"Begin!" Cassia Voss's voice rang across the courtyard like a bell.

Vin Richter exploded forward with the confidence of someone who'd never lost a fight. His golden aura blazed around him like liquid fire as his blade swept toward Fenix's neck in a strike meant to end things quickly and brutally.

This was it, Fenix thought. The moment of truth. He'd heard stories about the Richter family's genius son - sixteen years old and already at Graduator rank. A prodigy who'd been trained by the best masters money could buy. Someone who'd never known defeat.

Time seemed to slow as Vin's blade approached. Fenix's enhanced perception kicked in, cataloging every detail of the attack. The angle, the speed, the perfect form that spoke of years of dedicated training.

And in that crystalline moment of analysis, Fenix felt his heart sink a little.

'That's it?' he thought, stepping aside with casual ease. 'This is their genius?'

The golden blade whistled past his ear, missing by inches. Vin's eyes widened in surprise as his perfect killing strike found only empty air.

"Not bad," Fenix said coldly, his crimson eyes holding no warmth.

The courtyard erupted in surprised murmurs. On the Richter side, confident smiles began to waver. On the Ackerman side, cautious hope started to bloom.

"He dodged it," one of the Ackerman servants whispered. "The young master actually dodged a Graduator's strike."

"Shh," hissed another. "Don't celebrate yet."

Elder Davies leaned forward, squinting at the fighting circle. "Did anyone else see how smoothly he moved? That wasn't luck."

"The boy's perception..." Elder Silas muttered, his weathered face showing confusion. "Has awakened?"

Vin recovered quickly, spinning into a follow-up strike that should have caught Fenix off-guard. But again, the younger boy simply wasn't there when the blade arrived.

"Hmm," Fenix mused, circling slowly.

"What?" Vin snarled, his confidence taking its first real hit. This wasn't supposed to happen. The Intermediate-rank nobody was supposed to fall in the first exchange.

In the crowd, Cassia Voss leaned forward with sharpened interest. Her Grandmaster+ senses were picking up something the others missed. This Ackerman boy moved with economy that spoke of serious training. More importantly, his awareness seemed... enhanced beyond his apparent rank.

'His perception has awakened,' she noted with growing fascination. 'a master rank attribute awakend by an Intermediate-rank.'

Broderick Richter's face was starting to show concern. "Vin!" he called out. "Stop playing around. End this quickly."

Vin's jaw tightened. Playing around? He wasn't playing around. His strikes were precise, deadly, executed with all the skill his expensive training had provided. The problem was his opponent kept moving like he could see the attacks coming from a mile away.

"Fine," Vin growled, his golden aura flaring brighter. "No more holding back."

He launched into a combination that had never failed him - a series of strikes that came from multiple angles, each one designed to drive his opponent into the path of the next. It was beautiful, deadly, and absolutely perfect in its execution.

Fenix watched it unfold with cold calculation. The attacks were fast, sure, but they followed predictable patterns. Each strike was telegraphed by subtle shifts in stance and breathing that his enhanced perception read like an open book.

'This is the genius who thought he could threaten my sister,' he thought, his crimson eyes hardening. 'The boy who was going to be part of stealing our entire estate.'

Instead of easily avoiding the attacks, Fenix began moving with more dramatic flair. He ducked under one strike with exaggerated motion, spun away from another with unnecessary style, even stumbled slightly to make it seem like he was being pushed to his limits.

But his words carried ice. "Is this really the best the mighty Richter family can produce? I expected more from someone who thought he could take everything from us."

The crowd bought it completely.

"He's struggling now," Elder Sansa said, wringing her hands. "That Richter boy is pressing him hard."

"Come on, Fenix," Kai whispered under his breath. "I know you're stronger than this."

But Abel was watching more carefully. His analytical mind caught details the others missed. "Wait," he said slowly. "Look at his breathing. He's not even winded."

Meanwhile, Vin was beginning to feel the strain. His combinations were perfect, his technique flawless, but somehow his opponent kept slipping away at the last second. It was like trying to catch smoke with his bare hands.

