An Understated Dominance by Marina Vittori

“Who the heck is this kid?” Oron glanced at his trembling hands and felt a chill run down his spine. He failed to gain the upper hand in the earlier clash with Dustin and suffered an unexpected setback.

He was already an ultimate grandmaster, with a cultivation and mastery of the Glow Incantation that surpassed Caleb’s. By all accounts, subduing a younger opponent should have been a piece of cake.

But that exchange just now had brought him to a stark realization- Dustin had been holding back this whole time and hadn’t used his full strength. Otherwise, Caleb wouldn’t have lasted this long.

The realization unsettled Oron. There were always extraordinary talents out there, but the potential Dustin had displayed was genuinely terrifying. To

put it plainly, he was a beast on the same level as Glenn.

“What happened? Why did the judge step in?”

“Can’t you see? Caleb has already lost. If the judge hadn’t stepped in, that sword would have killed him or left him severely injured.”

“Exactly! It would be a pity to see the most talented disciple of Sacred Wyrm Summit die here.”

“I thought Caleb would win, but Dustin changed the outcome with just one sword strike. It’s terrifying.”

The unexpected turn of events sent the spectators buzzing with chatter.

Whether it was Caleb’s Eight Trigrams of Divine Talisman being countered or Oron intervening to stop the match, everything had unfolded in the blink of an eye. The fight was already over when

what

smug a moment ago.” Cyrus shot Alloy a sidelong glance, and his tone was laced with biting

that Dustin would still be able to draw his sword even

a single strike, which decisively determined

had chosen Dustin as his disciple-he was truly

now,” Dustin said,

had no intention of delivering a lethal strike. However, he

and conceded at the right moment. Otherwise, considering Caleb’s earlier state, he might not have been

see the difference in our strength until now. I lost, and I accept it without regret.” After

he appeared energized, and his eyes aflame with determination. Although he claimed to be indifferent to fame and glory, a deep-rooted pride

had always navigated life easily and tackled every challenge- cultivation, self-discipline, or resilience-without breaking a sweat. Plus, he outperformed every disciple of Sacred Wrym

and a decade to master

what those so-called gifted disciples

Wrym Summit,

training or worked hard. He approached everything half- heartedly, yet his cultivation and mastery

never argued against it. However, the rapid pace

of cultivation seemed absurdly simple-just eat, drink, sleep, and breakthroughs would follow. With that mindset,

shook him out of his complacency. Caleb understood he wasn’t the only genius in the world and that others were

a renewed sense of purpose. The long-dormant fire of passion and ambition reignited within him. From this