Soulbound: Dual Cultivation

Chapter 435: The Duel 3

Lucas did not slow.

Each movement flowed into the next, his control tightening even as the intensity of his attacks rose, fire bending to his will with increasing precision. What had begun as a sudden counter had now turned into a sustained assault, one that refused to give Dravok the space he needed to regain full control of the battlefield.

But beneath the surface of that aggression, Lucas was thinking.

He could feel it clearly now.

The strain.

Not just on himself, but on Dravok as well.

Every defense the Celestial put up, every counter he attempted to form, every shift in his stance carried a cost. It was small, almost negligible for someone at that level, but Lucas could sense it, the subtle drain that came with maintaining such overwhelming power over the environment.

And Lucas...

Was different.

His Qi reserves were vast, unnaturally so, far beyond what someone at his level should possess. Even now, as flames roared around him and his spatial movements intertwined with his attacks, he could feel the depth of it, the steady pool of energy that had yet to be fully tapped.

He had more.

Much more.

If this turned into a battle of endurance...

If it became a test of who could maintain their output longer, who could sustain their techniques without faltering...

Lucas knew.

He had a real chance.

Not certainty.

But a possibility.

And in a fight like this, even the smallest edge mattered.

Another burst of fire erupted from his palm, forcing Dravok to brace once more, the ground beneath him cracking as he absorbed the impact. Lucas shifted immediately, reappearing to the side, following up without hesitation, refusing to let the pressure drop for even a moment.

Dravok’s expression hardened further.

He was adapting.

But he was no longer dictating the flow.From across the valley, Ken watched.

At first, there had been amusement.

Confidence.

A quiet certainty that this would end exactly as expected.

But now...

That certainty had begun to crack.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he observed Lucas’s movements more closely, the rhythm of his attacks, the way he combined spatial shifts with raw elemental output, the sheer pace he was maintaining without collapsing under his own power.

"...Interesting," Ken muttered under his breath.

The faint smirk on his lips remained, but it had changed.

Less mocking.

More thoughtful.

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sharpening.

"So this is what all the noise was about."

Another exchange erupted at the center of the valley, flames surging high enough to distort the air even at a distance, forcing Dravok to remain on guard.

Ken’s eyes followed every movement.

Not missing a single detail.

"Facing a Celestial at that level..." he continued quietly, almost to himself, "...and not only surviving, but pushing back."

A soft chuckle escaped him, though there was no dismissal in it.

"That’s not normal."

His expression darkened slightly, the amusement giving way to something more serious.

More dangerous.

"Not many Sage cultivators could do that," he said, his voice lowering further. "Not even the so-called geniuses."

His gaze lingered on Lucas.

"And he’s still this young."

For a brief moment, silence settled around him.

Then Ken exhaled slowly, his eyes narrowing just a fraction more.

"...He’s dangerous."

There was no exaggeration in his tone.

No mockery.

Just a simple, undeniable truth.

Because what stood in that valley was not just a talented cultivator.

It was something far more unsettling.

Someone who could challenge a realm above his own and still find footing.

Someone who, if left unchecked...

Would become a problem no one could afford to ignore.

Back within Valerion’s ranks, the rigid formation had long since lost its stillness, not in movement, but in spirit, as every soldier watched the clash unfolding in the valley with a mixture of disbelief and fragile hope.

The tide had shifted, if only slightly.

And they could all see it.

Flames surged where there had once only been destruction, Lucas pressing forward against a force that should have crushed him without resistance, forcing a Celestial to yield ground, even if only for moments at a time.

But not everyone watching believed in miracles.

A quiet stir moved through the ranks near the royal tent.

Guards straightened.

Heads turned.

And slowly, supported but standing on his own, the king stepped forward into view.

His presence alone carried weight, even in his weakened state. Though his mind had yet to fully recover, though the strain of simply standing was evident in the slight tension of his posture, his gaze remained sharp, unwavering as it fixed itself on the valley below.

The murmurs died instantly.

Respect alone was enough to silence them.

Princess Nyx noticed first, her eyes widening slightly before she inclined her head just enough to acknowledge him. The others followed, stepping aside subtly to give him a clearer view, though none dared to speak.

The king said nothing at first.

He simply watched.

His eyes tracked the movements of the battle, the relentless assault, the bursts of flame, the shifting ground, the overwhelming presence of the Celestial that still loomed despite being pushed back.

For a long moment, his expression did not change.

Then, quietly, he spoke.