"Stand still and fight!" Vin shouted, frustration bleeding into his voice.

"I am fighting," Fenix replied, his voice carrying cruel amusement. "You're just too weak to land a hit. Tell me, was this the same skill level you were planning to use when you intended to drag my ten-year-old sister away from her home?"

A few gasps came from the watching crowd. The servants exchanged worried glances - the young master's words carried venom that was cutting deeper than any blade.

Vin's face flushed red with embarrassment and anger. This was humiliating. He was supposed to be demonstrating the superiority of the Richter bloodline, not getting verbally destroyed by some nobody who shouldn't even be able to see his attacks coming.

"Enough games!" Vin roared, pouring more power into his aura. The golden energy around him intensified until it hurt to look at directly. "Strike Barrage!"

Now things got interesting. Instead of single attacks, Vin began unleashing a storm of strikes - dozens of blade projections that filled the air like a deadly rain. Each one carried enough power to punch through steel, and they came from every conceivable angle.

For the first time since the fight began, Fenix had to actually pay attention.

He moved through the barrage like he was dancing, each step perfectly timed to avoid the deadly projectiles. His body flowed like water around obstacles, never quite where the attacks expected him to be.

But to the watching crowd, it looked like a desperate struggle for survival.

"He's trapped!" Elder Javier gasped. "There's nowhere to run!"

"The boy's going to get cut to pieces," someone muttered.

Soren, standing silently behind the family elders, allowed himself a small smile. The young master was quite the actor when he wanted to be.

Fenix continued his elaborate dance of avoidance, occasionally letting an energy blade pass close enough to tear his clothing. Not enough to actually hurt him, but enough to sell the illusion that he was in mortal danger.

"Getting tired yet?" he called out to Vin between dodges.

Vin's response was to pour even more power into his technique. Sweat was beginning to bead on his forehead as he maintained the complex attack pattern. Strike Barrage was one of his most advanced techniques, and sustaining it took enormous concentration and energy.

But still his opponent danced through the deadly rain untouched.

In the watching crowd, opinions were starting to shift.

"How is he doing that?" whispered one of the Richter guards. "The young master's technique is perfect. There shouldn't be any gaps in the pattern."

His companion squinted at the fighting circle. "I don't know, but that Ackerman boy moves like he knows exactly where every strike is going to land."

Cassia Voss was thinking the same thing. Her expert eye could see what the others missed - this wasn't lucky evasion or desperate scrambling. This was the effect of unlocking perception, though Fenix's use of it was amateur he still made it count against a higher ranked foe.

The barrage finally ended as Vin ran low on energy. He stood panting in the center of the circle, his golden aura flickering with exhaustion, while Fenix stood across from him looking like he'd just finished a leisurely stroll.

"Not bad," Fenix said, straightening his torn shirt. "Though you might want to work on your stamina. You're breathing pretty hard for someone who's supposed to be naturally superior."

The casual tone was like salt in an open wound. Vin's face went from red to purple with rage.

"You... you coward!" he snarled. "All you do is run! Face me properly!"

Fenix smiled, but it wasn't kind. "I'm someone who doesn't appreciate threats to his family. You were going to take my sister as payment for my family's survival. Did you really think there would be no consequences?"

Crimskn energy with azure hue pulsed around his finger, and hairline cracks appeared in Vin's blade where he gripped it.

The watching crowd erupted in shocked whispers.

"He caught a Graduator's blade with his bare hands!"

"Look at that energy - that's not normal aura enhancement!"

Elder Ronan was staring in disbelief. "That technique... the way he's condensing energy around his hands... that's Expert-level precision at minimum."

Broderick's face was growing darker by the minute. This wasn't going according to plan at all. His son was supposed to demonstrate overwhelming superiority, not get run ragged by an Intermediate-rank nobody.

"Vin," he called out sharply. "Use the Seventh Form."

A hush fell over the courtyard. The Richter family's Seventh Form was legendary - a technique that had never failed to end a fight decisively.

Vin's eyes lit up with renewed confidence. Of course. Why hadn't he thought of it earlier? The Seventh Form would end this humiliation once and for all.

