after it did those watching make a shocking realization.
Jin Huang had yet to let out even a tiny bit of aura, which could only mean that he had yet to tap into his spiritual energy. In other words, he was doing all this with nothing but the strength of his body.
Wu Shen leapt back, chest heaving, the murmurs in the arena growing into outright disbelief.
"How the hell did he block that? That 'Wu Shen' kid just used an Inner-Core-powered strike!"
"What kind of body does Jin Huang have?"
Wu Shen's breathing slowed as he listened. He felt the way the spectators viewed him change. He felt them judging him, and his eyes changed.
"Shut up..." He murmured.
Something deeper stirred within his aura. The golden dragons around him twisted violently as a darker, older pulse emerged from within his soul.
Lu Chen leaned forward slightly, "There it is. There's the True Dragon."
Wu Shen's body lifted slightly from the ground as his aura ignited with new intensity, streaks of silver creeping into the gold.
The dragons around him grew larger, sharper, and more real, their illusory scales attaining a hint of silver. His voice dropped into something deeper.
"You think you're better than me, don't you?" he said quietly. "You all think I'm just some lowborn cur."
Jin Huang watched him with interest.
Wu Shen's next step cracked the arena like lightning. This time when he moved...
Jin Huang's sleeve tore.
Gasps erupted from the stands.
Wu Shen's fist barely grazed the cloth, yet the pressure behind it shredded the fabric like paper.
Once again, the fight exploded into motion. Wu Shen's attacks became terrifyingly precise, every movement guided by the awakening draconic power within him. His speed doubled, his strikes coming from impossible angles.
The arena roared.
Jin Huang's feet finally moved faster, but his expression remained calm.
Strike. Miss. Kick. Miss. Palm. Miss.
Wu Shen's attacks came closer and closer, ripping Jin Huang's uniform, carving trenches and craters throughout the arena, forcing him to step back again and again.
But, still, those attacks never landed.
Wu Shen unleashed one final attack, all the dragons around him surging into his arm as he threw a punch that seemed capable of splitting the sky.
Jin Huang stepped forward, directly into Wu Shen's space- into the punch.
His palm struck Wu Shen's chest, perfectly precise.
The draconic aura shattered like glass, and Wu Shen froze.
For a moment, the arena held its breath, watching as the golden-haired youngster staggered back three steps and dropped to one knee.
Total silence fell over the arena.
Jin Huang stood in front of him, robes fluttering gently. Not a single bruise marked his body since not a single strike had landed.
Wu Shen looked up slowly, "I underestimated you... Jin Huang."
Forcing himself to stand, ignoring the pain and the urge to cough up a mouthful of blood, he groaned, "I won't make that mistake... again."
Jin Huang scratched the back of his head. "For what it's worth, you almost got me with that last one."
Wu Shen stared at him for several seconds, his frown deep and his hatred fresh. He turned, and slowly walked away.
The arena erupted, thousands of voices exploded into cheers, disbelief, and stunned shouts.
Up in the stands, Nagira leaned back with a grin. "Well," he said, "He's definitely not weak."
Lu Chen's gaze remained fixed on Jin Huang, a slow smile forming. "How interesting. Show me more, boy."
Shen Wuyou silently celebrated, making a fist that he raised halfway. Further up, Qin Shuyue clutched her chest and heaved a sigh of relief. Jin Huang had done it. Believing it and seeing it were two entirely different things; she was glad that he had proven her right.
"Like I said," Jin Huang spoke, voice booming. The crowd shushed itself, listening closely.
"I am the Fourteenth Unteachable Student. On my own, without guidance, I made more progress than I have ever since starting this Academy. I deserve to stand on the same height as my predecessors!"
Blinking eyes met Jin Huang. All those who doubted suddenly found that they could only take his words seriously. Especially after what he had just done.
"Wu Shen was nothing but a hothead! Allow me to take up your challenge!"
A burly figure leapt from the stands, soaring through the air before landing in the arena with a great crash. Standing multiple heads taller than Jin Huang, Li Qingyu's powerful body emanated a brutish aura.
"Come, Jin Huang! Show me what you can do."