Chapter 43

  Adam stirred awake in a white room, his senses dulled by the brightness above. The fluorescent light burned into his eyes until they slowly adjusted, sharpening the scene around him.

  IV bags hung beside him. The soft, rhythmic beeping of monitors echoed in the quiet. Sterile air, tiled walls, and clean sheets—it all resembled a hospital room.

  [Am I dreaming? Or… am I back on Earth?]

  He tried lifting his arms. They felt unbearably heavy, but with effort, he managed to raise them.

  His left hand moved. Fingers opened and closed on command. Flesh and bone—no longer a blade.

  [Heh... it's been so long since I could feel my left hand again.]

  With sluggish movements, he pushed himself up, his back settling against the frame of the bed. A hospital gown clung loosely to his frame. Tubes were attached to his mouth and his right arm.

  [Was I in a coma?]

  [Was everything I experienced just one long, vivid dream?]

  [But… my left arm. It’s starting to feel strange again.]

  He glanced toward the window. The sky was dim, caught between night and morning. Dawn was just beginning to break.

  Then the door creaked open.

  Three figures entered.

  They stopped cold the moment they saw him.

  Adam turned his head slowly to face them—two familiar faces, one stranger in a nurse’s uniform.

  For a heartbeat, no one moved.

  Then the shock on their faces melted into something deeper—tears.

  Silent drops rolled down their cheeks, falling onto Adam’s trembling hands.

  [The two faces… I’ve refuse to forget about. No matter what.]

  They rushed forward, wrapping him in a warm, tearful embrace.

  Adam didn’t hold back.

  He let the tears fall.

  The woman, voice barely a whisper, choked out, “Adam…”

  And the man followed, voice cracking with emotion, “Welcome back, son.”

  Adam’s breath caught as he clutched them tighter.

  “I’m back… Mom. Dad.”

  The nurse stood by Adam’s bedside, clipboard in hand.

  “You’ve been in a coma for three months,” she explained gently. “Traumatic brain injury. But now that you're awake, we’ll begin your recovery program—physical therapy, light exercises—to help you regain your strength.”

  Adam nodded silently, still trying to process everything.

  Once the nurse left, it was just him and his parents in the quiet of the hospital room.

  They took turns filling him in—how he’d come home drunk after a party, fell from bed, and hit his head. How he’d collapsed and been rushed to the hospital, unconscious ever since.

  Adam flushed with embarrassment.

  [Really? That’s how I got into this state? Not exactly the glorious tale of a warrior.]

  Trying to shift the mood, he started recounting the wild memories that had unfolded during his coma—his journey into another world, waking up on the body of a dead god almost half the size of the solar system, being stranded on a mystical island, and the deal he made with a two-faced god to exchange lifespan for memory manipulation powers. He even mentioned the space-traveling Redditor who had somehow implanted an entire travel diary and visions of the universe into him.

  As he spoke, though, a strange discomfort began to creep up in his left arm. It started subtle… then stronger.

  [Ignore it. It’s nothing. Just residual dream stuff.]

  He tried to shake it off.

  After his long explanation, his father gave him a firm look.

  “Well, let’s get you better first,” he said. “And maybe don’t get blackout drunk like that ever again. Drink in moderation, alright?”

  His mom added with a light laugh, “He’s not doing that again. Not after what happened.”

  The three of them chuckled together.

  Adam smiled and nodded. “Yeah… I won’t.”

  His mother clapped her hands. “Alright! Let’s get you out of that hospital gown. Husband, help me with the IV lines.”

  She walked around to Adam’s other side—and suddenly let out a startled scream.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Her face went pale as she pointed at his left arm. “Adam! What… what happened to your arm?!”

  Adam’s heart sank.

  [So much for ignoring it.]

  The thing he had desperately tried not to acknowledge refused to be ignored any longer.

  He looked down.

  His left arm—once flesh and blood—had turned back into a sword, starting from the base of the elbow.

  He exhaled slowly. “You just couldn’t let me have this peaceful dream, could you…”

  Turning back to his parents, he spoke softly, “I know this isn’t real. You’re not really them. You’re just my mind’s version of them.”

  He clenched his right hand into a fist.

  “But even if that’s the case… I’m going to treat you like the real you. My real mom and dad.”

  His voice trembled slightly.

  “I know you’ve both been gone a long time… but I still needed this. I needed closure.”

  The two figures smiled at him—warm, gentle, forgiving.

  Adam looked at them one last time. “I’m going to walk my own path now.”

  They spoke in unison, voices full of love.

  “Son, do what you must. You’ll always have our full support.”

  Adam knew it wasn’t real. Just his mind’s way of healing.

  But for now, it was enough.

