After ten minutes of silence, the door creaked open. Steady footsteps echoed into the room, stopping just a few paces in. The man didn’t speak.

  Jin Yu, arms crossed, cracked his eyes open and looked at him.

  They stared at each other, neither blinking, like two beasts testing each other's aura.

  Finally, the man spoke.

  “You’ll fight our ten strongest of your realm. Win more than half, and we’ll give you all your answers.”

  Jin Yu’s gaze didn’t waver. “What answers?”

  “The kids. Why they were taken. Who’s hunting you.” the man replied flatly.

  Jin Yu stared a moment longer, then gave a curt nod. “Okay.”

  Ding!

  Challenge Progress: 2%

  “Follow me.” the man said, walking out.

  Jin Yu followed. He looked calm, but something inside him was brimming, an itch. A thrill.

  He didn’t know why, but the thought of blood made his fingers twitch with excitement.

  ---

  The closer they got to the arena, the stronger it became.

  His heartbeat sped up. His blood surged. His ears twitched from the distant roars and crashing bodies. His nose flared, scents of blood, sweat, agony, death. The smell invaded his head and began to hijack his senses.

  As the match inside wasn't over, they waited behind the entrance, but the longer he waited, the more restless he became.

  A Brutal Aura began leaking from his body, slow but steady. Red flashes flickered across his vision. His pupils constricted again and again, like they wanted to see what lay beyond.

  And Jin Yu… didn't even notice.

  He was too excited.

  Too far gone to realize something inside him was unraveling.

  Ding!

  Influence +5,000

  (Emotion provoked: Fear)

  The man beside him took several uneasy steps back, coughing lightly as the aura squeezed his lungs. He narrowed his eyes at Jin Yu, then turned and walked away, fast.

  ---

  The underground arena buzzed with bloodlust. Names were called. Bets shouted. The crowd howled for violence.

  Blood soaked the stage.

  Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  A man twitched on the ground, his severed leg inches from his trembling fingers. His beast-like opponent, more muscle than man, roared and brought down his club with a sickening crack.

  The gong rang.

  The corpse was dragged away by masked attendants. No one mourned. The victor raised bloodstained arms and was met with thunderous applause.

  High above, cloaked figures watched from private booths. Some sipped wine. Others jotted notes, betting slips glowing with Qi lazy hands.

  Then the lights dimmed.

  A ripple of confusion spread through the crowd.

  The announcer’s voice cracked, then steadied.

  “Next match… a special guest. A late registrant—unaffiliated. Nameless.”

  Whispers spread like fire.

  Nameless?

  That had never happened.

  Suddenly, a chilling aura swept the arena, an impossibility in an underground pit. The torches flickered. The ground seemed to hum underfoot.

  From the far tunnel, slow footsteps echoed.

  A figure emerged.

  He wore a long Golden-black Robe, the hem torn from travel. A tight black blindfold covered his eyes. His head tilted, as if listening to something only he could hear.

  No emblem. No house. No clan.

  Just presence.

  A crooked grin on his lips.

  The crowd held its breath.

  “Does he think this is a joke?”

  “Is he blind?!”

  He stepped to the edge of the ring.

  Raised a hand.

  And tightened the blindfold.

  The announcer swallowed.

  “He… He calls himself nothing. But for tonight…”

  A pause.

  “Let the crowd call him what they will.”

  A hush stretched too long. Then the murmurs began.

  “Is he a cultivator?”

  “No sect dares send someone blind.”

  “He reeks of Violence…”

  “Why’s my heart racing…?”

  From the private booths, a few veterans narrowed their eyes. One of them leaned forward, his wine forgotten.

  “He’s not blind,” the man muttered. “He’s restrained.”

  A ripple of unease ran through the audience.

  Below, Jin Yu stood still, his head tilted slightly as if listening to their fear.

  Then—

  Gong!

  The gate on the opposite side groaned open.

