"You came."
"I came."
"You shouldn't have."
Arthur tilted his head, unsure what Gu Yue was going on about this time.
Beside them, the referee began the countdown.
The crowd roared with enthusiasm, buzzing with anticipation for this particular match.
There was no need to elaborate on Gu Yue's reputation. Everyone had watched Arthur's matches along the way and recognized the talent on display.
That terrifying multi-element mastery, blanketing the entire arena in every bout, with no one able to get close except a competitor named Na'er.
Chants of "Arthur!" and "Gu Yue!" rang out, the noise nearly loud enough to blow the roof off the arena.
"Arthur's going to end it in one move, just like always!"
"Don't be so sure. Gu Yue's elemental control is no joke."
The debate swirled on all sides as every pair of eyes locked onto the center of the arena.
Facing Arthur across the field, Gu Yue had to admit that without her trump cards, she stood no chance against him under any circumstances.
Even so, she felt no anxiety whatsoever.
Because he was her actor.
"Begin!"
The moment the referee's voice fell, three violet soul rings materialized around Gu Yue. A violent surge of elemental energy erupted simultaneously, blue-violet halos spreading outward like a tide.
Not like a tide. An actual tide.
It billowed from Gu Yue as its epicenter, sweeping in all directions. Within a single breath, the entire arena was on the verge of being swallowed by a surging body of water.
"Oh no, she's so strong!"
Arthur let out a theatrical cry and went limp, as if about to be swept right off the stage by the current.
"Are you serious?!"
Gu Yue panicked the instant it looked like she might knock him out in one shot. She shot him a message through Spiritual Power transmission: "Can you at least make it look believable?!"
"Do you think Shrek is full of idiots? Anyone with eyes can tell you're throwing the fight on purpose!"
The financier had spoken. Arthur grudgingly steadied himself, and the surging water pulled back just as it reached the edge of the platform.
The crowd erupted all the same.
"Gu Yue is incredible! She's completely suppressing Arthur!"
"I knew Gu Yue could win. Those elemental techniques are terrifying!"
Gu Yue was so irritated she could grind her teeth. While keeping up the imposing display of her water tide, she transmitted through gritted teeth: "I want an evenly matched fight. Show your real strength and then lose. Don't just roll over and give up!"
"The better the performance, the better the reward."
"So you need the special effects to really deliver, is that it?" Arthur's eyes lit up. "Why didn't you just say so?"
In an instant, he leaped into the air, hands flying through seals as he rose.
Special effects were the one thing he never ran short on.
He clapped both hands together and called out casually, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
A thunderous boom shook the arena. Scorching flames erupted from Arthur's mouth, condensing into a massive fireball that hurtled into Gu Yue's water tide on a wave of blistering heat.
Fire and water collided with violent intensity, sending billows of white steam surging upward. Within moments the entire arena was swathed in a thick, blinding mist, obscuring all visibility.
If not for the soul barrier, some spectators would have been scalded already.
"Wait, what kind of soul skill is that?!" The stands exploded in uproar. People rubbed their eyes in disbelief. "How does Arthur have fire?!"
When it came to staging a grand spectacle, Arthur was a professional.
He swept his hand again.
A terrifying cyclone materialized at the center of the arena, blasting away the steam.
Gradually, sparks ignited within the spinning vortex, and then waves of flame came roaring to life, transforming the whirlwind into a dazzling fire tornado.
The fire tornado howled as it spiraled skyward. Crimson flames wrapped around shards of debris, forming a pillar of fire that seemed to pierce the heavens itself, warping the air around it with sheer heat.
The blue-violet soul rings around Gu Yue blazed brilliantly. Ice and water intertwined and became an endless crashing surf, each wave rolling over the last as it swept toward the fire tornado. Wherever it passed, the ground froze solid in an instant.
"BOOM!!"
The icy surge and the fire tornado collided with a deafening impact.
Golden and blue-violet energies exploded outward, forming a massive sphere of light that kept expanding, then contracted sharply, then blasted apart again.
This was precisely why Arthur had chosen to fight with elemental power. Never mind raw strength: when elements clashed, the visual spectacle it produced was something nothing else could match for sheer impact.
Mages had always been the kings of special effects.
The blinding radiance made the entire crowd instinctively shut their eyes. All that remained was the deafening roar filling their ears.
When the light finally faded, a massive crater had been blasted into the arena floor. Arthur and Gu Yue stood on opposite sides of it.
The stands fell into a stunned silence for just a moment, then erupted into a thunderous, wave-like roar. Some spectators leaped onto their seats, screaming both names at the top of their lungs.
Now that was a show.
"Gu Yue, I had no idea you were hiding this much!" Arthur bellowed. "But don't celebrate yet!"
"You're the challenger!"
"And I'm the strongest!"
Time to wrap this up.
Arthur summoned Excalibur, ready to charge up something spectacular before getting taken out by Gu Yue's finishing blow.
He sent a quiet message her way: "In a moment, when you see me winding up for something big, interrupt me."
"That's your cue to finish me off."
A flash of quiet understanding crossed Gu Yue's eyes, though her expression held its icy battle-ready composure. She raised both hands slowly, multiple elements swirling madly at her palms.
"We'll see about that."
In the next moment, they clashed.
Their figures cut across each other. The golden Excalibur carved through the air with relentless, piercing momentum, striking again and again toward Gu Yue.
The blade blazed with the intertwined light of three elements, nearly enough to illuminate the whole arena.
Gu Yue dodged and counterattacked without pause, drawing on spatial displacement, elemental barriers, and every tool at her disposal.
The two of them looked like twin streaks of light, colliding and breaking apart across the arena floor, scattering trails of glittering light shards with every exchange.
Arthur's sword strikes appeared fierce, yet whenever they drew close to landing, they shifted ever so slightly at the last moment, always leaving Gu Yue just enough room to evade.
Seizing an opening that Arthur had deliberately exposed, Gu Yue thrust both hands forward. Dozens of razor-sharp ice spikes condensed in an instant and rained down on Arthur like a storm.
Overwhelmed, Arthur was pushed back and stumbled to the edge of the crater. He tilted his head just slightly. "Get ready to cut me off. Something big is coming."
At the rim of the crater, Arthur dropped to one knee and pressed his palm against the scorched ground. Golden soul power poured into the earth like a flooding tide.
In an instant, countless pale-gold runes spread across the surface, weaving themselves into a vast circular formation.
Pinpoints of golden light began rising continuously from the ground.
"Roundtable Resolution."
Since he was no longer planning to lose to Shrek and intended to go all out, Arthur would naturally have to release Excalibur at the right moment.
So the thing to do now was lay the groundwork, begin the windup for the release, and then get taken down by Gu Yue.
It would show that he had genuinely given everything he had.
And make Gu Yue's victory that much more meaningful. After all, if he lost without ever releasing Excalibur and then went on to beat Shrek, her win would end up looking like a joke.
"I really do go above and beyond," Arthur sighed to himself.
"Full service, start to finish."
The moment Arthur began the release sequence for Excalibur, Gu Yue's expression froze solid.
An indescribable pressure surged upward from the ground like a tsunami, sweeping across the entire arena in an instant.
"What is this?!" Gu Yue's pupils contracted sharply. Her hands tightened without thinking.