Chapter 72: The Paralyzing Strike
The nobles scrambled backward like frightened sheep.
Chairs were knocked over and fancy glasses broke on the floor. In just a few seconds, everyone had moved away, leaving a big empty space in the middle of the room. Now, Holden and Oscar stood alone, facing each other.
Oscar moved his sword with a lot of skill and style. The blue glow on the blade lit up his face with strange shadows. He looked calm and confident again, smiling like he already knew he was going to win.
"You know," Oscar said, rolling his wrist, "I was going to take my time with you. But now I think I’ll make it quick. Can’t have the guests waiting too long for dessert."
Holden said nothing. He stood with his hands loose at his sides, completely relaxed.
Lyra stepped forward from the floral arch. Her eyes were wild with fear.
"Oscar, stop! He’s only Rank 1! This isn’t a fair fight!"
Oscar laughed. "Your boyfriend shouldn’t have opened his mouth, then."
He launched forward.
The movement was fast. Faster than anything a freshman should be able to track. Oscar’s body became a blur of blue energy as he closed the distance in a heartbeat. The rapier thrust forward, the point aimed directly at Holden’s heart.
"Holden, MOVE!" Lyra screamed.
He didn’t move.
He didn’t dodge.
He raised his right hand and caught the blade.
Clang!
The sound rang through the ballroom like a bell.
Oscar’s glowing rapier had slammed into Holden’s open palm and stopped dead. The blue energy crackled and sparked against his skin, doing absolutely nothing. No cut. No scratch. Not even a red mark.
Holden’s fingers closed around the blade.
Oscar’s eyes went wide. "What..."
Snap!
The rapier broke clean in half. The top half clattered to the floor, the blue energy flickering and dying. Holden stood there holding the useless hilt, his expression completely flat.
The ballroom went silent.
"Rank 1?" someone whispered.
"That’s impossible..."
"His body just... stopped a Rank 2 weapon bare-handed?"
Oscar stumbled backward, staring at the broken sword in Holden’s grip. His face had gone from red to white.
"What are you?" he breathed.
Holden dropped the broken hilt.
Then he walked towards him.
He wasn’t smiling, and he didn’t make any jokes or clever comments. His eyes looked cold and empty, like there was no life left in them. He wasn’t trying to be funny anymore.
Oscar tried to retreat. His back hit a marble column. He had nowhere to go.
Holden stepped inside his guard.
His right palm ignited.
Red-gold energy erupted around his hand, focused and intense. Asura’s Ignition channeled into a single, devastating point. The heat wave pushed the nearest nobles back another step.
"Wait," Oscar gasped. "Wait, we can talk about this, I..."
The first strike hit Oscar’s chest.
Thwack!
The strike landed with a heavy bang. Oscar’s body jerked backward, his mouth open in a scream but with no sound coming out. The focused energy punched through his defensive aura like paper and slammed directly into his meridian network.
The second strike landed before he could fall.
Thwack!
It landed lower this time, targeting the secondary energy pathways. The ones that connected to his core. The blow sent shockwaves through Oscar’s cultivation base, cracking the spiritual channels that allowed him to circulate energy.
The third strike was the worst.
Thwack!
Holden drove his palm into Julian’s stomach with every bit of power he had. The red-gold energy flooded the royal prodigy’s body like burning acid, finishing what the first two strikes had started.
Oscar’s meridians shattered.
Every single one.
The damage was permanent. Irreversible. The kind of injury that ended cultivation careers forever. Oscar would never channel energy again. He would never fight again. The power he’d spent years building, the power he’d used to destroy three innocent lives, was gone.
Completely gone.
"Don’t ever touch her again."
Holden’s voice was low, almost like a whisper. The fact that he sounded so gentle only made his words feel ten times more terrifying to everyone listening.
Oscar collapsed.
He crashed onto the marble floor, his limbs going limp instantly. His body twitched once, twice, then went still. His eyes were open but empty, staring at the ceiling. His mouth moved without sound.
The crowd of nobles looked down at the prince. He was completely defeated and his reputation was destroyed. He lay there on the floor, no longer looking like a leader.
Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. Several of the older women had their hands over their mouths. Lord Sterling had sunk into a chair, his face the color of old milk.
Holden turned away from Oscar without another glance.
He walked across the marble floor, and stopped in front of Lyra. She stood under the floral arch, her hands still pressed over her mouth, with tears streaming down her face.
He reached out and gently took her hand.
She flinched at the contact. Then her fingers curled around his, gripping tight.
Two guards were at the main doors, their hands gripping their weapons as they hesitated, unsure of how to react. Holden didn’t give them a chance to ask questions; he just raised his hand and showed them Instructor Vespera’s elite badge.
"Move," he said.
The guards stepped aside.
With Lyra at his side, Holden crossed the room, ignoring the chaos he’d caused. They walked past the ruined party and the people watching in horror. They passed Lord Sterling, who was trembling in shock, and finally stepped past Oscar, who lay on the floor, barely moving.
They walked through the grand doors and out into the night.
Stars burned overhead. The sounds of the estate faded behind them as they walked down the stone path toward the gate.
[Ding!]
[Rank 2 (2-Star) Elite Cultivator Defeated!]
[Base Reward: 500 KP]
[High-Value Target Bonus: +250 KP]
[Public Humiliation Bonus: +250 KP]
[2x KP Booster Applied!]
[Total: +2,000 KP]
[Current Balance: 31,790 KP]
Holden dismissed the notification without looking at it.
Lyra’s hand stayed in his the whole time.