C18 The Legendary Master Stage

Inside the arena, the Funma shuriken whirled towards Lilith at breakneck speed, threatening to cleave her in two. Yet, in Lilith's eyes, there was a serene calmness. She lived by her third maxim: In the heat of battle, no matter how dire the circumstances, one must never succumb to panic.

The Funma shuriken, while formidable, was too large a target. Such attacks were easily evaded. With a graceful leap, Lilith soared into the air, effortlessly sidestepping the deadly weapon. The spectators held their breath, their anxiety palpable. But as Lilith executed her maneuver, they erupted in excitement.

"Her technique is incredible!"

"Brother Fearless's weapon is too unwieldy. It's simple to dodge."

"Weren't you saying the opposite just a moment ago?"

"The gist of my words is the same. Let's not quibble over the minutiae."

It was typical for novices to be baffled by the unfolding action. Lilith had nimbly avoided the Funma shuriken, but Lin Luo had been anticipating this very instant. With Lilith suspended in mid-air, her agility was compromised. Abruptly, the Funma shuriken fragmented, its pieces altering their trajectory and encircling her with a chilling gleam. She was trapped, with no escape.

Despair flickered in Lilith's eyes before she collapsed to the ground. Fearless Expert had triumphed!

The crowd's eyes bulged, frozen in shock for a full ten seconds. They struggled to comprehend what had just occurred. How had Brother Fearless's secret weapon splintered so unexpectedly? Why did the shards change course so violently? And how was Lilith defeated so swiftly?

But such questions were secondary. The salient point was that Brother Fearless had emerged victorious.

"Brother Fearless, how could you treat Lilith so harshly? Your tactics are brutal!"

"Could she be an actress paid by Brother Fearless?"

"Didn't you see Lilith get impaled?"

Silent, Lin Luo exited the War Net. For him, the fight had been all too easy. When would he find a worthy adversary? He longed for a challenge.

Meanwhile, in the Osul Academy Team's training room, Jaina scrutinized Lin Luo's battle footage over and over. Something caught her eye—Lin Luo was wielding several purple strands. She gasped in realization, "A release of Spiritual Energy?" At that moment, the game changed.

Jaina finally grasped why the secret weapon hurled by Fearless Expert had shattered so unexpectedly. It was all under the command of the Spiritual Energy within Fearless Expert's body. Hearing their captain's cry of astonishment, the team members crowded around, fixating on the purple silk threads in Lin Luo's grasp.

"So this is actually a release of Spiritual Energy. It's a hallmark of the Master Stage," one member murmured in awe.

"Who exactly is he?" another whispered, as a wave of puzzled looks swept across the group. Bai Feiyang shared in the collective bewilderment.

He had been bested by a legendary prodigy. That realization brought him a strange sense of relief. But then it hit him...

This was the Master Stage. The War Net had only a handful of individuals at that level. Their captain, Jaina, was merely an elite. No matter the might of her abilities, without the capacity to externalize her Spiritual Energy, she couldn't ascend to the Master Stage.

A sly smile then crept across Jaina's face, sending a shiver down the spines of her team. They all recalled the last time she smiled—the entire training room had turned into an icebox.

"Challenge Fearless Expert to a duel for me," Jaina commanded, her smile widening. "Whoever secures a match first will see their training cut in half."

The team erupted into chaos, scrambling to act. "But if no one succeeds," she added, her grin now gleaming, "then prepare for triple the training."

Desperation set in as they realized Fearless Expert had logged off. They were doomed to endure a tripling of their grueling training regimen.

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