He raised his blade above his head with both hands, golden aura swirling around him like a miniature hurricane. The power building around him made the air itself feel heavy and oppressive.

"Dragon Descent!" Vin roared.

The technique that erupted from his blade was genuinely impressive. A massive projection of a golden dragon, formed from pure aura energy, burst forth with a roar that shook the courtyard's stone walls. It was beautiful, terrifying, and absolutely devastating in its destructive potential.

Fenix watched it approach with professional interest. Now this was more like it - a technique with some real power behind it. Still not enough to threaten him seriously, but at least it showed the boy had some talent beneath all that arrogance.

Time to up his own performance a bit.

Instead of simply dodging, Fenix decided to test one of his new techniques. His mana stirred as he activated Ethereal Shroud for the first time in actual combat.

To the watching crowd, something impossible happened. Fenix didn't disappear exactly, but he became... unclear. Like trying to focus on a reflection in disturbed water, their eyes kept sliding off him even when they knew exactly where he stood.

The golden dragon struck where he'd been standing and exploded against the courtyard stones with enough force to crack the ancient flagstones. Dust and debris filled the air, obscuring everyone's vision.

When it cleared, Fenix stood exactly where he'd been before, completely untouched. But something was different about him now - something that made even Cassia Voss lean forward with sharp interest.

"What just happened?" Elder Davies whispered. "I could swear I was looking right at him, but somehow the attack missed completely."

"Some kind of movement technique," Elder Silas guessed, but he sounded uncertain.

Cassia Voss wasn't uncertain. She was alarmed. Her Grandmaster+ senses had detected something that shouldn't have been possible - the boy's energy signature had briefly shifted, taking on qualities that belonged to his surroundings rather than his own cultivation.

'Energy mimicry,' she thought with growing shock. 'But more than that... he has mana pathways. Active ones.'

She leaned forward, focusing intently on the boy's spiritual signature. What she found made her blood run cold with excitement and fear.

'Dual cultivation. That's... that's impossible.'

Around her, murmurs were breaking out among the more experienced observers.

"Did anyone else sense that?" Elder Davies whispered, his face pale. "The boy's energy signature just..."

"Mana," Elder Silas breathed, his weathered hands gripping his walking stick. "That was mana manipulation. But our bloodline lost that ability generations ago."

Khan's face had gone white as sheet. "That's impossible. The family records clearly state..."

Vin stared in disbelief at his opponent, whose hand still gripped his blade with casual ease.

"How?" he whispered. "That technique has never failed. Never."

Fenix's expression was cold as winter steel. "Maybe because you've never fought someone who actually wanted to hurt you. Tell me, when your father planned to seize our lands, when you were going to drag my sister away from everything she's ever known, did you think we'd just lie down and accept it?"

He squeezed slightly, and more cracks spread through the golden blade.

"You came here thinking you were facing broken prey. Instead, you found predators who've been hiding their claws."

The casual dismissal of his ultimate technique, combined with the terrifying display of power, sent Vin into a panic that bordered on hysteria. With a wordless scream, he abandoned his trapped weapon and charged forward with his bare hands, abandoning all pretense of refined technique in favor of pure desperate fury.

This was actually more dangerous than his careful combinations. Raw emotion-driven attacks were harder to predict because they followed no logical pattern. Fenix found himself having to work a bit harder to avoid the wild swings that came from every conceivable angle.

But only a bit harder.

"Careful there," he said, his voice dripping with mockery. "You're going to hurt yourself swinging like that. Though I suppose crippling yourself might be easier than explaining to daddy how you failed to steal from a 'weak' family."

"Shut up!" Vin screamed, his attacks growing even wilder. "Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"

Fenix decided it was time to show a fraction of real power. Instead of just dodging, he brought his hands up, crimson aura beginning to gather around his fingers.

The energy that condensed around his hands was sharp as any blade, crackling with cutting power that made the air itself hiss. When Vin's next wild swing came, Fenix didn't dodge. He reached out with one enhanced hand and casually caught the blade between his fingers.

The courtyard fell into stunned silence.

