A colossal, gold dragon illusory shadow, no more than a blazing echo forged from raw sword intent, erupted out of Jared’s strike.

It loosed a thunderous bellow that seemed to rattle the heavens, then hurled itself headlong into Jayson’s spatial rift of sword shadows.

Boom! The Impact that followed dwarfed every clash that had come before. For one breathless instant, fury, heat, and roaring light fused into a single, deafening detonation.

The arena bucked like a ship in a storm. Pillars of light from the surrounding Spiritual Barricade Array guttered, dulled, then cracked apart in a spiderweb of glowing fissures.

A murderous shock wave burst outward. Even with the Spiritual Barricade Array caging most of the force, the watching cultivators felt their blood churn. Many staggered back several dozen paces, faces blanching as they fought to steady their breathing.

When the rolling dust at last drifted away, the arena resolved into grim focus, every shard of wreckage limned in the faint, ghostly glow of dying spiritual light.

Jayson had fallen to one knee. His once-proud Sky Havoc Sword lay scattered around in pitiful, glittering fragments. Blood slicked his clothes, and his aura flickered like a candle whipped by the wind.