Chapter Three: Thirty-Seven Players, One Sparring Session

Cold Edge stopped laughing. Lin Jin confirmed. For seven seconds, his wooden sword became a storm of afterimages. But it delivered only ninety-three attacks. When the imprint vanished, the heart had seven health remaining and the countdown showed one second. The stream filled with screams. Lin Jin released the sword and struck the heart with both hands. He did not possess Cold Edge's speed, but he used the seven-part rhythm of Han Xiao's Seven-Star Reversal—the rhythm Lin Jin himself had tested 470 times. Seven instances of damage overlapped. The timer reached zero. The Time-Eater's heart shattered first. [FIRST CLEAR COMPLETE. PLAYER “ASHES UNEXTINGUISHED” HAS REACHED LEVEL 25.]