  The first challenger stepped out.

  A mountain of a man, half-armored, half-scarred, his body wrapped in thick cords of Qi like chains. Each step he took left cracks on the stone floor. He raised a double-headed axe and pointed it toward Jin Yu.

  “Don’t blink freak,” he growled. “You won’t even see it coming.”

  Jin Yu didn’t move.

  Didn’t even breathe.

  The announcer’s voice rang out, louder this time to cut the tension.

  “First challenger! Bonecleaver, rank 10th in the Spiral Gate’s elite! Countless wins! Countless deaths!”

  The crowd roared.

  Jin Yu smiled, slow and wrong.

  The kind of smile a blade might wear if it had lips.

  A Red flash crossed his blindfold.

  Something inside him shifted.

  The man beside the gong swallowed hard and rang it again.

  "Start!"

  Bonecleaver lunged like a cannon—

  A blur of muscle and metal bearing down with killing intent.

  And Jin Yu?

  He vanished.

  Clang!

  Bonecleaver’s axe tore through air, missing by a breath.

  Jin Yu stood behind him, untouched. No stance. No guard. Just… relaxed.

  The brute snarled, spinning with another swing.

  Boom!

  The force cracked the floor—

  But Jin Yu was already gone, standing several feet away, still grinning.

  “You are fast,” Bonecleaver admitted, eyes narrowing. “But speed’s nothing if you don’t hit back.”

  Jin Yu tilted his head.

  “Why would I hit back… when I’m enjoying the show?”

  The crowd oohed.

  Bonecleaver roared and launched forward again, his axe dancing in lethal arcs. For a few seconds, the arena filled with the crash of metal, the flicker of afterimages. Sparks flew. Dust kicked up.

  And yet, every strike missed.

  Every move came just after Jin Yu was gone.

  It wasn’t just speed.

  It was something deeper. More terrifying.

  Like he could hear Bonecleaver’s intent before his muscles even moved.

  The brute backed off, panting, sweat dripping. “You’re toying with me.”

  Jin Yu slowly turned his head toward him.

  “I’m letting you live,” he said quietly.

  “Play harder.”

  Ding!

  Influence +8,000 (Humiliation)

  Ding!

  Influence +10,000 (Slaughtering Will)

  Ding!

  Influence +10,000 (Slaughtering Will)

  Bonecleaver roared again, this time pouring raw Qi into his arms. His veins bulged. A dark aura cracked the arena floor beneath him. He leapt, twisting midair, bringing the axe down like a meteor.

  The crowd screamed.

  "YEEEEEEAAA!"

  BOOM!

  Dust. Smoke. Cracked earth.

  The entire left half of the stage caved in.

  For a moment, just a moment, people thought Jin Yu had been flattened.

  Then the wind shifted.

  And he was standing on the axe’s handle, balanced with one foot.

  Still smiling.

  Still blindfolded.

  He crouched slightly. Bonecleaver looked up.

  Then—

  Crack!

  A heel dropped like a hammer, smashing into Bonecleaver’s face. The brute reeled back, teeth flying, blood arcing from his nose.

  He barely caught himself before falling.

  But Jin Yu was gone again.

  A whisper behind his ear.

  “Still want me to hit back?”

  Bonecleaver turned in panic—

  Too late.

  BAM!

  A punch—short, fast, and controlled slammed into his gut. The kind of hit that didn’t send a man flying… but crumpled him in place.

  Bonecleaver dropped to his knees, choking on bile.

  Jin Yu crouched beside him and whispered through a smile.

  “Thanks for the warm-up.”

  Then he flicked his forehead.

  CRACK.

  The sound echoed across the silent arena as Bonecleaver collapsed, unconscious before he hit the floor.

  Gong!

  “Victory—Nameless!”

  And the crowd… exploded.

  "YEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSS!"

  Even the quietest booths above stirred. Someone muttered, “He didn’t even use a weapon…”