Chapter 867: Round 16: Orion vs Skylar Blood (part-1)
The thunder of cheers surged as Orion stepped into the arena, sunlight streaming down like a divine spotlight.
Across from him, Skylar Blood stood proud, his cloak fluttering and arms folded, his serpent tattoo twitching like it was alive beneath his skin.
The announcer’s voice boomed over the arena:
"Round 16: MATCH ONE: ORION vs SKYLAR BLOOD!"
Skylar’s crimson gaze scanned Orion from head to toe. "So," he started with a scoff. "Lord Azrael’s son. My entire life, I kept hearing your father’s name. The strongest being on this planet. The one who is so powerful that despite having two Supreme realm experts in our clan, neither of my masters could even object to his ruling." He took a step forward. "You know my father always wanted to fight your father, but he never got the chance. But I get a chance to fight his son. Unfortunately, you weren’t strong enough to earn a seed, though. What happened? Daddy didn’t believe in you? Or is it because you truly don’t have an Arcana spirit?"
As they were in the barrier, their words didn’t get outside of it. Except for Affea, no one heard their conversation. And she had a slight frown on her face, but didn’t do anything as it is against the rules for a proctor to intervene.
To her surprise, Orion merely looked at Skylar with a serene expression as if his words had no effect on him, and replied. "Skylar, if you draw confidence from other people’s belief in you," he said, "you might win a few battles."
Skylar’s brow twitched. He wondered what this one was spouting.
"But," Orion continued, "if others gain strength from knowing you’re there for them... that’s when you can change the world."
Taking a brief pause.
"Those are the ones who leave behind a legacy," Orion said quietly, "even after death. The rest... just live, and fade. So, are you proud that you had a seeding and support of your clan, while I don’t?"
Skylar’s jaw clenched. "I’m not here to hear your preaching."
"Preaching or not, you merely said what’s on your mind, and..." Orion said with a smile. "I said, what’s on my mind. Whether you take it as a statement, reply, preaching, or warning, it is up to the receiver."
Skylar spat to the side. "Go on and try to act around. You may have brute strength, but that won’t save you this time."
Orion’s eyes didn’t waver, replying with the same smile. "Win or lose doesn’t matter, Skylar. Just do your best... and leave the result to fate."
Meanwhile, far up in the private stands, Gideon Crescent sat beside Azzy, arms crossed.
Gideon narrowed his eyes. "Based on what I can infer from reading their lips, Orion seemed completely calm. That’s not the emotional boy I saw yesterday. Did the dungeon really change him this much?"
Azzy smiled faintly, taking a sip of coffee. "Looks like my son’s begun to understand something."
"Understand what?" Gideon asked.
Azrael’s smile deepened. "The Buddhist texts I gave him."
"Buddhist?" Gideon blinked. "You mean, those ancient scripts about... enlightenment and detachment? Our Abel Tower has records about that dead religion from the pre-apocalypse era, but I wasn’t interested in that much. What is it, exactly?"
"Let’s just say," Azzy said, "they teach one how to listen to the world without needing to dominate it. And if Orion could understand something from the texts, then, by now, he should have reached out to the world’s natural energy. Let’s see..."
Back in the arena, the Proctor raised her hand, shooting out a burst of soul energy into the sky. As it exploded in the sky like a firework, the match began.
Skylar moved first, his speed a blur, and his palm gleaming with soul energy.
Orion didn’t attack.
He stepped, evading the attack.
Skylar’s strike missed, skimming past his shoulder.
And for a brief moment, Orion’s form shimmered faintly, like his movements harmonized with the very air around him.
Gideon leaned forward, brows furrowed. "That step... It’s familiar."
Azrael simply murmured, "It’s the Sage technique."
With a reverse palm strike to the chest, Orion pushed Skylar. The latter flew for a dozen meters before coming to a halt.
The hum of the crowd grew dense.
Skylar Blood’s aura then seethed like a tide, the air around him warping from pressure. His hand twisted, and a sphere of concentrated blood energy pulsed to life and floated above his palm.
Then it lengthened, shaped, and twisted into a jagged, spiraling lance.
"Let’s see you block this," he hissed.
The blood lance crackled, drenched in killing intent, as he tightly grabbed. Skylar charged forward.
Orion didn’t even flinch a bit when he sat.
He simply exhaled and calmly made his move.
His feet were planted shoulder-width apart, back straight. He raised one hand to his chest, palm upward. The other rested near his navel, palm downward. His fingers curled delicately as he shut his eyes.
Skylar’s sneer deepened. "Have it your way!"
He lunged, the platform cracking beneath his momentum. The blood lance tore through the air like a howling dragon, aimed straight for Orion’s chest.
And then...
A soundless thud echoed.
Not from Orion.
From the golden arm that had erupted from him, all of a sudden.
A golden forearm, impossibly large, translucent, but solid, caught the lance mid-air and stopped it cold.
Skylar’s eyes widened. "What the hell..."
Wuuuummmm—
Behind Orion, light gathered once again.
A silhouette bloomed behind him. Seated in perfect meditation, towering like a mountain. Dozens of arms fanned out behind its form, each poised with precise grace, some raised, some folded, some clenched into golden fists.
A figure that neither resembled Orion nor did it seem like some Olympian. It looked like a human.
And the experts sitting in the stands could feel divinity emerging from the golden figure and also the fact that it is completely in sync with the natural energy in the surroundings. Rather than the body is gathering the natural energy, the latter itself swirled around the body
"A divine manifestation?" Gideon narrowed his eyes from the stands.
Azzy merely folded his arms, voice low. "It’s not divine manifestation, Gid."
"What is that?" Gideon asked.
Azzy answered. "Let’s say it is a simple transformation of natural energy." Staring at it, he added. "I must say... I never had achieved such form either. Well, although I never needed to think about it. Orion’s manipulation of natural energy is very different than mine."
"Hmm..." Gideon turned back and gazed at his disciple.
The golden figure then moved forward a bit and loomed over Orion like a guardian, like a second skin or armor.
Then... Orion moved one hand forward.
The Buddha moved too, syncing to his movements. However, it wasn’t just one arm that moved.
In an instant, a dozen golden arms snapped forward in unison—BANG! BANG! BANG!
Each one struck Skylar from a different angle, chest, ribs, shoulders, legs—each blow like thunder wrapped in silk.
At once, Skylar’s body flung across the platform like a ragdoll, crashing against the shimmering barrier that enclosed the arena. A shockwave rippled from the point of impact, spiderwebbing cracks across the light screen.
Gasps broke out. Even the Blood Clan elders, who were secretly watching the match from the audience section, rose to their feet.
Skylar groaned, blood dripping from his lips, his lance shattered beside him.
The timer hovered in the air — 00:09... 00:08... 00:07