"What... what are you..." Vin whispered, staring at his trapped weapon.

The watching crowd was getting uncomfortable now. This wasn't a demonstration of martial prowess anymore - it was watching someone have a complete breakdown in public.

"Perhaps," Cassia Voss called out, "the young master should take a moment to compose himself?"

Her suggestion only enraged Vin further. Now even the neutral observer was implying he needed help? The humiliation was becoming unbearable.

He reached deep into his reserves, pulling forth every scrap of power he possessed. His golden aura blazed so brightly it was like staring into the sun, and his blade began to sing with barely contained energy.

"I'll show you!" he snarled. "I'll show all of you what happens when you mock the Richter family!"

This was the moment Fenix decided to test his second new technique.

As Vin's final, desperate attack came screaming toward him - a strike that contained every ounce of the boy's considerable power - Fenix activated Mana Bastion.

A barrier of pure mana energy materialized in front of him, appearing as a shimmering wall that seemed to bend light around its edges. Vin's ultimate attack struck it and simply... stopped. The golden blade that could have carved through solid steel couldn't even scratch the ethereal defense.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Everyone in the courtyard stared in shock at what they'd just witnessed. An Intermediate-rank fighter had just casually blocked a Graduator's ultimate technique without even stepping backward from the impact.

But it was what happened next that really set tongues wagging.

The barrier didn't just block the attack - it began to adapt to it. The shimmering energy shifted and flowed, analyzing the golden aura that pressed against it, then taking on similar qualities. For just a moment, Fenix's defensive technique looked almost identical to Vin's offensive power.

Cassia Voss's eyes went wide with recognition and disbelief. That wasn't just any barrier technique - that was adaptive mana manipulation of the highest order.

'Who is this boy?' she wondered.

Vin stumbled backward, his face pale with shock and exhaustion. His ultimate technique, the attack that had never failed him before, had been stopped cold by what should have been an inferior opponent.

"Impossible," he whispered. "You're just Intermediate rank. You can't... this isn't..."

"Rank isn't everything," Fenix said gently, dispelling his barrier with a casual gesture. "Sometimes experience matters more than raw power."

The kindness in his voice was somehow worse than any insult could have been. It was the tone someone used when explaining simple concepts to a child - patient, understanding, and completely condescending.

Vin's legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees in the center of the fighting circle. Not from physical damage, but from the complete destruction of his worldview. Everything he'd believed about strength, about natural superiority, about his own destiny as a genius warrior, lay in ruins around him.

"I don't understand," he said, his voice small and lost. "I trained every day. I'm a genius. My teachers said so. Everyone said so. How can you be stronger when you're lower rank than me?"

For the first time since the fight began, Fenix's expression showed something other than cold calculation. But it wasn't sympathy - it was contempt.

"Because rank means nothing when you've lived your entire life in a bubble," he said, his voice cutting like ice. "You've never faced real danger, never fought someone who wanted you dead, never had to protect something more important than your own pride."

He gestured at Vin's cut and bleeding hands. "You're not weak. Your techniques are decent, your power is real. But you've been fighting practice dummies your whole life. You've never learned what combat feels like when your opponent is trying to hurt you."

Fenix stepped closer, his crimson eyes blazing with controlled fury. "My sister. Your family was planning to drag her away from her home, from everything she knows, to use her as a bargaining chip in your family's power games. Did you think I would just let that happen?"

Vin's legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees in the center of the fighting circle. Not from physical damage, but from the complete destruction of his worldview and the terror of someone whose killing intent was barely leashed.

"I... I..." Vin's voice cracked.

"You thought wrong," Fenix finished coldly. He dispelled the Edgeflare around his hands with a casual gesture, the deadly energy fading like it had never been. "I'm letting you go for one reason, next time you want to threaten someone's family, make sure you're strong enough to handle the consequences."

Around the courtyard, conversations were breaking out in hushed whispers.

"Did you see that barrier technique?"

"How did he make it look like he was struggling when he was clearly in control the whole time?"

"The boy's been toying with a Graduator this entire fight."

"What kind of training produces results like this?"

