We headed toward the battlefield as I moved.
I could feel the tension in the air growing stronger.
Three days had passed, and today was the final day before the top three fighters would move on to the semifinals to face the fourth competitor—the reigning champion from last year. Naturally, on the fourth day, there would be a celebration marking the end of the competition's first phase, followed by the semifinals, the final, and the awarding of prizes or entitlements.
I established a small telepathic link between the three of us.
'Everyone seems tenser than before. Did something happen?'
None of them looked surprised, and Iron Fist replied,
'Yes. Beyond the tensions between cities—especially the ones that lost—unusual events have started happening. People have been found dead. Personally, I suspect factions unaffiliated with the cities may be involved, though I'm not certain.'
I nodded silently and moved my hand.
I released a few bees to scatter.
Even while I was meditating these past few days, the bees continued to investigate. In fact, they had sent me reports about these incidents, even spotting some strange individuals who were intercepted by the guardians of this dimension.
Besides the bees, I had also sent Shady to investigate.
I had the sense that this might be related to Davos, and possibly to others from each city who disagreed with the selection of champions—or were planning internal revolts.
As I walked, my eyes met those of a woman.
She was tall and moved with a graceful, almost floating elegance. For some reason, she reminded me of a heron. I saw that the champion from Heron City was standing close to her.
"So this is the Heron Mother..."
Our eyes met, and I felt her trying to inspect me. My mental and dominion-based power surged around me, easily repelling her gaze. Yet that only seemed to intrigue her further—she now looked at me with even more suspicion and hostility.
For some reason… I felt she might be connected to the current chaos.
So I sent a few bees to keep watch on her from a distance—sensing she was powerful enough to detect them if they got too close, even though my bees have enhanced stealth capabilities.
'Iron Fist, stay alert during today's fight and while we're separated. Colleen, stay close to me.'
Both gave subtle nods, fully aware that things might take an unexpected turn.
...
Heron Mother – POV
I watched the strange individual.
The more I looked at him, the more irritated and cautious I became.
He had the presence of a martial artist, perhaps even a guru in training—especially due to his unusual oneness with the world and universe around him.
But that wasn't all. I sensed a mystical, magical aura around his body, and worse, an overwhelming sense of danger.
When I tried to probe further, I was repelled by a unique mental power that felt like that of a divine beast—a dominating force that frightened me, making me glare at him with heightened tension.
"Troublesome indeed… I'll have to revise my plans. I can't let my involvement be revealed, or things might escalate against me. If he attacks, I might get seriously hurt..."
I murmured to myself as my mind began reshaping strategies and movements.
My steps remained light, but they carried subtle tension.
...
MC – POV
We returned to the stands while Danny walked toward the arena.
I observed everything meticulously.
As I received intel from my spies, I also shared it with my AI, which worked with me to develop hypotheses and strategies.
"For the final match of the first phase of the competition, I call forth the champion of Kun Lun: Iron Fist! And the champion of the City of Jade Bones: Jade Serpent!"
Mystical energies filled the air. There weren't any true cheers, as the environment had an overall strict and mystical atmosphere.
On the right side, Kun Lun's mystical energy manifested as Iron Fist emerged in elegant clothing, radiating strong Qi reminiscent of a powerful dragon.
On the other side stood his opponent—a woman whose every movement was smooth, hypnotic, and illusory. Her Qi was equally deceptive and hard to grasp.
It was clear that her fighting style relied on confusion and illusion, akin to the trickster god Loki.
Iron Fist would need a calm mind and intense focus to see through her attacks… I only hoped he could stay composed. I knew his reckless and arrogant streak all too well.
Of course, the rest of us in the alliance had helped train him—especially my boyfriend and Daredevil, who spent a lot of time working with him. I'd personally beaten some sense into him a few times, just to make sure his head was in the right place.
Hopefully, he wouldn't let his ego get the best of him.
I narrowed my eyes.
Colleen looked tense, but her gaze toward Iron Fist was full of trust and faith. Her tension likely stemmed more from a potential outside intervention than from the duel itself.
'Don't worry. If anything happens, I'll make sure he's safe.'
She relaxed.
'Thank you.'
I didn't respond, simply extending my senses across the field while keeping a close eye on the battle.
...
Danny Rand – POV
I stared down my opponent, recognizing her movement style and recalling the combat techniques of her Immortal City.
I remembered the meditation lessons I'd had with Matt and Adrian. Adrian had also used disorienting sound-based attacks, creating mental confusion and illusions. Even some of his deadliest techniques were hard to perceive—he called it Zoldyck Assassin Arts, though I never quite understood it.
