Chapter 39 - Chapter 39: Battle royal and Award ceremony

🏛️ Federation Arena — Award Ceremony Before Battle Royal

The arena's giant platform glowed beneath the piercing light of elemental runes, casting sharp shadows across the assembled crowd. Forty-two students, including me, stood in perfect formation, divided into seven divisions. The weight of anticipation settled heavy on my shoulders.

The Guild Commander stepped forward, flanked by armored Federation officers and representatives from the Beast Division, Research Guild, and Federation Council. His dark cloak billowed slightly in the controlled airflow of the arena, his expression unreadable but grave.

A hush fell over the crowd.

⸻

Guild Commander:

"Students of the Federation Academy, today you stand at the threshold of a defining moment. Your victories in the initial rounds have earned you honor, rewards, and the opportunity to prove yourselves in the ultimate test — the Battle Royal."

He motioned toward the massive floating display behind him, where the names of the six top students from each division glowed in radiant gold.

⸻

Guild Commander (continuing):

"Let us recognize those who have excelled with discipline, skill, and tenacity. You have earned your places through sweat, strategy, and sacrifice. This ceremony honors your achievement — but also serves as a reminder that greater challenges await."

The first division was called.

⸻

Division 1 (1★ Rank) Winners:

 • Bao Lei — B1-019

 • Li Xia — D1-004

 • Chen Rui — F1-031

 • Sun Mei — A1-006

 • Gao Feng — E1-014

 • Qian Yu — C1-012

A roll call echoed through the arena as each student stepped forward, receiving the gleaming Federation Medal of Combat Excellence and a stat-boosting augmentation chip from the Guild Officer.

*["Amateurs," I thought quietly playing with the medal I received for my victories, as I watched one student walked up nervously accept their reward, already feeling the pressure rising.] *

⸻

Division by division, the ceremony continued, each name called with solemn respect. The crowd applauded with muted cheers, the atmosphere a mixture of reverence and cold calculation.

⸻

Division 7 (7★ Rank) Winners:

 • Qiu Zhen — E7-005

 • Zhao Fen — D7-009

 • Lin Cheng — B7-016

 • Mu Rong — F7-028

 • Wen Yue — A7-001

 • Luo Tan — C7-018

⸻

The Guild Commander's voice rang out once more, cutting through the applause.

⸻

Guild Commander:

"To those who will soon enter the Battle Royal — know this: your victories have marked you, but your true test begins now. The arena you face is a crucible. Only those with steel in their hearts and sharpness in their minds will endure."

He paused, gaze sweeping across us.

⸻

Guild Commander (firmly):

"Today you receive the highest honors reserved for first-place winners in each division. Second-place finishers will receive their rewards later today — the Federation Guild values patience and perseverance as much as victory."

⸻

"The Federation Guild expects nothing less than your absolute best. This battle will determine the elite — those worthy to ascend, those destined to be forgotten."

A cold intensity filled his eyes.

⸻

"Prepare yourselves. When the gates open, mercy dies. Fight not just for glory, but for survival."

⸻

The ceremony ended with a final thunderous applause from the assembled spectators. We dispersed, steeling ourselves as the massive arena gates began to grind open, signaling the imminent start of the brutal Battle Royal.

["Runes on my boots sparked faintly as I steadied my breath, ready for what was coming next."]

⸻

📣 Federation Academy Arena Broadcast – Battle Royale Commencing

——-

The Federation Academy Combat Dome had transformed into a battlefield of pure survival.

The arena—once structured and clean—now surged with untamed energy. Qi-reactive stones pulsed underfoot. High-tier barrier fields shimmered faintly around the perimeter, not to protect us—but to keep the destruction in.

Above, holographic screens flashed with names, biosigns, heart rates, and elemental readouts. The crowd screamed. Instructors leaned forward. Federation officials observed in silence.

42 qualified students. 7 Divisions. 1 goal: Survive.

I stood on my launch pad, pulse steady, eyes narrowed.

Fan Yumei. Division 6. Class A.

Beside me, Jin Minhe let out a soul-deep sigh and stuffed the last bite of a pork bun into his mouth.

"This is cruel. I just had lunch."

"Win, and I'll get you dinner too."

"…Make it spicy."

Across the arena, Liang Chenwu stood like a marble statue, fists loose at his sides, the air rippling faintly around him.

Then—

⸻

🎙️ "Federation Academy Class Battle Royale commencing. Final Rules: No teams. No allies. No interruptions. The last seven standing advance. Everyone else—eliminated."

⸻

The field shimmered gold.

A massive overhead display spun through our names—forty-two total—before the countdown lit the sky.

10…

["A girl began chanting early, arms glowing with unstable glyphs, her determination flashing like a warning light."]

9…

A boy snapped his twin knives to life—blades humming with wind qi.

8…

Someone across the arena screamed just from the pressure.

7…

Jin Minhe muttered,

"Why is the floor vibrating already?"

6…

I grounded my stance. Drew my qi into a tight spiral—ready.

5…

Runes on my boots sparked faintly.

4…

One student actually jumped the signal and was instantly stunned by a hovering auto-referee drone.

*["That won't end well," I thought, eyes sharp.] *

3…

Weapons up. Breath sharp. Vision tunneled.

