Morning light filtered through soaring gates as five thousand examinees assembled in a colossal circular arena. Stone tiers, seating up to eight hundred thousand, loomed overhead. Frost-tipped banners fluttered on marble pillars. The air crackled with anticipation.
At the center rampart, the same elf marshal from the teleportation gate reappeared, flanked by Nimrodel, a white‑haired instructor of serene authority. Their presence silenced the crowd.
"Examinees who choose non‑combat paths, follow us to the east," Nimrodel's voice carried across the hush. "Those pursuing combat arts, remain here for your trial."
As instructors guided the first group away, the marshal turned—and vanished in a swirl of emerald Qi, leaving Nimrodel alone atop the dais.
In the stands, Lisa Draconis and Ava claimed their seats on the western terrace. Both third‑year aces, they wore crisp academy robes trimmed in silver. Nearby, Arthur of the Griffin house, a famed Lancer ranked third among fourth‑years, tried to ingratiate himself.
"Lady Lisa, may I join you?" he tapped his spear insignia boastfully.
Lisa dismissed him with a cool glance. "Just Lisa, Arthur. Find your own seat."
Murmurs followed him as he stalked off, muttering of conquest and vengeance.
Behind him, Joe—Jian's elder brother from the Phoenix house and a Flame Battle Mage—watched in silent interest.
Nimrodel resumed, voice precise:
"To display your combat readiness, summon your Asura System panel by voice command. Focus on your ADP (Arena DP) score at the upper‑left.
You may fight solo or in teams of five. The Arena Tower contains one hundred floors of escalating danger—clear faster for higher ADP. Reach Floor 20 to qualify for advanced combat classes."
Nimrodel raised her hand, and before the candidates appeared a series of ethereal panels bathed in soft light—each detailing the mechanics of the trial.
Class Selection Interface
OptionClassRangeSpecialization1MagesLong–MidHigh Qi coding, elemental control2WarriorsClose–MidAll-weapon proficiency, balanced Qi control3Martial ArtsClose–MidPerfected forms, high natural Qi control4MysticSupport/SummonBeast Qi arts, DEX bonus from summons5ArcaneVariableMulti-element mastery, core absorption
Note: Mystic's DEX bonus scales with summoned creature's agility.
Arena Tower Floor & ADP Tracker
AttributeValueFloor Level01Monster RankG-Rank (Wolfrorks)Time Elapsed00:09 secADP Earned120Next Threshold200 ADP @ Floor 05Speed Bonus+15% (sub-10s clear)
Skills Tree Overview
Element → SkillTierDescriptionQi Control (Wind)LeafBase technique, beginner levelGale Storm (Wind)FruitPeak wind skill, high damageShadow Walk (Dark)LeafStealth movement, mid-tier
Skills branch out from core elements; mastery ripens leaves into fruits.
A student murmured, "This… changes everything."
Nimrodel smiled. "Twenty. Anything less places you in lower‑tier classes."Qi Control* (Wind): Base technique—Leaf status.
• Gale Storm (Wind): Peak skill—Fruit status.
• Shadow Walk (Dark): Mid-tier stealth—Leaf status.
Skills branch out from core elements; mastery ripens leaves into fruits.
A student murmured, "This… changes everything."
Nimrodel smiled. "Twenty. Anything less places you in lower‑tier classes."
Students clustered, exchanging strategies. Jian stood beside Maria as she whispered, "We should go together—safety in numbers."
He nodded, though his mind churned: Group strategy or solo glory? He recalled his unorthodox strengths—and the seal‑shattering clarity of his senses.
Ava and Lisa strode past, whispering of rankings.
Jian cleared his throat softly: "Status."
AttributeValueClassArcaneDEX65STR45INT55AGI20Natural Qi140 yearsWind QiAdvanced King (8★)Dark QiNovice King (1★)Ice QiAAADP Earned0
┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┳━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┃ CLASS: ARCANIST ┃ ★★★★ ┃ ┃ DEX : 65 ┃ STR: 45 ┃ ┃ INT : 55 ┃ AGI: 20 ┃ ┃ NQi : 140 years ┃ ┃ Wind : Advanced King (8★) ┃ ┃ Dark : Novice King (1★) ┃ ┃ Ice : Intermediate King (5★) ┃ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┻━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛
An alert flashed: 500 years Natural Qi required for group ADP bonus. Jian frowned: I'm short, but my speed could compensate.
Determined, he strode to the central gate. "I'm Feng Jian. Solo trial, please."
Nimrodel raised an eyebrow, then nodded. "Armaments?"
Jian drew his swords from their sheaths at his waist:
Obsidian Nightfang: A sleek, single-edged black katana nearly as tall as Jian himself. Its blade absorbed light, shimmering with whispers of Dark Qi. The long, curved edge sliced through shadows as easily as steel through silk.
Emerald Gale Blade: A mid-length, double-edged sword forged from meteorite steel and Wind Monster core. Its crisp lines and jade-hued veins pulsed with swirling currents of wind, granting each slash the force of a gale.
Clad in fitted ninja-inspired leathers dyed black and forest green—with subtle Western tailoring in its cut—and a dark green robe draped over one shoulder, Jian cut a striking figure as the morning light caught the Qi dancing along his blades. Nimrodel's lips curved in approval. "Proceed."
As he entered the Arena Tower's first floor, screens around the arena displayed his name—FENG JIAN—and the panel glowed for all to see. Below, Maria and Arthur watched, their expressions a mix of awe and envy.