In the end, Lu Luwei shed her outermost layer of clothing.

Lu Luwei’s body was pierced through—

Her body plummeted toward the ground.

The victor had been decided. It was, without a doubt, Lu Cang.

Lu Luwei’s fading consciousness gazed at Lu Cang, who was still gripping her calf and right arm.

’This guy...’

’When on earth are you going to let go?’

Her consciousness went dark.

Her final thought dissipated completely.

...

Only after seeing Lu Luwei’s body disappear did Lu Cang let out a long sigh of relief in the center of the arena.

’I hope I don’t have to fight any more Archers in open terrain in the future.’

After his battle with Lu Luwei, Lu Cang had developed a bit of a complex about Archers.

’I have to find a way to guarantee I can get close to my enemies... or a way to trap them in a space they can’t escape,’ Lu Cang muttered to himself.

This battle had once again made him aware of his own shortcomings in certain areas.

His post-victory reflection didn’t last long.

The surrounding scenery was rapidly disappearing, gradually turning into a pure, blank space.

Meanwhile, a refreshing sense of relief seemed to wash over his soul.

His Spirituality told Lu Cang that he was no longer being watched by a massive audience.

Lu Cang looked to his left and right.

However, he wasn’t the only one in this place.

Dusk, Lu Luwei, Yan Gang, Fisher, Vianco...

All eight people from the final circle were there.

The others looked at Lu Cang with incredibly complicated expressions.

Fisher, for his part, wore an expression of relief.

As a Puppet Master who had lost to Lu Cang, he felt that his defeat had been baffling.

He had no idea how he’d been found out and insta-killed.

Lu Cang hadn’t used many moves.

The way he’d broken through his offensive had even seemed simple and unadorned.

That was precisely why Fisher had felt so frustrated, but then he saw Lu Cang actually defeat Lu Luwei in the end.

Suddenly, it didn’t feel quite so frustrating anymore.

Losing to him didn’t seem so humiliating now.

As for Dusk, the other finalist who had fought Lu Cang, his feelings were extremely complex.

He had also watched the final match between Lu Cang and Lu Luwei.

And he had recognized at a glance that when Lu Cang caught up to Lu Luwei, he had used his own Root Magic: *Shift of the Dipper*.

’Why? How did he learn my Root Magic?’

Dusk couldn’t understand. Root Magic was the kind of thing that others couldn’t learn even if someone deliberately tried to teach them.

Let alone learning it just by seeing it once.

’Besides, just how many Root Magics has he mastered?’

’*Elemental Void* must be a Root Magic, and so must *Void Reabsorption*, and then there’s my *Shift of the Dipper* that he stole...’

’Three of them?’

’Could it be that the true function of his Root Magic is to imitate other people’s Magic?’

Dusk didn’t understand, but he was deeply shaken.

Sensing the gazes gathered on him, Lu Cang simply maintained a polite and friendly smile.

’Why are they all looking at me... Have they never seen a handsome kid before?’

"Haha!! A fine battle!!"

Suddenly, a voice rang out.

A phantom image of Kai Jia materialized before the crowd.

’Oho.’

’We meet again, Kai Jia.’

The Kai Jia before them now wasn’t as solid as the one in the War God Tower; he was more like a faint projection that could dissipate at any moment.

"These past few years!! The quality of the fights just keeps getting better and better!! It really lets this old man see a world where martial arts are flourishing!!"

Kai Jia completely lacked the mysterious air of a Divine Spirit.

He spoke with hearty frankness.

"Lu Cang!! Your performance was even more spectacular than I imagined!!"

SWOOSH!

A Secret Scroll materialized before Lu Cang’s eyes.

"This is the champion’s prize, as promised by this old man!!"

[Professional Secret Scroll: Prophet]

The Prophet’s Secret Scroll landed in Lu Cang’s hands.

Lu Cang didn’t appraise it immediately.

After all, the being before him was a so-called god, and even if it was just a projection, it was still standing right in front of him.

"Haha!! If we meet again! This old man will definitely give you an extra reward!!"

Kai Jia made a promise to Lu Cang.

Lu Cang nodded, placed a hand over his heart, and performed a salute of reverence to the god.

After that, Kai Jia distributed consolation prizes to the other losers.

The consolation prizes were actually quite good.

Lu Luwei seemed to have received a new Bow Skill.

The Puppet Master seemed to get a Puppet Core, the Summoner apparently got an egg, and the Warrior’s reward was a Combat Skill.

It seemed the War God’s rewards were all customized.

Only he, the champion, received the promised [Professional Secret Scroll: Prophet].

Of course.

The value of this Professional Secret Scroll far surpassed that of the consolation prizes.

Lu Cang put the Professional Secret Scroll away.

Once the War God had finished giving a prize to the last person, his phantom image gradually faded away.

An exit portal had appeared, and now the eight of them were gathered in this small space.

The atmosphere was a little awkward.

’Just leaving directly seems a bit... rude, doesn’t it?’ 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

But finally, someone broke the awkward silence.

Fisher spoke up. "I am Fisher, from the Lorren Capital. I’m looking for powerful Mages or Mechanicians to collaborate with me on puppet research..."

"I am Dusk, a Root Mage specializing in Space. I am also from the Lorren Capital. If any of you are interested, you’re welcome to discuss matters of Magic and the Root Source with me."

As he said this, he looked toward Lu Cang.

Besides himself, Lu Cang was the only other Root Mage present.

"I’m Vianco, a Summoner from the Ruijia Kingdom. Er... do we have to introduce ourselves?"

Lu Cang didn’t wait until the very end to speak.

Instead, he spoke up, "Everyone, it seems we’ve all become acquainted through battle. If I ever find myself in any of your cities in the future, I hope you’ll all look out for me."