Soren listened to the murmurs with deep satisfaction. The young master had handled this perfectly - demonstrating clear superiority while avoiding unnecessary humiliation of his opponent. It showed wisdom beyond his years.

Broderick Richter's face had gone through several color changes during the fight, settling on a sickly green that suggested serious digestive distress. His family's reputation was in tatters, his son's confidence was destroyed, and worst of all, he now had to deal with the political consequences of having severely underestimated the Ackerman family's current strength.

Cassia Voss stepped forward, her voice carrying formal authority. "The terms of combat have been satisfied. Victory goes to Fenix Ackerman and the Ackerman family."

But she wasn't done. Her calculating eyes fixed on Fenix with new respect and considerable interest.

"I must say," she continued, "that was one of the most educational demonstrations I've witnessed in years. Young Master Ackerman, your techniques are quite... unique. I would very much like to discuss them with you at some point."

Fenix gave her a polite smile that revealed nothing. "Perhaps someday, Lady Voss. Though I suspect our conversations might need to wait until I'm a bit older and more experienced."

The diplomatic response drew approving nods from the Ackerman elders. The boy had power, but he also had sense - a combination that could take their family far.

As the crowds began to disperse, as servants moved to clean up the damaged courtyard stones, the real conversations began.

"This changes everything," Khan murmured to Elder Davies. "If Fenix can handle a Graduator that easily..."

"We're not the weak family everyone thought we were," Davies agreed. "But that brings its own problems. Success makes enemies as often as it makes friends."

Near the entrance, Broderick Richter was having a quiet but intense conversation with Cassia Voss.

"This isn't over," he hissed. "That boy humiliated my son. The Richter family doesn't forget insults."

Cassia's smile was sharp as a blade. "I wouldn't recommend pursuing vengeance, Lord Richter. That 'boy' just demonstrated abilities that suggest he's much more dangerous than anyone realized. And now that I've seen what he can do..." She paused, letting the implications sink in. "Well, let's just say the Voss family takes a keen interest in unusual talents."

The threat was subtle but unmistakable. If Broderick wanted to continue this conflict, he'd be fighting not just the Ackerman family, but anyone else who decided Fenix's abilities were worth protecting.

As the Richter delegation retreated with whatever dignity they could salvage, Fenix found himself surrounded by family members whose expressions ranged from proud to stunned to slightly terrified.

"That was incredible!" Kai burst out. "The way you made that barrier adapt to his attacks - I've never seen anything like it!"

"Where did you learn techniques like that?" Abel asked, his analytical mind churning through possibilities.

Before Fenix could answer, a small figure burst through the crowd of adults and launched herself at him with the enthusiasm of a missile.

"Brother!" Abigail squealed, wrapping her arms around his waist. "You were amazing! You made that mean boy look silly!"

Fenix hugged her back, feeling the tension of the last hour drain away. This was why he'd fought - not for family honor or political advantage, but to protect the bright smile of someone who believed in him completely.

"Just showing off a little," he said, ruffling her hair. "I had to make sure everyone knows not to mess with our family."

"Does this mean we're safe now?" she asked, looking up at him with hopeful eyes.

Fenix glanced over her head at the various adults whose expressions suggested that safety was a complicated concept in their world of noble politics and family feuds.

"Safer," he said carefully. "But we'll need to stay smart about things. Today's victory might solve some problems, but it could create others."

Indeed, as evening fell over the Ackerman estate, as servants prepared celebration feasts and family members began planning for a more secure future, messages were already racing toward distant territories.

News of what had happened in that courtyard would spread quickly through the networks of information that connected powerful families across the Human Domain. Some would see opportunity in the Ackerman family's apparent resurgence. Others would see threat.

But for now, in this moment, with his sister's arms around him and his family's grateful faces surrounding them, Fenix allowed himself to feel simply satisfied.

The duel was over. The immediate threat was handled.

And somewhere in the growing darkness beyond the estate walls, in places where power moved in shadows and influence flowed like underground rivers, people were taking notice of the name Fenix Ackerman.

For better or worse, the quiet days were ending.

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