Still, I knew I had to stay strong—not just for Kun Lun, but for my friends and girlfriend who came with me.
When the signal to start sounded, we both charged.
My fist struck directly and lethally—but she moved her arm and conjured images of multiple hands. She deflected my strike and came at my chest. I lifted my leg in time to block.
I followed with another, stronger punch toward her face.
She retreated.
"Striking a lady's face? Quite rude, I must say."
I didn't care and pressed the attack.
The fight raged on. I slowly realized something was affecting me—I began missing more, taking more hits.
"Ack!!"
I cried out as a kick sent me flying several meters.
The situation looked bad, so I focused on my fist.
Recalling the mental training commandments from childhood—and insights from Adrian—I gathered golden energy into my punch. It radiated immense power.
I made a forward strike.
The energy clashed with something.
Sensing it, I pushed harder—and shattered a violet energy.
My opponent dropped to her knees, coughing up a bit of blood.
"So it was illusion or hypnosis... Let's finish this."
Without hesitation, I dashed at her, strengthening my body with Qi. My glowing fist radiated golden power.
Just then, I sensed danger from my right—but it vanished before I could react.
I couldn't land a punch, but my legs grabbed and flipped her.
Now above her, my golden fist at her face, I said coldly:
"Surrender, or choose death."
She glared, but finally replied,
"I surrender."
I stood and helped her up.
With a respectful martial bow, we both left the field.
Before exiting, I saw my friend watching and nodding at me. He was probably smiling, but with his mask and aura, I couldn't tell.
So I walked off to join them.
...
MC – POV
While watching Iron Fist's intense fight, I gleaned several insights—particularly about deceiving enemies mid-battle.
My divine eyes, infused with mental energy, caught sight of a hidden enemy preparing to launch a poisonous secret weapon.
Closing my eyes, I raised my right hand.
Just as the item was fired—it stopped midair, spinning briefly before reversing course and striking its user.
A nostalgic melody—reminding me of the Jedi—played in my mind, but I dismissed the feeling.
I was satisfied.
My telekinetic control over kinetic force proved quite effective.
I spotted the enemy. Shame I didn't have any ocular abilities, but I sent some bees to track him. I wanted to follow personally, but it wasn't possible.
Exiting the arena, I told Iron Fist what had happened.
While we were walking through a certain area, my movement—and that of my allies—halted.
I had a devilish grin and spoke to them telepathically:
'Prepare yourselves.'
We moved into the forest.
Once alone, six enemies surrounded us, hidden among trees, bushes, and other cover.
They moved silently and carried concealed weapons.
I smiled without a word.
Then vanished using teleportation.
No one sensed my movement—I used Zetsu and my Phantom Bloodline to remain undetectable.
I appeared behind one enemy.
My hand turned sharp as blades, and in an instant, his head was gone.
Using my soul energy to amplify ghostly techniques, I moved swiftly.
I spotted another and pointed my left finger at him.
Dark purple webbing pierced the necks of two more.
I approached the fourth—my arm snaked like a boneless cobra and snapped his neck.
The remaining two sensed something was wrong and charged toward Iron Fist and Colleen.
I didn't stop them.
Instead, I used my threads and wind powers to ascend.
From above, I saw one enemy escaping.
Sensing him, I accelerated—using threads and wind as support.
He was fast—but not faster than me.
I raised my hand—his body levitated. He tried using Qi to break free—futile.
"Don't try to escape. I only need some information."
He sped up his energy flow, trying to activate a failsafe.
My left hand released dozens of white threads, pinning him between trees and clouds like a spider's prey.
I covered his mouth and jaw—preventing any poison release.
My eyes had already spotted toxins hidden in his mouth.
He glared, but was helpless.
"Well, let's have a little talk."
"Never," he rasped.
I shrugged.
"Fine. I'll take it from your mind."
I placed a hand on his head—my eyes glowed blue with a pink psychic sigil.
But then I froze in shock.
I quickly activated my Djinn ring to seal his energy and tried using sealing jutsu with the other hand—too late.
A mystical sigil destroyed his heart.
He was dead. I couldn't extract memories from a corpse.
Frustrated, I watched his body fall.
If only I'd saved one of the others…
I had assumed he was the most knowledgeable and spared only him—never expecting this kind of suicide trigger.
"I don't have any soul-retrieving or death-god techniques... If I did, I could've extracted the info anyway…" I muttered, letting his body drop.
I studied his outfit, Qi, and aura—same for the others.
They seemed to belong to certain factions, but something was off—like a different kind of energy.
Frowning, my mind flooded with thoughts as I made my way back to where my allies waited.