*Gaaah*

Qin Wei let out a piercing scream. His gaze vision could see that the 100-second timer is about to reach zero on the holographic screen. Once it gets to zero, the Gate of Sight will close, and he will forever lose his battle.

And after the enemy spoke such words against his mother, Qin Wei's inner self wanted to beat him up. But there are only 6 seconds left, enough time to purchase the fifth gate and activate it.

However, Qin Wei also knows that in his current condition, opening the next gate will leave him a cripple. There is a faint chance that he might die if others don't act in time to save him. But is it worth taking the risk? He wondered.

Should he accept defeat? But even if he did, he highly doubted Zion would leave him alive.

He could barely breathe, and the pain was so suffocating that he couldn't even think properly.

Right then...

The thoughts of Luna came to his head. "Luna… What will happen to her..." His wife, Thea, came to his mind. "Thea..." Icarus' memories of his clan members came to his head. "I haven't even made a single step toward my vengeance..." All just hit him at once, like pressing into his brain at once. And his mind went blank, almost hearing the sound of a long beep in his head, similar to what the monitor beside the hospital bed sounded like.

"No… I can't fall here..."

In that moment, something inside him clicked.

Qin Wei's mind, on the brink of collapse, suddenly snapped awake. His eyes widened, and the world around him became clearer.

It wasn't just the pain that melted away; it was the entire battle, every movement, every shift in the air, every muscle twitch from Zion; it all felt like a painting he could decipher in an instant.

It was like the time itself was frozen, but he couldn't move either.

*Ding!

[Triggered the necessary conditions to evolve]

[Heaven's Eye has evolved to Stage 3]

Eye of Heaven (Stage-3)

Enhanced Vision: Able to see minute details and motion prediction to 0.001 seconds.

Perfect Recall: Visual memory and reading retention are permanently improved.

Copy Ability: Skill mimicry on sight, capable of copying any technique one sees.

Illusion immunity: Immune against illusion-type techniques.

Hypnosis: Able to hypnotize the target with a simple gaze into their eyes. The effect depends on the target's strength. Works on multiple targets. Higher rank targets and those with high mental resistance can resist it.

Time Freeze: Stop time for 10 seconds in immediate surroundings (The user cannot move. The system's functions work, except for Skills.) CD: 300 seconds.

*

Qin Wei couldn't help but stare around in wonder. Everything was frozen. He saw Vanessa, whose face was filled with worry and concern, contrary to her usual composed face.

He saw his father-in-law. His expression seemed unreadable.

He then saw the elders. A couple of them had the look of awe while a couple looked like they were smiling.

But then as he stared at Zion, who was standing over him and had the beast claws piercing his body with an expression of hatred in his eyes, Qin Wei immediately came to the reality. Hurriedly, with a thought in his mind, he instantly summoned the system. "Open, Character interface."

The screen scrolled down with his mental connection and clicked on Gates of Transcendence.

The screen was once again scrolled down.

*Ding!

[32000 credits were deducted.]

[You unlocked the Gate of Echo]

*Ding!

[Time Freeze ability is under cooldown]

The ten seconds are up, and the time resumed again.

Qin Wei didn't waste a second.

His hands slammed firmly into the ground below him, his body trembling as a surge of force spread through his veins and then spread outward as he roared.

"Activate… Gate of Echo."

A sudden blast of wind pushed Zion away from Qin Wei.

As Zion crashed to the floor, Qin Wei slowly got up.

"Impossible… Rank-8?" An elder gasped in shock.

With the erupted aura heating up the very air around Qin Wei, the latter coldly stared at his opponent with his dual eyes of radiant white and abyss black; he motioned his right leg back widely and clenched his fist tightly.

"Remember… move your leg wide and lower your stance, tightly clench your fist, my son. Look straight and gather all the strength in your fist and motion it forward… If you have inner power someday (mana), this will become a true technique. It is simple to learn but difficult to master, but it is the foundation of our family. Remember, this technique is..."

The words fell into his mind, and Qin Wei immediately motioned his hand forward with a loud roar, striking the air.

"One Fist..."

The air trembled and a hand made of translucent white energy cut through the wind like lightning. Zion's eyes widened, he wanted to move before he made a step, the fist struck his abomen.

*Argh..."

