The entity once again charged forth with dazzling speed, barely needing to touch the ground to propel himself forward. Jack and Sarah did not dare to use [Qi Pulse] again, relying solely on sight and sound to track his charge— this time it was the fifth step, the entity once again leaping forward with superhuman agility, sailing through the air despite the weight of the manacles hanging from his wrists.

“Sarah!” Jack yelled out a warning in advance, and the next second Sarah dove to the right, her enhanced reflexes allowing her to execute a combat roll like Jack had mentioned to her in passing. The entity skidded across the ground, his attack finding no purchase except empty air— the momentum behind his charge only ceasing when it made contact with the energy dome.

Jack ran over to Sarah, guarding her as she reoriented herself. Once they saw the attack coming, it was fairly easy to counter— the entity’s best chance of killing him was with the sneak attack, provided he didn’t have any more deceptive maneuvers in his arsenal.

Without a word, the entity pivoted on his foot to once again face them, a small puddle of blood forming under his right leg from the open wound. He charged again, and James and Sarah created some distance between each other to allow for dodging in case the entity repeated the same trick. Even with his enhanced reflexes, Jack wasn’t used to someone moving so far— he had focused mainly on [Physical] stats like [Agility], [Strength] and [Constitution], but he was starting to realize the importance of a stat like [Perception]... it was hard to kill the enemy if you couldn’t perceive him. Jack had a feeling if the man wasn’t shackled, that was the likely outcome.

The entity broke into another charge, powerful though he may be— he was only able to do so much with his hands bound and his eyes sealed. Both Jack and Sarah were prepared to dive out of the way, and Jack was even ready to inflict damage— he could only use the same move so many times before it got countered.

The entity charged, once again headed for Sarah’s direction. Jack positioned himself to charge at the man the moment he landed, ready to drive his sword straight through the entity’s ribcage. He wasn’t worried about Sarah, her expression was confident as she had already dealt with the same attack once before. Jack had wondered why the entity didn’t use Qi to fight back— at first, he thought it was part of a strategy to mislead him, but that possibility grew unlikely with every passing minute. The likelihood of him being able to fight back against the entity if he could tap into his Qi reserves was highly unrealistic, and if he viewed the problem from the system’s perspective, Qi was equivalent to a loaded gun back on Earth. Who’d leave it lying around for a traitor to use?

Both Jack and Sarah were waiting for the entity to leap forward, only realizing that something was off when he crossed the halfway mark without showing any inclination to leap.

Sarah thrust her spear forward defensively, not casting [Qi Pulse] since she didn’t expect to hit the entity, wondering what maneuver he’d try at the last minute. To her surprise, the entity didn’t evade, leap past her or even sidestep the thrust, a sly grin appearing on his face as he slammed into it, the spear striking his lower abdomen, but not being able to penetrate deeply due to a lack of Qi.

In a flurry of motion, the entity looked down at his pierced abdomen with an eerie calm, hooking the chain connecting the two manacles that bound his wrists around the spear shaft and sliding down until it made contact with the spear tip. Sarah reflexively tried to pull her spear away, but a clinking sound echoed out as her spear was restrained by the chains.

The entity tugged harshly the next second, and the spear flew out of her hands— yanked mercilessly away from her grasp, leaving her weaponless. Before Jack could intervene, the entity snaked closer to a weaponless Sarah and ruthlessly kicked her, aiming for the abdomen. Sarah managed to put two arms up in a guarding posture, but that didn’t stop her from crashing into the arena’s energy dome— her status unknown.

The entity unhooked the spear and let it fall to the ground, just as Jack charged at him while flaring his [Qi Blade] skill, slashing with intention to decapitate. The entity just extended his manacles wide, sparks flying as his Qi tried to cut through them but couldn’t leave even the slightest scratch. Jack had long expected this, kicking out with a blow directed towards the man’s shin— at the side of the exposed wound.

For the first time since the battle started, Jack saw the man’s expression contort in pain— any pity he felt for the entity being washed away by Sarah’s frightened expression flashing in his mind, as she was struck into unconsciousness.

Jack canceled his [Qi Pulse] and retracted his blade, wary of it being entrapped and disarmed, but he didn’t let up on the assault. Mixing a series of feints with normal and empowered blows, Jack pressed the entity to his limits— being able to feel his stamina flagging. Finally seeing an opening, Jack’s Qi flared like an azure dragon thirsting for blood, and in one clean, swift slash followed— severing the man’s arm from his waist, a torrent of blood erupting from the sight of the wound.

The entity just stood still for a second, his expression one of disbelief. And then he started laughing wildly, his severed arm dangling from the manacle connected to his remaining wrist, before toppling over his own weight and falling backwards.

“Why do you laugh?” Jack asked as he panted from the exertion, feeling a melange of uncertain emotions at seeing the man laugh after what had been the most challenging fight of his life. He peered at Sarah from the corner of his eye, seeing her sitting back up against the energy dome, recovering, he relaxed.

“I am a cultivator, Initiate. I am also a traitor, to my sect, my race, and to the [Divine System]. A death on the battlefield, guiding another promising seed as my last act— it is more of a salvation than I deserve,” The entity’s rasping voice uttered, every word spoken a gasp for air.

“Guidance?” Jack muttered incredulously. “You tried to kill me,” he bluntly stated, not buying his claims of being a benevolent master.

“I did. And if you died, you would have been unworthy,” The entity grinned, his smile both wolfish and predatory, even on the verge of death. “I am a cripple, Initiate. To one born with the [Divine System], that is a fate worse than death. Not my body or mind, but the intangible organ that governs Qi in the body– the dantian, was shattered as punishment for my crimes. It is a pity you were unable to awaken your talent, but you will go far with your decisiveness,” the entity broke out into a series of hacking coughs, but the contented smile on his face did not change.

‘This is… wrong,’ Sarah’s previous words rang in his mind, a sense of nausea flowing through his body. He understood that… this was a warning as much as it was a test of loyalty— this was the consequences for those that dared to betray the system, and the price that it demanded for its power. If he refused to kill the entity at this stage, would he too face the same consequences?

“Do not lose your resolve now, initiate!” For the first time since he’d made contact with the entity, he seemed genuinely agitated. “This is the way of a cultivator. Do you think I have not killed others for power? We kill, and others are free to try and kill us. Only the worthy will survive, for only the worthy have the power to confront the darkness. It is the way of the three realms, Initiate.”

“Accept it, or be consumed,” The entity whispered the last words, sending chills down Jack’s spine, a vague, uncertain horror that he didn’t understand the source of, enveloping him.

“Go with honor,” Jack spoke with a solemn edge, before letting out a frustrated scream and driving the sword into the man’s chest, Qi flaring through it.