Duality of Shadows-Chapter 928: Determination And Resilience

Right after Alm and Bruno came back, looking like they’d just taken a light stroll, the next groups were announced.

Ruri and Carod saw their names in two different groups. Ruri jumped up, glowing with excitement. "I’ve got a Sacred Will too! I’ll destroy her!"

The name was feminine, which ignited Ruri’s competitive spirit like never before. She was eager to fight and now had the spotlight on the main stage. Without hesitation, she rushed off to her first match against a skinny man. Carod also moved, heading to one of the smaller stages.

Now, everyone in the arena had their eyes on these youngsters from the Tarrasque continent. Carod’s match started—he was facing a tall, imposing woman.

She attacked cautiously, watching his movements. Carod drew a sword but focused solely on dodging. Being experienced, he easily avoided her ferocious attacks. After just a few moves, the woman roared and unleashed her full power.

In that moment, Carod closed in and struck. A wound opened on her shoulder. Her eyes widened; if he had wanted, he could’ve taken her head clean off.

Her strength was greater, but she was full of openings. She was clearly used to fighting dumb beasts that wouldn’t notice such flaws. Even the people from her own continent hadn’t spotted such glaring weaknesses.

The duel ended quickly, with the woman surrendering amicably. At that same moment, Ruri’s match began. But...

*Slap!*

She’d chosen a sword similar to a katana, but she didn’t even break a sweat. As soon as the fight started, she delivered a violent slap that sent the man flying. He crashed down, and when he tried to get up, a blade was already at his throat. He gave up in just three seconds.

Everyone watched the two fights, completely stunned. None of those five seemed ordinary in the slightest. Soon, the pressure on the other two competitors increased.

The matches continued. Carod easily won two more, until he faced a man who was the leader of his group. This guy came from the Caipora continent and had a calm, gentle expression.

It was a quick fight, without much difficulty, until the man stopped and nodded, conceding. At that moment, Carod turned pale. Was it really that easy? He could hardly believe it. Just a few months ago, he’d been below average, fighting just to make it to the next day. And now? He had actually won every match in the first round of the sacred tournament?

Even Tarrasque was in shock, but then he turned his attention to Ruri’s duel on the main stage.

"Draw your weapon!" A towering, muscular woman demanded, glaring at Ruri. She was from the Djinn continent and also at the Sacred Will level.

"Depends if you’re capable of making me," Ruri replied indifferently. Her sword remained calmly sheathed at her waist.

If someone much stronger than her had said that, the muscular woman might’ve accepted it. But the opponent who said this was clearly on a much lower level. That woman wasn’t even a member of the Charming Eyes Race.

Without another word, the woman swung her twin hammers, creating two fierce, unnatural wind waves that shot straight at Ruri.

The twin hammers were extremely heavy, yet in her hands, they seemed unbelievably light and agile. The roaring wind produced by her strikes was especially deep and heavy.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Ruri dodged every single ferocious hammer strike. The concentrated banging sound echoed as the heavy hammers hit only empty air but still fractured the space around them.

The speed and power were incredible. Seeing she couldn’t hit her target, the woman activated the full power of her eyes. A storm-like domain spread over the arena.

But… she still didn’t hit her mark. Ruri just appeared again, moving with the laws of space, a mocking smile plastered on her face. Everyone in the audience was shocked.

The woman’s gaze darkened. All her sacred power and ocular techniques started surging uncontrollably. Like a flaming wheel, her body began spinning rapidly.

And it wasn’t just a metaphor—flames filled the entire area. The woman was a master of wind and fire laws. Like a raging hurricane, she smashed her twin hammers toward Ruri with each strike fiercer than the last.

But shadowy flames struck back alongside her. Just as powerful and just as fast as the originals.

’Hmm… it’s similar,’ Bruno analyzed. ’Her wind and fire are abnormal, almost alive. Her eyes must rewrite the basic interaction of elements within the heavenly laws.’

Within seconds, dozens of wild hammer strikes hit only air. The more the woman attacked, the more shocked she became. Finally, with a loud roar, she went for a desperate strike, and the arena instantly exploded.

"Purple Djinn Flame!!"

The twin hammers suddenly smashed down at once with pressure several times stronger than before.

Ruri frowned, stepping back three meters. When the two hammers struck empty air, they clashed against each other. A purple flame, thick with primordial runes, erupted, surging straight toward her.

The audience was dumbstruck. A Sacred Will brazenly using primordial runes to fight someone so much weaker?

*BOOM!*

With a deafening roar, a wave of purple flames exploded upon hitting the ground, leaving a large portion of the surface completely blackened. As for Ruri, she had already leapt far back. When she landed, with a sweep of her arms, she gripped a sword with both hands.

Ruri had finally drawn her weapon, and the exact moment she unsheathed it, it sent a massive wave of shock and whispers through the spectators.

Everyone’s expressions shifted, because as soon as she held her sword, it was as if she had become an entirely different person.