2…

1…

⸻

🎙️ "BEGIN!"

⸻

The arena detonated.

A shockwave of combat qi ruptured across the field, the ground trembling beneath our feet as forty-two bodies launched into motion at once.

Blades clashed. Spells shattered. Fire met water. Wind tore through the air like a cyclone. Lightning cracked across the sky. Dust and smoke erupted from the impact of qi techniques smashing against reinforced stone.

A student near me conjured an earth spike—too slow.

I slammed my elbow into his ribs, spun behind him, and used a qi-pulse enhanced palm to throw him straight into the barrier. Out.

Another came at me from the side—twin fans humming with compressed wind.

I ducked low. Sheared into her space with raw footwork. One jab to her shoulder, one hook to the stomach, and she was wheezing as I flipped her flat on her back. Her shield triggered. Out.

Behind me, someone launched a sonic arrow.

I felt it coming more than heard it. Dove to the side. Rolled. Came up under another boy mid-cast and shoved his casting hand into the dirt, breaking his stance and sending a burst of lightning into his own feet. He screamed. Out.

Above, a screen updated:

Combatants Remaining: 35

To my left, a clash of three bodies. One spellcaster screamed as they were thrown like a ragdoll. An explosion followed—smoke and shattered stone raining down.

Everywhere was chaos. Screams. Qi. Heat. Blood.

Liang Chenwu moved like a weapon. Not a human. A pressure strike here. A palm to the chest there. Three students tried to team up on him—bad idea. He took out two in four seconds. The third ran.

Jin Minhe danced through the battlefield like he was avoiding puddles. Clean footwork, casual sways, and a devastating elbow that floored a tall Division 5 boy trying to flank him.

"Why do you look bored!?" I yelled at him between punches.

"Because I am," he muttered, side-kicking a girl into a wall and snatching a sesame bun mid-air from his pocket.

The screen updated again:

Combatants Remaining: 28

Sweat dripped down my back. My forearms ached. My left knee was bruised from absorbing a hammer strike.

["I brushed a bead of sweat from my brow and ignored the throb in my knee."]

I didn't stop.

I ducked under a spear. Slammed a palm into a pressure point. Grabbed the boy's collar and hurled him out of bounds.

I spun mid-air to avoid a water spike and launched a crescent kick at the caster's head. He blocked—barely—but the force knocked him straight into another duelist's arcane blast. His shield flared red. Out.

Combatants Remaining: 21

The arena was a warzone now. Torn-up stone. Cratered sections. Smoke columns and flickering shields.

I slid under a pair of whirling chakrams, flipped up, and jammed a rune-palm into the user's chest, stunning them long enough for a fire bomb to explode nearby. They didn't get back up. Out.

A flame-caster tried to target me with a wide burst. I activated a pulse rune, absorbed the edge of it, and rammed a double strike into his shoulders.

His legs crumpled.

I kept moving.

Combatants Remaining: 17

Then 15.

My vision blurred for a second—I caught a slash to the ribs. Burned through a qi packet to dull the pain. Slammed my heel into the attacker's shin and headbutted him off the platform.

My braid came undone. My sleeve was torn. My lip was bleeding.

I grinned.

"Still alive," I whispered. ["Pain was just proof I was still standing."] "Come on."

Jin Minhe wasn't smiling anymore. He was locked in a tight duel with a dual-blade user from Division 3. Runes swirled around his fists, eyes sharp. He dodged the blades, took a shallow cut to the forearm, then flipped backward and launched a compressed strike to his opponent's solar plexus. Out.

Combatants Remaining: 10

Three students tried to mob Liang Chenwu again. One was disarmed immediately. The second backed off. The third? Not so lucky—he went down, convulsing after a qi-inverted counterstrike.

A mist caster tried to trap me in a fog zone.

I activated my defensive glyphs, shot a rune spike straight through the fog, and blasted the caster with a short-range pressure wave. They slammed into a slab of cracked stone and didn't rise.

Combatants Remaining: 7

The barrier pulsed gold.

A siren echoed.

⸻

🎙️ "FINAL SEVEN ACHIEVED. LOCKING FIELD."

⸻

The entire battlefield shimmered. Those still fighting were halted by auto-barrier pulses. The rest were slumped over, unconscious, or limping away.

The golden zone collapsed in around us.

I stood, breath ragged, hands still raised.

————-

✅ Final Tournament Qualifiers

(📍After Battle Royale → Sudden Death Victories)

1. Fan Yumei – Division 6

2. Jin Minhe – Division 6

3. Liang Chenwu – Division 6

4. Wei Rong – Division 5

5. Ren Ji – Division 4

6. Zhou Wei – Division 2

7. Liu Fang – Division 3

—————

We stood in a silent circle as the screens above updated.

⸻

🎙️ "Congratulations. You seven have passed the Battle Royale Trials. Prepare for your next challenge: Sudden Death Duels—against Division 8 Elite Advancement Candidates."

⸻

Jin Minhe leaned on his knees, breathing hard.

"They better let me finish my lunch before that."

I wiped the blood from my lip and tilted my head at him.

"Not unless you win again."

He groaned.

I turned toward the others.

And grinned.

Round One? Survived. Round Two? Bring it.