Previously on God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World!...
Jack Arefield of Olympus accepts the challenge and faces the representative of the Longsword Guild. After a tense battle, Jack emerges victorious, securing the token for Olympus. The Holy Church then declares their refusal to participate in the challenges, leaving the Tianlan representative to taunt the masked figure known as Gabriel.
From the back of the assembly, Gabriel advanced, and the very instant he moved, the surrounding clamor seemed to recede on its own. His stride maintained a deliberate consistency, neither hurried nor leisurely, projecting an aura that suggested nothing in his path warranted any haste.
Numerous cultivators of the Tianlan Sect observed him with keen attention, as did the other onlookers. The table occupied by Broken Dawn fell into a state of stillness, and even from across the vast hall, Sophie’s gaze lingered upon the figure cloaked in a white mask for a moment longer than protocol dictated. Ragnarok99’s brow furrowed subtly, as if detecting an incongruity in White Phantom’s bearing, though he couldn’t quite articulate its nature.
Having reached the forefront, Gabriel halted directly before the leader of the Longsword Guild and fixed his gaze upon him. The man’s smile persisted, yet the ensuing silence caused his fingers to betray a slight tremor against the tabletop. He had anticipated an outburst of anger or a vociferous retort; instead, the masked individual simply stood, maintaining an unwavering stare.
Following a brief interval, Gabriel broke the silence. "Who is slated to be my opponent?"
The Longsword leader shifted back slightly in his seat. "You seem rather eager."
"I posed a straightforward inquiry," Gabriel responded calmly.
The leader's smile broadened anew as he inclined his head toward a woman positioned towards the terminus of his table. She possessed broad shoulders, well-defined arms, and a formidable greatsword rested beside her chair. Though her demeanor was placid, the palpable aura emanating from her was demonstrably more potent than that of the initial representative.
"Mei Zhen," he announced. "You shall engage him."
Without a word of protest, the woman rose, eliciting immediate manifestations of surprise and nods of approval from several Tianlan cultivators. Mei Zhen held the reputation of being the second most accomplished warrior within the Longsword Guild – not the leader’s ultimate trump card, but certainly far from a negligible force.
She lifted her substantial blade and proceeded forward. The weapon, nearly as broad as a shield, bore a faint tracery of qi along its edge. As she entered the designated area, the ground beneath her feet emitted a resonant thud.
Gabriel bestowed a fleeting glance upon her before redirecting his attention to the Longsword leader. "If this is the extent of your strength, you are merely squandering my time."
Mei Zhen’s expression hardened, while the Longsword leader froze momentarily. His smile remained, but it now conveyed an unsettling lack of sincerity.
"You possess a verbose nature for one who has yet to engage in combat," Mei Zhen stated coolly.
Observing from the periphery, Liang stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his countenance serene, yet his focus had undeniably sharpened. "Commence!" he declared.
Mei Zhen initiated the engagement, elevating her heavy blade and bringing it down with considerable force towards Gabriel’s shoulder. The assault was direct, yet the sheer power behind it was sufficient to cause even distant onlookers to feel a rush of wind against their attire.
Gabriel executed a sidestep, narrowly avoiding the blade as it impacted the ground, leaving a fissure in the stone floor. Before she could retrieve her weapon, he placed two fingers lightly against the flat of the blade and applied gentle pressure, deflecting the massive sword from its intended trajectory.
Her eyes widened in immediate response, and she harnessed the redirected momentum to transition into a secondary attack, this time aiming a sweeping blow to force him backward. Gabriel, however, stood his ground. He raised a hand and intercepted her wrist mid-swing, halting the assault completely without exertional force.
The clearing fell into a hushed silence as Mei Zhen attempted to break free, only to discover that her own momentum had been artfully turned against her. Her body lurched forward by half a step before she regained her footing, her expression darkening.
Pushing off the ground, she attacked once more, with increased velocity. The formidable blade descended in a rapid succession of three strikes aimed at his shoulder, midsection, and leg, but each was thwarted with precise efficiency. The initial blow was parried with his open palm, the second was evaded through a minute spatial adjustment, and the third was deflected with a mere tap to the back of the weapon.
Despite his not drawing a weapon, several members of the Longsword Guild inexplicably began to rise from their seats.
Mei Zhen gritted her teeth, channeling a greater flow of qi, which caused the very atmosphere surrounding her blade to thicken. Her subsequent strike produced a low hum that vibrated the lamps lining the clearing, yet Gabriel’s stance remained unyielding.
As the blade began its descent, he moved forward, stepping within its arc before its completion. His shoulder brushed past the reach of the weapon, and his palm made a light contact with her chest armor.
The impact propelled her backward across several meters. Her boots scuffed against the stone as she plunged the blade into the ground, arresting her momentum.
Gabriel lowered his hand. "Again."
That solitary word caused her breathing to grow labored as comprehension dawned. He was not exerting himself; rather, he was affording her the opportunity to perceive the disparity in their strength, not out of sport, but because an immediate conclusion would only fuel further speculation amongst the others.
Her grip on the sword tightened. "I have not yet conceded defeat."
"I am aware," Gabriel affirmed. "It is precisely why you remain standing."
At these words, the expressions of several Tianlan cultivators underwent a discernible shift.
With one final surge, Mei Zhen lunged forward once more, concentrating her qi around her sabre until its edge emitted a soft luminescence. This assault was direct, devoid of any feints, representing her most potent strike. The very earth fractured beneath her feet as she rapidly closed the distance.
Gabriel reacted with superior swiftness. He sidestepped the trajectory of the attack, positioning one hand on the back of her wrist. A slight turn of her arm was all it took to shatter her balance, his foot simultaneously hooking behind hers.
Her posture faltered, but just before she could impact the ground forcefully, his grip on the back of her collar arrested her fall, guiding her down gently. The substantial sabre dislodged from her grasp, clattering noisily beside her.
The entire engagement concluded in less than sixty seconds.
Mei Zhen remained prone, her eyes wide, respiration ragged. Though unmarked by blood, devoid of fractures, and free from critical wounds, every observer grasped the totality of her defeat.
Without uttering a syllable, Gabriel retreated, rejoining ChaosKnight's position.
A profound silence permeated the hall for several heartbeats, the cultivators from Tianlan, previously engaged in conversation, rendered speechless. The leader of Longsword’s gaze remained fixed on the illuminated area, his jaw clenched, his fingers digging into the tabletop.
Liang observed impassively, his attention lingering on the figure in the white mask far longer than any other. Evelyn registered this prolonged focus and met his gaze, but he offered no elucidation. His expression had undergone a subtle alteration—not one of surprise, but rather the confirmation of a pre-existing suspicion.
"This bout is awarded to ChaosKnight," Liang declared.
On the opposing side of the hall, Broken Dawn had yet to issue a response to the latest contest. Sophie had only just begun to subtly shift, clearly in the process of selecting their next champion, when the chair adjacent to her scraped audibly against the stone floor.