The atmosphere around Ruri also underwent a devastating change. It was like she had merged with the sword itself. The entire environment turned cold, and an instinctive scent of blood hung in the air.

The woman swallowed hard. A single thought—’there’s absolutely no way to win’—sprang into her heart, making her grip her twin hammers even tighter. Yet, even after a long time, she didn’t dare to take a step forward.

’What kind of freak is this...’ all six immortal entities thought in unison. That small golem, even if she was a genius, should’ve needed at least a thousand—or even tens of thousands—of years to reach such a high and sharp aura like this...

And indeed, they were unknowingly correct. Ruri possessed vivid memories of countless past lives, where she cultivated, and in most of them, she used a sword. With her master’s teachings, she fused all her experiences, and the term "one with the sword" was already too small for her.

Compared to Kaiyka, Ruri was still far below. But the two were different. Ruri’s high level, combined with her other abilities, made her just as terrifying in her own way.

The woman’s back was drenched in sweat.

"Take this!"

Ruri swung her sword lightly, and like a flash, she instantly closed the fifteen-meter gap.

With a loud roar, the woman poured all her strength into her arms, bracing to take the blow head-on. The small golem’s sword moved so quickly that everyone watching felt like it was pointing directly at their throats. The cutting aura emanating from that strike was terrifying.

Suddenly, Ruri clicked her tongue and twisted the blade’s edge. Despite not being a katana, her sword also cut only from one side. The strike landed directly on the woman, who was sent flying as if caught in a hurricane. Her body was flung high into the air...

*Bang!*

She tumbled to the ground, spitting blood, before collapsing completely dazed. When she finally managed to move and tried to stand, her hands and legs trembled, and she stayed on the ground. Looking up, she saw the small golem staring coldly at her.

"Do you still want to fight?"

Ruri spoke, and the woman instinctively felt that if she stood up, that small golem would hurt her in a way she’d remember for the rest of her life. From the moment she drew her sword, the once-mighty Sacred Will cultivator had simply turned into fodder.

"I give up..." she murmured, and the judge quickly declared the winner.

The sound of the blade sliding smoothly back into its sheath was the only audible noise in the arena. Ruri waved and walked off the stage slowly, heading toward her group.

She smiled brightly at everyone, then grabbed the arm of the round golem, clinging to him intimately in front of everyone’s eyes.

Carod and Ruri both finished first in their groups, leaving Tarrasque in total disbelief. Then, the groups with Emppu and Florien were announced.

The two fought and won their first matches, but it wasn’t as flashy. Everyone noticed Emppu’s terrifying physical power and paid close attention when he activated his ocular abilities.

He might’ve been low-level in sacred power, but it was clear that was his choice, in exchange for something else. Since sacred power could be cultivated later, everyone realized it was a smart trade-off; they would’ve done the same if they could.

As for Florien, she amazed the crowd in a completely different way. She fought fiercely and got injured in a bloody duel but never gave up or suffered injuries severe enough to make her lose. Eventually, through sheer persistence, she found an opening and defeated her opponent.

She also wielded a sword, and when she won, Ruri nodded in approval. This young woman was quite talented and had clearly learned that move Ruri had taught her.

The following matches were similar, but Emppu had an epic duel against the group leader, a Sky Will, and barely won, leaving everyone in awe. Everyone understood his talents and how he won; that’s why there wasn’t shock but admiration.

Ruri scoffed dryly. The beatings she had given him repeatedly had proven effective—he drastically reduced the openings in his stance, which was why he managed to win by such a slim margin.

Florien, on the other hand, faced another Sky Will, but no one could believe how a small woman covered in blood could keep standing and fighting like that. Her opponent was clearly much stronger, but he just couldn’t take her down.

Then, at a certain moment, everyone saw Florien’s tunic pulse, and a devastating, terrifying strike was unleashed. She had, in fact, done what Tarrasque had mentioned: she used all the primordial runes at once. But she saved it for the last fight, after winning all the others.

Even though her opponent was caught off guard, he should’ve been able to block it. But... Florien’s control over the runes made all six entities widen their eyes in shock.

"She... is that her talent? She can control it that precisely?" Caipora asked, startled, looking at Tarrasque.

But he simply arched his torso and pretended to confirm it, even though he had absolutely no idea how she managed to pull it off. He had only given a few notes about using the runes and left them alone in that building, after all.

Ruri scoffed again. In truth, it was thanks to her master’s improved tunic and the tips from Yinou and Huying. She had just beaten them up and taught them how to fight a little during that short period.

In the end, Florien suddenly defeated her opponent. Then, after the judge declared her victory, she ran and quickly jumped onto Ruri, hugging her tightly and crying.

Ruri’s white dress was stained red, but she was overjoyed at Florien’s maximum effort.

This was her limit—she wouldn’t go much further in the tournament. But Ruri had spent time personally training her in those days. That, combined with the young woman’s determination and resilience, brought her this far.

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