  One of the ways to wake up from a dream is to end your dream self. Since the brain has no knowledge of what happens after death. Waking up is it's only choice

  He raised his sword-arm—pointed it at himself—and went to behead his dream-self.

  ---

  Adam jolted awake.

  He was lying inside the hollow of a massive tree. Breath shallow. Eyes wide.

  His sword-arm was mid-swing—only held back by Xiaoyan and Red, who were clinging to him desperately, biting and grabbing at the blade to stop him.

  “Adam—what the fuck are you doing?!” Xiaoyan shouted, voice panicked. “Were you seriously trying to kill yourself?!”

  Red growled and whined beside him, as if echoing the same question.

  Adam blinked a few times, trying to reorient himself. “Sorry… it was just a dream. A really, really vivid one.”

  He reached out and ruffled both of their heads gently.

  Red let out a happy bark and wagged his tail.

  Xiaoyan quickly pushed Adam’s hand away, frowning. “Stop that! You said it yourself—I’m not a kid anymore.”

  Adam laughed weakly. “Haha… yeah. I did say that, didn’t I?”

  With the golden tags already in their possession, Adam, Xiaoyan, and Red decided it was no longer worth engaging in unnecessary fights.

  As they regrouped in their hiding spot, Xiaoyan quietly informed Adam, “Both Mu Qing Li and Li Fan are dead.”

  Adam’s expression darkened. “Something doesn’t add up. What you think is happening… isn’t what’s really going on. Let’s put that aside for now.”

  Xiaoyan gave him a faint, skeptical look but eventually nodded. “Alright.”

  Adam’s tone turned colder. “There’s only the two of us left—three, if we count Red. Forget what I said earlier about avoiding unnecessary kills. We can’t afford to hesitate anymore. If we want to win the prize, we need to do whatever it takes.”

  Xiaoyan nodded firmly in agreement.

  At this point, only nine teams remained on the battlefield. Five days had passed—only two more to go. Of the remaining teams, four were major sects; the rest were minor. Though a few minor teams had managed to defeat major ones, the vast majority of casualties among major teams came at the hands of other majors.

  The teams that obtained the special quest items were constantly hunted by others. Some teams had already collected five golden tags—one for each member—but instead of exiting, they continued to attack others to reduce the competition. Several teams had suffered casualties, reducing their overall numbers.

  Adam’s team was down to just him, Xiaoyan, and Red.

  With no reason to take further risks, they decided to lay low until the very end.

  They found shelter in a fortified area riddled with traps—perfect for ambushes and defense. They hid there, waiting.

  ---

  Final Day – Just Before the Match Ends

  The battlegrounds had descended into chaos. Desperate teams scrambled to secure their last golden tags before the clock ran out.

  One minor team stumbled upon Xiaoyan and decided to take him out, unaware of the trap they were walking into.

  Xiaoyan lured them toward a section of trees rigged with talismans. He stood casually near one of the traps as the enemy team approached.

  The opposing team leader scoffed. “You’re really bad at building traps. This one’s easy to dodge.”

  Xiaoyan smirked. “That won’t stop me from activating it.”

  He triggered the trap.

  Iron shard talismans exploded from the surrounding trees, sending a deadly barrage toward the enemy team.

  Most of them chose not to waste their Qi defending—they simply tried to leap over the attack.

  But as the leader and another member jumped, they froze mid-air.

  From below, Adam—buried and waiting—sprang to life. As the trap activated, he latched onto their legs using the crooks of his armpits, locking them in place.

  The two were caught mid-leap and couldn’t escape.

  The iron shards ripped through them, obliterating them on the spot.

  The remaining two team members sprang into action. One launched a vine into a nearby tree and used it to propel himself toward Xiaoyan. The other activated a wind-blessing technique and dashed forward like a blur.

  The airborne vine-user didn’t get far.

  As soon as he crossed into Red’s line of sight, the white fox pounced with terrifying speed, slamming into his skull and crushing it instantly.

  The final attacker froze mid-dash, horror flashing in his eyes.

  That hesitation was all Xiaoyan needed.

  He activated his Blazing Echo Step, closing the distance in a blink.

  His blade ignited with fiery energy.

  In a single, explosive slash, he cleaved the final attacker cleanly in half.

  With that final confrontation, only four teams remained—barely enough to qualify. The rest had either failed to collect enough golden tags or had been eliminated outright. The number of survivors was far fewer than the tournament organizers had expected. Fewer than twenty remained.

  As the sun set on the final day, the gamecaster’s voice echoed across the battlefield.

  “This marks the end of the first match week. The trial has officially concluded!”

  Moments later, the remaining teams were enveloped in a teleportation light and transported back to the stadium arena. A burst of cheers and murmurs rippled through the audience as the survivors appeared on the platform.

