Ashes of the star forge

The underground arena became their new world.

Days blurred together in the dim red light and constant noise of the fighting pit. Lian fought almost every cycle. Lirien registered him under a rotating series of aliases, carefully managing the risk of recognition. Each match was recorded only within the arena’s closed systems, and the barriers ensured no permanent deaths. Serious injuries were common. Permanent ones were rare.

Lian’s body paid the price.

He won more often than he lost, but every victory came hard. The opponents grew stronger as his name — or rather, the string of temporary names Lirien used — began to draw attention among the regulars. Korrak brawlers with dense bone plating. Auged humans who relied on speed and precision. A lean Threnn assassin who nearly opened his throat with a monofilament wire. A heavily reinforced Mechari whose energy blade left deep burns across his side before he managed to disable its core systems.

Each fight forced his foundation to adapt under real pressure. The black liquid inside him responded more readily now, reinforcing bones and muscles at critical moments without needing his full concentration. His Qi circulation grew denser. The cracks left by the rushed cultivation methods began to close, slowly and painfully.

Elara watched most of the matches from the upper walkway.

She still refused to step onto the fighting floor herself. Instead, she trained in the quieter side chambers Lirien had secured for them, refining her footwork and blade forms with the holographic construct. There were moments when Lian caught her watching him with a complicated expression — concern mixed with something harder, something that looked like determination. She was waiting. Preparing. But she was not yet ready.

Lirien remained constant.

She stood at the edge of the pit after every match, violet eyes calm, analyzing every movement. When Lian returned bloodied and breathing hard, she offered no praise and no comfort. Only precise corrections.

“Your left guard drops when you overcommit on a counter.”

“You still hesitate for a fraction of a second before using the liquid. That hesitation will kill you against a true expert.”

“Your foundation is stabilizing. Continue.”

On the twelfth day, Lian sat in the small private room they had rented near the arena, his body covered in fading bruises and sealed cuts. The healing pods on the ship could have restored him faster, but Lirien insisted on letting the natural recovery process reinforce his physical foundation. Pain, she said, was part of the tempering.

Elara sat across from him, quietly cleaning her blade.

“You’re improving,” she said after a long silence.

Lian glanced at her. “Not enough.”

“Enough to stay alive,” she replied. “That’s more than before.”

He did not answer. The white-eyed man’s face still burned in the back of his mind. The representative’s overwhelming pressure. The repeated deaths in the training room. The arena was only a step. A necessary one. But it was still far from the strength he needed.

Lirien entered the room without sound.

“There is a match scheduled for tomorrow,” she said. “The opponent is stronger than the previous ones. Late Core Condensation, with combat experience from the outer rim conflicts. Winning will draw more attention, but it will also accelerate your growth.”

Lian looked up at her.

“Register me.”

Lirien nodded once.

Power Scale / Cultivation Realms (Quick Reminder)

Foundation Realm (Layers 1–9): Body forging, no external Qi.

Circuit Awakening Realm (Early–Peak): First Qi loop, internal bursts.

Core Condensation Realm (Early–Peak): External Qi release, short flight.

Stellar Circuit Realm (1–9 Stars): True flight, Qi armor, energy projection.

Nebula Dominion Realm and higher: Domain control, galaxy-level power,

etc.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!