Chapter 95: THE BATTLE OF BRUTES

Chapter 95 — THE WEIGHT OF THE GROUND

The battlefield did not pause for grief.

Fang Zhao was gone.Two Vermillion fighters were gone.

And the arena had learned a new truth—elimination did not arrive with ceremony. It arrived when someone decided you were in the way.

Chen Wulian wiped blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and laughed.

“Man,” he said, shoulders rolling, “this really is the good stuff.”

Across from him, the terrain shifted.

The shallow water basin he had been skirting hardened, liquid retreating into fissures as the ground darkened, compacted, and thickened. Stone veins surfaced like bones pushing through skin.

Chen’s grin widened.

“Oho?”

A figure stepped forward from the distorted terrain.

Yue Hanran.

The acting captain of Dragon Turtle Academy moved with infuriating calm, hands clasped loosely behind his back. His earlier water-like aura was still present—but now it felt… contained. Suppressed. Like a river dammed behind invisible walls.

His eyes were steady. Evaluating.

“So you’re the loud one,” Yue Hanran said mildly.

Chen thumped his chest once. “That’s me.”

Yue Hanran inclined his head slightly. “Good. It saves time.”

The crowd sensed it.

Cameras swung.Murmurs rose.

“DRAGON TURTLE’S CAPTAIN!”

“IS HE ENGAGING NOW?”

“WAIT—IS HE FIGHTING THAT GUY?!”

In the instructors’ chamber, Mei Ying straightened.

“…Chen,” she murmured.

On the battlefield, Chen cracked his knuckles.

“Alright, Captain,” he said cheerfully. “Let’s dance.”

He charged.

No feint.No hesitation.

Just raw momentum.

Chen Wulian crossed the distance like a cannonball, his aura igniting in a violent surge. Muscles tightened, bones reinforced, spirit energy condensing around him into a brutal, physical manifestation of power.

He swung.

A straight, crushing punch aimed directly at Yue Hanran’s center mass.

The ground rose.

Not metaphorically.

Literally.

A slab of rock erupted upward in front of Yue Hanran, thicker than a fortress wall, layered with compacted earth and mineral veins. Chen’s fist slammed into it with explosive force.

BOOM.

The impact shattered the slab, fragments spraying outward like shrapnel.

But—

Yue Hanran was already gone.

Chen skidded to a halt, boots digging trenches into the stone.

“…Oh come on,” he muttered.

The ground beneath Chen’s feet shifted.

Suddenly, it wasn’t solid.

It dragged.

His boots sank several inches as the earth liquefied just enough to grab, then re-solidified like a vice. Chen’s eyes widened.

“HEY—!”

The ground behind him surged upward, forming jagged pillars that slammed inward, attempting to crush him from multiple angles.

Chen roared.

His aura flared violently as he flexed, muscles bulging, raw strength forcing the stone apart. Pillars cracked. Earth groaned. With a thunderous heave, Chen tore himself free, launching backward into open space.

He landed hard, skidding, laughing breathlessly.

“HAHA! That’s new!”

Yue Hanran stepped into view again, now standing atop a raised stone platform that had not existed seconds earlier.

“The ground listens to me,” he said calmly. “You should be more polite to it.”

The crowd exploded.

“EARTH MANIPULATION?!”

“WAIT—ISN’T HIS TALENT WATER?!”

“WHAT IS THIS?!”

Yue Hanran raised one hand.

The battlefield responded.

Stone rose in layered waves, forming ridges, walls, and terraces that reshaped the immediate area into a natural fortress. It wasn’t chaotic—it was designed.

Chen’s grin faded into something sharper.

“…Alright,” he said. “Guess I’ll just hit harder.”

He inhaled deeply.

Then exhaled.

His aura changed.

Gone was the reckless flare. In its place, something heavier settled over him—dense, compact, resolute. Chen’s body seemed to anchor itself, muscles and bones reinforcing further, skin taking on a faint metallic sheen.

His defensive art fully engaged.

He slammed his fists together.

“COME ON!” he shouted.

Chen charged again, this time weaving through rising stone with surprising agility, smashing through barriers instead of dodging them. Every impact sent shockwaves rippling outward.

