The Celestial Ascension Tournament had reached its final moment.
The arena, once filled with battle cries and clashing cultivators, was now silent. The dust had settled, and only two figures remained standing.
On one side stood Wen Wuxing, his robes gently swaying, his aura unfathomable. He had carved a path through the strongest cultivators of the kingdom, proving beyond doubt that the Wen Clan's resurgence was real.
Opposite him, the mysterious obsidian-haired woman smirked, her crimson eyes glinting with amusement. Unlike the others who had fallen, she had not struggled or exerted herself—she had been waiting for this moment.
The crowd held its breath as the Tournament Overseer raised his hand.
"The final match—begins now!"
A single heartbeat passed.
Then, the arena exploded into chaos.
Heaven and Earth Tremble
The woman vanished, her form dissolving into an afterimage. In an instant, she reappeared directly in front of Wuxing, her palm surging with black lightning as it streaked toward his chest.
Boom!
The force of her strike shattered the ground, sending a wave of dust and energy rippling across the arena.
But Wuxing had already moved.
A dark blur, he materialized behind her, his fingers forming a rapid seal—Abyssal Suppression!
A massive phantom chain erupted from the void, twisting toward her like a serpent seeking its prey.
But she merely smirked.
With a flick of her wrist, the chain shattered.
The entire arena froze.
Wuxing's eyes narrowed. That technique—no ordinary disciple could break it so easily.
She tilted her head, a playful edge to her tone. "You're strong. But you rely too much on the power of the Abyss."
A flicker of understanding dawned in Wuxing's mind. She knew his techniques.
"Who are you?" he asked, his voice calm despite the storm raging around them.
Her smirk widened. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
And then she attacked.
A Clash Beyond Mortal Limits
Their battle shattered the sky.
Wuxing's Abyssal Qi clashed violently against her Forbidden Lightning, creating storms of energy that raged beyond the arena. Each exchange cracked the earth, forcing the imperial formations to strain against their power.
The crowd watched in awe—this was no ordinary duel.
This was a battle between monsters.
Wuxing's movements were razor-sharp, each step perfectly calculated. He struck with palm techniques so fast they left afterimages, countering every unpredictable attack she threw at him.
But the woman did not falter.
She danced through his techniques with inhuman precision, as though she had faced something far worse before.
Then, for the first time, Wuxing saw it.
A strange sigil burned beneath her collarbone, faint but unmistakable.
And suddenly, he understood.
The Truth Revealed
Wuxing exhaled, his expression calm yet unreadable.
"You're not from the Obsidian Veil," he said. "And you're no ordinary cultivator."
The woman's smirk faltered—just for a moment.
Then she sighed. "Took you long enough."
With a slow movement, she raised her right hand, and the sigil pulsed with forbidden power.
A wave of ancestral energy erupted from her, so vast that even the elders in the stands staggered under its weight.
Whispers spread like wildfire.
"That energy—!"
"Impossible! That's a royal bloodline mark!"
"Who is she?! What is she doing in this tournament?!"
Wuxing's mind worked quickly. A royal mark… but not from the current imperial family.
No.
She was from something older.
Something that should not exist anymore.
She watched him with amused crimson eyes. "Now, tell me, Wuxing… are you still so eager to win this tournament?"
Wuxing chuckled. "Even more so."
And then they clashed again.
The Final Strike
Their battle had long since exceeded the mortal realm.
The very air rippled as Wuxing summoned his strongest technique, a surge of Abyssal Devouring Force that threatened to consume everything.
The woman responded in kind, summoning a bolt of ancient lightning so vast it split the sky apart.
The arena trembled.
The crowd gasped.
And then—
BOOM!
The moment their attacks met, the entire Celestial Arena collapsed into an abyss of raw energy.
When the dust settled, only one figure stood.
Wen Wuxing.
His robe was slightly torn, his breathing steady, but his gaze unshaken.
At his feet, the mysterious woman lay on her back, staring at the sky.
Then, to everyone's shock—
She laughed.
"Well," she murmured. "I suppose you win."
Silence.
Then, the Tournament Overseer's voice boomed across the arena.
"THE WINNER OF THE CELESTIAL ASCENSION TOURNAMENT—WEN WUXING OF THE WEN CLAN!"
The crowd erupted.
The Wen Clan had done it.
They had reclaimed their place in history.
A Deal in the Aftermath
As the medical elders rushed forward to check on the fallen combatants, Wuxing turned back to the woman.
"You threw that last attack," he said.
She smirked. "Maybe. Or maybe I just wanted to see if you could survive it."
He studied her. Despite her loss, she radiated a strange satisfaction, as though this had been nothing more than a test.
A test he had passed.
"What's your name?" Wuxing finally asked.
She sat up, dusting herself off. "You can call me Yue."
He raised a brow. "And your real name?"
She chuckled. "Now that… you'll have to earn."
Then, as if nothing had happened, she rose to her feet and vanished into the crowd.
Wuxing exhaled slowly.
The Celestial Ascension Tournament was over.
But something told him—his battle with Yue was just beginning.