Duo Yi clapped her hands together once, a sharp, decisive sound that cut through the chamber's murmurs. "I am tired of observing," she announced, her voice carrying a bright, impatient energy. "I want to fight. If I wait any longer, all the interesting ones will eliminate each other too soon. Where is the fun in that?"
Her words drew stares of incredulity. She spoke not with arrogance, but with the simple, unshakeable certainty of someone stating the weather. The exasperated sighs that followed came from the dawning realization that her statement was, for many of them, uncomfortably close to truth. If Gen, Juxian, Ning, and Baili tore through the bracket, what would be left for the others but scraps?
She rose and walked onto the newly reformed arena platform, her steps light. She didn't point at anyone. Instead, she swept her gaze over the remaining elite cultivators—Gen's group, the other survivors from the forest trial, the lone wolves who had clawed their way here.
"Anyone who wishes to test themselves may come up," she said. "One. Or two. I do not mind."
The sheer, breezy confidence of it sent a ripple through the chamber. It wasn't a boast; it was an open invitation to a challenge she seemed utterly sure of weathering.
Chubbs shook his head from his seat, a grin of pure admiration on his face. "The girl is mad. Absolutely mad. But she has the stones for it, you have to give her that." He leaned back, folding his arms. "Me, I think I shall pass my turn. If I can keep my spot on that lovely board without another bruising, I'll count it a victory."
From beside him, Lorel turned. Her voice was quiet but carried a firm edge of rebuke. "We came here to challenge ourselves against the best, Chubbs. Not to… stroll."
Chubbs's grin turned into an awkward, chagrined smile. He rubbed the back of his neck. "You are right, my lady. You are, as always, piercingly correct. I shall wait… a few more minutes. For my spirit to… fully recuperate." He sank back down, but his eyes remained fixed on Duo Yi, alight with anticipation.
On the arena, Duo Yi looked up at the phantom overseer's fading visage. "Honored Spirit," she called out, her tone respectful but direct. "I request a different format. A battle royal. All of them," she gestured to the gathered top contenders, "against me. In a series of single duels, I believe I would likely win. But facing them all… that would pose a sufficient challenge. That is the reason I came here. To be forced to grow."
Even Gen, slumped against the wall with his eyes closed, cracked one lid open at that. A slow, pained smirk touched his lips. "This girl is insane," he muttered to himself. But the idea, the sheer, glorious audacity of it, felt as tempting as a cool drink in a desert. It buzzed in his tired bones.
Ning, Juxian, Lorel, Liang—they all exchanged glances. This wasn't about pride anymore. It was a stark choice: refuse and admit they feared the challenge, or accept and step into a crucible none of them had imagined. The memory of the Doom Dragon, of that vast, coiling power only Duo Yi had fully faced down, hung in the air. For most of them, a single bite from that construct at their current level would have been the end. This was a chance to touch that caliber of power, not as an enemy, but as a participant.
Gen pushed himself to his feet with a grunt, shaking feeling back into his hands. He looked at Duo Yi, his smirk widening into a challenging grin. "Just so you know," he called out, "if we all jump you, you can't blame us for bullying you after."
Juxian hopped lightly onto the arena's edge, his jar bobbing. "Excellent. If I can test my strength against her directly, I will be more than satisfied with this tournament's lessons."
A murmur of agreement spread through the others. It felt less like ganging up and more like seizing a rare, collective opportunity.
The phantom head reappeared, its misty beard twitching in what might have been amusement. "Do as you wish. But remember the rule. Only the ten highest on the board when this… spectacle concludes will proceed further into the Tower. I suggest you keep one eye on your standing."
It was at that moment Baili Feng stood up.
The easy, collaborative spirit in the chamber chilled instantly. He hadn't moved from his spot against the wall since his fight. Now, his presence was a cold stone dropped into a pond.
"I am not teaming up with the weak," he stated, his voice flat and final. It wasn't an insult; it was a declaration of principle, as absolute as law.
A wave of annoyance washed over the group. Gen scowled. "He's powerful, we all saw it," Gen said, turning to face him, "but even you faced the False Deity and—"
"Only the weak think that way," Baili cut him off, his icy eyes locking onto Gen. "If I cannot win my fights alone, on my own terms, then I have no place here. I will leave this Tower and not look back. What is the point of shrinking behind others?" His gaze swept over the proposed alliance with utter disdain. "It is the logic of prey."
Silence followed his words, heavy and uncomfortable. Many looked down, the truth in his severe philosophy hitting a nerve even as it rankled.
The phantom overseer looked down at Baili, its expression unreadable. Inside its ancient, spectral mind, a thought formed. *Incredible will. A spine of unyielding iron. It is the hallmark of every true peak cultivator I have ever witnessed. But he lacks the one thing that separates the peaks that endure from those that crumble into valleys: the eyes to see a mountain taller than himself. Without that… his future is a precarious cliffside.*
Duo Yi, who had been observing Baili with a tilted head, now nodded slowly. A flicker of annoyance was replaced by a spark of competitive fire. "Fine," she said, her voice losing its playful edge. "We fight alone. Just you and me. And if I lose," she added, her words dropping like stones, "I will leave the Tower right now, as you said."
A collective gasp echoed in the chamber. The stakes had just been launched into the heavens.
Both figures stepped onto the arena, their auras already beginning to rise, pressing against each other in the empty space between them. Opposing energies crackled, throwing off invisible sparks that hissed in the quiet air.
Gen watched them, the two most formidable fighters of their generation squaring off. He nudged Liang with his elbow. "Who do you think?"
Liang shrugged, his eyes never leaving the arena. "Duo Yi is certainly the most naturally talented cultivator our age I have ever seen. Present company included." He said it matter-of-factly.
Gen hummed, pretending to brush it off, but inside his mind, his fist clenched. *She's better. For now. It won't be forever.*
Liang continued, his voice lower. "Baili, though… he's different. He is the kind of person who makes you believe he simply cannot lose. It's in his bones. It's hard to bet against a force of nature."
From beside them, Lorel spoke softly, her eyes fixed on her brother. "I have never seen him lose. Not in a real fight, not since he began his cultivation. Not until… today, with Ning. That is why his Cloud Juggernaut grew so strong. It was nourished by an untarnished record. His pride and his power fed each other."
Juxian, listening, added his own quiet insight. "I only perfected the **Jingdao of the Agile Mountain** after the Rock-Ape knocked me down a hundred times. If I had never fallen, I would not be standing here."
Ning, who had been silent, his clear grey eyes watching the two auras coalesce, finally spoke, his voice a mere whisper. "Everyone has their own philosophy. Their own way of seeing the Wheels and their place within them. Baili's way is… absolute. In that, I admire him."
On the arena, the air grew thick, then heavy, then sharp. Duo Yi's energy was a complex, shimmering lattice of controlled power, buzzing with latent violence. Baili's was a rising tide of dense, silver-grey force, a monolithic pressure seeking to dominate space itself.
Two opposing storms gathered, their leading edges already sparking where they met, silent fireworks of clashing will in the void.
The dice were not just set. They were thrown with world-shaking force.