The Dawn of the New World

The moment he finished talking Stasa swiped his hands horizontally and five solid Qi swords formed behind him. Each one was bright blue in color.

They vibrated loudly to create a small shockwave that dissipated the dust cloud to reveal Hao Xuan staring up at him.

Hao Xuan's gaze focused on the Qi swords and then at the side of Stasa's hip where an empty scabbard hung loosely. It looked like a family heirloom or an accessory rather than something used in actual combat but Hao Xuan knew its real value better than anyone else here.

In the sky above grey clouds had started to gather, completely barring any sunlight from coming through.

The wind started to pick up and the fights that were already within the colosseum grounds distanced themselves from them as much as they possibly could.

Dai Zhi, Dima, Tian Zheng, and Feng Huang, and Xue Meng all directed their utmost attention towards them. No matter which side they belonged to, right now they were all warriors, cultivators, and battle-hardened fighters.

Even princess Ceni who had been in a world of her own until now finally raised her head to witness the battle, just like everyone else.

Among the followers Ensis and Monk were both on edge, Monk more so than Ensis.

But the Abysswalker, his eyes shone with an obvious light of intrigue as he ogled Hao Xuan's figure. And how could he not? They were essentially two beings belonging to the same bloodline the proof of which coursed through their veins, perhaps a lot more unreservedly through his than Hao Xuan's.

He hadn't felt a connection this deep and strong in a very long time. It reminded him of his own kin, the ones he stood shoulder to shoulder within during the first war. That was the reason why he hadn't yet killed Hao Xuan, purely out of curiosity.

How could a mere mortal have a bloodline so pure, so...ancient? His lips arched in a toothy grin as he savored the feeling from an era long gone.

"It's almost like you've risen once more, brother," he mumbled to himself.

The clouds continued to gather above the colosseum until a giant, slowly moving cortex had been created.

Hao Xuan let out a deep sigh as he peered at the same scene for the fifth time. Or was this the sixth one? He had lost count. He looked towards the domed hall behind Stasa, speaking up a moment later.

"I know what you have planned. You either kill me or I kill you. That is the only way out, I know that."

Stasa smirked, "Good. Do not disappoint me then."

Hao Xuan shook his head wearily. He knew the outcome but still, he wanted to try at least once, "Won't you give up, please? I know you think you are doing this out of some kind of misguided loyalty but it is not worth losing your life over."

"Ho? You really think you will win, don't you?" Stasa didn't sound angry at all, in complete contrast to his usual persona.

"I don't think so, I know so," Hao Xuan sighed, "Do you know why I chose you from among the rest?"

"Let me guess, because I am the weakest?"

"No," Hao Xuan said as a matter-of-fact, "The girl from the Temple is the weakest. She has good defenses but I killed her in one go. When it comes to raw power and the use of abilities, you are only behind Xue Meng. But you know that already, don't you?"

Hao Xuan's gaze naturally went towards the empty scabbard which startled Stasa quite a bit.

"Hah, have you lost your mind? Killed her?" he pretended to joke about it but inwardly was quite shaken.

'Does he know?! No, that's impossible. No one has ever seen me use it. Only Brother Dai Zhi has some idea but even he doesn't know for sure.'

But Hao Xuan did know, he had experienced it himself. That one technique had killed him every single time. Hao Xuan had fought each and every Protector other than Dai Zhi who never obliged no matter what.

And among all of them, Stasa had the second-highest killing ability, right behind Xue Meng.

There simply was no defending against such an ability.

Stasa's eyes narrowed as he chalked up Hao Xuan's words to mere trash talk.

"So knowing that I am the second strongest here, why did you choose me still?"

"Because you never struck from the back. You fought fair and square, until the very end."

"HAHAHA! Have you already lost your mind?!"

Peals of laughter escaped his gullet. What kind of trash talk was this?

*Sigh*

"So you won't yield? No matter what?"

"Of course not!"

Stasa rose back into the air and Qi swords inched forward until the tip of the blades came right over his forehead.

From Hao Xuan's point of view it looked like Stasa was wearing an oversized ornamental crown, which was also what gave the technique its name.

"Blade of the Monarch!"