  “These are the individuals who endured till the end!” the gamecaster announced with practiced flair.

  Adam quietly recalled Red into the beast pouch strapped at his side. He and Xiaoyan stood together, eyes scanning the other survivors.

  What they saw was grim.

  One full major team remained—the same team that had possessed the other third dantian user. Even they were worse for wear: two of their members were missing limbs. The remaining survivors included two minor teams, each reduced to just two bloodied, bruised individuals, their bodies covered in cuts and their bones clearly broken or twisted.

  Behind the scenes, the gamecaster and event organizers exchanged tense glances. This was not the outcome they had planned for.

  They quickly gathered for a discussion, including Zhou Yanyue and the Crown Prince.

  After a brief deliberation, they came to a decision.

  Two members from the surviving four-man major team would be required to forfeit their slots. The team could decide internally who would stay and who would step down.

  The following day would be the final round—a series of one-on-one matches.

  Each fight would end in either death or a clear out-of-bounds defeat.

  The gamecaster dismissed the finalists.

  "You've earned your rest. Take the day to recover and prepare for tomorrow."

  One by one, the remaining contestants began heading back to their quarters, bodies bruised and spirits heavy.

  High above, still seated in the royal pavilion, the Princess observed the departing finalists with narrowed eyes and a faint smile. Her gaze lingered on her selected marriage prospects—each one now marked by survival and strength.

  There was the three-dantian user from Void Pillar and finally, Adam and Xiaoyan from Grand Harmony.

  As her gaze swept over them, all three men felt it—an almost chilling weight brushing against their shoulders. Reflexively, they turned to see who was watching.

  When they spotted the Princess staring down at them, they immediately turned back toward the exit—heads lowered, steps quickening.

  But her eyes remained particularly fixed on Adam.

  He noticed.

  So did the others.

  Xiaoyan gave Adam a sideways glance, his brows furrowed with concern. The other prospect let out quiet sighs of relief, glad the focus wasn’t on him.

  Xiaoyan muttered, “Why is she still looking at you like that?”

  Adam sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with a wary expression.

  “I know I said the tournament was about to get interesting… but I didn’t think it would be this soon.”

  As Adam and Xiaoyan walked together toward their quarters, a disciple approached, stopping in front of Adam.

  “Adam, the Sect Leader is calling for you,” she said respectfully.

  Adam gave a short nod. “Got it.”

  Turning to Xiaoyan, he added, “You go ahead and rest. I’ve got something to take care of.”

  Xiaoyan gave him a look of concern. “Don’t overdo it on your rest day and show up tomorrow completely exhausted.”

  Adam smirked and waved him off as he followed the disciple.

  ---

  Moments later, Adam stood before Sect Leader Han Wuqing.

  The Sect Leader dismissed the disciple with a glance, then turned to Adam. With a simple gesture—a circle formed with his fingers pointed downward—he activated a silence array around them.

  A bubble of absolute stillness settled over the space.

  Han Wuqing looked Adam in the eye. “So… did you figure it out?”

  Adam’s expression turned sharp. “They’re not actually dead, are they?”

  He continued before Han Wuqing could respond.

  “If they really died, Zayk would’ve come to claim my soul right then and there. And that’s not all. When that guy got beheaded, I couldn’t heal him—even though I know my healing ability could reattach a head or even regrow one entirely from just the torso.”

  Han Wuqing gave a small nod. “You’re right. They’re not dead.”

  Adam frowned. “Then why label this as a death tournament if it clearly isn’t?”

  The Sect Leader gave a soft sigh. “Do you really think the royals would let their allies suffer such a toll? Some of those sects have notoriously short tempers. Something like this could easily make them question their loyalty to the royal family.”

  He paused, then added, “There’s another reason, too. The royals are using this tournament to flush out hidden talents—disciples who’ve been concealing their true strength. The prize is meant to be tempting enough to force them into revealing themselves.”

  “Now you are under their radar as a sect’s hidden talent. They might come at you will some proposals”

  Adam narrowed his eyes. “So that’s why she looked at me particularly. So this is what it's really about.”

  Han Wuqing nodded. “Right now, only the highest-ranking individuals know the truth—that this isn’t actually a death match. As far as the other participants are concerned, they still believe it is.”

  He gave Adam a pointed look. “Let them keep believing that. If they think their lives are on the line, they’ll

  fight harder. Desperation brings out power—and secrets.”

  Adam gestured to the special talisman given to all participants. “This thing… is it the life-saving device?”

  Han Wuqing nodded again. “Yes. Don’t tamper with it. If you mess with the array, you might disable it… and make it a real death match—just for you.”