Zion blasted away to the edge of the platform and crashed into the barrier erected around it.

*Ding!

The audience gasped. The elders, Kaelan, and Vanessa, who all looked like they were about to stop the battle at any moment, suddenly went wide-eyed in astonishment.

"Is that..." As the elder trailed off, Kaelan nodded grimly. "That's the One Fist."

"One Fist?" Vanessa's eyes widened. "But only a Grandmaster-level fighter could unleash it."

Kaelan nodded to that too and said. "Yes, but for some reason, Icarus can do it, too. A person of such potential… There is no way House Phoenix could have hidden him for so long. Something must have happened when he was assassinated. And I don't think it's just a simple awakening of dormant power."

Meanwhile, on the duel platform;

*Puchi*

Zion spat out blood, staring at him in shock as he clutched his stomach. "Why… Why… Why? I'm in Spirit Beast transformation. Why is it that you are still…"

Before he finished those words, Qin Wei charged forward, reaching him in the blink of an eye and shot forward, grabbing his shirt before throwing to the other side, but toward the sky.

As Zion flew high, Qin Wei charged at him again, appearing right below him at an impossible speed and striking him with a series of punches on his back.

.Each punch landed like a cannonball against flesh. With every blow, everyone could feel the bones in Zion's arms snap like brittle twigs beneath Qin Wei's strength.

As Zion's transformation wore off and he started falling down, Qin Wei then slammed both palms into Zion's chest, sending him crashing to the ground.

His chest heaved, blood started pouring from his mouth, and his limbs trembled nonstop.

The entire terrace was silent. No one dared move, no one dared even breathe.

Ten-fifteen seconds ago, Zion was all basking in the triumph, and now, he was on the floor in no condition to move with all of his bones fractured or worse, broken.

But Zion wasn't done yet.

Through the agonizing pain, Zion spat while continuing to lie on the ground, his voice ragged but full of defiance. "I… I won't... accept loss to someone like you. A bastard born to an adultress," he snarled, his teeth clenched in fury.

Qin Wei's heart boiled with rage at the words, and every muscle in his body tensed. The fury in his chest burned hotter than ever.

The anger that surged within him, paired with the overwhelming power coursing through his veins, was more than enough to fuel his next move.

His eyes flashed once more, this time with heavy killing intent. Reaching his opponent in an instant, his hand clenched into a fist, and he raised it above Zion's head, intending to break his skull, using his entire strength.

But just as his fist descended, a sharp voice rang out.

"No!"

Everything suddenly seemed to have gone still.

The Rank-9 eunuch, the silent observer until now, turned into a flash of lightning.

Qin Wei didn't even have time to react before the eunuch's hand pierced through his chest like a spear.

His body was flung backward, the force of the blow sending him crashing to the ground with a loud thud.

However, Qin Wei swiftly got back to his feet. The hole supposedly on his chest healed up as the natural energy from the surroundings absorbed into his body.

He stood there with his hands clenched and stared at him. "You… fucker..." He gritted his teeth.

"Your highness..." As the Eunuch was helping Zion to get up, Kaelan then disappeared into a blur and appeared in the center of the battle platform, one hand to his back, and the other clenched. His face looked dead serious. "Eunuch Severus, you dare sneak attack my son-in-law?"

The eunuch replied, looking serious. "I apologize for that, but in my defense, that attack was going to kill the Prince. And we established that there would be no killing. If you excuse me, I'll have to take His Highness to heal his injuries. The duel is considered Master Icarus's victory. Now, if you excuse us…"

He didn't even wait for Kaelan's response and carry Zion with him, but the House Lord of the House Griffin stretched his hand above.

And in mid-air, heavy pressure struck the eunuch and Zion, both of them fell to the ground with a heavy thud as Kaelan motioned his hand.

"Did I allow you to leave?" Kaelan stared coldly at him.

He raised his hand again, conjuring a giant white translucent palm above his body. It shot forward with the motion, reaching the target in the blink of an eye.

But instead of striking the target, it grabbed him and started crushing him under its tight grip.

"Gaaaah!"

The eunuch's scream reverberated throughout the entire House Griffin estate.

And in the next moment, a voice was heard in the surroundings. "What do you think you are doing, Kaelan Griffin?"

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