The Free Challenge Ranking arena was smaller than the Eastern Sky Arena but more intense.

Spectators were limited to candidates, instructors, and approved observers. Unlike combat demonstration scenarios, this was a direct duel. No simulated allied units. No command post. No rescue objective.

Only Qin Yuheng and Duan Xirong.

The rules were clear.

No lethal intent.

No forbidden artifacts.

No soul attacks beyond controlled class pressure.

Victory by surrender, ring-out, incapacitation, or judge stoppage.

Duan Xirong entered first.

He wore black combat robes reinforced with bronze plates. His weapon was not a sword or spear, but a pair of heavy gauntlets. Black martial aura gathered around his arms, dense and aggressive.

Qin Yuheng entered with his sword.

Qin Mo sat in the Heavenly Gate section with arms crossed.

"I dislike this."

Qin Yuchen said, "Duan Xirong is strong."

"That is why I dislike it."

Jiang Yuexuan watched from the ancient family section.

Bai Yunshen watched with academic interest.

Zhao Tianyu watched with clenched fists.

He had not challenged Qin Yuheng.

Not yet.

Perhaps for the first time, he understood that challenging while unstable would not prove strength.

The judge raised a hand.

"Begin."

Duan Xirong moved instantly.

No probing.

His foot struck the arena floor, and black aura exploded behind him. He crossed the distance like a siege hammer.

Qin Yuheng sidestepped.

Duan’s fist passed close enough to stir Qin Yuheng’s hair.

The air cracked.

Heavy.

Very heavy.

Qin Yuheng countered with a sword cut toward the wrist joint.

Duan rotated his gauntlet and blocked directly. Sparks flew. He followed with an elbow strike.

Qin Yuheng retreated half a step.

Duan smiled.

"You move like a commander trying to conserve options."

Qin Yuheng answered with a thrust.

Duan knocked it aside.

The first twenty exchanges established the difference.

Duan Xirong specialized in close-range pressure, body reinforcement, and martial suppression. His gauntlets could block blades, crush defenses, and create shockwaves through the arena floor. He wanted to force Qin Yuheng into a narrow rhythm.

Qin Yuheng refused.

He used footwork, angle changes, controlled thunder pulses, and sword precision. He did not use Chosen Road Banner Field; there were no allies. He did not use full Primordial Thunder Emperor Body power. He did not use hidden evolution-related tools.

He fought as a thunder commander swordsman.

Duan noticed.

"You still hide."

Qin Yuheng said, "So do you."

Duan laughed.

"Good."

His aura changed.

A black martial phantom appeared behind him, shaped like a horned warrior.

His pressure doubled.

Qin Yuheng’s eyes sharpened.

Duan attacked with a technique called Black Mountain Breaker. His fist descended like a falling boulder.

Qin Yuheng did not block directly.

War Thunder Advance.

He moved forward at an angle, slipping inside the strike path and cutting across Duan’s ribs.

The blade struck armor and left a shallow mark.

Duan twisted and slammed his knee upward.

Qin Yuheng blocked with the sword hilt, but the impact pushed him back.

Duan followed relentlessly.

The arena shook.

For the first time, Qin Yuheng activated a small portion of Gate Thunder Command Field inwardly.

Self-command clarity.

No ally connection.

Only timing, breath, and battle rhythm.

His perception sharpened.

Duan’s attacks were heavy, but each required grounding through the left foot before release. Qin Yuheng began targeting that rhythm.

Cut.

Shift.

Tap.

Retreat.

Advance.

Duan’s left step shortened slightly.

Not much.

Enough.

Duan grinned.

"You found it."

He changed rhythm.

Good.

This was a real opponent.

Qin Yuheng’s blood warmed—not from arrogance, but from battle focus.

Duan suddenly slammed both fists together. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Black shockwave.

Qin Yuheng used Thunder Shadow Flash, appearing above and behind. He struck downward.

Duan raised both gauntlets and blocked.

The impact forced Duan to one knee.

The crowd stirred.

But Duan’s smile widened.

"Caught."

His martial phantom grabbed Qin Yuheng’s shadow.

For half a breath, Qin Yuheng’s movement slowed.

Duan launched upward with a shoulder strike.

Qin Yuheng crossed his sword defensively.

Impact.

He flew backward and landed near the arena edge.

Qin Mo stood halfway.

Qin Yuchen remained seated but tense.

Qin Yuheng steadied himself.

Duan had hidden a shadow-grip technique inside his martial aura.

Not Blood Sun.

Not corruption.

Pure martial skill.

Respectable.

Duan rolled his shoulders.

"Use your banner."

"No."

"Why?"

"No allies."

Duan’s eyes gleamed.

"Then use something else."

Qin Yuheng did.

Not hidden talent.

Not full body scripture.

A class skill he had not shown much: Tri-Gate Thunder Command Step, learned after the Third Gate but trained cautiously.

His feet moved.

Three faint gate marks appeared beneath him—strength, spirit, battle.

Duan charged.

Qin Yuheng stepped through the first gate.

Strength aligned.

He met Duan’s gauntlet with his sword and did not retreat.

Second gate.

Spirit aligned.

The shadow-grip phantom reached again, but Qin Yuheng’s spirit clarity cut the timing.

Third gate.

Battle aligned.

Qin Yuheng moved inside Duan’s guard and placed his sword at the joint between gauntlet and forearm.

Thunder pulsed.

Duan’s right gauntlet locked.

Qin Yuheng followed with a palm strike to the chest.

Duan slid back.

Not defeated.

But disrupted.

His expression became serious.

"Good."

He released his strongest pressure.

The horned martial phantom became almost solid.

The judge leaned forward, ready to stop if necessary.

Duan attacked.

Qin Yuheng also advanced.

Their final exchange happened in seven movements.

Duan fist.

Qin sword redirect.

Duan elbow.

Qin shoulder shift.

Duan phantom grip.

Qin spirit gate break.

Duan double hammer.

Qin War Thunder Advance through the narrow center.

His sword stopped at Duan’s throat.

Duan’s left gauntlet stopped one inch from Qin Yuheng’s chest.

Both could have landed.

But Qin Yuheng’s blade reached first.

The judge called, "Qin Yuheng wins."

The arena erupted.

Duan lowered his fist.

For a moment, silence stood between them.

Then he laughed.

"Good. Very good. Next time, use more."

Qin Yuheng withdrew his sword.

"Next time, maybe."

Duan stepped away satisfied, not humiliated.

That mattered.

The duel showed Qin Yuheng could fight directly against a top combat candidate without relying on team command. It also showed he still hid depth.

Observers noted both.

Jiang Yuexuan’s gaze remained thoughtful.

Bai Yunshen wrote several lines.

Han Zhaolie nodded approvingly.

Zhao Tianyu looked down at his own hands.

Not with rage this time.

With realization.

Qin Yuheng returned to Heavenly Gate’s section.

Qin Mo exhaled.

"I hate good fights."

Lin Xian’er smiled.

"Because they attract more?"

"Yes."

He was right.

Within an hour, three more challenge requests arrived.

Qin Yuheng refused two.

He accepted none immediately.

Yu Qingmei supported that.

"One strong duel is enough today."

But the ranking had already shifted.

Qin Yuheng entered the upper combat candidate list.

Not at the top.

But close enough.

And Mo Cangyan, receiving the duel result, made another note.

Direct combat: strong, controlled, still concealed.

Then he underlined one phrase.

Does not humiliate defeated rivals.

Xue Rong asked why that mattered.

Mo Cangyan answered calmly.

"Because enemies he does not humiliate may become future neutral parties. He reduces hatred while increasing pressure. That is dangerous."