"He is exceeding expectations."

His voice was calm, measured, but there was a weight beneath it that did not go unnoticed.

Lira swallowed lightly, her hands still clenched as she kept her gaze forward.

"He’s doing more than that," she said softly. "He’s actually holding his own."

The king did not respond immediately.

His eyes remained on Lucas.

"He is surviving," he said at last. "There is a difference."

The words settled heavily.

Selene’s brows furrowed slightly.

"But survival is enough, isn’t it?" she asked. "If he can keep this up..."

The king exhaled slowly, a faint tension in the breath, as though even speaking required effort he could not afford.

"You do not understand the gap," he replied, his tone neither harsh nor dismissive, but grounded in experience. "A Celestial does not lose to endurance alone. Not to someone beneath that realm."

His gaze shifted slightly, following Dravok now.

"They have reserves beyond what most can comprehend. Control that does not falter easily. What you are seeing now..." he paused briefly, "...is not the end of his strength."

A silence followed.

Henrietta crossed her arms tighter, her expression hardening.

"So you’re saying this is pointless?" she muttered.

The king did not look at her.

"No," he said. "I am saying this is not a battle that should be winnable."

His words were not meant to discourage.

They were simply truth.

Princess Nyx stepped slightly forward, her gaze unwavering as she watched Lucas move, strike, and press forward against something far greater than himself.

"And yet," she said quietly, "he is still standing."

The king’s eyes lingered on her for a brief moment before returning to the valley.

"Yes," he said.

There was a pause.

Then, softer....

"He is."

Another surge of flame erupted in the distance, forcing Dravok back once more, the ground cracking under the pressure of their clash.

The king watched it all.

Every movement.

Every exchange.

And though his expression remained composed, though his words had painted the battle as something close to a lost cause...

There was something else in his eyes now.

Not hope.

Not yet.

But something close to it.

A flicker.

Because no matter how unlikely it seemed...

Lucas had not fallen.

And until he did...

The outcome was not yet decided.

Back to the battlefield field...

A streak of frost cut across the battlefield as the ice belle moved, far faster than before, her presence almost impossible to track as she closed in from a completely different angle than Lucas.

Dravok had just raised his arm to block another burst of flame.

When the temperature dropped.

Abruptly.

His eyes snapped to the side.

A sharp wave of ice surged toward him, not wild, but precise, condensed into a focused strike that carried both speed and piercing force. The ground beneath it froze instantly, a thin layer of frost racing forward like a blade.

Dravok reacted on instinct.

His foot slammed into the ground.

A wall of earth rose to intercept.

But Lucas was already there.

He appeared above.

Fire roared downward in a concentrated blast, slamming into the forming defense before it could fully stabilize, shattering parts of it mid-rise and forcing Dravok to divert his attention upward.

And in that exact moment....

The Ice Belle’s attack landed.

A sharp crack echoed as ice collided against his side, the impact forcing his body to shift, not enough to injure him, but enough to break his stance.

For the first time...He was being pressured from both sides.

Lucas did not slow.

The instant the Ice Belle’s strike connected, he followed through, shifting position again, appearing behind Dravok with another burst of flame already forming in his palm.

The coordination was not planned.

But it worked perfectly.

Fire from one side.

Ice from the other.

Relentless and unyielding.

Dravok’s expression darkened further, the irritation from earlier now fully visible as his body turned, his defenses splitting, forced to respond to two completely different threats at once.

He blocked Lucas, then turned to intercept the Ice Belle. Only for Lucas to reappear again.

There was no rhythm he could fully settle into anymore.

No singular focus...Every time he responded to one...The other struck.

The battlefield grew more chaotic.

Steam rose where fire and ice collided, the air distorting between extreme heat and sudden cold, the ground cracking, freezing, then shattering under the combined pressure of their attacks.

Dravok planted his foot again, forcing the earth to rise in multiple directions this time, jagged defenses forming around him in layers.

But even that was slower now.

Lucas saw it and the Ice Belle saw it.

And they pressed harder.

"You’re getting overwhelmed," Lucas said, his voice steady despite the intensity of his movements.

The Ice Belle added, almost lazily despite the speed of her attacks,

"Told you."

Dravok’s eyes flashed.

A pulse of energy surged outward from him, stronger than before, cracking the ground beneath all three of them as he forced both of them back just enough to regain a fraction of space.

But it was clear and undeniable now.

This was no longer a one-sided battle.

He was no longer in complete control.

Because now...He was defending against two.