Chapter 116: Old Ghosts
The semi-finals were split across the day. China versus America in the afternoon. EASA versus France in the evening.
The entire EASA team sat in the stands for the first match. Even Julian, who had barely spoken since his elimination, came down from his brooding corner to watch.
The arena terrain for the first semi-final was a flat plain — no cover, no obstacles, nothing but open ground.
The two teams walked out.
China’s Vanguard Institute sent their absolute strongest.
Wei Chen — Captain. 19 years old. Late Core Realm. S-Rank Sword Spirit. He walked with a straight sword on his back, his expression calm, his presence heavy. He possessed sword intent based on the intel from the quarter finals match.
Liang Feng — Vice Captain. Mid Core Realm. S-Rank Earth Dominion. Complete control over earth and stone within a large radius. He could create golems, reshape terrain, trap opponents in stone prisons. A strategic nightmare.
Yichen Ryu — Mid Core Realm. SS-Rank Dragon Body. From the Ryu Clan of China. The Ignis Bloodline flowed through his veins — when he activated it, his skin turned to scales, his muscles multiplied, his physical stats rivaled Late Core Realm fighters despite being a realm lower. He was the only non-captain on China’s team who looked just as dangerous as the captain.
Shen Yu — 20 years old. Mid Core Realm. A-Rank Iron Skin. A tank. Pure defense.
Zhou Wei — 18 years old. Early Core Realm. B-Rank Stone Armor. Support role. Had barely fought in the group stage.
Bao Lei — 19 years old. Mid Core Realm. A-Rank Jade Fist. Each punch sent a shockwave through the ground that destabilized terrain in a cone extending up to thirty meters. Area disruption fighter.
America’s Apex Academy sent their best too.
Sarah Mitchell — Captain. 20 years old. Late Core Realm. S-Rank Seismic Impact. She could transfer the full kinetic force of any physical blow through any surface or object she touched. Punch the ground and the shockwave would travel through the earth to erupt beneath an enemy’s feet. A terrifying ability in team fights.
Jake Vanguard — 19 years old. Mid Core Realm. The Vanguard family’s heir. Possessed the Goddess of Protection bloodline — a defensive bloodline that could create barriers capable of withstanding S-Rank attacks. He was America’s crystal defender.
Four others filled out their roster — two Mid Core Realm, two Early Core Realm. Solid fighters, but noticeably weaker than China’s lineup.
The referee began the match.
China didn’t waste a single second.
Wei Chen drew his sword. A single step forward — and the air changed. Sword intent erupted from his body like a pressure wave, flattening grass and cracking stone within a ten-meter radius.
He moved.
Lucian couldn’t track the movement clearly from the stands. One moment Wei Chen was at the starting position. The next, he was inside America’s formation, sword drawn, three fighters already engaging him.
He’s fast. Faster than his cultivation suggests.
Wei Chen’s sword moved like water — fluid, unpredictable, every strike aimed at joints, tendons, pressure points. An American Mid Core Realm fighter tried to block. Wei Chen’s blade slid around the guard and cut across his thigh.
Whoosh.
The fighter staggered. Wei Chen’s next strike eliminated him — a precise cut to the chest that triggered the bracelet.
"Apex — one eliminated."
Liang Feng reshaped the terrain simultaneously. The flat plain erupted — stone walls rose, creating corridors and chokepoints that split the American team into smaller groups. Bao Lei charged through one of these corridors, Jade Fist shockwaves destabilizing the ground beneath two American fighters, breaking their footing.
Ryu activated Dragon Body. His skin turned to crimson scales. His muscles bulged. He grabbed an American fighter and threw him like a ragdoll — boom — through a stone wall. The fighter’s bracelet activated on impact.
China was relentless. Coordinated. Devastating.
America fought back. Sarah Mitchell was a monster — she punched the ground and seismic shockwaves traveled through the stone corridors Liang Feng had created, erupting beneath China’s fighters and disrupting their formations. Jake Vanguard’s barriers protected their crystal from a coordinated assault by Zhou Wei and Bao Lei.
But China’s individual superiority was too much.
Wei Chen eliminated a second American fighter at the four-minute mark — a clean sword slash through a stone armor defense that should have held. The blade simply... passed through. Sword intent cut the stone before the blade reached it.
"Apex — three eliminated."
America countered. Sarah Mitchell caught Ryu’s fist and transferred the kinetic force through the ground. The shockwave erupted beneath Ryu, launching him upward. She punched the ground again — another shockwave — this one hitting Liang Feng’s golem and shattering it.
But the damage was done. America was down to three. China still had six.
The next five minutes were brutal. Sarah Mitchell eliminated Bao Lei with a seismic trap — shockwaves converging on a single point. But Wei Chen eliminated Jake Vanguard by cutting through his Goddess of Protection barrier with a sword intent-infused slash that the bloodline defense couldn’t fully stop.
