Sky Fire Arena...
The arena still in chaos with the lingering echoes of the duel. The floating cloud platforms swayed slightly in the breeze, and the cheers, gasps, and curses of the crowd hung in the air like static before a storm.
Ling Long's body stood outside the arena boundary, her Lava Hound dissolving into a plume of molten smoke. Her face was pale, eyes wide with disbelief.
She had been the Long Family's treasured daughter, trained in the Earthflame Magus Arts since childhood, praised as a future pillar of the clan… and yet, she had been pushed out of the arena by what everyone thought was the weakest participant. Worse, it wasn't even a head-on clash — Kent had simply used her momentum against her, as if she were some overeager rookie.
The moment she realized the crowd's shocked murmurs were turning into laughter, something inside her snapped.