Yue Hanran watched him approach without moving.

Then—

He stepped forward.

The ground answered

instantly.

A massive stone arm burst upward from the earth, fist clenched, swinging sideways with the force of a collapsing cliff.

Chen crossed his arms and took it head-on.

The impact detonated.

The shockwave flattened nearby terrain, sending debris flying into the air. Chen was driven backward, boots carving trenches as he skidded nearly ten meters before stopping.

Smoke rose.

Chen uncrossed his arms.

His forearms were bruised. His breath was heavier.

But he was still standing.

“…Not bad,” he admitted.

Yue Hanran nodded once. “Your defense is impressive.”

He raised both hands.

The ground sank.

The arena floor beneath Chen collapsed into a deep, bowl-shaped depression, walls curving inward, stone flowing like liquid as gravity itself seemed to tilt.

Chen stumbled, sliding toward the center.

“HEY—HEY—HEY—!”

He slammed his fists into the ground, anchoring himself with brute force, muscles screaming as he resisted the pull.

Yue Hanran’s aura finally expanded.

Not outward.

Downward.

The earth trembled.

MANIFESTATION — TERRAIN SOVEREIGN FORM

The crowd screamed.

Yue Hanran’s presence deepened, his spiritual energy synchronizing fully with the ground beneath him. Veins of glowing mineral light spread outward from his feet, crawling across the battlefield like a living map.

“This,” Yue Hanran said calmly, “is what my mentor taught me.”

High above, the Dragon Turtle Academy dean grinned.

“GOOD,” he boomed. “SHOW THEM.”

The pressure intensified.

Chen felt it immediately.

Not force.

Weight.

Every movement felt heavier. Every breath thicker. The ground pressed back against his attempts to move, resisting him like a living opponent.

Chen growled.

“You think—” he huffed, forcing himself upright, “—you’re the only one with tricks?”

He roared, aura surging violently as he unleashed his full power.

Chen’s body glowed faintly as layers of reinforcement stacked—bone, muscle, spirit—his defensive art reaching its peak. He slammed his foot down.

The ground cracked outward in a spiderweb pattern.

Chen launched himself upward, leaping clear of the depression, fists raised.

“For Azure Dragon!” he bellowed, bringing both fists down in a devastating overhead smash.

Yue Hanran didn’t dodge.

He stomped.

The earth rose.

Not a wall.

A mountainous shield, layered, reinforced, humming with deep, resonant energy.

Chen’s blow landed.

The impact was catastrophic.

The shield cracked. Shattered. Exploded outward in a storm of debris.

Chen crashed through—

And froze.

The moment he emerged, the ground beneath him locked.

Stone surged upward around his legs, then his waist, then his chest, binding him in place like a living coffin. Pressure spiked, crushing inward from all sides.

Chen strained, muscles bulging as he tried to break free.

“…Okay,” he grunted. “That’s… a problem.”

Yue Hanran stepped forward, expression unchanged.

“Your defense is admirable,” he said. “But defense alone cannot overcome control.”

He raised one finger.

The ground beneath Chen tilted sharply.

The entire stone formation lurched sideways, sliding rapidly toward the arena boundary.

Chen’s eyes widened.

“WAIT—WAIT—WAIT—!”

He tried to anchor himself, fists slamming into the stone, but the domain resisted him completely.

With a final, decisive shift—

The ground expelled him.

Chen was hurled bodily across the boundary line, crashing hard outside the arena.

The formations flared red.

ELIMINATION CONFIRMED.

For a moment—

Silence.

Then the crowd erupted.

“DRAGON TURTLE!”

“CAPTAIN HANRAN!”

“DECISIVE!”

Chen lay on his back, staring up at the sky, chest heaving.

“…Worth it,” he muttered, then laughed weakly.

On the battlefield, Yue Hanran lowered his hand. The ground slowly settled, terrain stabilizing as his manifestation receded.

He exhaled once.

Controlled.

Measured.

Above, Mei Ying closed her eyes briefly.

“…You did well,” she whispered.

Long Hao, watching from the forest’s edge, felt the shift ripple through the field.

Another pillar had fallen.

And the ground—the very ground—had chosen its master.

[Chapter ENDS]

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