Four on three. Then four on two.
Sarah Mitchell stood alone against Wei Chen, Liang Feng, and Ryu. She fought like a demon — seismic impacts shaking the arena, shockwaves disrupting every approach — but she couldn’t fight all three forever.
Liang Feng trapped her legs in stone. Ryu broke her guard with a scaled fist. Wei Chen walked past her and toward America’s crystal.
Sarah screamed and shattered the stone with a seismic burst. She lunged for Wei Chen’s back.
Liang Feng caught her in a stone prison.
Wei Chen reached the crystal.
He raised his sword. Sword intent condensed along the blade — not a wide slash, but a single precise point. The blade touched the crystal.
Chime.
A single crack appeared. Then the crystal shattered cleanly, like a master cutting a diamond.
"Match over. Chinese Vanguard Institute wins."
The stadium was silent for a long moment. Then the Chinese section erupted.
Lucian watched Wei Chen sheathe his sword with an expressionless face. The man hadn’t broken a sweat. His sword intent had faded, but the pressure it had created lingered in Lucian’s memory.
That’s sword intent. Compared to that, my dark light is a flickering candle.
He filed the thought away. China was a problem for later. Right now, France was the enemy.
The evening sky over Rome was quite beautiful as the second semi-final began.
The terrain had been completely reset. A water area — a shallow lake covering most of the arena floor, dotted with earth platforms of varying sizes and a few massive rocks jutting from the water like islands. Bridges of stone connected some platforms. Others stood isolated.
Urban warfare on water.
The two teams walked out from opposite tunnels.
Elysian Lumière Academy — France — emerged first. Six fighters in blue and white uniforms trimmed with fleur-de-lis motifs. They moved with the quiet confidence of an undefeated team.
Captain: Valérie Beaumont. 20 years old. S-Rank Light Manipulation. Mid Core Realm. Tall, elegant, silver-blonde hair, blue eyes that glowed faintly when her ability was active. She carried herself like royalty.
Vice Captain: Antoine Moreau. 21 years old. A-Rank Speed Force. Mid Core Realm. Lean, wiry, constantly bouncing on his feet. His ability made him the fastest fighter on France’s team — potentially faster than anyone in the tournament except maybe Wei Chen.
Then the two faces Lucian recognized.
Bastien Xavier. A-Rank Lightning Manipulation. Mid Core Realm. He walked with his chin raised and his shoulders back, the same arrogant smirk Lucian remembered from Vienne City. Lightning crackled between his fingers.
Charles Martin. B-Rank Flame Body. Early Core Realm. He walked slightly behind Bastien, as always. The loyal lackey.
A healer with A-Rank Healing Light. Early Core Realm.
And a girl with A-Rank Water Manipulation. Mid Core Realm. Her presence on a water terrain was going to be quite troublesome.
EASA’s team walked out from the opposite tunnel.
Lucian Grimaud. Early Core Realm.
Mickey Adeyemi. Mid Core Realm. S-Rank ability. He walked with his hands in his pockets and an easy smile.
Ryan Duncan. Early Core Realm. Dual Awakener. His ice armor suit was stored on his back, compact and ready.
Nadia Okafor. Early Core Realm.
Iris Langford. Early Core Realm. Her exoskeleton was in the black case she carried.
Arthur Chevalier. Mid Core Realm. A-Rank Metal Manipulation. Captain. His expression was composed, unreadable.
The two teams stopped on their respective platforms. Water lapped at the edges. The evening light caught the surface of the lake, turning it into a sheet of gold and orange.
Lucian’s eyes found Bastien across the water.
Bastien found him.
The smirk widened.
Lucian’s expression didn’t change.
Arthur’s voice came through the team link. "Lucian, Mickey — you’re on offense. Ryan, support both. Nadia and Iris — crystal defense. I’ll adapt as needed."
"Copy," Lucian said.
Mickey said nothing. He just stretched his neck and rolled his shoulders.
The referee raised his hand.
"Semi-final — Match 2. European All-Star Academy versus Elysian Lumière Academy. Six versus six. Protect your crystal. Destroy theirs. Thirty-minute limit. Begin."
The word echoed across the water.
Both teams moved.
Lucian’s crimson eyes scanned the French lineup. Four Mid Core Realm — Valérie, Bastien, the water user and Antoine. Two Early Core Realm — Charles, the healer, the water user.
EASA had two Mid Core Realm — Mickey and Arthur. Four Early Core Realm.
On paper, even. But France had dominated every match so far. And they had a captain with S-Rank Light Manipulation — the same ability type as Lucian’s, but a full rank higher.
The water terrain rippled as both sides chose their opening moves.